Safeguarding Your Nest Egg: Financial Strategies for the Seasoned Soul

Safeguarding Your Nest Egg_ Financial Strategies for the Seasoned Soul

Today we discuss Safeguarding Your Nest Egg and Financial Strategies for the Seasoned Soul.

Welcome to the 14th FLA Guest Blog Post! Today, we provide some insight on financial strategies for the seasoned soul. Thank you to Chelsea from Business POP for sharing this helpful article.

Chelsea is an experienced Marketing and Advertising professional with a demonstrated history of working in the media industry. Chelsea is especially skilled in Digital Media advertising, Events, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Microsoft Suite, Data Analytics, Adobe products, and Marketing Strategy.

The digital age has unquestionably arrived. Incorporating new technologies into business procedures will be critical for owners who want to grow their businesses.

Business POP will show you how to grow your business through innovation. It is aimed at small and medium-sized business owners and will offer advice on what digital enhancements to consider and how such changes can help them grow.

You’ve dedicated years to building a nest egg for your golden years, and safeguarding it is paramount. Financial exploitation and abuse, particularly targeting seniors, are alarmingly prevalent in today’s society.

This guide from Fresh Life Advice is designed to empower you with effective strategies to protect your hard-earned finances and maintain your peace of mind. You’ll discover how to remain vigilant against potential threats, secure your assets effectively, and develop a supportive network. These measures are essential in creating a defense against financial predators, ensuring that your retirement savings remain secure and your financial future is stable.

Knowledge is Power: Understanding Common Scams

To effectively protect against financial scams targeting seniors, it’s crucial to become familiar with the common types. These scams range from phony IRS calls to fake charity donations, and scammers are continually creating new strategies.

By staying informed, you’re better equipped to identify these fraudulent schemes. Actively participating in community workshops and online webinars that focus on senior financial safety is invaluable.

Additionally, subscribing to newsletters from reputable financial protection agencies can provide regular updates on the latest scams, further enhancing your ability to stay one step ahead of potential fraudsters.

Choosing Safe Havens: The Role of Care Facilities

Understanding when to consider assisted living is a critical aspect of safeguarding your finances. These facilities provide more than just physical care; they also offer assistance with financial management, which is particularly beneficial for seniors.

To ensure that you choose a suitable facility, it’s important to thoroughly review their pricing, payment options, and feedback from other families. This careful research is key to finding a trustworthy facility that values your financial well-being as much as your physical health, offering a balanced approach to your overall care.

Fortifying Your Financial Data: The Digital Shield

In the current digital era, securing your financial documents is of utmost importance. A simple yet effective way to protect these documents is by converting your sensitive financial records into password-protected PDFs. This step effectively prevents unauthorized access and ensures the confidentiality of your financial information.

If you need to make your documents more accessible for reading or sharing, consider using a PDF rotator to adjust their orientation. After customizing your documents, you can confidently store and share them, knowing they are secure from unauthorized access or misuse.

Cybersecurity Essentials: The Password Protocol

Strong passwords are crucial as your first line of defense in the online financial world. To enhance security, create complex, unique passwords for each of your accounts, ensuring that each one is different to avoid a domino effect in case one account is compromised.

Avoid common phrases or easily guessable information like birthdays or anniversaries. For enhanced security and convenience, consider using a password manager.

These tools not only keep track of your passwords securely but also generate strong passwords and store them safely. This reduces the risk of cyber exploitation by making your accounts less vulnerable to common hacking methods such as brute force attacks or password guessing.

Financial Strategies for the Seasoned Soul
Image Source: Kampus Production via Pexels

Vigilant Oversight: Regularly Reviewing Bank Statements

Regularly scrutinizing your bank statements and financial accounts is an essential practice. This regular review helps you spot any unauthorized transactions or suspicious activities early on. Dedicate a specific time each month to thoroughly go over your statements.

Pay close attention to small, unexplained charges, as these can sometimes be initial tests by fraudsters. If anything looks out of place, report it immediately to your bank or financial institution. Prompt action is crucial in preventing significant financial loss and can also help the authorities in tracking down and stopping the fraudsters.

Wise Counsel: The Value of Financial Advisors

Consulting with a trusted financial advisor plays a key role in your financial well-being. Such advisors provide invaluable guidance on managing your assets, investing wisely, and planning for future expenses.

A good financial advisor can help you understand complex financial products and services, ensuring you make informed decisions that align with your long-term financial goals.

