Time is Money

The more time we spend at work, the more money we make. If we can hit overtime, then the dollars really start to add up! It seems like a No-brainer, More time More money. But is it what we really want?

I often find myself equating items I purchase against my time. "Do I want to spend 3 hours working for this pair of jeans, or could I get by with these other jeans that only cost 1 hour of work?" or "I can take my family to see this new release movie for 4 hours of work, or I can go see the dollar movie for just 1/2 hour of work".
This type of thinking began entering my mind while I was working at a Mink farm skinning mink. I guarantee* that when you realize that large shake is the equivalent of over 1/2 hour in the hottest, smelliest, nastiest place you have ever stepped foot.. YOU DON'T WANT IT!! When you know a tank of gasoline is going to take a full day in that misserable place, you choose to walk to the store to buy your mountain dew (that you have to drink to get rid of the head ache the mink have caused-Which costs another 10 min of minking to pay for the Dew)
In addition to realizing every thing you buy costs time at work, it also means it costs time FROM family. Now my large shake is 1/2 hour of mink, and a 1/2 hour of missed family. That equals 1 hour of pure Hell to buy a bit of Ice cream. NO THANK YOU!
We begin to cut out things we don't need when we realize what they actually cost. Whats the cost of cable TV? $70? Now our beloved TV costs us over a full days pay, and a full day away from the family! That's 2 days a month taken so we can watch some show about fat people loosing weight. Not in my house-We'll go camping instead!
By keeping our expenses down, we can keep down the need to be away from our family.




*100% MONEY BACK mink guarantee- If you do not believe in my "minking time cost equivalent", I am more than happy to set you up on a two week time trial. You come skin mink. At the end of 2 weeks, if you are not fully convinced, you are welcome to give me all you earned MONEY BACK and go on your way.

Polictics, Religion, and Money

It is said that one should not openly discuss Politics, Religion, or Money. That for some reason these horrid topics cause bad feelings, or resentment, Maybe even an awkward moment or two. I have a different perspective, and would like to share it with you.
When we decide to become more advanced in any subject, be it dancing, computer skills, or learning to make a good pasta salad (if such a thing exists) we usually decide to enlist the help of other. We hire teachers, take certain classes, read books or manuals. We have conversation with our friends and neighbors about the subject. We post it on Facebook, we blog it, we mass text it to the world, etc. We are accustom to having our entire lives broadcasted to anyone willing to read or hear (which is a whole problem on it's own). We have also come to realize that the more people who know, the more answers and help we receive. It's a great plan all together.
The problem is that when it comes to things that REALLY make a difference in life, we keep it in. We don't share important thought and feelings. We don't share information that may alter another persons life in a good direction. We don't try to change the world around us. It's easier to not deal with it. So we go about Tweeting what our dog did this morning, that really cute thing that made us laugh.
When it comes to money we tend to be shy. I am sure it is for many reasons, and different for every one. You may think you know it all, or make to little to need to worry, or maybe you think you make more than all your friends and don't want to cause embarrassment. Maybe you have no clue about finances and don't want to admit it. No matter what reason you have, I am sure it can be corrected or changed.
Money is a Major part of EVERYTHING we do. It runs the world. It can make the difference between life or death, it can bring families together, it can build a future for your posterity that will last centuries. It can provide a great education for your family. It can Help to do just about anything.
On the other side money can be dark, it can destroy families, it causes murder and greed. It turns good people into politicians. Money can be horrible.
How can we learn to handle money in the correct way? How can we control our money, instead of having it control us? We can talk about it. We can LEARN about it, we can facebook about it. There are so many great books we can read. Look around you, there are great people who are doing well at their finances you can talk to (not the guy with the new shiny car he got for a great payment, the guy who paid cash for his car). As we open up and talk about money, we can all become better financially. This is not a topic to keep in the dark. Now is the time to change how we think and act around money. It's time to talk!

Diversified income

Diversifying our investments is VERY important to keeping our money safe. We know to keep all of our eggs out of the same basket. By having All our money in the same place we can quickly lose it. Having it spread around in different types of investments we may still lose some, but not all.
If this is a simple, but important concept to understand why do we completely disregard it when it comes to our working income? We earn ALL of our money from one place. We go to work, get a paycheck, get the weekend off, then go back to the same place. Over and Over- Week after Week- Year after Year we Gamble that our Income will not be lost. We place all of our earning eggs in the same basket, but even worse, we let someone ELSE carry it! Our employers have no obligation to us. We are at their mercy. One move and it's game over.
I have had the unfortunate privilege of not having work for over a month. This is potentially devastating to a family. With out income one cannot pay the mortgage, utility bills, or buy groceries. Very quickly we can find ourselves hungry and in a cold house without heat. (of course most of us will have found a way to keep the netfilx coming). For a person who has spent most of their career working for the same company it may takes months or even years to find a replacement job, and with today's unemployment rate who knows if one will be found at all!
But what if we had diversified our income? What if per chance I had a second, or third source of income I could use to pay my bills? What if the income we were using to "win in the margins" could cover our basic needs? Life would be much better. We would be much safer.
It only makes sense that if we want to have a safer income, just as a safer investment, that we diversify it. We must not gather all our eggs from the same Hen.
As we begin to diversify our income it may start rather slow. We may not earn much at all. but with some time our little side incomes may begin to pay for small things like a tank of gas (not in my truck of course), then maybe the phone bill, then the utilities, then the mortgage, THEN maybe even fill my truck! The potential is endless. But most important we have created a security net to catch us when we fall.
What are some ways to diversify our income? Some sources that have helped me are:
-Auto Repair from my home
-Snow Removal
-Handyman Work
-finding free junk to sell on KSL
-I even skinned mink for a season

What are some ways that you have diversified, or will now begin to diversify, your income?