Here is a different approach to financial security that you might not have thought of:

Imagine a full time job is like a large flowing river of income. With this one source, you have all of the financial flow that you could possibly need, and your expenses are covered in comfort. However, what about when something happens and the river ceases to flow? Your industry could experience a drought, or you could lose your job, causing the flow of that river of income to be dammed up forever.

Since you only relied on one source of income, now that it has dried up you are completely up the creek without a paddle. To start another river of that magnitude flowing will take time, and every day that no money flows in you are digging yourself deeper into debt.Living on a one-source income is great while the money is flowing, but it can be risky business because you never know what is coming around the river bend.

Establish Diverse Streams of Income

So how can you avoid the risk of relying completely on one income source? The solution is to restructure the way you make money, and divide your earning power into several diverse streams of income rather than just one. This could mean going freelance in your industry, working on several side projects, publishing something that generates royalties, or working two part time jobs rather than just one. Just like stock experts advise you to diversify your portfolio, diversifying your career is just as advantageous.

Let’s take the example of the freelancer. Although it might seem that their income is much less stable, because they are not in a conventional job, however their diversity is what keeps them afloat. Imagine that a freelancer is simultaneously working on 10 different small projects for 10 clients. If one of those 10 clients suddenly decides to pull the plug and let the freelancer go, they don`t panic. They will not even have to suffer financially because they still have 90% of their income to rely on while they search for a new client. A loss of income is only crippling if you only have one source to cover all of your needs.

When we bring it back to the river analogy, this strategy is like having several small streams, tributaries, creeks and brooks all flowing into one river. The volume of water is the same, but if one stream suddenly dries up the river will not stop flowing. The bonus advantage to this style of working is that you will be constantly invigorated by the diversity of your work, and you will be much less likely to become bored because you are engaged in such a variety of exciting projects.

Think about it, how can the concept of diverse streams of income help you?  What have you done to create stability in your income?