Living On The Financial Edge – At Aged 69?

Living on the Financial Edge - elderly womenTraditionally, here in New Zealand retirement meant that you would be in your mid 60s and that the government would pay you a benefit that would take care of your basic needs – housing, health and social needs. At least this is the story that was being sold to us up until around the 1980’s. The trouble with this story though was that it simply was not possible to achieve! There is no way the NZ government could afford to take proper care of it’s elderly retired population and now many are living on the financial edge. Nobody was saying publicly back then that everyone needed to be planning well in advance, from their early teens, to ensure financial independence in retirement.

OVERVIEW

A pension in New Zealand where I live, is a weekly government payment made to its citizens over the age of 65. A Pensioner is the person receiving the pension after years of working and paying their dues to the government. Lynette is a pensioner living on the financial edge however, while trying to find a job at the age of 69 because the pension is simply not enough for her to comfortably live on. She, like many others are living on the edge with little hope for the future unless her circumstances change soon. Watch Lynettes story in the video that follows..,

Trying Times For Many…

Poverty is a word you hear every day now in New Zealand and yet I remember a time when it was invisible and only refered to in regards to a news article related to third world countries like Ethiopia. But surely and steadily, poverty is increasing here and around the world. There was a time here in NZ when anyone could earn a half decent wage or salary and live a life of good standing. Home ownership was common, although not an option for everyone, schooling was free, healthcare was adequate, plenty of jobs available and holidays was a yearly event for most families. It wasn’t perfect by any means but a typical kiwi lifestyle when I was growing up was not bad. At least our bellies were full.

Children, Families, Elderly Living In Poverty

Now whole families from the very young to the elderly are struggling with poverty and living on the egde everywhere in every city in New Zealand. Child poverty is a real thing here and the current government has made it a priority although the best they could probably do is to ease it rather than cure it. All over the world in almost all countries, this is a real problem for almost all governments. Making ends meet for people in this situation is a nightmare and unfortunately, the answers to solving poverty is so far elusive. It will take some real determination to get back on track.

Poverty Can Strike Anyone At Any Moment!

Poverty stricken third-world countries have very historical complex issues that are not easily solved by any government. But in countries where this phenomena has reached momentum in recent years, it could be down to attitudes of a nation and the acts of governments rather than laziness. It’s common to blame an individual for the circumstance they find themselves in. But poverty is definately not something that people choose for themselves. Rather, it happens as a result due to a series of events.

Build Your First Blog Before Your Coffee is Brewed!

Learn How to Start Your Own Fun Blog using My 4 Step Formula

See How I Sell Products with Zero Inventory Using a Simple 4 Step Formula

Unexpected Events Can Change Everything…

Redundancy, illness, marriage breakups, minimum wage, death or other traumatic event can affect peoples circumstances enormously. I’m not here to decifer the problems or blame anybody for it, but rather to highlight an undesireable situation, that with the right attitude, tools, support and action, can change and avoid the trap of poverty.

How Much Does Your Desired Lifestyle Cost?

How then do you sustain a lifestyle that you are use to? Well, I suppose you can say with great planning. Start by deciding on what it would cost to sustain the lifestyle you want for yourself and your family. An annual amount is a good starting point and gives you a figure to start with. So if it is $100,000 then it will help you immensly to imbed the amount in your mind. Even if it sounds far fetched to you right now, the point is that you know what the figure is – pretend that you have already earned it. Trust me, this helps to develope the mindset and motivation required by you if you don’t already have it.

Being Employed Is Not Enough?

Being employed and working in a steady job is not enough to secure a financial future because this situation can be taken from you at any time. Even if you are living comfortably and have addequite shelter, food, healthcare etc, this situation can’t be gaurenteed for any length of time. To test how long you could survive and maintain your current lifestyle, calculate what it costs you currently to live one week the way you live now, and divide this amount into any savings and investments you might have. How long will you survive before you are needing to find new sources of income.

Ways To Secure Your Financial Future…

Business Is Not Just For The Rich! The internet is a great source of earning opportunities including online affiliate marketing. Why? Well because it’s quick and easy to get started and also possible to get started for free. The best part of affiliate marketing though is that it earns while you are sleeping or away working at your regular job. However, it might start out this way but can quickly turn into your main source of income and therefore making your regular job your second source.

Consider Having An Investment Plan to secure your families financial future. But, it requires alot of research on your part and usually a few thousand dollars and time to get the expected returns.  Plus the risks are much higher in comparison to starting an online affiliate business because you don’t have to buy and hold stock to sell it.

How An Affiliate Business Works…

You are basically promoting and reviewing a merchants product for visitors to your website for which you earn commission when a visitor clicks through and goes on to purchase a product. This is not a business that you need to man-handle and watch over. But, it does need to be built out in the first instance and have traffic coming to it and converting some of this traffic into sales. Step-by-step training is the best way to achieve this. This training is available on the Wealthy Affiliate Community based platform.

Build Your First Blog Before Your Coffee is Brewed!

Learn How to Start Your Own Fun Blog using My 4 Step Formula

Rina Walker

Rina Walker - Founder of EarningOnline.come

I am Rina Walker the founder of Earning Online and have been running a successful affiliate marketing website and blogging about earning online opportunites since November 2016. The niches that I am involved in include Wealth Creation, Permaculture, Action Cameras and Social Enterprise - all of which I have a great interest in.

I'm also involved in helping, supporting and coaching online entrepreneurs of all levels to build and run their own successful web-based affiliate business.

13 thoughts on “Living On The Financial Edge – At Aged 69?”

