Diversified Income: And how it could save your life.

I remember when I turned 18 and my parents started after me to get a job. I stayed with that company for a few months, but then started to apply to other places and eventually got hired by another company. My Mother didn't agree with me switching jobs so quickly. She's a part of the "baby boomer" generation. A generation that believes that you should stay at a job for the rest of your life, and that that company will take care of you like family.

The problem with that logic is that in the economic reality of today's dead-end, minimum wage jobs loyalty to one company will ultimately just screw you over. Eventually someone younger, more educated, or in some cases, more experienced will come along and oust you out of your position. Or in this "Great Recession" we're currently facing, your job will disappear overnight.

You can't trust that you'll be working tomorrow, which is a scary thought for almost anyone today. Financial Gurus will tell you that you need to "save, save, save." But this won't alleviate your financial issues if you run out of your savings before you can find a job.

This is why I believe in "diversified income."

Diversified income is a concept where your income doesn't come from one primary source, or you have multiple streams of supplemental income on top of your primary income. This could be as simple as someone having 2 jobs. Or as complex as someone selling their crocheted baby booties on online, working at an office as a secretary during the week, and then pick up side shifts at restaurant on the weekends and occasionally tutor local kids in the evenings.

The pace sounds exhausting, but it's something that anyone with good time management skills can achieve regardless of physical disabilities. Someone in a wheelchair can sell on eBay, write for a magazine, and babysit their neighbor's kids.

Financial Gurus will tell you, never invest in any one portion of the market otherwise you could find yourself at an extreme disadvantage should it crash. (EX: Stock Market, Housing Bubble, etc.) By diversifying your investments, you'll never truly lose. Thus, buy diversifying your income, you'll never truly lose.

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