DIY vs DFY

Which do you default to, and is one better than the other, especially as it relates to investing?

Time Is the Currency of Life

When we're young, the path is pretty clear—we're forced to do it ourselves. We study, take exams, earn licenses, and grind. We build our careers, raise families, and start businesses. We're doing it all ourselves because, quite frankly, our time isn’t worth as much yet.

Time is our currency, and we’ve got a lot of it. But something changes as we get older. Time becomes more valuable.

We no longer want to spend it mowing lawns, changing oil or dealing with every patient regarding every level of care in our practices. We want time for family, for contribution to causes that are important to us, for legacy.

According to the American Time Use Survey, Americans aged 55-64 spend nearly 50% more time on leisure and personal care than those aged 25-34.

Why? Because we begin to realize what's actually important.

Freedom Isn’t an Age—It’s a Mindset

I’ve been blessed to speak with many business owners and professional practice owners. Hardworking, successful, educated individuals. They’ve done everything society told them to do and yet, many are still not free, even well into their 50s and 60s.

Why?

It’s not a lack of effort or intelligence. It’s buying into limiting beliefs about how wealth is built and kept.

We All Start as DIY.

Early in life, I built my real estate investments from the ground up. That was my DIY phase. I didn’t trust Wall Street, and I didn’t want my future locked up in a 401(k) until I was 59½.

So I chose real estate. Tangible. Controllable. Learnable. But here’s the catch. DIY takes time, and time eventually runs out.

Not All Skills Transfer

Doctors often tell me, “David, I can just go do this myself.” They have a friend who's a developer, or they read an article online, and suddenly they’re ready to jump into the world of alternative investments on their own.

But here’s what I tell them: “Your professional skill set doesn’t transfer to investing. Not directly.”

You’ve spent decades becoming great at your craft. Do you really want to now spend another decade making the mistakes I made early on?

You don’t have the time. You don’t have the margin. At this stage in life, capital and time are precious resources, and the cost of getting it wrong is higher than ever.

A recent JP Morgan study found that investors who attempt to time the market often earn less than half the return of a simple buy-and-hold strategy. 

Mistakes are costly for those without the time to make up for them. If you’re young, you have time to spare. If you’re not, the goal is to make as few mistakes as possible.

The same applies to investing in real estate, private credit, and other complex alternative assets.

If Time is Precious, What About DFY?

When it comes to investing, society pushes us toward a default of Done For You. We’re trained from an early age to defer decisions and trust “the system.”

• – Go to school.
• – Get good grades.
• – Get a job.
• – Put money into your 401(k).
• – Let the experts handle the rest.

This is the default financial script, and it’s deeply ingrained. Wall Street thrives on DFY. It wants you to hand over your money, walk away, and come back when you're 65—if there's anything left.

But here’s the truth: That system wasn’t designed for your freedom. In Vanguard’s 2023 report, the average 401(k) balance for someone in their 60s is just under $230,000. That is far away from what most people think of as financial freedom.

Instead of actual financial independence, the system was designed for control and compliance.

Most people blindly follow it—not because they’ve thought it through, but because it’s all they’ve ever known. No one taught them another way.

The Solution: Done With You (DWY)

What if there’s a middle path? What if instead of DIY or DFY, you chose DWY—Done With You?

In this model, you stay in control of your capital, you learn as you go, and most importantly, you get experienced guidance and guardrails along the way.

DWY puts you back in the driver’s seat without going it alone.

You're folding time. You're collapsing decades into days by standing on the shoulders of those who’ve gone before you. And you can still fly solo later, after you’ve learned to fly with a co-pilot.

If you choose to go DIY, I wish you well, but those who choose DWY? They’re learning while earning. They’re not wasting time. They’re not repeating mistakes.

What’s Really At Stake?

Do you want to learn investing by trial and error? Or do you want to protect what you’ve spent decades building?

That’s what this is about.

• – Not freedom someday—freedom today.
• – Not just accumulation—income production.
• – Not just having net worth, but putting it to work wisely.

Stay focused on your freedom and the life you actually want to live, not the one society programmed you for.

And, if you want to experience exactly what Done With You looks like, I am hosting a never-before invitation to an in-person due diligence trip of one of our highly vetted operators in New York City this June.

Apart from walking properties, learning the niche investment model, and asking questions alongside current Freedom Founders members… You will also get a tailored mini-blueprint workshop before hitting the streets.

This blueprint workshop includes an overview of the world of alternative investments and breaking down your customized plan to financial freedom in actionable steps you can take as soon as you arrive home from this trip.

This will also be an unforgettable getaway experience to enjoy alongside your spouse (touring New York City, incredible fine dining, and a private yacht ride around Manhattan Island). To learn more and register, go to NYC.FreedomFounders.com.