Don't Get Stuck With A Broken Income!
Many baby boomers (now the largest segment of the population) are retiring from the workforce and settling into their new reality. For many, part of this new reality is adjusting to a fixed income. One disturbing trend I see over and over is the fact that people cannot afford to things they want to do. The money just isn't there to do all the wonderful things they had planned to do once they retired.
To me, this sounds more like a "broken" income than a fixed income. I don't mean to be disrespectful of or make fun of anyone, but I can't tell you how many people I have seen leave WA because the $47 per month is out of reach due to their fixed incomes.
If your income doesn't afford you $47 per month to better yourself, then "broken income" is the only fitting term in my opinion.
Again, this is not meant to mock anyone but to be a warning to people who are still years from retirement. Why would allow a government to fix your income knowing how much of a failure it has been for so many others.
If Not This, What?
Affiliate marketing may not be as easy as you hoped it would be but what are your alternatives? Seriously. I am not aware of a less expensive and more forgiving business than affiliate marketing.
What if takes you 5 years to learn how to build a successful online business? So what. It's still better than spending 40 years to fail at something else isn't it?
The way I see it, you can struggle now and learn to be successful, or you can get back on the broken income path and struggle for the rest of your days. The choice seems obvious to me :)
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Even though it is a lump sum, my way around this problem was to go yearly on here. It does take an initial investment but then you are not hounded by monthly payments and you save more than one-third of the cost doing it monthly.
For two years after I started yearly, my WA income was covering most of the yearly cost, however, my income has dropped off over the last year due to several factors.
I am disabled and on a fixed income. It's not enough to pay my more expensive living needs now. This year I've had to work part time under the table (though reporting the income which is ethical,) A number of factors is making it a reality that I will need to not renew my membership next year.
I had hoped that I would be able to turn this around and replace disability income with a full-time online income, but that isn't happening. I've been here almost six years now.
Your article is right on target and not at all offensive. It's only going to get worse and it behooves folks who have most of their lives ahead of them to prepare for it. Don't depend on any kind of retirement, pension, Social Security or any other type of fixed incomes. By the time you young people reach retirement age, it may very well not exist anymore.
Thanks for adding that Daniel. I have watched you struggle with one problem after another since I've been here. Problems that you did not deserve and had little to no control over.
I always hoped and continue to hope that things turn around for you. If anyone deserves a break, it would be you.
There's a whole bucket load of truth in this comment.
The State Pension is not actually a "pension" in the true sense of the word. There is no "pot", accumulated through your working life, that is sitting there making money to pay you. The pension paid to you today is taken from the tax paid by today's working people.
With the shifting demographic, it takes 3 working people to pay the pension of 1 retired person. That is totally unsustainable into the future as people live longer.
That's another thing people either don't realize or refuse to accept. Social Security is the worlds largest Ponzi Scheme and it simply cannot be sustained in the way it has been up till now.
People always tell me "The government will fix it somehow". When I ask how it could be fixed they say "I don't know but they'll do something".
I don't have that kind of faith in "them".
Ponzi is actually pretty darned accurate. I utterly relies on "new blood" pouring in a the bottom to feed the pyramid.
Problem is, the pyramid is no longer pyramid shaped, The wide base has become narrower than the peak.
The other day I was watching a documentary on China's "one child" policy. A particular Chinese town won awards for their strict implementation. That same town is now a wasteland of octagenarians with no-one young enough to be in work. It is bankrupt with no way out.
Yet another thing people don't realize is this 401k rubbish. And that's exactly what it is - pure rubbish! It is under the guise of "investing" however, it is one of the worst ways to build that nest-egg.
Most people are financially-illiterate and have no idea how it works. With media and the fact that 401k is compulsory in some companies hiring, it comes with a fair amount of risk. I don't know everything about this and have forgotten much of what I've learned over the years about it, but one thing that really stands out is the fact that it is possible to take out loans against your 401k account.
Employees are particularly prone to financial difficulties and not only does the 401k industry know about it, they make provisions available through which they can capitalize on this weakness.
Defaulting on a 401k loan results in hefty penalties, not to mention that most people in employment borrow from their 401k accounts, sometimes even to purchase a house!
The real dramatics come when the suddenly lose their employment. This is no respecter of persons nor does the loss of their employment single out any in the way of pardon. They come after you and the costs associated with an event like this far outweighs the benefits of taking out the loan in the first place.
