The World is Changing Drastically and so are Social Norms Like Retirement.
When I was growing up in the 80's everyone around me had stable jobs that all led to some kind of retirement. My Father was a Kodak 30 year man, my Step-Dad retired from the City of Rochester Water Bureau and all of my relatives had similar jobs that led to a retirement. Not all of them made it the full distance but back then that was the goal. Find a steady job, stick with it for 30 years and retire with a pension. Then when you were old enough you could file for social security.
After you completed these goals the idea was to live life comfortably, lightly travel and have a relaxed retirement. What a lousy existence! Now I am sure this post my ruffle some feathers but I have a contrarian way of looking at life.
It is a constant annoyance for me when people say to me. "Randy are you saving for retirement?" or "Randy I hope you are working on your nest egg." or "Randy you need to get a pension." Listen people, that pipe dream disappeared in the 90's unless of course you have a government job. Even then there is no guarantee that the pension system will stay solvent.
Retirement is not even a word that is mentioned in my house unless we are making fun of someone who uses the word in our presence. Seriously, that ship has sailed. It is time to wake up and get on the self funded train.
We Took Retirement Into Our Own Hands.
The first thing I did was move to a country where my money went much further. I left Rochester, NY in May of 2011 and moved to Panama. It was the best decision I have ever made. Our cost of living is a fraction of what my fellow Americans need to live. Our monthly budget is around $1700 and we live in a gated community.
The second thing @AnaHilarski and I did was start a business. Our business is a social media marketing business that caters to the world of Crypto Currency and Blockchain technology. Initially we did social media for all types of companies but have since narrowed our focus. This business has brought in a steady income and afforded us many opportunities in Panama and abroad.
The third thing we did was build our personal brands online and in Panama. Over the course of 5 years we have built a following online of over half a million. This number grows daily as we share the good news of Crypto Currency and Blockchain as well as expat living. Our personal brands are by far the most valuable part of our portfolio.
The fourth thing we did was become full time bloggers. During the first four years we each had our blogs that we wrote on once or twice per week this helped build our personal brand. Then Steemit came along and ever since August of 2016 we have been blogging on this platform earning a steady secondary income from it. Yes it was slow going for a while but I still wrote on a daily basis and that consistency has paid off in spades!
The fifth thing we did was dispose of all personal debt here in Panama. I am not one who believes in personal debt. After years of drowning in debt back in the USA we decided that we would not repeat that mistake. We pay cash for everything and therefore have no overhead. In the future we might leverage business debt to build a portfolio of real estate but we are not at that point yet.
Why We Don't Need a Pension or Social Security.
We have chosen a path that physically does not require us to retire. We have a team that helps run our online social media business. We have our minds and skills on a computer that allow us to build an audience for our blogging online. Each and every day our personal brand is growing. Can you imagine what it will be like for our personal brands in 20 years? We will have millions of followers and that is worth a ton of Bitcoin!
The income that we generate will far outpace anything that a pension or social security could give us. The best part is that we have multiple streams of income coming in so if one drops the others continue to come in.
What This Means for Your Retirement.
If you are retired already, 10 years away or even just joining the work force I implore you to start building your personal brand today. Spend one hour a day building your brand online. I recommend you begin with Steemit and build your social media networks around it. The reason is that the Steemit community rewards you for your content in the attention economy. Think of a bicycle wheel, the hub is Steemit and the spokes are the support for your wheel.
The key is being consistent. If you can do this plus provide content that your readers/listeners/viewers enjoy then you will be successful. This is not a get rich scheme. If you choose this path to financial freedom it is faster than the traditional way but slower than winning the lottery.