With the economy doing it tough and inflation chomping away at the value of our cash, it can seem like we are all going backward at a rate of knots. So, I thought I’d just put pen to paper and jot down my thoughts on how to not work for ever.
I know it feels like we are all going to have to work for ever, but I’m here to say – it ain’t true.
There is an escape plan of how to not work for ever. There are 3 parts to it as follows:
- Be creative
- The 20% rule
- Build several small passive income streams
How To Not Work For Ever
How to not work for ever takes a three-pronged approach consisting of being creative, then siphoning 20% of every dollar that comes your way into passive income assets, then finally, lining up several passive income ducks in a row.
I’ll explain each of the three steps now. Oh, and it does not matter which order you do these steps in – start with whatever one strikes your interest first.
Be Creative
I am, therefore I create.
This is often ignored, but creativity is at the core of any life success.
Very simply, get good at something (or several things) that you love or are super interested in. For instance – woodwork, natural baby food, welding, prepping, car mechanics, sough dough bread, writing, crotchet …. anything, as long as it is creative, and you can talk about it enthusiastically for at least 30 mins non-stop.
This creative outlet will become one of your sources of passive income down the track.
But firstly, just be creative. We are all born to be creative. Creativity is a huge benefit for mental health, brain plasticity and problem solving, not to mention just deeply satisfying. Creativity helps create meaning and purpose in our lives.
Don’t even worry about figuring how to create income out of your chosen areas of creativity – that will come naturally later on.
The 20% Rule
Your aim is to now take twenty cents in every dollar that comes your way and invest it into true passive income producing assets. That’s 20% of every dollar that comes your way. You are free to live on the remaining 80% however you wish.
The 20% rule applies to not just your wage or salary – it applies to every single dollar that comes your way no matter what. Automate the 20% out of your salary at very least.
Nowadays, with such great apps and automation, it is as easy as falling off a log to peel off a percentage of your money and have it automatically invested.
But why income producing assets? Because it is a stream of real, spendable, passive income we are looking for – coins in our pocket every day.
I’ve spoken extensively through this website about all the different and easy ways to invest small regular amounts into passive income producing assets, so I will not bore you all again with it here.
Many Small Streams of Passive Income
So, the aim is to diversify and have several (a manageable amount) of passive income streams flowing into your bank account.
For instance, you might have some dividends, some REIT distributions, some P2P interest, some sales from your wooden toys (a creative pursuit example), AdSense income from your YouTube videos on cake decorating (another creative pursuit) or income from the short online course you created about how to weld up go-karts (yet another creative pursuit) all trickling into your bank account.
Each stream of income will be small, but together it will become river of money flowing steadily into your bank account all through the month.
BUT don’t give up your day job until your passive income equals 70% of your income from your job – be patient and build it up over time.
That’s How To Not Work For Ever
One day you will wake up and realise that your many small streams of income have been very consistently matching your wage each month. You’ll will instantly understand that you will not have to work for ever.
So, get creative, then build up to spending 20% of your wage on income-producing assets, then find ways to simply monetise your creativity. After that, watch the trickles of income turn into streams …. then a river. And that’s how to not work for ever.
Cheers