When selecting an advisor, it’s crucial to choose someone with a strong reputation, the right credentials, and who demonstrates a clear understanding of your personal financial needs and objectives.

The Antidote to Isolation: Building a Support Network

Isolation can significantly increase your vulnerability to financial exploitation. To mitigate this risk, it is essential to maintain regular contact with friends, family, and community members. These relationships are not only vital for emotional well-being but also serve as a protective network.

Trusted individuals in your circle can help you recognize and respond to potential financial abuses, offering a layer of security. Actively participating in community groups or online forums is also an excellent way to stay socially engaged and informed.

This involvement keeps you connected to the outside world, provides opportunities to learn from others’ experiences, and potentially alerts you to new types of financial scams targeting seniors.

Streamlining Finances: The Direct Deposit Advantage

Opting for direct deposit for Social Security and pension payments is a wise decision for financial safety and convenience. This method greatly reduces the risk of theft or loss that comes with handling physical checks. The process of setting up direct deposit is typically straightforward and can be facilitated through your bank or directly with the agency issuing the payments.

Once established, direct deposit ensures that your funds are securely and promptly deposited into your account, offering peace of mind. Additionally, this method often provides faster access to your funds compared to traditional check deposits.

Protecting your finances in your senior years is about empowerment through staying informed about financial scams, securing important documents, and consulting experts. Regularly educating yourself on financial matters and securing sensitive information ensures your independence and peace of mind.

Seeking advice from trusted financial advisors or elder law attorneys is crucial for making informed, complex financial decisions. These proactive steps are key to a robust financial security strategy, ensuring a safe and secure financial future in your retirement years.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, safeguarding your nest egg is a vital endeavor that requires careful planning and strategic financial management, especially for the seasoned soul entering retirement. By embracing a diversified investment approach, staying informed about market trends, and considering professional guidance, you can navigate the complexities of financial planning with confidence.

Remember, your financial well-being is a journey, not a destination. As you embark on this new chapter, may your nest egg thrive, providing the security and comfort you deserve in the seasons ahead.

Disclosure: Fresh Life Advice is an opinion-based website. I am not a financial advisor, and the opinions on this site should not be considered financial advice.

Personal Capital: The Ultimate Tool to track your Net Worth, Budget and more.

What are your thoughts on Safeguarding Your Nest Egg? Let me know in the comments below.

December Side Income Report | 2023

December 2023 Side Income

Welcome to the 2023 December Side Income Report.

Let’s start this post with the obligatory caveat:

FLA’s side hustle income reports are not for the purpose of bragging. This side income amount of money is by no means impressive. The sole purpose of this series is to inspire you to create diversified income streams in order to help you achieve your financial goals faster.

I began this tumultuous F.I.R.E. (Financial Independence – Retire Early) journey almost immediately after graduating from college and shortly realizing it is never ideal to work for someone other than yourself.

After withdrawing from the corporate world, I plan to fully indulge in my mission of helping 10 million people with their own path to financial freedom. I’ve discovered a wonderful community of people with shared mindsets. So I’m currently on a journey to see if we can turn FLA into a little business that supports the mission.

The reason I’ve decided to publish these income reports is because I want you to be a part of the journey.

After aggressively saving 50%+ of my annual income year after year, I’m approximately 35% of the way to retirement with 9 years to go. I’m aware that side hustles may never fully support one’s expenses, but I’m willing to try.

At the very minimum of making $1/month (what one may consider failure), I am ecstatic as I realize this can be considered supplemental income that will be able to be reinvested into this blog to enhance your reading experience on FLA.

Through my arduous journey, I’ve learned to focus on the future value of money. One dollar to you may look like a standard George Washington-faced bill, but to me, I see its potential.  Accounting for 3% inflation, investing that dollar could return 5 times its original value in 25 years. Yes, that’s like putting $1 into an ATM and having it return a $5 bill back to you. How amazing is compound interest?! Hypothetically, you can increase that principal amount, and you’ve got yourself some unbelievable returns.

My hope with these income reports is ultimately to present some transparency for you. By showing it doesn’t take much effort to earn and save, I may motivate you to chase one of your biggest dreams. Dreams may originally sound outlandish, but they all need to start somewhere, right? Without further ado, here is FLA’s December 2023 Side Income Report.

 

DECEMBER SIDE INCOME REPORT

The best way to make money is to have various streams of revenue. The best way to protect yourself in the course of ill-fated events stripping you of some of your main sources of income is to diversify.

