A special answer to a struggling subscriber’s desperate plea

  A special answer to a struggling subscriber’s desperate plea

From Richard H.: Bob, I appreciate everything coming from PBRG, including Retirement Insider. Your July issue, “When Less Is More,” prompted this response.

Since I’m an Infinity member, you might assume I’m retired and comfortable. But that’s not the case. There are many of us who can’t retire now, and the prospects for the future don’t look good, either. (I’m 72 years old.)

It took almost all of my cash reserve to afford the Infinity membership.

The content is incredibly valuable for those who have some money, but the needs of my large and growing group—who is just at the tip of survival—are being overlooked.  

One thing PBRG recommends is moving to Central America. This is only a good idea for those who have the time and money to get on a plane and research the different areas first.

What we can use is real, practical advice on how to survive and then stabilize long enough to get a toehold. We’re not interested in entitlements or handouts.

Perhaps you may have some insights, or perhaps there are no answers… But I feel that we—as a group—might explore this and help each other, perhaps with a “Can’t Retire Insider” newsletter, published by you and contributed to by many others who are happy to participate and offer insights and experience.

At age 35, I went through a divorce and had to begin all over again financially. I left corporate America and went into business for myself in the commercial art industry in California.

When the commercial art market declined, I sold my gallery interest, shut down my distribution business, and moved to a small town. I lived carefully and watched my dollars. I had a small frame-shop business, zero debt, and a FICO score of over 800.

I used my credit to help a friend buy two rental properties. I was trusting, foolish, and did not do my due diligence.

When the housing bubble burst, my friend went bankrupt. He later died, leaving me with the properties. I tried to save the properties—and my credit—but they absorbed my small nest egg, and my only alternative was foreclosure and bankruptcy.

I found myself with destroyed credit and no income source. I was unemployable and suddenly dealing with the effects of a life-threatening disease called Guillain-Barre syndrome. (Thank God for Medicare.)

In 2008, I purchased a small retail business on Craigslist. I’ve worked hard and brought in my life partner to help me. Some months, it produces enough to cover rent and groceries. But other times, it doesn’t—and we struggle.

Here’s where I’m at today:

• Too old to be employable. (I can’t even get hired to flip burgers. After age 60, I became invisible to the younger generations.)
• Broke; living hand to mouth. (Income from Social Security and the business barely covers living expenses. I have no savings.)  
• Low credit score.
• Compromised health.
• Physically and emotionally exhausted. (We’re exhausted from treading water to stay afloat. We haven’t had a vacation in 15 years.)
• Tied to a business with little resale value.

I’m willing to try other things, but I need time and money to do them. I invested much time and energy in a course about copywriting, resumes, and Internet marketing. I’m not unwilling.

I know every decision I made in my life got me here. I thought I was making good decisions.

There are millions of us. The system has failed us, the American dream was a marketing ploy, the middle class has disappeared, and earning power has given way to inflation and monetary manipulation. Elders in this society are excess baggage with little value unless they have money.

I’m not laying down for this—I’m still swinging. I just know I can’t keep it up for too much longer.

Input from you and others in my position would be very valuable.

Retirement Insider Editor Bob Irish’s Response: Richard, thanks for your thought-provoking letter. I apologize for taking so long to get back to you. I wanted to get together with Mark to come up with a consensus on what your next steps might be.

First, your situation resonated with all of us at PBRG. As Mark is always saying, we “know” some things in life as facts we’ve read about. We know these things superficially in our heads. Other things, we know from experience… We know these things more deeply, in our hearts.

Your letter brought the two together for us.

Millions of American baby boomers don’t have the financial resources to retire. The Insured Retirement Institute says only 6 in 10 boomers report having any retirement savings at all.

This is a fact… but your letter helped us remember the experience.

When you’re working full time and earning only enough money to cover expenses, it’s difficult to imagine you can alter the course of your life.

But we believe you can.

Mark and I were impressed by the fact that you recognized you missed some opportunities in the past and took responsibility for your financial situation. We were also impressed you had your own business. And we liked your ideas.

We felt, despite the hardships you’re facing, you have the character and intelligence to improve your life.

And here’s the thing: You don’t have to make a huge improvement to start feeling better. You just need to get the ball rolling.

We recommend three things:

1. We very much like your idea of starting a forum for people in your situation (baby boomers who don’t have the money to retire and feel like retirement is an impossible goal). We even considered hosting it on our site, but decided it would be better if you did this yourself, as your own project.

   At this point, it’s hard to know if it could turn into a moneymaking venture, but the cost of doing it should be very small… and the possibilities are unlimited. We like ratios like that.

   Perhaps the best way to begin would be for you to start a blog. You can find our advice on how to set one up and build traffic in the Wealth Builders Club Extra Income Opportunity #8.

2. We think you should do everything you can to reinvigorate your frame-shop business. The Central Coast is a wealthy enclave. And the framing business is traditionally a good business in terms of profit margins, cost of goods, etc.

   It sounds like you’re taking a passive approach to the business now—serving customers who come through the door. You should be spending at least 20% of your work time actively marketing your services.

   Perhaps you’ve tried advertising before, but without results. Don’t let that stop you. If you keep looking, you’ll find a way that works. For ideas, study the essays on marketing in the Wealth Builders Club program on business building. Art galleries, given your experience in this area, would seem to be a logical target. In addition, interior design firms should be made aware of your expertise.

   Given your limited resources, advertising may be out of the question. But a regular ad on Craigslist costs nothing. Perhaps there are other free classified ad publications in your area. If your frame shop doesn’t have an Internet presence, we urge you to establish one.

   Richard, you know this business. Leverage your experience. Do everything you can to grow your business.

3. We recommend you reconsider moving to Central America. You ruled out this option by saying you didn’t have the money to visit every country and examine the pros and cons firsthand. Don’t take offense… but that sounded like a rationalization to us. You don’t need to spend months and tens of thousands of dollars on a firsthand tour to make a choice. Why? Because there isn’t a best choice.

   Being happy with an overseas retirement lifestyle is 90% about being flexible and open-minded. Spend a couple of hours rereading the club’s Retire Next Year essays. Then, spend a few weeks reading International Living, and narrow down your choices to three or four countries. (It won’t be difficult. These reports are very specific.) Then, make a decision and go—with a positive mindset.

I asked Mark what he’d do if he were in your situation. He said:

Two last suggestions.

Get to work improving your credit. It’s a long-term process, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. We’ve written extensively about this in the club, as well.

Read (or reread) the Living Rich series. This series is full of good and useful ways to have a richer, fuller life right now, on a very limited budget.

I hope this message finds you and your partner well. All of us at PBRG wish you success in recreating the next chapter of your life.

Reeves’ Note: Mark offers an entire wealth-building program designed to help people like Richard—and you—break the chains of financial slavery and achieve a seven-figure net worth. It’s called the Wealth Builders Club. The program teaches you the exact same off-Wall Street techniques Mark used to grow wealthy. The results are life changing. Click here to learn more.