I’ve used this blog to encourage readers to prepare financially for their retirement. It’s a subject close to my heart as I’ve seen too many older relatives and friends struggle financially. I know how hard they’ve worked in the past and it is painful to see their stress in their senior years. Sometimes it is even dangerous- a senior once asked me to fill a prescription for her and then proceeded to pick and choose what she could afford to buy this month. Of course she needed them all so that was courting disaster. I paid for the balance and told her to let me know anytime she needed help but would she? Probably not because she was too proud to ask or ‘beg’ as she would have thought of it.
So now we know why we must save but how? Wages are frozen for many of us, prices are soaring and expenses are heading north. So with that in mind I seized upon a little column in my newspaper that listed general forms of income. Take a look and see how many of them you are utilizing:
– Pay cheque
– Rental income
– Interest from loans
– Royalties
– Selling assets
– Interest from investments
– Dividends
– Professional fees
Quite a list right? Looking at that list opens up all kinds of possibilities? Just a couple of examples:
– Do you have a rental property? Are you maximizing the rent that you can get from it? For example perhaps a small investment in that property might mean that you could earn more from it. If you don’t have rental income – could you? Many of us have space that we are no longer using and could rent out. Yes, we don’t like strangers under our feet but is the temporary inconvenience that brings in additional income something worth considering? Perhaps instead of throwing out the idea entirely we could focus on getting the RIGHT strangers in our space. I am thinking of a widow I know who finally rented out a space and found herself quite thrilled at having a bright young person (and his friends) in her life. Rather than being a burden it was a joy and she earned from it as well.
– Selling assets – For the past few years I have been seeing signs for ‘cash for gold’. In my mind I have envisioned elderly heiresses parting with some of the family jewels. That was until I had an interesting conversation with a colleague who mentioned that she had earned a tidy little sum by going through her jewelry box and finding rings without a stone, earrings that had lost a partner and so on. Her investment of a very little time earned her some money that she could now invest (and no she wasn’t a rich heiress – just an everyday person like you and I)
– Professional fees – Do people always come to you for advice and help in your area of expertise? Can you make money from it then? I’m not talking about starting to charge relatives for talking to them but if you see that your advice has helped friends or family to turn around a business, solve a problem, master a subject then consider whether you could help others do the same and earn some money doing it. Perhaps a small investment may be required to get professional credentials but it may be worth it. This is a potential win-win so give it some thought.
One of my favourite speakers reminds us that when God sent Adam into the garden he gave him four different streams. By increasing our revenue streams we become less dependent on one stream and have greater freedom. I’m off to think of some more income streams and I hope that you will do the same.
middlingthrough 