We have all heard the pragmatic advice of “Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.” Well, put this theory into practice. The following is my best attempt to develop additional sources of income. Below are the six ways I attempted to make money from my side hustles in the month of December.

 

 

Stocks are my absolute favorite money-making assets. Your money can make money for you with the click of a ‘buy’ button! Sure, there are ups and downs in the stock market, but if you look historically at the S&P 500 Index or the Dow Jones Industrial Average, your investment generally grows over the long term. Remember, investing and gambling are not the same thing.

“If you aren’t willing to own a stock for ten years, don’t even think about owning it for ten minutes.”

-Warren Buffett, American Investor/Business Tycoon/Philanthropist/Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway

Investors and analysts contend that conducting research on which stock to buy may be active work, but it is a generally held credence that dividends are passive income.

What are dividends?

Simply, they are distribution of some of a company’s earnings to a class of its shareholders. In this case, you are the shareholder. Yes, I know it’s hard to believe, but the company you invest in will reward you with bonus money!

Let’s take a look at the aftermath of the stocks that paid out dividends this month:

December Side Income 2023 Stock Dividends

Which stocks have I invested in? I have a few individual stock picks, but the finance community knows this is a loser’s game. I mainly hold VTI, the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund, which allows you to be diversified and capture 3,525 different stocks with a minimal expense ratio, or annual fee, of 0.03%. Index funds will often take you to the promised land in the long run.

Typically, you have 2 choices with dividends. You can either accept the dividend as cold hard cash or you can choose to reinvest the money back into the same stock automatically. It’s as simple as clicking the ‘yes’ button when prompted with the question on whether or not to re-invest dividends.

I strongly recommend you to reinvest your dividends and capital gains. Why? Well, look at this way: you didn’t have the earned dividend money to begin with. Do you really need it at this moment? Why not let your additional money grow even more? Open up an investment account and enjoy the magic of compounding interest by increasing your principal investment.

December Side Income – Stock Dividends / Interest Total: $491.56

 

In my free time, I participate in paid surveys. It’s one of my other sources of income. The surveys are mindless and allow you to temporarily escape from life’s struggles and reality. Oftentimes, you have a chance to play your part in society and provide meaningful feedback on hot topics that may be decided by top companies and government officials.

The 3 survey programs I use daily are:

  1. Prolific
  2. Pinecone Research
  3. YouGov

I strongly recommend any of these three survey websites because of the higher payouts. Our time on this planet is valuable. Always consider how much time you are trading for money.

Prolific

Prolific seems to have the highest quantity of surveys available. Each survey also previews an hourly rate to the user. This significantly helps in determining if the survey is worth your time. I’ve seen them range from $3/hour all the way up to $30/hour, but on average are $8/hour.

Pinecone Research

Pinecone Research surveys always reward you with $3 for every survey. Since each survey is typically around 10 minutes long, the site has a pretty standard hourly rate of $12/hour. However, the frequency of surveys is much less than Prolific.

YouGov

Finally, YouGov’s typical survey lasts for 10 minutes and will pay out $1.50, translating to an hourly rate of $6/hr. Even though it is the lowest payout, it still helps to have supplemental income. Again, always consider the balance between time and money.

YouGov is an eclectic group of the media, nonprofits and companies that congregate to find out what the world thinks. YouGov happens to be one of the most-quoted data sources in the US and across the world.

Prolific, Pinecone Research, and YouGov offer all kinds of rewards, but I normally recommend cash payout via PayPal. The transfer is usually instantaneous. Prolific does pay out in GBP, but the money is translated to USD when conducting a bank transfer in PayPal.

In fact, Prolific does not have a minimum payout, Pinecone’s minimum payout is $5, and YouGov’s minimum cash payout is $50, albeit YouGov offers the option of a $15 Amazon gift card.

December Side Income 2023 Survey Earnings

December Side Income 2023 Pinecone Research Cash Out

December Side Income 2023 Prolific Earnings

December Side Income 2023 Prolific Earnings Conversion

December Side Income – Surveys Total: $214.00

 

An additional passive income stream is selling your old goods or unused consumer products. Simply list your items with competitive pricing on Amazon, Facebook Marketplace and/or eBay, sit back, and let the buyers make you offers.

I often notice friends, family, and even co-workers constantly looking to throw out items that are still in perfectly good condition; it drives me nuts! Why not let someone bid on the product? Worst case will be that it doesn’t sell, and then you can throw out the item. No harm, no foul.

