Everyone would like to have financial security and independence but many unfortunately are unable to achieve this especially as they approach retirement age when their options and opportunities become so much more limited.  Without having sufficient cash flow or income, these people end up in poverty, live in a downgraded lifestyle, dependent on others, take things which are not theirs and get into all sorts of trouble.

The sad truth is that if you are in this predicament, you have no one else to blame but yourself.  Addressing this situation should have been done at the earliest possible time with a clear end goal of establishing multiple income sources.  We all have choices, and perhaps without realizing it we make bad choices that we pay for in the future.  It starts with your education and how much you sacrifice to be able to afford it and make the most out of it.  Then of course is making the right career choices and what you are willing to put into your job to move up and make something out of yourself.  It could be working in a company or someone else or putting up your own business.  Choosing who you get married to is also one of the most important decisions you can make, are you marrying a bum or a cash cow?

Would it be any wonder that people who not only work longer hours but are also able to deliver results get to make more money?  It helps if you started off with a good education, had the right work ethic, with a can do attitude and a pleasing personality.  Take note that all these things come at a price where you made the extra effort and sacrifice to make yourself a better person.

Keeping in mind that your end goal is to have multiple income sources not only while you are working but keep on even after you stop working.  What does this mean?  When you get a job or work for others you get a salary.  However, there will come a time that you will want to retire or be retired due to old age or company policy.  When that happens, your cash flow will stop and you are left with your pension from the SSS, which in best case scenarios will only be at the level of minimum wage.

What you should have done in this case is save from your salary while you were still working and invested in assets that earn money.  Examples of these investment would be buying real estate properties that can generate regular cash flows for you in the form of monthly rent or investing in financial instruments that give an interest yield that is better than the inflation rate.  The beauty with making these investments is you are not limited by how many of these investments you make.

The other alternative to having a career as an employee is getting into business yourself or with partners as an entrepreneur.  This way, there is no retirement age and the only thing you have to worry about is that the business is successful and earns money so that you can get your cash dividends which will now be another income source.  Of course, you are free to go into different businesses and with different partners.     

The accumulation of wealth and financial stability comes with making the right choices, much sacrifice, knowing what you are doing, persistence, patience and luck over a long period of time.  Generating income from multiple sources does not happen by accident, you need to make it happen, after all, you can only reap what you sow.  Of course, others may think that they can reap what others have sown but you can only do this if you are a thief and criminal.          

(The views and comments of the author are his own and not of the newspaper or FINEX.  Dr. George S. Chua was 2016 FINEX President, currently an entrepreneur and also a professorial lecturer at the University of the Philippines, Diliman.  Comments may be sent to [email protected])