Editor’s Note: Over the past week, Mark’s shared his secrets to reaching your financial goals later in life: from following a special five-part retirement plan to avoiding retirees’ biggest mistake.
But if you still feel like you’ve lost your shot at a wealthy financial future, keep reading…
Below, Mark shares the stories of five people who made a fortune at 60-plus… and explains how you can, too.
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From Mark Ford, founder, Palm Beach Research Group: One of our subscribers, Paul T., wrote in saying:
I’m about to hit 60 and everything is suddenly starting to go wrong… my business, my finances… even my body! Plus I’m worried about the economy and how burdened it is with debt. Be honest, Mark. Is it even possible to save myself at this point?
The answer, Paul, is a definitive yes!
But I want to say I get it. Being busted in your 20s is no big deal. Being busted 40-plus years later is a challenge. And that’s especially true if your body is not giving you the physical and emotional energy you need to make a big change.
What You Can Do in Your 60s
Consider the following:
- Harland Sanders, better known as Colonel Sanders, was 65 when he started Kentucky Fried Chicken. As demand for his tasty chicken grew, Sanders opened a restaurant. And then another and another.
- Laura Ingalls Wilder was 65 when she began writing her beloved Little House on the Prairie series. She went on to pen eight total books in the series, bringing her fame and fortune.
- Henry Ford was 60 when he created the first car assembly line. It made him rich and changed not just the world of automobile manufacturing, but many others.
- At 70, Golda Meir became the fourth prime minister of Israel—and the first woman to hold the post.
- And at 82, Robert Galvin, retired longtime CEO of Motorola, started Galvin Electricity Initiative, a nonprofit dedicated to transforming and improving the nation’s power grid to 21st-century standards.
Next, think about this: As of 2016, persons reaching age 65 had an average life expectancy of 20.4 more years (21.6 years for females and 19.3 years for males).
Add that all up, and you can see the possibilities!
What to Do About Your Financial Future
Here is an extremely concise three-part plan for you:
First: Get your body in working order. You can’t control everything, but you can take charge of three of the most important factors for an energetic body: eating, sleeping, and exercise. I’ve written extensively on these topics in the past. The super short formula is this: Eat and exercise like a caveman and get seven to eight hours of quality sleep every night.
Second: Get your mind in shape. Invigorating your body will help a great deal, and you should also practice positivity by developing habits proven to work. Again, the short version is practice smiling and laughing several times a day and pretend to be happy even when you are not.
(As for the economy: Yes, debt burdens our world economy. And yes, that debt will be paid one way or another. But you’re not going to make yourself any richer by worrying about it. The best thing you can do is help the world along one person at a time. And that person is you!)
Third: Understand it’s perfectly possible—even likely—to get rid of debt and acquire wealth within seven years… if you’re willing to do the right things.
Start by understanding the fundamentals of creating wealth and disabusing yourself of some of the myths you’ve been sold by the financial media.
Then you must take responsibility for your future finances and well-being. This is not something you can just agree to. You have to review what you’ve done in the past and make a serious personal commitment to change.
After that, you have to curtail your spending, manage your money, and allocate your investments wisely. Then you must create a plan to increase your income.
As someone who’s retired and gone back to working three times, I’ve become an apostle preaching the gospel of work. Not the sort of 9-to-5, grueling, spiritually draining, and sometimes humiliating work most people do. An entirely different kind of work: flexible, empowering, independent, and—perhaps most important—very lucrative.
I can tell you this: Bringing in extra income is the single most important way you can get rid of debt and become wealthy within seven years. It’s the surest way you can get out of the financial pickle you’re in and enjoy a comfortable, worry-free retirement.
Being 60-plus years old isn’t a problem. It’s an opportunity. You’re older now, which means you should be wiser. Use that wisdom to make good choices.