Four ways to earn income

1. Trade time for money

This is the most common way the average person gets income. We sell our personal time to an employer and receive money in return. This method of getting income has several drawbacks.

First: Limited supply of “product” for sale. You only have a certain number of hours each day that can be traded for money, i.e. there is a limit to the number of hours you can work. Also, there will come a time when no one will want to purchase your time from you. And what if you become ill and can’t work? You won’t have any time to sell to an employer and so, the income stops.

You may think, “if I could just get enough money for each hour that I sell, then I would be financially comfortable”. That may be so, (for awhile), but I guarantee that there will come a point when either no one will want to buy your time, or you won’t want to sell it anymore, then the income stops. If you don’t sell your time to someone, you don’t have any income.

Another drawback is, once you have sold your time, if you want to use any of it for yourself, you have to ask permission to get it back. The owner of your time, (your boss), tells you what you can and can’t do with the time he/she bought. For example, if you want to go home early to be with your children, friends, go to the doctor, etc., you have to ask for permission to use some of the time that you sold.

But what if I am self-employed, I am the boss of my own time, right? Yes, but, (and it is a biggie), once you agree to sell your time to a client or customer, they become the owner of your time and you have an obligation to them as to how you use your time. Also, you still have the problems of a limited supply of “product” and situations that prevent you from being able to sell your time, (illness, etc.).

The bottom line is this, most of us have to sell our time for money. That in and of itself isn’t what causes financial discomfort. To have financial abundance, you must also use at least one of the other three methods of earning income, (using all four is the best, of course).

Next post: The 4th way to earn income. (#2 & 3 will come later)