More on Savings and Investment

The time view of money.

The previous post discussed I = S + (S-I) as discussed at this website. 

Thinking about the comments in my sleep last night and the several times that Cullen Roche digressed to the more philosophical aspects of time as money that appeared in the website posts as well as his writings elsewhere I reflected on a comment that I made on one of his posts elsewhere.

I commented that I had invested 22 years time in the navy and that investment in time has paid off in time entirely my own to spend with security that has now extended to more time out of the navy (1986) than time in the navy.

Time and eternity.  Cullen pointed out several times in his writing that time is finite.  Good point.  Temporal time is finite for us, everlasting time for us is not.  That view depends on a religious or spiritual ideology.

Rewards in the next life, the infinite one are premised on performance in the finite life we are given.  That is one idea.  An idea I grew up with.  Redemption and good works now plus belonging to the one true faith that sets all the rules stores up a record value that in final judgment gets us in the pearly gate.  The prayers of those left behind reduce the time in purgatory if we fail to get over the bar but do not fail enough to fall into the pit of wailing, weeping, nashing of teeth in the eternal fire. 

There is some risk in that reward.  The risk that it might not really be there when the time comes (to an end).

Did I pull concepts of the rewards of eternity in to rewards of my life span with the change in my views of religion?  I used to think of myself as a fallen away Catholic.  Now I just think of myself as owning myself.  Perhaps my childhood views of heavenly rewards after death and the travail of tears we call life was reset to heaven on earth as a reward for investment of time in work (good works) in return for money that was paid back in time in retirement where work for money was no longer necessary but the money continued as a function of the prior work contract to enable me to do anything I wanted with my time.

Anything I wanted to do with my time....It has been a wonderful life since retirement.  The bonus is this: I loved what I did to get it, even if I now question the role of our military in current world affairs as well as a hindsight view of the role it played while I was a part of it.  I am atoning for that as best I can.  The childhood concepts are still strong. 

So what did I do with much of my time since 1986?  I competed in 8 Ironman triathlons.  A race where an entire year of effort is paid back in an instant of temporal time.

Whitney Houston, bless her, said it best in her song "One Moment of Time"

Give me one moment in time
When I'm more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away
And the answers are all up to me
Give me one moment in time
When I'm racing with destiny
Then in that one moment of time
I will be
I will be
I will be free
I will be
I will be free 

Yes, Cullen Roche, you have some good views of time as money.  We give time to get money, money buys us time to be free.  What we do when have bought time so it is only ours, all ours, owed to nobody now or in the future is to make ourselves totally free in whatever way we choose.  At a higher conceptual level, short of anything over the end of my time line I invested in something that took me to the edge of eternity and ultimate freedom. 

Give me one moment in time
When I'm racing with destiny
Then in that one moment of time
I will feel
I will feel eternity


It is all about time.  The connection of time to money.  Ending the obligation of time to get money.  Moving on to the fulfillment we choose to find.  Whatever that greater reward there is in terms of our own desires for our expenditure of free time.


The reward of much time spent training in retirement was far great than a medal and a t-shirt.  Those I shared it with know about that.  Only I really know it.