Why You Should Not Rely On A Single Income

 

Why You Should Not Rely On A Single Income

Job security is a thing from the past... something our grandfathers (and to some extent our parents) used to depend on for their lives. In today's economic climate, it's kind of crazy being dependent on just one source of income. Creating multiple streams of income is becoming a must-have and not a nice-to-have. To become financially fit (and eventually financially independent), you need to build your revenue strength.

If the high rates of unemployment and mounting job losses during the 2008 financial crisis and COVID have taught us anything, it is that nobody’s job is safe. We've witnessed millions of people losing the very same jobs they were dependent on for the rest of their lives. Lesson learned: depending on a job as the only source of income is a risky way of living!

"Never depend on a single income. Make investments to create a second source" - Warren Buffet

The moment you don't depend only on your paycheck, you'll become financially secure. At this stage, you don't worry anymore about bills, your residual income covers your bills. It appears as if we're all programmed to follow a certain script that goes like this: graduate from school, pick a job in a strong corporation, advance in that job, increase your income over time, and eventually retire with a pension plan. Billions of people have been following that same script, relying on a single source of income, without acknowledging the fact that this life programming is flawed. If you continue following this script, it could set you up for hard financial times, longer stretches of work before retirement, and in some cases, financial stress.

There are enough statistics to show that families that live totally on a single source of income are at the greatest risk of poverty. Complementing your salary with other sources of income is one of the most sustainable ways of becoming financially fit. As Robert Kiyosaki said: "JOB is the acronym for Just Over Broke", which means having only one stream of income would continually keep us broke. The bible teaches us in Ecclesiastes 11:2 (NIV version) to "Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight; you do not know what disaster may come upon the land”, which translates to divide your investments among many places, for you do not know what risks might lie ahead. It's not a chance that the average millionaire has seven sources of income!

In the information age, the tools to create multiple streams of income are countless. We can leverage information, connections, and opportunities like never before. It's up to us if we consume all that content and use all those forms of leverage for our distraction or our benefit. If you learn how to leverage other peoples' money, connections, knowledge, and time, you can create multiple streams of income and build wealth that will look after you and your family for generations to come. The advice is to go in baby steps by creating one stream of income and mastering it. Then, you cal create the next source of income... and the next one... then the next one.

The two major obstacles that prevent many people from adding extra streams of income to their life are the misconception that:

You need money to make money; andYou need to devote an extra full-time job's worth of time.

Those two myth-understandings are simply not true. You can earn streams of income while working (and leveraging) on your present job. You just need to educate yourself on how to use the different forms of leverage and consume the right information for your benefit.

Below are the various options available to increase your streams of income.

Making Money OnlineEvery one of us is an expert at something. Why not create a blog, a YouTube Channel, and have a strong social media presence around your passion? Many people are leveraging YouTube, blogs, social media, websites, and sales funnels to create income.
Blogging seems to be very popular, and for good reason, as many bloggers are making passive income from their content. You can open a blog or a vlog on a subject that you know too well, such as fashion, lifestyle, pets, real estate, publishing, marketing, investing, and many other topics.

Writing a BookWriting a book that contains content related to your passion and set of skills can be a successful way of producing another stream that generates monthly passive income. It became easy for anyone to write a manuscript, edit it, have a cover created, and upload a book on Amazon that will earn royalties every month for years to come.
If you think it's a challenge to sit down and write a book, why don't you start with a blog and then convert its content into chapters that make up a book? Another idea would be to have someone interviewing you and then transcribing what you've talked about into a manuscript that could be edited and designed by others. You can be all hands-on when writing a book or outsourcing most of the jobs related to designing and publishing a book.

Creating an AppMobile, tablet, and PC applications can be an incredibly lucrative income source. Almost everyone has a smart device. Why not take advantage of this and build an app that helps people solve a problem and make their lives easier?
Think about how many people today have smartphones. Apps make people’s lives easier. Whether it is an app that helps people organize their expenses, store their photos, design videos, connect, or keep track of tasks. These kinds of apps are quite helpful for everyone.

InvestingMany people are reluctant to invest because they are afraid of losing the money and time they have invested. With adequate experience, exposure, research, and consultation, you can make wise and informed decisions about investing. There are many investment vehicles, which could be categorized as either passive investments (such as stocks, bonds, and cryptocurrencies) or active investments (such as real estate).
I understand the risks involved when investing passively in products that you don't have any control over, but on the other hand, being an active real estate investor has been demonstrated over the ages for being the best investment vehicle to build and protect wealth.
Related: Which Assets Build Wealth – Stocks, Bonds, or Real Estate? 
The two chief ways to invest in real estate are either being an active landlord of rental properties or a passive real estate investor in real estate investment trusts or real estate crowdfunding.
This book "The 4 Stages of Building Wealth” explains how you can build wealth by accumulating income-producing assets that will pay you regular passive income for as long as you own them. This book and its accompanying course have helped over 100,000 ordinary individuals become wealthy and self-made millionaires by creating multiple streams of income.
Related: Get a free copy of "The 4 Stages of Building Wealth"

Having multiple streams of income would help you transition your finances from a state of financial stress, through financial security, then financial comfort, to ending up with financial independence. Because of the financial risks involved with relying on a job for all of your incoming cash, it is critical to consider having at least one additional source of income.
Having multiple sources of income also gives you more flexibility for the future and helps you break the cycle of living from paycheck to paycheck. If you desire to protect your family from the unknown, having multiple streams of income is non-negotiable!