Now that I am fully retired, I have time to reflect on the journey that got me here. It’s been a long road (24 years in the Marine Corps), but well worth the wait.
Besides my wife, perhaps the most essential part of my path has been writing. Writing forced me into uncomfortable situations and to face my fears head-on.
How did I discover writing, how much does it pay, and how will it factor into my retirement? I’ll answer all of these questions and more ahead.
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How did I discover writing? I never dreamt of becoming a writer or any sort of content creator. When my wife and I discovered “passive income” in 2019, I felt as though I lived my earlier life poorly.
How was I supposed to know that I should acquire assets (dividend stocks) instead of liabilities (video games)?
After a year of adjusting our financial situation, I felt the urge to pass this information to the next generation.
Surely, they shouldn’t have to wait until age 38 before gaining the most important financial information of their lives. Thus, I gave birth to my writing career.
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Getting started as a writer. I started my writing career as a blogger on June 7th, 2020. I knew nothing about blogging, writing, SEO, or website management.
Shockingly, over the next three years, I have written 1,361 articles. I can’t stop writing because it challenges me every day.
I made it a mission to write 1,000 words every day. Over the last year, I have determined that I am a workaholic. Therefore, now, I take the weekends off from writing.
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However, I perform some administrative tasks on the weekends—time permitting. After six months of writing, I released my first book on Amazon.
Today, I have 987 books on Amazon. It warms my heart every time I release a book on Amazon because it’s my creative talent on display.
Does writing pay well? Writing is not a high-paying profession in and of itself. Think of writing as a gateway drug; it’s here to hook the reader.
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Once you build an audience through writing, you can sell much higher-priced products like online courses, subscriptions, and masterminds.
I have made almost $3,000 in three years on Amazon without advertising. More importantly, my numbers double year over year.
It may not seem like a lot, but it can become quite lucrative over the next ten years. I also have no overhead except Grammarly and Canva subscriptions.
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I also release my books on Draft2Digital, where I have made roughly $370. Again, the numbers are increasing year over year.
I publish my articles on my website, which generates a small amount of cash every month. However, these numbers should jump off the grid once the economy picks up.
I don’t intend to sell an online course any time soon, but it is an option. Now that I retired at age 42, I have much to discuss and teach.
How will writing factor into my retirement? Writing is my dream job. Every day, I wake up focused on creating a new story, book, and design.
Becoming a financial writer forces me to learn more about finances. My writing career single-handedly caused me to learn how to trade options.
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My options trading profits completely fund my ability to write. My wife and I earn between $2,000 and $4,000 monthly trading options.
With options for our wealth generator, I now have the time to focus on writing without needing to make tons of money from it. I thank my writing career for making me more adventurous.
I plan to start a garden, open a small business, rent my car, and learn to cook so that I can write about these topics.
The key to being an exciting writer is performing interesting things in real life. If you have nothing to write about, you’ll need to start something new.
Life is Not a Game
What is retired life? Many people wonder about retired life; I hear about people being bored in retirement.
The truth is we tucked away our creative sides early in life to start our careers. You will need to rediscover your childhood creativity during retirement.
I spent 24 years in the Marines, doing the lord’s work. However, once I started writing, I knew this was where I belonged.
Retirement is not about watching football games and drinking beer. It’s a chance to contribute to society, the world, and your family—on your terms.
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Be careful when you hear the narrative that retirement is boring. If you need a job to fill your time, then you need to have a deep intervention with yourself.
Ask yourself, “Who is a better steward of your time, yourself or your boss?” Start finding new hobbies and projects that interest you.
What do you want to wake up and do first? I write at 5 a.m. to get my words into the world as soon as possible.
Your time, your career. My writing career allows me to create from anywhere. This is one of the main reasons I fell into writing.
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I want to become a digital nomad, and I put things in place to allow this. I can do my dividend investing, options trading, writing, and book creation from my laptop.
As you move into retirement, think about how you want to maneuver. Do you want to travel, or are you a homebody?
If you love woodworking, it will require a shop. However, if you want to travel, focus on small wood trinkets you can create anywhere.
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The choice is yours, and you can make adjustments on the fly. Remember, you aren’t on the job site anymore. Your boss isn’t going to stop you from making changes.
Conclusion. Writing is my passion; I am lucky to have found it before retirement. I already had a plan of attack before quitting my job.
No matter where you are in your career, start thinking about what makes you happy. It doesn’t have to earn money.
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You can offset your loss of income with other sources of income, such as renting rooms, renting your car, or investing in dividends.
I have never been as happy as I am today. My wife and I are retired, and I have a great writing career.
I understand how money works, and my net worth and passive income grow every year. What’s not to love? You can have everything you dreamed of, but you must dream first. Good Luck!
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