Welcome to Young Retiree
Hey! I’m Jordan, here with my wife Renee, blowing soap bubbles on the edge of a lake.
I cherish abundant living. Engaging with life, and the world around me. I like to experience new things. I like to be with the people I know and love, and to get to know the people I don’t know, to discover them and grow to love them too.
But what’s the purpose of Young Retiree? Why does it exist?
Here’s The Story
I’m 23. There are a lot of us 20-somethings out there. It’s a hugely formitive time of life, filled with a lot of pressure, a lot of decision making, and the need to start making our way in the world.
Like many college graduates, I job searched like a maniac for most of my senior year of college, and even MORE in the 3 months after I graduated. I had a Bachelors of Science in Communications and Marketing. Every spare minute that I wasn’t doing part-time work in an autobody shop, I was on Indeed, Ziprecruiter, and Glassdoor, putting my carefully edited, meticulously composed resume out to dozens and dozens of jobs.
I had dozens of phone interviews. Drove hours to one interview after another. The job market, as I’m sure many of you will find out, if you haven’t already, is pretty brutally tough. Jobs posted as “Entry Level” demanded you have AT LEAST 2 years of experience if you expect to work for them (what exactly does “entry” mean here?).
You now seem to also need a Masters degree to be deemed qualified. And this was all for jobs paying $25,000-$35,000/year at best. It beats minimum wage, but it’s still not much for moving out on your own, getting married, the works. No wonder more and more people in their 20’s are still living with parents!
Then there’s the almost unanimous notion that you need to work a 9-5 job, or a 40+ hour week just to make a living. You spend most of your waking life working under a supervisor, or a boss, hoping to eventually retire in your late 60’s, if your lucky, or work enough over time…
The idea of Young Retiree is to just start sharing ideas that I found through lots of trial and error, and a mix of good and bad experiences, that can completely transform those narrow ambitions.
From Little Savings to Entrepreneurship
So here’s the thing; my job searching had left me on the ropes, battered, tired, and feeling hopeless. There are thousands and thousands of young people, college graduates or not, that are feeling this too. I was also battling mental health difficulties, panic attacks, and trying to prepare for living with my wife who I dared to marry young. I wanted to live freely and abundantly with her.
Guys, there are so many ways that you can use the things you’ve learned to make money.
You may have a degree, or completely skipped college and just started living and working. You may have only basic people skills, and be trying to make it in a tiny apartment. You may feel like there’s no way out.
But you have ways to make money. To save money. To reach financial freedom.
It takes drive, discipline, and self-motivation. It takes work. It takes patience. But you can build a business.You can reach income goals that are far beyond what anyone believes possible at your age. From small habits and penny saving apps, to life-changing financial investments and business endevours, YOU CAN DO THIS!
Many of us dream of starting rock bands, or achieving wordwide fame and success, but for creative, outside-of-the-box thinkers, and entrepreneurs willing to put in work in the beginning, there are realistic paths to take.
My Goal
So the goal of Young Retiree is to share my experiences, and some of the things I’ve learned, about how to make money after college, without a typical 9-5 job.
I also want to learn from YOU! Everyone has different experiences and discoveries to offer.
I want to help you avoid scams (because, unfortunately, I crashed into my fair share) and find business building options that are actually worth your investment!
If you have any comments, questions, or ideas to share, I would love to hear them. Thanks!
Over and out,
~ Jordan
Hi Jordan,
you are so right. A 9-5-job is very exhausting. I am a teacher in Germany and should not complain. Actually, I like to teach, but everything else in this job like the numerous conferences, giving grades, some arrogant collegues etc make me want to do something else. I started to paint acrylics like Jacqueline Coates from Australia does. She seems to make an enormous amount of money, but more so because of her giving very expensive painting courses in Australia, France, L.A. etc. In my 20s I spent a few years in California myself, but later in life I married, had 2 children (now 12 and 15 years old). I have been a single parent for the last 8 years and it is wearing me out completely. So I am looking for something I can make money with in case I have another burn-out or for later in life. I am 52 now and I feel I will probably not be able to teach until the Ge of 65. So I am grateful for any information on how other people make their living through art. Yours are also quite interesting. I hope you two will continue to be successful.
Cheerio
Sylvia
Hello Sylvia!
Thanks so much for commenting, and for sharing some of your story. Your job sounds very good and fulfilling, but also like it could be grueling on top of everything else you have going on in life. Flexibility and having control over your own time is so important, especially when you have kids I can imagine (I’m not a Dad yet, but I can only imagine).
Creating a full time living off of art is very difficult to do fast. But it’s very possible to do over time, with patience. The way that my wife and I initially started to make money through artwork was connecting with the local community and finding paid art opportunities. Local businesses are often looking for an artist who can do chalk drawings, murals, logos, branding artwork, and especially events… for example, you could contact some local businesses, cafes, resorts, restaurants, etc., and offer to teach a paint and sip event, a “paint your pet”, or other classes like that. They may become regular events, or one-time deals, but it’s a great way to start making money.
If you have artwork to sell you can also use your local community as your starting point. You can sell your original artwork, or prints of your artwork, at local coffee shops and art galleries. From there you can also expand onto the internet. We can take pictures of your artwork and upload them onto stickers, t-shirts, sweaters, coffee mugs, and lots of other things, and sell them online. I can give you some tips on how to start that, or you can find some advice in this blog post right here – https://young-retiree.com/how-to-sell-your-tee-shirts-online-in-5-easy-steps-and-what-not-to-do/