Side hustle

Before taking the plunge into retirement, early or traditional, you need to consider factors that will reflect the rest of your life. Handled correctly, early retirement can be a fulfilling blessing. Without proper planning you risk a return to employment you wanted to get away from.

Retirement means different things to different people. Some want to sit back and enjoy a life of leisure. Others wish to travel extensively. And there are some who consider retirement the grand opportunity to start the business of their dreams (maybe not technically retirement, yet still fulfilling), write a book or engage in charitable work.

The path you choose is up to you; there is no right or wrong answer as long as it suits your temperament. There are considerations with right and wrong answers. Get these wrong and retirement can be less than the blessing planned.

Money and taxes play a large role in when you retire and what activities you engage once in retirement. Meaningful activities and family are also serious considerations. 

To help you prepare for retirement, I will discuss 10 things of vital importance to smooth the transition. I provide a starting point. You need to prepare from the starting point I provide so retirement plans are retirement realities.

There are so many reasons to ask, How can I make an extra $10,000 this year? Maybe you want to retire early and a small extra income will do the trick coupled with your savings and investments. The economy might be bad, your hours cut or are unemployed. Maybe you are retired and just want something to do that adds value to the lives of others while providing extra income for bills.

Regardless your reasons for wanting to earn extra money, what you need is a list of ideas for accomplishing the goal. Below is a list of 10 ways to earn an extra $10,000 this year (unless you are reading this New Year’s Eve, then you can start next year). Each of these opportunities are used to earn extra money by family members or clients in my office. If you read to the end I have two bonuses.

Camp Accountant is officially in the books and there was money to be made and taxes to be cut. There were lots of smiling faces …

Burnout is only one step on a road to hell. Left unchecked it can cause serious damage to your health. 

If you experience burnout and take no remedial actions you can start to exhibit symptoms of something much worse. 

The first step toward a nervous breakdown is burnout. Fatigue lowers your mental defenses. When the situation continues to pound feelings of desperation can set in. Helplessness is a large factor of burnout.

Once I digested that it was only a number I decided to do what I always did. I try lots of things, grow my business and expand my sources of income, much of it passive. 

You see, I learned the most important step of all: It’s the journey that matters, not the destination. And I had the best mate in the world along for the ride.

It was that day when I was a 32 year old man that I learned to live life for the first time. Live, for Real. 

You might notice the bloggers spouting the same gibberish get picked up by mass media outlets while your favorite blog (that had better be this one!) gets nary a mention. The reason for this is people prefer the familiar to an honest answer that could make a real difference.

Debt can destroy any dreams you have of a financially independent future. That is why it is so important to reduce debt and even maintain a relatively high credit score.Debt is and of itself isn’t the entire problem. Excessive debt is a drag on wealth creation, but what debt does to the household budget is even more damaging than the original debt itself.And debt can sneak up on anyone. Student loans, medical bills, job loss or a failed business venture can turn a bad situation into a nightmare even bankruptcy can’t deliver you from.Once calamity strikes it is near impossible to shake the effects in every financial aspect of your life. A medical issue or mounting student loans can lower your FICO score which leads to higher costs in almost every other area of your life. Auto and homeowners insurance rates are higher for those with lower FICO scores. Many landlords refuse to rent to people with a FICO score below a certain level or charge a higher rent.

“Start a side hustle or small business” is a common refrain when working to reduce debt or retirement planning is involved. It all sounds easy on paper until you realize most businesses fail within a year or so.

The problems with starting a business are myriad. Most businesses fail because they either have too little or too much business and the problems begin with the price or fee charged the customer.

Yes, some businesses fail over financing and other financial issues, but price frequently is the destroyer of small businesses. Charge too little and you end up with too much work with no profits to show for the effort; charge too much and nobody will even waste their time kicking the tires to see how good you really are.