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I'm having a hard time understanding how nLockTime works. The Bitcoin wiki has an explanation that is confusing to me:

nLockTime is a parameter that can be attached to a transaction, that mandates a minimal time (specified in either unix time or block height), that before this time, the transaction cannot be accepted into a block.

Can someone explain it in plain English, with an example?

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From the wiki it basically states that you can make a transaction to another bitcoin address and add nlocktime. The way that this would work in real life would be if you get paid on salary and are paid bi-weekly, the bitcoins will be on the network but won't reach you until the nlocktime is up Edit: read example 1 from https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Contracts

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    "The bitcoins will be on the network" is false. nLockTime'd transactions are not kept in the mempools of miners nor are they relayed between miners, until the nLockTime has almost elapsed. It is your responsibility to keep the signed transaction and publish it when the time is right. – dionyziz Nov 30 '15 at 14:26

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