Monday, February 16, 2009

No New Five Year Plan

Well, I didn't make $200,000 last year, so the 5 year plan previously mentioned is out. Through 2008, however, I did discover some economic realities that compelled me to rethink my understanding of money.

I took a look at my expenses and my income, by month, and then broke it up and down to annual and daily requirements. Since I have a number of fairly steady streams of income, I took inventory and discovered that, in general, I am less than $15/day away from full retirement. Not that I would retire in grand fashion, but combining current income and an additional $15 per day, I could do whatever I like.

Now, $15/day may not sound like a lot of money, but working solo, without any support mechanism - like a working wife, pension or other means of income - it's more significant than one may realize.

$15/day works out to $105/week or $5475/year. It looks a little more significant now, doesn't it?

There are many ways to make an extra $15/day, but my goal is to be able to do it on my terms, alone, on my computer, in less than 2 hours per day on average. As a writer, this is not a goal that is out of reach.

I have any number of good ideas, not the least of which is to create more pages on my main site, Downtown Magazine, especially in the Collectible Magazine Back Issue Price Guide.

Selling advertising in house is also a possibility, and now that I have a working computer with Mac OSX working, life is becoming easier and easier. My $15/day goal is clearly within sight.