Seniors are the most common group that experiences life on a fixed income as soon as they retire. Fixed income has some perks – but it is not great in most situations. And if you have been worried about your fixed income senior living situation – you are in the right place.
You might have noticed already that Living on Lean Means is all about helping people who live on fixed income out.
I am also one of the seniors who live on a fixed income and in this post, you will find out more about this type of lifestyle, challenges it brings, but also some of my tips and solutions to improve the financial situation.
What is Fixed Income Senior Living?
Fixed income senior living is a term for a situation all seniors find themselves in – and it is a situation that almost every human will find themselves in.
It is a situation of being restricted to one income source only which is often the retirement money most of you have been saving for a fairly good amount of your life.
However, there are also many different types of fixed income. Disability or social security checks are great examples.
Fixed income is also known as a term that is being used in investing – but that is not very related to fixed income living situation so you should not let that confuse you.
It is a lifestyle that can be incredibly challenging at times and it definitely takes some time getting used to it. However, fixed income living brings up a couple of perks such as the certainty of a check at the end of the month + plenty of free time you can use to improve your financial situation.
Down below, we will touch on some of the challenges that seniors who live on a fixed income might face on a daily basis – before we get into the actionable part of the article.
Challenges Seniors Face When Living on Fixed Income
Everyone lives a different life, and everyone has a different amount of fixed income. However, the challenges can be categorized in a couple of categories only.
The most common problem is monetary inflation. What once was a great sum of money – it might not be sufficient enough. If it is the only source of income – the financial situation can become extremely tough.
However, the second most common problem is that the fixed income cannot cover living expenses. We are not talking about luxury here either, yet unfortunately, in some cases, it is not enough to live by.
These are the two most common categories, but there are many other similar obstacles that seniors face.
There are a couple of different ways to act in order to overcome the obstacles. If you have already found facing the obstacles yourself – here is what you can do:
- Write down a list of income and expenses
- Try and cut down expenses
- Use cash instead of a card
- Try repaying debt efficiently (and quicker)
- Budget properly (if you are not budgeting already)
- Gain more financial knowledge
Even though these things can help short-term, they might not be able to help you in the long term. But do not give up yet or do not get scared!
Down below, I will talk about my favorite way to improve the financial situation by investing and starting your own online business to create a secondary stream of income!
Investing, Learning & Creating
My favorite way to act is the following:
- Investing – mostly money for education
- Learn – about trending digital skills
- Create – a secondary stream of income (or an online business)
I have come across a platform called Wealthy Affiliate which is an educational platform for affiliate marketing.
Affiliate marketing is a business model that has been older than the internet now, but it became increasingly popular with the digitalization of almost everything in our daily life.
Nowadays, some of the largest companies such as Amazon have an affiliate program that is free to join by anyone out there.
Once you join, you get the ability to promote and help make sales on the products they sell (and they sell a lot of different products!) in return for a commission.
Creating an Online Business with Wealthy Affiliate
Remember I have told you about Wealthy Affiliate?
It is a platform that provides step-by-step training with written parts, images, and even videos to teach you how to build your own online business by writing down a business plan, finding something you’re passionate about, and creating a website.
Alongside the training, Wealthy Affiliate also features all the tools you need such as:
- The website builder
- The ability to purchase domain names + hosting
- Keyword research tool
- Affiliate programs
What I really like about Wealthy Affiliate is that you can follow the training at your own pace – but every lesson makes you do tasks, so you immediately implement everything you have learned.
Another great thing about Wealthy Affiliate is that it is free to join. You actually become a starter member and you can stay a free member for as long as you wish (it is not a trial offer).
Yet with the free starter account – you can get access to:
- One training phase (perfect to get started)
- 2 free websites
- 2 free sub-domain names
- Affiliate programs
- Support within the first 7 days
- A community full of helpful affiliate marketers of all levels
Hopefully, you can understand why I am a big fan of this educational platform as a way to act (even starting today) to improve your financial situation.
Conclusion
Even if you are unable to work – you can always learn new skills and create something of your own that will help you generate a secondary income stream.
With so much time on your hands, all you need is will and dedication to act and actually be consistent.
The results will follow, but they will not appear overnight.
What is your biggest challenge as a senior who is living on a fixed income?
I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback. If there is one thing you could change regarding the fixed income senior living – what would it be?
Feel free to leave your comments down below, but do not hesitate to leave questions either! I will do my best to help you out!
All the best,
Barbara
Founder/Creator: Living On Lean Means 💰
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Hi Barbara
Perfect timing for this article, today is International Senior Citizens day!
You have provided an ideal way for fixed income earners to generate a second income stream, the best part is that they can do it from anywhere in the world! I am sure that many “seenagers” (senior teenagers) would love the opportunity to be not only financially free but also the freedom to move and travel around to their hearts’ content!
Great share, thank you so very much.
Blessings
Louise
PS I know this because I am a late bloomer and Wealthy Affiliate is my retirement plan 🙂
Hi Louise!
Thank you for stopping by and providing comments on my article Fixed Income Senior Living. My website offers many ideas for creating income when you are a senior and living on a fixed income. I would like to stress that there are many seniors who are not computer literate or internet savvy and need to find alternate ways to supplement their income. I hope my website can provide that to them.
All the best to you,
Barbara
A fixed income or and income that has a sealing can take you only so far, that means if your expenses go over that sealing you may be facing some issues. With a fixed income, the majority of the working population and even those that have retired have to live within their means.
But the good news is with online programs those fixed income can change by creating an online business earning commissions, selling digital products, teaching a training course, and so on. With this type of passive income, the sky is the limit because you can earn so much more getting you out of the fixed income lifestyle.
Hello again,
Norman, for the most part I believe you are correct with your statements, however there are many seniors who are not computer literate or internet savvy, so they are extremely limited when it comes to earning extra income. My website show them alternate ways to create additional income streams.
All the best,
Barbara
Lots of helpful info here for people to be able to increase their income with viable alternatives such as Wealthy Affiliate. It is so important that people are aware that they don’t have to be stuck in a fixed income situation. Thanks for offering these insights.
We meet again!
Thank you once again for visiting my article Fixed Income Senior Living. I appreciate your support. I like yo make it a point that although there is alternative such as Wealthy Affiliate, there are also seniors that are not computer literate or internet savvy. For those individual, I am glad that I do mention in my article other alternatives for making extra income, such as selling Avon. Even though Avon has taken to the digital world, people can still sell Avon the old fashion way, word or mouth, door to door, etc. This is just one of the many alternatives I recommend throughout my website.
Once again, have a great day!
Barbara
Such important information. Though the most important ones come only at the very end:
Start a secondary income. Which I think is a MUST. Because there is only so far you can cut costs. And why have we worked all our lives? To cut costs? To live below our means?
No matter how old somebody is it’s a MUST to start creating a secondary income!
Thank you for writing about these topics!
Hi Xarah,
I want to thank you for taking the time to visit and comment on my article Fixed Income Senior Living.
I totally agree with you that it is important to find alternative sources of income. You are correct in saying that we can only cut costs so much. But it becomes very difficult for seniors in their 70’s to create a secondary source of income, as work opportunities are limited and some may not be computer literate of even internet savvy. For those that are, there are many opportunities at their disposal, especially Avon.
All the best to you,
Barbara