At the very least, donate your stuff. I typically enjoy donating old apparel to the Salvation Army and other charities. It always feels good to know your treasured clothing is not going to waste.

This month, there were a few strangers that bought items of my personal inventory I was looking to discard. After fees and small shipping costs, I usually still walk away with a hefty profit.

December Side Income 2023 Seller Earnings

December Side Income 2023 eBay December 22

December Side Income – Selling Total: $91.48

 

As a blogger, I would like to keep the user experience as clean as possible. Therefore, I have chosen to keep all Google AdSense ads from my website. I am an avid reader of many other blogs, and I can truthfully admit it retracts from the reading experience. I am very proud of this decision and will continue with this route.

December Side Income – Google AdSense Revenue: $0.00

 

I published my first eBook titled How I Launched, Marketed, and Promoted a High-Traffic Blog in Under 15 Days last year. I only promoted the book as part of the launch, but several people found their way to the sales page. Again, this is a learning process to convert the views into actual sales. As Robert Kiyosaki alludes to in his book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, it’s all about being a best-selling author, not a best-writing author. There is a subtle yet significant difference.

December Side Income – eBook Blog Startup Manual Sales: $0.00

 

Who would’ve ever thought that spending money would actually earn you money? Well, with cash-back credit cards, now it’s certainly possible. With my Capital One Venture Card, I can now make this dream a reality.

Depending on the card you have, you’ll score 1-2 miles with every dollar you spend. Capital One Miles can be used in a variety of ways and are generally worth between half a cent and one cent apiece.

Earn 50,000 bonus miles (equivalent to $500) once you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.

Although I’m still trying my best to limit opportunities to throw away those hard-earned paychecks, the positive result is that I earn more in cash back from the credit card rewards.

December Side Income 2023 Capital One Credit Card Cash Reward Cash Back

After looking at my monthly expense report, I saw that I earned 5,852 miles, which is equivalent to $58.52.

I now have a Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card.

Earn 80,000 bonus miles (equivalent to $1,000) once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.

June Side Income 2022 Chase Sapphire Credit Card Bonus

When you use points to redeem for cash, each point is worth $.01 (one cent), which means that 100 points equals $1 in redemption value. Each point you redeem for travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards is worth $.0125 (one and a quarter cents), which means that 100 points equals $1.25 in redemption value, and points are worth 25% more than if redeemed for cash. For example, 20,000 points are worth $250 when redeemed for travel purchases, or $200 when redeemed for cash. The cost of travel is based on the rates and fares available through the Ultimate Rewards website and travel center, and may not reflect all rates and fares that are available through other sales channels.

If you choose to use points and your Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card to pay for your purchase, each point will be worth $.0125, but your credit card will be charged the full remaining dollar amount.December Side Income 2023 Chase Sapphire Credit Card Cash Back

After this month, I was able to earn $63.86 this month from the Chase card.

December Side Income 2023 Chase Sapphire Credit Card Redemptions

After this year, I was able to earn $1022.46 from the Chase card.

December Side Income – Capital One & Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card Cash-Back Rewards – $122.38

 

Well, that’s it for this month’s side income report! Hope your 2023 is going well.

In 2022, I was able to max out my Roth IRA and 401k – I highly recommend you do the same in 2023 if you have the option! In January, I immediately transferred the maximum $6,500 limit from my taxable brokerage account to the tax-deferred Roth IRA for the 2023 year, with most of it invested in January. The sooner, the better since time in the market often beats timing the market.

Investing in 2023 is a great time because we were just in a bear market (down over 20% from the highs) in 2022 so stocks are on sale!

Thank you for taking the time to read through my latest December income report and thank you for contributing if you have previously purchased something through one of my affiliate links!

If you wish to support this site, but don’t have a need for any of FLA’s affiliate products, you could simply do your regular Amazon shopping through any of the links on this site that lead to Amazon.com. You won’t pay any extra and FLA will receive a small commission. Thanks so much if you do so!

That’s a wrap for this income report! I am looking forward to earning more money on the side in the future. Stay hustlin’, my friends!

December Side Income 2023 Summary

Total December Side Income: $919.42

2023 Monthly Average Side Income: $614.60

2023 Side Income Grand Total: $7,375.21

How was your December 2023 side hustling? Let me know in the comments below.

 

Editorial Note – Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.

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