Time is money, or so they say!

When my brother was on holiday from University he looked around for opportunities to earn a fast buck. He scoured job sites, newspapers and networked with all his mates to try and find what would be the most lucrative way to spend his holidays.

Now, when I was paying my way through my studies I worked in factories. It was a hard slog with long hours and meagre pay for really hard graft. So you can imagine how I vexed when my brother told me what Medical Assistant Salaries were for agency staff. He was earning somewhere approaching $20 an hour and drank far more cups of tea in a day than I did in a week working in the factories. Don't get me wrong, I want my kid brother to do well. But I  felt the green eyed monster swelling within me as I recounted the difficulty with which I had sustained my college lifestyle.

Well time has passed and now I am married to a nurse. We have two beautiful kids and I have a new even more expensive lifestyle to sustain than that which I enjoyed in my formulative years. Remembering my brothers job search I recently delved into the world of nursing agencies to see what kind of salary my wife could command as a freelance worker. I am smiling. She can earn $50+ per hour. We are now looking into the possibility of our lives becoming more flexible, more lucrative, and more family-focused. Too many of us live to work when the reverse should be true.

As I recount my days working in the factories and enjoying the fruits of my labour during term time I feel a warm glow. I worked hard for my fun and I think becuse of that I enjoyed it all the more.  The money I earned was hard earned. Perhaps I missed something when I first felt that burning envy for the salary my brother earnt as a medical assistant. Perhaps the amount of money we earn is less important than the journey, and it is the journey and experiences that will stick with us in future years, not the hourly rate.

Sadly, I know that if our family income increases and my wife takes the plunge into self employment, after studying all the permeatations, pros and cons, then ignoring them all and looking at the money, our lifestyle will expand to meet our means. Isn't that what happens to everyone? Sooner or later we will be looking for a more lucrative way to spend our working time and meet our lifestyle needs. Oh the joys of living a time is money trapped existence. I really need to find a way to earn money while I sleep. Anyone got any ideas?