Employment is extremely fickle today. It is an "At Will" gamut that most employees are totally unaware of. Its tenet is that you, as an employee have the right to walk out the door at will. The original tenet dictates that the company does not retaliate - however, find out what happens to your employment record when you try to replace that job for not giving a respective two-week, 30 day, (whatever is in their policy) notice!
On the other hand, the employer has every right under the At Will Policy, to can you for good reason, bad reason or NO REASON at all! Will your bad review of that company stop them from hiring someone to replace you? Hardly!
This is where the real danger arises out of taking loans out of 401k accounts. It is dastardly! They know it. It's a way for them to make more income - based completely on such defaults. They know what that income is going to be as it is all engineered into the protocol. They KNOW it! That's insidious.
You also get double-taxed when you take out a loan from a 401k account. My strong advice is to LEARN about finances and do NOT create a 401k account for yourself. This goes for similar programs that are under different names.
Here in UK, when our pension funds did well, the government stole the cash for themselves. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1531448/Browns-raid-on-pensions-costs-Britain-100-billion.html
PS £100bn is $150bn in your money. And that was then.
I've seen so many people retire & not be able to afford to do anything or go anyplace. What a shame after working all their lives.
The sad thing is that some of those people never try something like affiliate marketing as they think they're not smart enough or wouldn't know where to begin anyways.
If they only knew that this is not a hard thing to learn even if you have to start out with no knowledge what-so-ever. With a place like WA, it is very possible. I've done it & I'm sure many others have too.
I know that many of today's retiree's had no choice. There weren't many inexpensive businesses that could be easily started by just anyone.
We are extremely fortunate to have this opportunity today and it's a shame to see young people give up so quickly when the alternative is less than desirable in my opinion.
As a recent retiree I find this post both amusing and interesting. My plan to live to 110 means I have over 40 years left to go.
What you haven't mentioned is that the State Pension is seen as a "Social Benefit" which means that any time spent in other "social care", such as in hospital, will cause a reduction in what gets paid into your bank.
And, if you go to live somewhere warmer and cheaper then you lose the index linked increases.
The first task at WA is to get that critical one or two signups that cover your WA costs and, from then on, you're operating "for free" and can really focus on growth.
Fortunately I reached that position some while back, so it is doable.
A long term care home in Hawaii costs up to $5000 per month. I like the term broken income and am going to use it. In fact, " I help people fix broken incomes." sounds like a good elevator speech.
You are right and exactly the reason I joined WA, to plan for the inevitable when that time comes
I am recently retired myself. For now, I have the income I need but that could easily change in the future as inflation eats at my retirement income.
WA is my way to ensuring a more secure future and I hope to help others who are retired or nearing retirement to do the same. That's my primary niche!
Tom
You are so right as at 74 I am now broke.
I have not got a credit record as I have not had a credit for nearly 40 years.
One of my main reasons for being here is not only to try and make extra money but to keep my brain active as I do not want it to die before my body.
It really bothers me to see so many people work their whole lives to end up broke. I wish you much success here.
What's worse about this scenario is that everything for consumers is stacked up to the false belief system of putting 40 years or more (consecutive time here) into employment and the didactic effects come, not only in schools (primary, secondary and higher education,) but in mass media as well.
Having learnt this stuff through a number of entrepreneurial sites and resources, I do not look at television and very careful with what media I do take in. It is subtle, and even worse, seductive.
My hat is off to you! I have never had credit. It's shot. The answer is residual recurring income. Not easy to attain, but once achieved, offers a far better scenario where the sky is the limit.
I've been really down the last several months, but coming across writing like this is extremely encouraging and has lifted my spirits today!
I've seen students at the beginning of the school year, parading behind banners, each representing the professions they are going into - with gleam in their eyes and rah-rah'ing, little do they know that on average, only about 4% of them will actually make the grade and be truly financially-free, the rest ending up just as is portrayed on this thread.
I could not agree more it is a low cost, low risk and as you say worth striving for, I would rather work at improving my situation than just waiting for the end
Yes. I sympathize with people who worked hard their whole lives because that's what they were taught to do only to end up struggling to make ends meet.
yes I was brought up to work hard, and be honest in my dealings, and due to circumstances beyond my control I do not want to just get by come retirement
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Great Blog. This is so true.