Midnight Thought on Economics: Europe, Time & Money

I was talking to someone yesterday who recently finished being stationed in Germany. On the weekends or days off, she and her husband were able to explore many of the surrounding countries. I felt a twinge of jealousy as she named off the long list of countries she had gone to.
She talked about how amazing it was to explore that part of the world and realize that traveling and seeing new places and meeting new people crushes your mental limitations and allows you to grow as a person.

I then told her about my month-long excursion of England, Ireland, Wales and Denmark, and suddenly she envied me.
I was like whaaaaat?
And she said it was because I had had more TIME to enjoy it than she had because she was only able to do it when it was convenient. I, on the other hand, took an entire month to relax and explore.
She and I, however, had/have different financial situations (she being a Navy wife, and me being single and an entrepreneur) and familial obligations, so it was easier for me to do what I did than it would have been for her.

Finer details aside, this conversation reminded me of how I approach my financial life. I want to be able to enjoy what life has to offer, and do it at my leisure. The key is to work on a way to gain not only money, but also time. In his explanation of the Cashflow Quadrant, Robert Kiyosaki talks about how the "I" quadrant (I=Investor) is the quadrant that offers a unique combination of both time and money. 

Today, with the help of the internet, there are a host of ways to invest in ways that are different from the traditional understanding of investing. Invest your time in things that will offer you a greater return for your efforts, so that someday soon, you can spend both your time and your money however you want, and not just when it's convenient.

#itsnotoveruntiliwin #freedom #freeenterprise #wales #bodnantgardens #2013 #summer