Ask HN: What do you nerds spend your money on?
Time.<p>I&#x27;ve made a ton of money -- and spent it. But I never could find anything to substitute for time.<p>I live where the cost of living is really low. I work a few months a year and then take the rest of the year to do what I want. It most always involves technology -- I&#x27;m a nerd like that -- but most importantly it involves <i>self-directed learning</i>. I learn stuff because I think it&#x27;s important, not because my job requires it.<p>Bonus points for being home to watch my kids grow up, getting to know my neighbors, being able to take vacations for as long as I like. Extra bonus points for being grounded in a community that has nothing to do with technology -- as opposed to constantly worrying about whether I was in the cool kids club or not. I&#x27;m not, and that&#x27;s fine.<p>It&#x27;s true. We make a lot of money. Time is the one thing you can&#x27;t buy. Nobody ever got to be 80 and complained about spending too much time with their family, but plenty of folks are sorry they were absent workaholics for so long.