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Why Forex Traders Must Value Their Time

All traders at the end of the year always take stock of their own trading activity. There still exists an element that is never taken into account and therefore we tend to forget… How much value do we give to our time? Although it seems obvious, time cannot be “preserved”. It just passes. It is said that when we are born we are full of time, because we have a life ahead of us, but no one can quantify this wealth and no one can know how long a person’s life will last.

Even so, this wealth is a certainty, since time can be devoted to all things that free will allows. Bearing in mind that our choices will show us the way because at each decision we take new paths and leave others. This leads to a consequence: we spend more time on what motivates us the most. This motivation can be effective, economic, labor, sense of duty, etc. It is very interesting to know that on many occasions we use time as a currency of exchange.

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Traders Exchange Time Continuously

This concept applies particularly well to a trader. He exchanges part of his time to have more availability of it, later. What does that mean? Invest money in the financial markets to get more of it and so have more time to live your life according to your desires and goals. Let me explain in detail what this phrase means.

Time and money are surely the two most important resources we have available to invest and make a profit. However, it is money that is really valued as an investment because it allows us, as a system of payment, exchange, and reference, to receive something in return.

Otherwise, when we invest our time, it is not so easy to quantify the return we will get, only in some cases will it give us a profit in the form of money. For example, in the event that we exchange our time with work to be rewarded with a salary. In others, the exchange is not tangible, for example, when we want to increase our knowledge through study.

Paradoxically, these resources have great similarities: both can be managed, lost, wasted, saved, they are not infinite, but the substantial difference is that only money can be earned. If money is lost, it can be recovered over time, but if time is lost, it can never be recovered, even by buying it.

Unconsciously, money is valued more than time, except by increasing age: older people value time more because they realize their lack. Time is available at no cost and is available at will. Moreover, it is the most equitable resource that exists: a priori, we all have it. The problem is your administration.

Different Uses of Time and Money

The same amount of money and time in the hands of different people will not match their uses, even if the source from which they come is the same. If it is easy to answer that time is the main resource we must fight for, we must be aware that money is decisive for our future. Buying new experiences or particular desires requires a significant monetary expense and an investment of time to enjoy them.

The needs of life and the time in which we live mark the future of events:

well-spent money costs little, while well-spent time is scarce and unwittingly spent

It is a good dilemma.

Time measurement precedes the creation of money and is often related to productivity. Benjamin Franklin said that “time is money” and explained that the time spent working to earn money was time well spent; otherwise, if time has been spent on other matters, the money has been lost. This reflection is correct only in its own context, outside it makes no sense because well-spent time not only generates money but also generates many benefits that go beyond money.

Both time and money are consumed even if nothing is done with them. If time passes, it is spent. If we do nothing with the money, like leaving it in a non-productive place, then inflation, over time, will despise its initial value. And this is one of the main theories of finance: while the price of money remains constant, its value fluctuates over time.

Time Must Be Devoted to Investment

In the world of investment, the results are obtained after having devoted much of our time to them. The paradox that to make money I have to invest my time and that if I have money I will have more control over my time, does not go beyond the fact that the reward of both is not proportional. Having a lot of money is not synonymous with having a lot of time.

Time is indifferent to the amount of money. Those who have obtained a significant amount of money have invested a lot of time in it and will also need a lot of time to manage it.

It is clear that everyone is happy in their own way, but those who have less money and more time to devote to themselves and their families may be happier. A study by the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science reveals that 64% of respondents prefer to have money for free time, even if the results changed when asked about happiness. In fact, it has been concluded that the amount of money accumulated is not proportional to happiness.

When a certain money limit is reached, by earning more, that additional amount is not proportional to the increase in happiness. In this sense, it is said, and rightly so, that the rich do not enjoy the same happiness as money. According to experts, this limit is at 60,000 euros per year. 60,000 euros a year? Someone will think: and how to reach them? But here an important reflection must enter.

Investing Time to Buy Time

The trader invests his time because more money improves the ability to use his time. Very true, but how do you use this time invested for this purpose? The trader must be really good at managing the time he dedicates to this profession. If the study of trading requires much of our time and dedication, it is also true that we should not launch it in a 10-hour session that brings nothing good.

Some will say it depends on how much you earn. That’s true, but only in part. If I have to destroy my psycho-physical balance to make money, there’s no point in working like this. Trading is said to be freedom, but this statement is the subtle line between good and evil.

If for the freedom we intend to spend money on totally useless luxury items or sit in front of the computer for many hours to end up repenting and burning our human contact with the outside world, happiness will never be there and this is clear to all. If instead, we refer to the possibility of having quality time, for example, staying with our loved ones or having experiences that enrich us as human beings, then everything changes.

Trading As a Process of Growth

Trading can be seen as a grand ladder: a path where we grow step by step first as people and then as operators. A continuous exchange of time and money that must have a higher quality of time available, but above all awareness of ourselves and how we want to live our lives.

Life… we know well that it is unique and we will never know the exact moment when we will leave. We must therefore be very responsible to ourselves throughout this journey. Negative emotions, the lack of objectives, and the inability to react in the difficult moments of this work must be prohibited.

Time is the most precious thing we have. Unfortunately, we rarely evaluate it consciously: it continues to diminish, inevitably tending to run towards a zero balance. Only in the future will we lose the past and this can never be recovered. Therefore, it is necessary to manage time: if you want to achieve something, the first thing is to realize it. It would be sad and illogical not to do so, it would be an act of self-denial.

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