When did we start believing that retirement would come easily? Why do we think someone would pay us for our most unproductive years?
The concept of retiring is a reasonably new idea. People who owned farms and businesses usually worked until they died.
When social security became an entitlement, the government believed people would only need to use it for roughly five years before they passed away.
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The car industry used a pension system that allowed people to work for 30 years and receive a paycheck until they died. However, that system became broken because the expenses were unsustainable.
If we want to retire today, we must sacrifice something. Nothing in life is free, and that is especially true of retirement. That being said, having a Happy Cash Flow Retirement is possible if you plan, execute, and sacrifice. Let’s begin.
How I sacrificed. Let’s start with the sacrifices I made to achieve retirement. My primary source of income in retirement is my military pension.
For 24 years, I carried the torch as a US Marine. Over the years, I missed tons of family events, moved over 15 times, and struggled to keep my marriage together.
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The government cuts me a check every month for my past dedication and service. However, I also had to make even more sacrifices to ensure this check is enough.
I had to live far below my means. My wife and I got roommates to help pay down debt, build an emergency fund, and grow our dividend portfolio.
We now own three homes and a tiny house. Maintaining these properties while managing tenants has been a nightmare, but the benefits are well worth the effort.
During my final three years in the military, I wrote an article daily to help build my book business. Essentially, I worked another 3-4 hours on my writing business to ensure it produced income before I retired.
So when you see me doing yard work at 10 o’clock on Monday, understand that I worked hard to get here. You can, too.
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The value of housing sacrifice. You can call it sacrifice, financial planning, or living below your means. Whatever you call it, you must do something to cut your housing expenses.
Housing is the most expensive line item on our monthly budget; therefore, if we can reduce or eliminate it for five years, we stand to build a fortune.
There are many ways to reduce or eliminate your housing bill, but most won’t be comfortable. You will have to sacrifice your space, location, or comfort.
- Get roommates. If you can find a great roommate, either a friend or family member, you stand to create an easy source of income.
- Move to a small city. Not all cities are created equal. Some cities cost much less to live and enjoy. Consider this move if you have a passive income stream or remote job.
- Move in with parents. Your parents would love to have you. If not, give them some rent, and they would love to have you.
- Move overseas. If you have a pension, a remote job, or know someone overseas, moving to a different country can save you a lot of money.
- Rent rooms or your home part-time. You can purchase an RV to live in while you allow short-term rentals of your primary residence.
Either choice isn’t ideal for your comfort. We believe that we can buy a home, work a job, raise a family, and save for retirement all at once. However, the costs are too great—we must change something.
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A case study in housing sacrifice. I know a family that owns three homes in California. The family consists of parents who own a home and two adult children who each own one.
The parents’ family is large enough for both the children’s families to move in and live together. However, as they operate independently, they are not getting ahead in California.
What if they combined forces for five short years? What if the children moved in with their parents and rented their homes?
I predict that, in five years, the families could be debt-free and have at least $300,000 each in savings and investments.
That nest egg could quickly generate $2,500 monthly in dividends from an income-investing portfolio. Now, they can move back into their homes from a position of power, not weakness.
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Some people would consider that a massive sacrifice, but to me, it’s just common sense. The grandkids get to see their grandparents every day, and the entire family unit becomes stronger.
The generational wealth sacrifice. We must see things differently; I know we like to look at rich people and say, “It must be nice.”
However, somewhere in their bloodlines, someone sacrificed. Then, everyone else had to conform to ensure the wealth continued to grow. This is what we call generational wealth.
Getting wealthy is hard; staying wealthy is much more challenging. Even trickier is passing along a wealthy mindset to our children.
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Once we learn how to secure our retirement through business, rents, royalties, and dividends, we still have a lot of work to do.
If we sacrifice our living standards for five years and create a $300,000 dividend portfolio, that could be enough for our bloodlines to build a fortune.
The truth is that we must sacrifice to build a portfolio of assets. As long as we respect and maintain them, those assets will compound indefinitely.
A $300,000 portfolio that grows at 10% per year will be worth $35 million in 50 years and $4 billion in 100 years.
If these numbers look outrageous, please refer to Warren Buffet. He is the best example of compound interest in existence.
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Do it now! The sooner you build your base of assets, the better. Do whatever it takes to start a business, buy a property, and create a dividend portfolio.
You can’t afford to wait. You cannot pass on a military pension, social security, or government retirement plans to children.
If you pass them a 401K or Roth IRA, the government wants them to spend the money down in ten years. That money will disappear if your kids don’t know how to budget, save, and invest.
So, we are sacrificing today for not only our own retirement but also our children’s and grandchildren’s. The goal is to get them the information and for them to use it.
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Conclusion. I see people daily making decisions that will serve them poorly in the future. These aren’t bad decisions but choices they make under the guise of free will.
Don’t be fooled by the word “independence”.” They use this word to enslave us. They would much rather have us scattered, living in studio apartments, paying rent, and working for pennies on the dollar.
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The only way to fight back is to work together. Let’s say we have five families. They each purchase a home for themselves.
That’s five sets of furniture, five water bills, five property tax bills, and five sets of insurance. What if they all moved in together?
Those numbers work much better because of economies of scale. The government and corporations do not want us to think like this.
Only we can free ourselves and our families. No one is coming to save us. Take matters into your own hands and decide your own fate. Good Luck!
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Disclosure: I am not a financial advisor or money manager, and any knowledge is given as guidance and not direct actionable investment advice. I am an Amazon Affiliate. Please research any investment vehicles that are being considered. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. All Right Reserved Military Family Investing
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