If you are like me, you make plans.
You expect plans to go as planned, but you still have a couple of backups in mind, just in case.
I am back in California doing urology work for the next two weeks. Yes, I did quit my job in January and move to Tulsa in April. I had a plan… I knew how money was going to flow and how I would support myself.
Then, life happened. There were multiple high dollar expenses at my rental properties, one of my other projects did not have an increase in income as expected, and I had to put in extra capital.
These things, unexpectedly, have caused me to need to figure out other ways to bring in cash.
Urology is a way to make an income when I need a little extra help funding my real estate investments. So here I am for the next two weeks, and it’s what I have to do for the time being.
We have all had plans, great plans, and then life happens.
We work hard to have contingencies in place for most things, but studies show that most Americans have no plan for financial emergencies.
And yes, just about everything comes down to a financial emergency.
Your child gets sick, and you have to stay home from work for months to care for her. It becomes a financial emergency when you don’t have a contingency plan.
Where will the money come from if you have to stop working?
So many life events usually hit us unexpectedly because they weren’t a part of the plan.
Having multiple streams of income can help. Whether you are working or not, knowing that you have the money coming in lets you focus on the life event requiring your attention and draining you emotionally.
Wall Street is not the only answer to financial stability… putting your money into Wall Street isn’t the best or only solution. Many people have a 401K and are even saving through investments because of recommendations from their financial advisor. The plan is that the savings will increase in value over the life of the plan so that when you retire, you will have money to live. We are told that we should save tax-free now, and when we retire, we’ll be in a lower tax bracket so that the tax will be lower. Think about that.
They are telling you to plan to be poor when you retire so that you will need to pay less in taxes (make less money, pay less taxes). Is that what you dream about when you think about not going to your job?
Are we supposed to work until we don’t want to do anything like travel, eat out, bungee jump… whatever?! Are we supposed to just sit at home after we stop going to work and not do fun things? I don’t know about you, but I want to do fun things for as long as I’m able to, and most of the things I enjoy doing cost money.
Rather than count on your Wall Street 401K to be there for you, buy some assets…appreciating assets. In other words, invest your money in something that will bring you a financial return while it is increasing in value. While you’re at it, help make the world a better place, and invest that money in an appreciating asset that has a positive social or environmental impact.
If you don’t know how or you’re afraid to take the first step, let’s talk. It is much more fun to go through adventures with friends and investing is an adventure.
