Little by little, bit by bit I flit and flutter through each day.  Time flies so fast, it actually screams by and my thoughts go just as fast…  each day it goes by faster and faster, I can’t catch my breath!  The speed blurs my vision and reasoning- I am caught in a whirlwind, maybe I am in a whirlwind?  Some days I just want the raging speed to stop!

I discovered dividend investing in 2015 and decided to focus on this method of investing as my primary method of investing.  I liked this method because it provides immediate access to funds because they are not locked into a retirement account.  As I have grown older I am beginning to question why we have been told that we have to save for 40 years and then retire.   Should “retire” even be in our vocabulary?  Should we even take it for granted that we should work until 65?   We all have heard of someone who passed just after reaching retirement, and I know of someone personally to whom this happened.

The person I am today is not the 32 year old I was ten years ago.  Oh I loved my thirties!  The forties are cruel, I do not bounce back, physically, like I once did, my cells do not regenerate like they once did, my sleep is not as sweet, my bravery not as bold,  and sense of adventure as robust.   I wanted to climb mountains but now I am tired, and a little more slow… the wear and tear of the years is catching up with me physically but I am startled to realize it is also catching up with me mentally,  dulling my senses and my zest for life as it bears down on me day by day, screaming at me as it charges by. I cannot imagine my 50’s, another ten years, and then my 60’s?  Will I be a burnt out empty shell by then?  A numb figure with no interests or heart?

I found this quote on a financial bloggers website, the name of the website is ” I’m Trying D-mm-t”.  The quote is noted as being from the president  of Uruguay.  It says:

“Either you’re very happy with little without overburdening yourself because you have happiness inside, or you’ll get nowhere. I am not advocating poverty.  I am advocating sobriety… When I buy something, or when you buy it, we’re not paying with money. We’re paying with the time from our lives we had to spend to earn that money. The difference is that you can’t buy life. Life just goes by. And it’s terrible to waste your life losing your freedom.”

The main point that I take away from this quote is that money represents the time taken from ones life.

Earned Money = Time from one’s life

Life = Cannot be bought, it just goes by

So life cannot be bought, it just goes by but earning money actually takes away one’s life, to a degree, so that the only thing that person knows is earning money, there is no life left.

At least this is my understanding to which I can relate.  Is it worth it?  Earning money just to be earning money, spending your life and losing your freedom?

I hope to see my net worth climb because I am aiming to save $500,000 in my taxable account for the passive cash flow it will provide.  I could probably obtain this if I worked as I am now for the next 10-15 years.  But to work that long?   I will be 57 years old by that time and who knows if I will make it to that age?

Time is becoming more precious to me than money.  I think that I can say this because I am fortunate to have no debts, not even a mortgage, because I bought my townhouse with cash.  At the present time my current bills are approximately $570 per month excluding food and gas.  Looking at my dividend income, one can see that I actually earned $458.80 for the month of March.  This amount almost covers my bills and this is only my second year of tracking!  I do not feel as far behind as I thought and I am nowhere near $500,000.  Maybe I have already arrived and don’t even know it.  I could still support myself even if I reduced my hours, and still have some cash left over, and I would not even have to use my dividends.  This change would change my life, I would be able to do more of the things I love.  I have always had a zest for life and numerous interests and believe that I must protect this quality just as I would my health as a consequence of growing older.

This decision will slow my efforts towards growing my investments.  But, at 42 years old, I believe it is the best decision for me in my present circumstances.  Hopefully I will discover new ways of earning income, ways that I will be able to maintain for life.  But I want  to delve into the things I like, such as, gardening, seeds, photography, writing, fruits and vegetables, juicing, soap, homesteading, bike riding, travel… I have to try this and I feel that I have a good opportunity.  The question is, how much of my life do I want to trade for money?

Thanks for stopping by, peace.