Friday, July 18, 2008

Freelance Writers: How to Create Passive Income for Retirement

Freelance writers: do you want to comfortaby retire one day?

I'm in my 40s, so I think a lot about retirement. And, although all of us have to think about it, as a freelance writer of course, I bear a lot more direct responsibility for making sure that my income is allocated correctly so that I can comfortably retire.

Some Sobering Retirement Stats

"The median balance in 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts for workers in their 50s is just $60,000, which won't pay the bills for many years." [Source: Age 65 and Not Ready or Able to Go, WashingtonPost.com] When you consider that retirement income should last 20-30 years, how far do you think this will go? Scary!

By most estimates, you'll need between 60% and 80% of your final working years' income to maintain your lifestyle after retiring. . . . as you begin thinking about how much you'll need for a comfortable retirement, you may be startled to learn the impact of inflation. At an average inflation rate of 3%, your . . . annual income will need to increase each year even during retirement in order to keep up with the gradual rise in prices of everyday goods. [Source: How Much Do You Need to Retire?, Yahoo! Finance]

Fewer than half of American workers have estimated how much they’ll need to retire, according to the Employee Benefits Research Institute. The biggest risk retirees may face is running out of money while they’re alive. [Source: How Much Will You Need to Retire?, InvestorGuide.com]

Reading all of this got me to thinking about how freelance writers can make sure that they (i) first of all, can afford to retire; and (ii) start setting up passive income streams so that they won't have to worry if they haven't exactly saved a whole bunch during their working years.

Ideas on Creating Passive Income

To that end, here are some ideas on how freelance writers can create passive income for retirement. However you decide to save for your retirement just make sure that it's on your mind if you're a freelance writer.

Will You Be Able to Afford to Retire? How to Figure Out How Much You'll Need

If you're in your 20s and early 30s, setting aside nominal amounts of money and work towards creating self-produced streams of income now will make retirement something you look forward to, not something you dread.

Have a great weekend everybody . . . and hey, how about taking a little time over the next couple of days, sitting down with a retirement calculator and crunch some retirement numbers.

Want to start a successful freelance writing career? Visit the Inkwell Editorial Freelance Writing Bookstore. And if you enjoyed this post, subscribe to the newsletter.

Sincerely,
Yuwanda Black, Publisher
How to Start a Successful Freelance Writing Career Newsletter
Contact: info *at* InkwellEditorial.com
P.S.: Want the liberty of working from home as a freelance writer in your PJs, getting assignments via the internet? Click here for more on How to Make $250+/Day Writing Simple, 500-Word Articles. All you need is a computer and an internet connection to get started.

P.P.S.: Did you know that InkwellEditorial.com is the authority site on freelance writing? From retirement to marketing to search engine optimization -- if it pertains to freelance writers, you'll find it here. Pass it on!
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ywanda,
You are reading my mind with this post. I am knocking on 40's door myself (in February!) and developing streams of passive income have been occupying my thoughts a lot lately! Thanks for the good read!

Yuwanda Black said...

Kimberly, I'm a February baby too! How cool.

I wish I'd took retirement more seriously when I was in my 20s. Even though I had a low-paying publishing job, one thing the company did offer was great benefits -- like a 100% 401K match, which I didn't take full advantage of.

I'm playing make up now. But, just knowing that I have a plan makes me feel better about it.

I'm glad you enjoyed the read.

Yuwanda