If you are like most people who are "over 50" or "Baby Boomers," you are probably worried about whether or not you have saved enough money to support yourself in retirement. You and your spouse will need that money to be able to relax and enjoy your well-deserved retirement. Like me, you've probably dreamed of a time when you'd have more control over your life and wouldn't have to put up with jobs or people you don't like just to make ends meet.
No, we ...
If you are like most people who are "over 50" or "Baby Boomers," you are probably worried about whether or not you have saved enough money to support yourself in retirement. You and your spouse will need that money to be able to relax and enjoy your well-deserved retirement. Like me, you've probably dreamed of a time when you'd have more control over your life and wouldn't have to put up with jobs or people you don't like just to make ends meet.
No, we want something better! I decided a long time ago that, sooner or later, I would enjoy being in charge of my own life and not having to do the things I have had to do my whole career. I probably won't ever stop "working." I just wanted to stop "having to work." I will do this the way I want to!
But, I have been worried! Because I don't have a traditional pension and worry about Social Security running out of money, the housing market, our dependence on oil, the falling value of the dollar, etc., I'm not sure if I've saved enough over the years.
You may have heard the story that shows what the word "commitment" means. It says that I had eggs and ham for breakfast this morning. The egg that laid my eggs had something to do with my breakfast, but the pig was dedicated to it!
Well, I have already "pulled the plug" and started taking my Social Security at age 63, so I am now "committed." I thought about going back to a traditional job because of these worries and concerns, but I really like the freedom of being retired.
Last year, not long after I retired and the initial excitement wore off, I started to feel sad. You see, other than my wife, I used to talk to most people every day at work, but now that was gone. My sense of worth seemed to be getting worse. I knew I had to come up with something to do.
I started looking into the different ways I could make money on the internet. My goal wasn't to "Get Rich" (though that would be nice), but to drastically cut the amount of money I need to take out of my investments to live. If I can just let my savings grow for a few years without touching them, my confidence in the future will go up a lot.
I've done a few things on the Internet to make money. I've written a book that I sell online. It's an e-book. I've made websites about a lot of things that interest me, like power boating. When someone clicks on one of the Google ads on those sites, I get a small amount of money. I've bought and sold things on eBay, and I've also made videos and CDs to sell. There are so many ways to make a little extra money.
The best part is that these things make money even when I'm not there, like when I'm sleeping or playing golf, so my time is still my own. I'm not tied down, we can go wherever we want, and the money keeps coming in.
So far, these Internet-based projects haven't brought in much more than $2,000 per month, but I'm not upset. I'm constantly pushed to get better at this, and I'm sure that if I put in some effort, I will. Everyone seems to want more money, but now I'm afraid that if I'm too successful, these projects will take up too much of my time and leave me with little time to enjoy life. That would be a terrible thing.
A lot of my retired friends and people who want to retire want to know how I'm doing it. Because of this, I made a website where people can go to learn some of the skills and techniques they need to reach this cash flow goal. Some of my "students" make a lot more money than I do. Because I don't have a lot of money, I haven't bought many of the "Get Rich Quick" offers that seem to be everywhere on the Internet. That's a good thing, in my opinion. One useful thing we do is host a "Retirement Income Forum," where people with similar goals can talk about their projects, successes, and problems, and get real advice and suggestions from others in the same situation.
There are a lot of ways to make extra money in retirement on the internet, so there's something for everyone. Every day, the World Wide Web grows and gets better. Anyone who could use some extra money in retirement should go online right now and get their share.
