I suppose it’s working in the Financial Services industry, where growth is the be all end all of things when it comes to investing, that makes me feel like things always need to be…well, growing! After all, if you are going to invest in a company like the one I work for, SEI, they are going to need to be growing. More clients, more revenues, more profits, more income, more facilities…you get the idea. So it is that when it comes to my alternate sources of income as well as my monthly saving, I feel the need to make an increase from month to month.
I don’t mean growing my income in the traditional sense. I have no intention of climbing my way to the top of the corporate ladder putting in 80 hour weeks and an ulcer. Instead, I’ve been working more towards bringing in income outside my traditional job. I’ve had some great successes in that regard, from my meager income from Helium to my writing gig at Nesteggr to my treasure chest of mypoints. All of these things help to pad my income and make saving toward financial freedom a reality. Living on investments alone is a huge undertaking and requires a vast amount of wealth. I’d like to make a sort of retirement hybrid, bringing in income through various projects as well as my dividend-producing portfolio.
In the savings department it’s hard to continually increase your percentage of savings, especially during this period. When removing debts (thankfully no consumer debt) like the car and my student loans, much of my income is devoted to that cause, and so to increase my savings I’d have to bring in more money. As it stands, about 25% of my income is currently going to either savings or paying off debt. I think that’s pretty good, but I’ve seen other bloggers do better, and their cases serve as inspiration. This is of course relative to your income. I don’t live like a pauper, but I don’t have more discretionary cash than I know what do with, either.
My Money-making projects I think have thus far been a great help. My Survey income next month is rapidly approaching 50$, and I’ve brought on another freelance writing gig at 451 press.
I do quite a bit of brainstorming, I suppose mastering the art of working with mobility while maintaining financial security is not such an easy undertaking. I’ll see how it turns out in the end.
Speaking of growth, TFC has now passed over 65 unique visitors a day! That’s a 40% increase from September. Thank you guys for your support, and I hope you find my sometimes incoherent ramblings entertaining if nothing else.
-Xias