Think Outside the Box for Retirement
Think Outside the Box for Retirement
We have been conditioned by our culture to think of retirement as that time, at the end or our lives, when we no longer have to work everyday and can go off to relax and to ‘enjoy’ life. That viewpoint of retirement has been placed into our minds by our parents as they taught us a work ethic, by our employers as they promised us a wonderful pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and by all of the companies that are out to make their fortune by showing us how to invest for the future.
While it certainly makes good sense to begin saving for the future at a young age, it has become increasingly difficult for a person to accumulate any really significant savings. There are just so many pressures in our society to buy the biggest house, the nicest car, and all of the expensive toys that you can – even if it means going into debt to do so! As a result, more than 75% of those turning age 50 today have less than $25,000 in net assets! Regardless of your desired retirement lifestyle, that sort of savings will not be adequate to fund it.
You have to look ‘outside the box’ to find some non-traditional sources of income to save for retirement. This message is for people of all ages! Extra income is a good thing for people of all ages. When you are young, you can create some extra income by devoting some time to a sideline on the internet, those funds can be set aside toward retirement without affecting your day to day lifestyle today. After all, you have time on your side and with the effects of compounding, you need only save a few hundred dollars per month!
If you have not had the savings discipline and you are in your 30′and 40′s, you no longer have a very long time horizon until retirement, so you need to take the idea very seriously. You will need to set aside at least a thousand dollars per month to feel good about your retirement years. By now, you have probably awakened to the reality of how bad it is to have credit card or installment debt. These things can severely cramp your ability to regularly save for retirement. If this is your case, I would strongly suggest that you read “The Total Money Makeover” by Dave Ramsey. This wonderful and easy to read book will get you started on bringing your finances into balance.
If you are in your 50′s and are staring retirement squarely in the eye, it is still not too late to look ‘outside the box’! You will have to get serious, though, to establish a good income stream and to ‘put it on automatic’ to provide for retirement savings while you remain employed in your career. A properly setup internet income stream can not only provide for savings now, it can be continued into your retirement years to supplement your social security check, pension, and nest egg income.
Don’t be handcuffed by traditional thinking. Now is the time to ‘Think Outside the Box’!
Resources:Don Seibert is a retired business executive who, as an Expert Author, writes timely articles on many issues concerning sources of retirement income. Having retired three times, he now is the host of http://www.RetireToEasyStreet.com
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