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The importance of time freedom, one example why I want to be financially free

During our lunch break at the office yesterday, I begged off from doing something which I have dreaded for the past 12 years in the corporate world, Christmas party presentations! You might be asking what the heck does this have to do with investing in foreclosures in the Philippines? Read on to find out.

This year it is going to be different
During this time of the year, most of us unlucky enough to be employed in a company who force employees to participate in Christmas party presentations that only cause undue stress and humiliation, dread the thought of being forced to go through it all over again. If some people want such activities then fine, let them volunteer for it, and spare those who don’t want to make a fool of themselves.

I really find it silly that people tolerate such a time wasting activity  during the time of year when people who really do work are busiest because of the reduced workdays and tighter deadlines, simply because it has been a tradition. I would rather have games and other really fun activities where people just need to attend the party and have fun, relax, and enjoy.  That’s what having a party is for, right?!

Since I have already decided to quit the corporate world (my last day is at the end of December 2009… yipee!), I said to myself that enough is enough and I did not attend our group’s practice for our Christmas party presentation that was to eat up half of my lunch break. Instead, I decided to visit the bank officer handling my account to pay for the fire insurance for a foreclosed property I recently purchased.

We always have a choice but…
Wait, before anyone of you thinks of quitting your jobs to start investing in real estate, bear in mind that I am at this point after more than 4 years worth of preparations and I already have income streams other than my earned income from my job. Besides, with or without my real estate investing activities, I can see that I really would have called it quits for a lot of reasons that I would rather not discuss here.

Whew, with that out of the way, let me continue by saying that although we always have a choice, there are times when making the choice is really more difficult. In my example above, it was easy for me to choose paying for the fire insurance for my property over practicing for a dance number where a forty year old like me will have to wear a mini-skirt and dance to the tune of “Nobody nobody but you” by Wonder Girls… such an unpleasant thought, definitely not my idea of having “fun”.

But what if you had to make a choice between your son’s first ever recital and a conference call with your counterparts from abroad. How about choosing between being with your wife on her birthday or to be in Singapore for a regional meeting or spending your birthday with your wife and son or be in an annual planning session… the list goes on and on. I had to make these difficult choices in the past. Not anymore…

Just what is time freedom and how do you get it?
My definition of time freedom is being able to spend your time freely to do what you want, when you want, and with who you want. I believe that time freedom is a by-product of having passive income streams, and a good example would be those from passive income generating properties.

How? Buy a foreclosed property with a good enough net operating income to produce positive cashflow, fix it up, rent it out or sell it through a lease option. Might sound easy but it’s not, keep in mind it took me four years to buy three foreclosed properties. However, if this will help me get time freedom, then I believe it is all worth it. Besides, although it is not that easy, it is definitely possible and is not as difficult as you think.

So the next time you feel like giving up on real estate investing, just watch a video of your Christmas party presentations and ask yourself “Do I really have to do this…?!”. It just might help you snap out of it. Merry Christmas everyone!

To our financial freedom!

Jay Castillo
Real Estate Investor
PRC Real Estate Broker License #: 3194
Blog: https://www.foreclosurephilippines.com
Follow me in twitter:http://twitter.com/jay_castillo
Become a Fan in Facebook:Foreclosure Philippines fan page

Text by Jay Castillo. Copyright © 2008 – 2011 Jay Castillo. All rights reserved.

PS. If you are a new visitor, please start here to learn more about foreclosure investing in the Philippines.

PPS. If you feel that anyone else you know might benefit from this post, please do share this to them and don’t forget to subscribe to e-mail alerts and get notified of new listings of bank foreclosed properties, public auction schedules, and real estate investing tips. If your inbox is getting full, you may subscribe through my RSS Feed instead.

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About Jay Castillo
People encounter problems and make mistakes when buying foreclosed properties, and Jay wants to help people avoid those problems/ mistakes. Jay encountered a lot of those, which is why he started this blog in 2008 to serve as a guide where he shares lessons learned, and how to overcome challenges you may encounter when investing foreclosed properties in the Philippines … [Read more]
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