Our Enterprise beta is live! Apply here.
Learn More
In today’s economy, it seems like every major news outlet is talking about how important it is to strive for wealth-creation via investing or saving money. But there is one thing that most people don’t realize when they talk about their dreams of financial success — it can feel very lonely.
Thinking about all of the hard workers out there who have made it onto Fortune “Most Powerful People” lists proves this point. It feels really good to know that you are not only in the same boat as other wealthy individuals, but that you actually belong to this exclusive club.
However, this also means that there aren’t too many resources available to you if you need help navigating through retirement savings or understanding what kind of health insurance is best for your situation.
It can be tough to make sense of everything once and awhile, which is why having someone else around to tell you “this is okay” and “that’s just wrong” can be helpful. This person could even be rich, hailing from a similarly privileged background.
Wealthy people are often portrayed in media and culture as totally selfless and generous, making them seem like an easy target. Unfortunately, this perception can hurt financially stable individuals who may feel left out or even excluded because of their more modest income.
Fortunately, there are ways to combat this mental obstacle.
So what is “ordinary” or “regular” income? It depends how you define it. But if we go with the traditional definition, then yes, having an active career can be better than having no job at all.
We use the word “job” very loosely here. A career isn’t necessarily a paid position that people hold. For example, my friend who works in finance doesn’t get paid much, but she still considers herself to have a career because she loves what she does.
She spends her day thinking about money and investing, which makes her feel happy. She also gets to meet lots of other people who are like-minded, which feels good.
In fact, according to a survey conducted by The Pew Charitable Trusts, more than half of all working adults say they would prefer to remain without work altogether rather than change careers (58 percent).
But this isn’t true for everyone! More than one third of workers (36 percent) said changing jobs was their most important goal, while only 8 percent chose quitting work altogether as their top priority.
For some individuals, keeping busy is a worthy goal, but not everyone — especially as you grow older — will agree.
There are three main reasons that some people say passive income is not as good as having an ordinary job with paychecks. These arguments typically go like this:
“It’s more difficult to achieve than making money through working hard, or investing in things you hope will earn money for you.”
“Living off of savings makes it harder to stay motivated to keep saving.”
“Having a job gives you access to benefits such as health insurance.”
None of these points are totally false, but they only apply to certain types of individuals and situations. If you are someone who is very disciplined and willing to spend time creating your business, then you should definitely consider alternative forms of revenue.
However, there is one major difference between having active and passive income. When you have active income, you can live without the next paycheck. You depend on the income coming in to satisfy your needs – food, shelter, safety gear, etc.
With passive income, you can survive just by spending what you have because your needs are always being met. This does not mean that you won’t feel attached to your wealth, however.
You will probably think about how much you could be earning if you were able to drop down to zero income for a few weeks, for example.
Achieving financial freedom is very possible with enough control over your spending. But, investing in a business that does not require you to be present to make money can help you achieve this goal.
The key word here is “financial”. This style of income isn't necessarily rich like being paid as an entrepreneur or investor would be, but it's still far better than no income at all!
By having some sort of secondary source of revenue, you are already improving your net worth. Plus, you get to choose how much time you want to spend working and creating more opportunities for yourself.
There are many ways to earn passive income, such as renting out a part of your house, developing creative ideas you create and sell, or even designing digital apps and letting other people use them to make money from them.
A steady, passive income is not possible if you don’t have a good job. I know this seems like a drag because we all want to enjoy our lives, but your lifestyle depends on it!
If you make very little money, you will be living in a small apartment with no luxuries. You can’t afford to spend time on hobbies or activities that would make you feel better about yourself.
This is why having a career that pays well is so important. It gives you an incentive to keep working hard, since you know that you'll eventually win big.
It’s great to want more money, but you have to be careful about how you achieve that. Earning extra income should be deliberate and strategic rather than happening by chance or through luck.
You need to know what your dreams are and how to go about achieving them. This can mean working for yourself, running your own business, investing in stocks and shares, or creating and offering new products or services.
The key is to pick something that makes sense to you and will motivate you to work on it consistently.
If you don’t like what you are doing, then you won’t put in the effort needed to succeed. You’ll give up when things get tough instead of sticking at it until you reach your goal.
A lot of people get stuck in a mentality where they feel that passive income is not worth it because they think it's impossible to achieve or that it can't be good for them.
These beliefs come from past experiences with unsuccessful attempts at achieving this goal. People may also believe that it's only accessible to very wealthy individuals or corporations, which it definitely isn't!
It is possible to earn enough money through investing to meet your financial goals while still having a balanced life. You don’t have to work longer hours than you do now - you can instead focus on developing relationships and hobbies, and even spend time doing things that you love to make more money.
There are several types of passive income, some much better than others depending on what you're looking to gain from it. But no matter what type of income you want, there are some important rules to follow so that you don't end up being too invested in it.
Being rich is always an attractive goal, but there are also significant benefits to having a high income. You can do things like travel all over the world, spend money wisely, give away large sums, and save for your dreams and goals.
Many people feel that being wealthy makes them better than other people. This isn’t true at all. Wealth brings you into the same circle of people who have done well for themselves, but it doesn’t make you any more worthy or intelligent than anyone else.
In fact, in our society, wealth sometimes has the opposite effect. People with lots of money are often considered flashy and self-important.
There's a reason why we refer to someone as “millionaire next door.” Because they're not very impressive.
It's great to be able to afford a house full of gadgets, but most of us would prefer to meet just one more smart person who knows how to use a computer before getting mobile phones.
There are many ways to make money passive, but not every way is better than the other. Some income strategies that have been popular in the media are actually quite expensive unless you’re willing to spend a large amount of money to achieve your goal.
There is a myth out there that says it’s impossible to live an affluent lifestyle without making a lot of money. You can show me a hundred wealthy people who don’t work very hard for their wealth, and I will show you someone who doesn’t enjoy what they do.
I’d rather be rich with passion for what I am doing than to be surrounded by empty promises and distractions of getting more something.
It’s important to remember that no matter how much money you have, you're always free. If you feel like working harder, then do so, if you want to. But don't expect your money to keep flowing in when you stop investing in yourself.
"Passive" means "to wait for its own reward" or "something given back to it." It's why cats sleep all day. A passive income isn't hungry for food or attention, it just keeps coming no matter what you do.
But I guarantee you won't see this kind of success with only your luck going his way. You'll need to put in effort to reap the benefits of a passive income.
