Most people have a mental image of
their ideal retirement.
It usually involves travel, beaches,
golf and relaxation. And some people end up living that dream.
But for most people, the image is
more like a mirage… the closer they get, the more it seems to fade.
I’d like to talk about that great
retirement mirage in this issue of BizWeb eGazette.
When I was in high school (going back
quite a few years now) I was taught that the ideal path to financial security
looked like this…
By: Tax Credits
1. Go to school and graduate
2. Get a good job and work your way up
in the company
3. Invest part of your salary and save
for retirement
4. Retire comfortably, travel and enjoy
your golden years
After all, it was a plan that worked
for generations…
In the 1900’s many people attained
financial independence this way. They worked a job for 35 years or so, scrimped
and saved along the way and retired around age 65 with a nice nest egg.
Although this was pretty much a
universally accepted plan during the 20th century, there was one glaringly
obvious problem that most people never discussed.
A little matter called life
expectancy.
Even near the end of the 20th
century, in the 1980’s, when the world’s average life expectancy soared… people
were expected to live only to the ripe old age of 67 years.
I did the math and could clearly
see that it left a whopping two years to reap the rewards of all that work and
saving.
Yet I entered the workforce anyway.
But when I looked around me, I
didn’t see too many people looking forward to retirement. In fact, the parents
of two of my friends actually got pink-slips just a few years short of
qualifying for a pension.
Others bounced from job to job, barely
scraping by.
Even my own folks managed to save
little to nothing for retirement.
Fast forward another generation, and
things have only gotten worse in my opinion.
I read today that as of the end of
2014, a full 45 percent of working-age households in America have no
retirement savings at all. And among people 55 to 64, the average household
retirement savings is a mere $12,000.
The real truth is, only 5% of people following
that “career” path outlined above, ever achieve a comfortable retirement.
Isn’t that a shocking number?
That leaves a whopping 95% of
well-intentioned, hard working people, who work their fingers to the bone,
relying on social security, an inadequate pension or help from a
family member just to get by.
And the few that do make it to retirement with a nice nest-egg, still have very few years to enjoy the fruits of
their labor! Even now, early in the 21st century, with life expectancies
finally close to 80, that leaves an average of 15 years to “live it up” in Boca
Raton.
OK, now that I have you totally depressed, you need to know that
there is a better way…
Unless you are one of the 1 in 180 million people who hits the
lottery or inherits a fortune when Uncle Joe checks out, there’s just one way you will ever become financially independent…
You have to do it on your own.
While that may sound like a monumental
task, thanks to the Internet, it is possible for the average person.
Like me.
I never went to college. I didn’t have
any connections when I got started.
Yet I carved out a following and a
living online writing articles like this. And anybody can do it, in any niche
they want. Sure, it takes time, but you can do it in your spare time, even when
you have a full time job. That’s what I did!
But the real beauty of the
do-it-yourself plan to retirement, is that it’s like retiring young!
You get to set your own schedule. You
get to travel when you want. You don’t have a commute. You don’t have a boss.
And there is no cap on how much you can earn.
In fact, you never have to retire at
all! Why bother…
Personally, I never plan to retire!
Retire from what?
A business that I work a few hours a
week, when I want?
Look, I’ve gone down both paths.
I tried the career thing. I went into
the Air Force at 18. I got out at 21 and started a career. I worked in the
telephone industry for 10 years.
Then I decided I wanted something more than the career path to
“maybe” retirement. I decided I wanted to enjoy my entire life, not just weekends and a decade or so
before I check out.
So I went to work building something
better for myself. And you can too!
Start building a business of your own.
If you can build a small following and share your world with them, you may just
be able to break free from a life of jobs.
If you need help getting started, email me. Tell me where
you’re stuck. I’ve been through every stage and can help you get where you want
to go. It’s what I do and I love it!
Source: Jim Daniels http://bizweb2000.com/retire/
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