I read all these blogs about all these people retiring early, and I’m not gonna lie–I’m jealous!
Looks like choosing a career in social work in order to help poor, abused and neglected children was a mistake! People my age have been stacking cash and are now retiring while I have been using my few extra dollars to buy food for hungry children because nobody else would instead of putting it into Facebook stock. What a mistake!
But you live and you learn and I have been considering how even a social worker like me can do more than just make ends meet (sometimes). Is there a path to retirement for me too someday?
One thing is for sure: social work does not offer a path to retirement!
I get a 403b, which is the non-profit version of a 401k. I’ve had to raid my 403b twice due to running out of money, it wasn’t like there was much there in the first place.
Sometimes I have to chuckle at myself–“Save for retirement? I’m just trying to pay my bills!”
If you are a social worker too, you know the feeling.
“But why don’t you just get another job, lol!!”
People don’t understand that people who go into social work are cursed–we cannot help ourselves. We see the pain of the world and have to do something about it. While many people are perfectly content living their lives ignoring the plight of the poor and of the powerless getting absolutely crushed, social workers are not. To our detriment, we are unable to ignore it. Too bad there’s no money in it! If there was, then the world would care.
But since I’ve turned 40, I’ve been contemplating my long term financial plan much more and continuing to subsist on a social work salary is not an option.
It seems the only option for me, and those like me–is to start a side business that will fund our retirements.
That is the only path for financial security for social workers.
If you are a social worker, I strongly urge you to start a side-business. Pick something, anything. Sell on Amazon or eBay. Find a gig on Indeed. Photography. Open an Etsy store.
I’ve chosen the path of the blogger. It’s tough in the fact that I know I won’t get financial results until 2-3 years out if it works, and that there is no guarantee it will work. But that’s the nature of starting a business. There is risk involved and there are no guarantees, but I know I must find a way because the only person looking out for 60 year old Austin James is 40 year old Austin James.
The good news is social workers are not afraid of work. The word “work” appears right in our title.
So let’s all pick a business and get to work!