The Dance of Time and Money

My better half is a trained dancer. She always make fun of how I can’t dance (like a drunk bear, she says). I always quip “We all dance, Some are good at it” :D

While there can be medical reasons for an individual not being able to dance, more often than not, it is because of the following reasons:

- Lack of Motivation

- Lack of Practice

- Lack of Self Confidence

For me, it’s definitely a mix of all three. And also because I love the drink more than the dance, in any party. ;)

There are dances in which we choose to take part, and there are some dances in which we do not have the luxury of choice.

No matter what, you dance !

I’m talking about the dance we do daily, The Dance of Money and Time. Except for a select few, most of us trade time for money. This time could be the time spent on a day job, time spent on managing a business, time spent on doing whatever one does to earn his/her bread. This arrangement is fine, except for a small problem. Money is never enough, and knowingly or unknowingly, one ends up trading more time for money.

Unfortunately, we have only 24 hours a day, and 7 days a week. Greater the time spent gaining money, lesser the time available to spend on gaining other things. The things that matter, things that are worth gaining

I have seen people (really really brilliant people) dancing badly, missing the beats, and trading a disproportionate amount of time for money and realising at the end that money is all that is left, which can neither be carried with them when they go, nor can be traded for even a minuscule amount of time. I have seen some spend all their time working, to save for retirement, only to never reach retirement age.

This post is neither about Minimalism (I have other posts about it, here ), nor this post is against capitalism. We have our needs, and we deserve to make a (very, very) healthy amount of money, AND have a healthy amount of time to do other things.

All I’m saying is that if we have to dance, then we might as well learn to dance properly.

Now is a good time for a confession.

I am not a perfect dancer yet.

I am still a beginner.

I still dance like a drunken bear, according to ‘you-know-who’.

And I haven’t found the secret recipe or combination for the time / money balance, but I do keep trying, and I will share a few helpful tips!

The Dance of Money

Why Money?

Why do you need more money?

Why do you yearn for more than what you earn? (See what I did there?)

It is fine to seek more, but be sure that there is a valid reason behind it. Wanting money, for the sake of attaining your revenue target, or boosting your bank balance is not ok. (If you do think that is ok, that’s fine too. We can still be friends!) The end goal of making money, apart from supporting those close to you, should be to trade money for time or for experiences. More time to spend with your loved ones, more time to do what you want to do, To experience something new…

Remember, You can’t take it all!!

“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.” - Steve Jobs

The salary equation

Now that you have a valid reason, What can you do to make more money, apart from putting in more hours at work?

Earl Nightingale says, “The Amount of Money We Receive will Always Be in a Direct Ratio to the Demand for What We Do, Our Ability to Do It, and the Difficulty in Replacing Us.”

Simply put Salary = Skill + Demand. To shift the equation in your favour, do what you have to do to increase your skill, or do what others are not doing.

Beyond salary

Work for money, so that you can make that money work for you. While creating a business which can work for you, without you being around, is one end of the spectrum, the other end is being financially literate, and using the power of compounding to make your money work for you. Finding like minded people or a mentors who can guide you in this path will be a worthwhile effort.

Less is More

I promised this post is not going to be about minimalism, but money not spent, is money earned. Be Judicious, Be Intentional. Explore Minimalism, if you want to. If not, follow the simple rule of placing a gap, between the thought (of buying) and the act. A week or so. And see what happens.

The Retirement Paradox

Saving for retirement is ok. Waiting to live your life after retirement, is not ok. Reaching retirement age, and being physically fit then, is simply not in our hands. Live now !

The Dance of Time

More time is cool. But what to do with it?

One of my mentors who taught me trading, said “Fridays are no trade days. You trade from Monday - Thursday and you relax from Friday onwards and prepare for the next Monday.” My initial response was “Whaaaa” “But what will I do on Fridays??” He replied “I don’t know man, Go read a Book”

Find a new hobby, Learn a new skill, Meet some friends, Make a new family routine, Plan a new venture in a relaxed manner - without any deadlines or timelines. I picked up a couple of long lost hobbies again — reading and blogging !

or

Do Nothing! We are human beings after all, not human doings. You don’t have to be ‘doing’ something all the time, Just ‘being’ is fine too.

Put your best foot forward, Have a great dance.