If you’re finding it difficult to stay ahead of the game of retirement savings, you’re not alone. Your day job may be enough to keep your cover expenses, but not enough to put enough aside to invest. With that in mind, it’s probably time to take action.
Instead of hoping for another salary increase, why not try to figure out another option?
Helping yourself is the best course of action if you want to get your retirement income outlook looking rosy. While dedicating time to your day job is crucial to taking care of bills, look for profitability opportunities elsewhere.
Following these 4 essential strategies can put you in a better financial position:
- Capitalize on your skill set. You know what you’re good at, don’t you? So how about applying your skill set and capitalizing on prime earning opportunities? How can you get a business started using your natural abilities and as little financial capital as possible?
- Your first step is to write a list of all the things you’re good at. (coaching, writing, carpentry, auto repair, computers, etc.)
- Next, strike the ones off that may not present lucrative business opportunities. (is anyone else making money doing it?)
- From your shortlist, come up with business ideas and start researching ways to get those businesses started. (keep it simple…)
- Finally, just get started! (determine is steps needed and keep it simple.)
- Example: You may be great at cooking, but you have better opportunities to provide dog sitting services. Look for the potential demand.
- Investigate common consumer needs. People everywhere have everyday needs. What are those needs and how can you best fulfill them? Facilitation is a great way to make good margins. You may not necessarily be providing the exact product or service they want, but you can certainly find it and facilitate it!
- Have quick one-on-one chats with people at work. Try to understand what they need, but can’t seem to find the time to get done. Develop a plan that helps people get what they want. Then add a markup for your time. That’s straight profit!
- Watch trends in the news or on social media to see popular topics. Try to figure out how you can get in on earning opportunities by helping to address any of those trending issues.
- Example: a women in Washington created some backyard birthday carnival props for her young son from design plans she found on Pinterest for free. After the party, she posted them on OfferUp.com and they sold within minutes. Now, she makes them regularly and sells them for a nice profit.
- Advertise via social media. You can do this one yourself or with a partner. Market yourself around your community and see how you can help other community members or support local activities. Use popular social media sites to advertise your services.
- Design your Facebook page and provide relevant details about your service offerings.
- Does your community gym have a Facebook page? Like their page and share your business ideas with them. For example, let everybody on the gym page know that you sell exercise mats and other accessories.
- What about babysitting? Does your day job allow you enough time to babysit in the evenings? Send an email to the community database and make yourself available to assist parents from the area.
- Example: A woman in Texas has attended multiple classic car shows with her husband. She noticed that there was a lack of organization and attendees often complained. Since the event brought in money from each presenter, she offered to take over managing the events for a reasonable fee and was able to add thousands of dollars each year to her retirement account.
- Design your Facebook page and provide relevant details about your service offerings.
- Take an investment risk. Seek an investment worth your time and money.
- Maybe you can find a struggling business that you feel confident you can turn around.
- Perhaps your investment could be in creating a product that you know consumers want.
- Consider purchasing a rental property or a revenue-generating website.
No one is going to turn your situation around for you. It’s your future and your well-being on the line. Show how much that future means to you by developing creative money-making ideas of your own. Use this article as a starting point and see what you can come up with!