  1. I’m not 69 years old yet but this article has gave me a lot to think about. This article talks about so many things that people do not realize until it is too late. I like the part where this article suggest to invest. I think that is a great plan If I start investing from now that can be a real asset when I’m retired.

    Thank you for sharing this article.

    Reply
    • Hiya!

      Great to have your comments! It’s never too late to start investing and planning on how to increase your retirement income in other ways such as starting an online business and investing some of your time.

      Financial investing is fine when you have the spare cash to do so. But if you don’t have a huge amount of cash then for a couple of hours a day, you can build out an online income that is earning for you even when you are sleeping.

      For this reason, affiliate marketing is a good option.

      I wish you the best with your retirement plans Sujandar. If affiliate marketing is something you wish to consider or you have more questions about it, then please reply here and I will get back to you within 24 hrs.

      Regards 🙂

      Rina

      Reply
  2. Hi Rina, what a thoughtful article! I so agree with you! I am not from New Zealand but have met a lot of people struggling financially while working there. I agree having a job is not enough, specially because you are giving your financial stability in someone else’s hands. And bottom line, at the end of your career you’re replaced within days and then left with a miserable pension that can maybe support you from day to day, but not if there are any unforeseen costs (injury, car, etc.) I feel one thing that makes things even worse in New Zealand is that you don’t get paid over-time – at the end of the month $300 extra would make a big difference.

    Reply
    • Hi Katya

      I much appreciate your comments and you have raised valid points and thanks so much for that. The unforseen costs can really mess you up if you arent prepared for it and your budget is tight. Idealy one should have multiple incomes if the main income is not cutting it. If your main income isn’t enough then having a supplement income probably needs to be considered. 

      Here in NZ jobs that pay enough are scarce. Minimum wage jobs like cleaning are readily available but requrie that you have your own transport to get there in the first place and you need to be physically able to handle the work. 

      Lynette in the video is not an isolated case, it’s becoming the norm unfortunately. My message to people is to aquire a second income such as affiliate marketing or other low cost, no cost option.

      Regards and thanks again for stopping by and for the comments.

      Rina 🙂 

      Reply
  3. Hi – thanks for sharing this interesting and thought-provoking article. I think the days are long gone when we can expect our respective governments to look after us after retirement. Here in the UK, I originally should have been due to receive my pension at age 60, but now they have changed the rules, and I can’t claim until I am 66. Most unfair, when I have worked all my life and paid into the system.

    You offer sound advice about seeking a second income to secure a better financial future, and affiliate marketing is a definite possibility to achieve this. All the best, Diane

    Reply
    • Hi Diane

      Thanks for stopping by and giving your thoughts Diane. I whole heartedly agree that waiting for your government to support you is not the answer. If anything, it is a bonus but shouldn’t be counted on. But unfortunately, it is set in some peoples minds that their government will look after them in retirement and in when assistance is required. 

      I believe it is better to teach people and support them into small business like affiliate marketing because it is acceessable if you have an internet connection, a computer and it’s extremely affordable to most. Can we change things around so that our youngtsers are equiped with the tools and education to be independent earners and not find themselves in a predicament later on in life. I believe we can. 

      This is what I would like to see happen and platforms with the training, community and support system such as Wealthy Affiliate have the ability and ideal platform to help achieve this.

      It’s never too late to change a situation such as Lynette (in the video) finds herself in. No matter what age, it is entirely possible to get started.

      Regards 🙂

      Reply
  4. What an amazing attitude that lady has! At 69 and living in a tiny caravan which would be freezing in winter (and she says it is) yet she can smile, and looks forward to visiting a few lovely places to enjoy the scenery whether it be shops, beach or a park.

    Similar problems seem to occur everywhere, no matter what country it is, it just seems to be a problem of this modern age. How can we find a solution?

    On a sad note, it is inevitable that the authorities will find her and “kick her out” of the caravan park.

    One can only hope she can find a government housing solution before that happens.

    Reply
    • Hi Steve, thank you for calling by and for leaving your comments. 

      It’s a sad situation for anyone to be in for sure and yes she is not complaining. What this situation highlights for me though is that we all need to be better prepared and act early in life to have other means to support yourself and your family so to ensure that a situation like this doesn’t arise later on down the track.

      Teach our young how to be financial savy and how to start business and how to invest. Education shouldn’t only be about preparing our young for employment. It should be about how to survive out of employment also.

      Thanks again Steve

      Regards 🙂 

      Reply
  5. Great job Rina. This article is realistic and so factual. I can relate to this. My parents are retired government workers and it breaks my heart seeing them struggle financially after years of service. So I promised myself to plan my future better. I don’t have enough to start a business offline, so I decided to try online business.

    Right now I do not have any solid financial plan for the future. Do I save up or invest?

    Reply
    • Hiya! Great to have you call by and for the comments and question. Saving is a great first start. If you haven’t the money to invest into a business etc, saving a little each week or each month, can eventually get you started. If you have the time to spare you could raise funds other ways to get you started also – Ways To Earn Extra Money

      Hope this helps

      Regards 🙂

      Reply
  6. Hello Rina

    Your site definitely shows the trials and tribulations of elderly not only in New Zealand but throughout the world. You also seem to give a very cantered yet objective description of many online systems which was excellent reading. I thought you might add more money making offers on the right hand side of your site. Overall very good eye opening reading and for that I thank you

    Reply
  7. Yes I totally agree with you here, what’s great about affiliate marketing is that it is a source of income that you can build on over time. As you learn the basic principles and strategies of affiliate marketing your income stream will be small but as your skills progress so will the levels of income.

    Reply

Leave a Comment