Have you ever wondered how to stop trading time for money? Trading time for money always ends the same. You have to continually work, just to keep where you are. You never get ahead. If you stop working you stop getting paid too. Most people settle with working 50 weeks a year for two days in the sun. I never liked the idea and wanted something different. I wanted to learn how to stop trading time for money.
How To Stop Trading Time For Money
Most people trade their time for money. They go to work and they paid for when they are there. Even in top paying jobs and careers, workers are still trading time for money. For most people they don’t see any alternatives. This is because it is how we have been programmed. If the mill workers knew how to not work, and still get paid, the owners wouldn’t be able to run their mills. The same applies for every industry. Industries need workers and workers don’t believe in anything else, in most cases.
Changing Your Mindset
Everything starts with belief. You are where you are today because of the area you were born, the people you interacted with most and the places you went. We inherit most of our beliefs from our early years and our parents. Our expectations are intricately caught up with theirs, in most cases. Work ethic is taught. Laziness is taught too. If we believe we can’t escape the trading time for money equation, we will never look for alternatives. We will assume (wrongly) that there is no other option. On the other hand if we believe it is possible, we will start to look for ways to make it happen.
Practical Steps
The wealthy have learned how to stop trading time for money. They learned how to save and live below their means. They learned how to use money to make money rather than their time. So how can the ordinary person start to do this? Firstly it all depends on your particular situation. Wherever you are in life you can always change your relationship with money by doing two things:
- Earn more
- Spend less
Earning more is what most people want but it is much more difficult to do in most cases than by spending less. Most people can spend less almost immediately. Things we have bought into that we think we need can all be let go of. What luxuries do you hold on to which you don’t really need? How can this money be used instead? By spending less we can save money which would otherwise be gone. Using this money to build wealth is one step to achieving financial freedom.
Your Latte Factor
David Bach talks about a latte factor in his book The Automatic Millionaire. It’s the small daily ‘treats’ we justify to ourselves which could, over time, mean more money in our bank. The latte we buy at the motorway services costs nearly £4 in the UK. If this is a daily expenditure over the year it costs £1460. Other small frivolous purchases keep us where we are financially, and stop us from getting ahead. We have to keep trading our time for money because of our spending habits, not just our earning habits.
Big Hat No Cattle
If you have ever seen someone with a big car, a fancy watch and wondered how they got it, they could be ‘big hat no cattle’. In David Bach’s book he uses this phrase to refer to someone who has no money in the bank but buys the ‘trappings’ of wealth to make a show of his spending power. On the outside you might look wealthy, but on closer inspection it has all been purchased on credit. The sooner you can do away with the need to show your wealth, the more actual money you have to ‘leverage’ to generate more money – another secret the wealthy use to escape trading time for money. Whether this is in the form of clearing credit cards and debt, paying off mortgage early or investing in stocks and shares.
Leverage In Your Business
Most people’s jobs don’t have any ‘leverage’. That’s why wealthy people have businesses. Businesses can leverage other people to generate larger profits. You still need to work in a business but you can leverage goods, staff and the sales of goods and services to generate profit. You can build up businesses and then sell them too, to generate profit. Generating value out of something is what entrepreneurs do to leverage their time better. This is one way to stop trading time for money.
Network Marketing
One of the most accessible ways for anyone to leverage their time better is by doing network marketing. A network marketing business lets you use other people’s time and energy to generate profit. There are various network marketing companies which you can join. You still need to work hard but your work can pay off later in the form of residual income, when you have build a team of sales people. Royalties and residual income allow you to earn from work you have done previously.
A Business With Leverage – Stop Trading Time For Money
You can also use tools, strategies and the internet to leverage your time by selling digital products. Digital products and affiliate marketing, allow anyone to earn from the sale of other people’s products. By using automated strategies and online advertising methods you can scale a business which works mostly on autopilot. Learn how to stop trading time for money and start an internet based business here.