You can be hardworking but poor. You can also only work 10-20 hours a week but rich. Or you can be both, hardworking and filthy rich.

Is 401k Alone Enough?

Yes you can work at a 9-5 job all your life saving for 401k retirement, then get your pension and social security checks after you retire. In fact, most people do that. But the problem is, most people have to dramatically change their lifestyle during retirement, spending much less on the things they love the most.

If You Live Longer than Expected…

The situation gets worse if you live longer than you expect, the expenses add up quickly, especially if you don’t have long-term care insurance.

But, you shouldn’t worry about it now because you’re so freaking young! You don’t even know what will happen in the insurance industry and government in the next 40 years (assuming you’re in the 20s).

Premiums might go up and down, and the eligibility for Medicaid might change. So, the ideal time to consider buying one might be in yours 50s, give and take depending on your risk tolerance.

2 Options for You

Some people might want to earn just 60k annually all their life, just working barely enough to avoid getting fired. And they’re cool about it. But if you think about it, their lifestyle would suffer after they retire, especially if they’re only relying on their 401k fund.

If you fall into that category, you pretty much have 2 options:

1) Start managing your money

2) Start earning more money

However, there’s a catch to these options (as there’s a catch to everything else!).

Option 1: You can manage your money like crazy, such as cutting your fixed costs like a mad man. Examples of fixed costs are rent, food, transportation, various subscriptions. But if you’re only earning the minimum wage ($7.25 an hour is the national minimum wage), you’re not really going to go very far. Either you have to raise your income, or you have to create multiple sources of income.

Option 2: Working hard at a job is definitely important, because you gain great experience (both professional and life) and more money (paycheck, bonus, subsidies on insurance plans). Now, you’re earning more money. But if you don’t manage your money wisely, you’d still end up living a poor life. You’re hardworking in earning money, but you’re also hardworking in spending all the hard earned money!

Option 3: Sorry I lied. There’s a third option, which is doing both. So, you can focus all your energy into the 20% most important tasks that will help you fulfill your dream, and work solely at that. The Pareto 80/20 rule.

It could be building a business, starting a freelance side job, or changing your primary job. Whatever it is, don’t forget that you will still need to manage your money wisely.

Make the Right Choice NOW

If you make the right choice now, you’ll live a rich life, not only before retirement, but throughout your entire life. Remember, hard work must be put in the right direction to be fruitful. All in all, you need to hustle to get what you want! I’ll end this post with an inspiring video from Gary Vaynerchuk, an entrepreneur who grew his family’s wine business to over 60 million dollars using online video:

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