My husband Matt has held the same job for the past nine years, and yet he has never only done that job. Every year of our marriage we have earned above our salary in what I call “side” income. But through that time I have come to believe that everyone should have some type of “side” income, business, or entrepreneurial adventure in addition to their regular job. Whenever I hear people complaining about not having enough for their budgets (and sometimes there really isn’t enough), I always question… what else has God put into your hand to do that you aren’t doing?
The wealthiest people that I know all have multiple businesses. They don’t just put all their eggs in one basket. I know we have all heard about diversification when it comes to our investments, but I believe it is important to have diversification when it comes to your income as well. Your job may pay your bills, but then it may be your other income that fuels your retirement, or begins to set you up for financial independence.
I love the story of Troy Aikman, quarterback for Dallas Cowboys Football Team –now retired. In his last years at the Cowboys, he was given a multi-million dollar contract to continue playing. And what he did was take a huge chunk of that and invest it into car dealerships. This not only gave him investment return for the future, but it also gave him a career after his career, and continued passive income that was no longer dependent on his athletic ablility. Most of us only plan for our retirement, if we even do that, but I think there is such brilliance in not just having a career where we are dependent on one source, but begin to diversify where your income is coming from. The ultimate goal is having enough passive income (income that you don’t have to go to work every day for, that you just manage) so that your work can be optional and you just do what you love.
I read this great quote from a guest blogger on a blog that I follow found at www.getrichslowly.org He said, “By working as an employee, only the very slow route [to wealth and financial independence] will work, because there is really no other way most people can accumulate wealth with average incomes. I believe that anyone who is interested in achieving their own wealth needs to supplement their job income with external business income that they create for themselves.”
Chris Guillebeau at The Art of Non-Conformity.
So my thought for you today is, how can YOU diversify your income? Even if you make a large salary you will never be wealthy as long as your income and financial future are solely dependent on you working. What happens if you get laid off, or decide you would like to change companies or careers? Will you lose everything that you have worked for, or is your “job” only a part of your financial income? That is the beautiful thing about passive income from sources such as real estate, or investments, or entrepreneurial endeavors, or business income, or royalties. They continue to generate income for you even if you are unable to work for some reason. Now you may not have this vision yet, but you can start where you are.
Let’s say you are a Stay-At-Home-Mom and your husband works a job… how can you generate additional income that you can then take and put into investments that will then generated passive income. This should be money that you are not dependent to live on… but it is going to be used to advance your future. If you are single and working at a steady job, start looking for additional forms of income that may potentially grow into a stream of passive income. Yes, it may take a little effort at the start up, but in the long term, it really is the answer to not being dependent on an employer and their whims for the rest of your life. In working for an employer, your raises may keep you ahead of inflation in the economy, but they will very rarely bring you to the point where you want to be financially.
So whether you are struggling financially, or in a lucrative job situation, don’t just think about right now and getting out of your mess, or spending your money. If Aikman had done that he may have ended up like many, many other successful athletes, movie stars, and business men, in bankruptcy with horrific debt simply because they failed to diversify their income and just lived for today. Don’t just work a job… generate wealth. Look for additional opportunities to generate wealth, and it will secure a whole different future for you and your family.