When we first moved out on the dirt road, we weren't exactly ready to make that move.
Oh we had a plan...
My mom and dad were getting to the point that they needed some assistance. And the house we were living in at the time had everything they needed to make life a little easier for both them. Raised garden beds, no stairs, and a walk in shower for my mom. Chatty, nosey neighbors and a patio with a rocking chair for my dad. It was close to stores...and medical facilities....and not that far from us. It was perfect for them!
And so the plan was to move my mom and dad into our old house when we made the move to the dirt road. They would stay with us in the original house so we could help them get settled and get our new home ready for us. And then, when everything was finished, we would move.
But the best laid plans, as they say...
Before we could even put the first coat of paint on the walls, or finish the stairs to the 2nd floor...
(Did I mention the house wasn't quite ready for prime time?)
My mom passed away. And my dad was far enough along in his Alzheimer's journey that he could not stay alone, even with nosey neighbors!
So with two houses, which meant two mortgages, we did the only thing we could. We put the original house up for rent and moved. Ready or not. We would just finish the house in our spare time, after work and on weekends.
We moved in late fall, and immediately got swamped with helping my dad get settled into his home with us.
Holidays Dealing with the longer commute to work.
Everyday, we would say, "Tomorrow. Tomorrow we really have to work on the house." But of course, tomorrow was just a repeat of the day before. Before we knew it, it was just a few days before Christmas and we still hadn't really accomplished much.
On December 23rd, I came home from work and parked my car in the driveway. (We still hadn't enlarged the garage to accommodate 2 cars). I remember the date perfectly because it was the last time my car would move until mid-January.
Now if you know anything about Arkansas winters, you know they can run the gamut from mild fall-like weather most of the season, to bitter cold with ice and snow measured in feet! This year, it happened to be the latter. A storm dropped 6 inches of ice, which was then covered by snow. Lots of snow. My car was buried. The road was impassable. And, of course, we lost power.
Do you know what you have in an all-electric house when you lose power Nothing. No lights. No heat. No way to even make a hot cup of coffee.
And while we were all huddled together trying to stay warm, I vowed we would never be caught unprepared again!
Now, obviously we survived. We used every blanket we had. And fortunately, the power wasn't out very long. But it could have been disastrous, especially for my elderly father. Because we weren't ready.
But there was another problem. Remember, when I mentioned my car didn't move until mid-January? That's a fact. Private dirt roads don't get plowed or sanded. Schools were still closed also so even if I could have gotten into work, I didn't want to leave my girls and my dad home alone.
Fortunately, again, my husband and I were both salaried so between that and the fact that we had already put in for holiday vacation, we were okay. But I'm sure many hourly employees either didn't get paid, or literally risked their lives to get to work to keep food on their tables or pay the rent.
You've heard the story of how having to care for my dad was the trigger that catapulted me into learning about attraction marketing. Well this storm was the event that showed me I needed to have MULTIPLE INCOME STREAMS. And I've spent the last 22 years learning exactly how to do that.
But what about you? Would a job loss, a health crisis, a divorce, or a natural disaster be a minor inconvenience? Or would you be struggling to figure out where your next dollar was coming from?
And let's be real. In today's uncertain economy, it's simply not enough to have just one source of income anymore. You need multiple income streams. And I'm not talking about 2 or 3 (or heaven forbid...more) jobs. I'm talking about passive, residual, make money from home in your spare time income streams.
I'm not going to promise you'll make $10,000 a month in your sleep with no work, but it's quite possible to make an extra $500 a month. Or $1000. Yes, you can even build up to $10,000 a month...WITH WORK!
I'll be talking a lot about this in future, I've learned a lot about what it takes to make sure you always have at least one income stream no matter what, although multiple income streams are better. If you want to learn how to insulate your finances from WHATEVER is coming next...
(I keep hearing the RECESSION word a lot lately)
Stay tuned. I'll be right here. Sharing all the goodness.
If you want to get a head start and discover the pro’s & con’s of 5 proven (and legitimate) ways to start making money from home, download my free report HERE.
How many of them are you already doing?
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