The Retirement Newsletter: What is evergreen income, and how did my chat with Pension Wise go?
Issue Number: -21 — thinking green and thinking pensions
(The photo? I know, a shocking play on words, but when I think of evergreen income, I think of evergreen trees.)
Welcome
Welcome to issue -21 — What is evergreen income, and how did my chat with Pension Wise go?
Also, this week, I picked up a few new subscribers, so if you are a new subscriber, welcome! If you are not a subscriber, then feel free to subscribe to the newsletter — it’s free.
Evergreen income
Last week, in issue -22 — Passive income in your retirement — I wrote about passive income and argued that passive income didn’t exist. That is, all income requires some work; even if it is a side-hustle it will need work when you are setting it up.
But is there such a thing as evergreen income?
What is Evergreen income?
What do I mean by ‘evergreen income’?
To me, ’evergreen income’ is money you get from a product or piece of work that keeps coming in. For example, you could view income from your pension or investments as evergreen if you don’t have to manage the pension or the investments. You sit back, and the money from your pension and investments appears in your bank accounts. You worked to get the pension or make the investment, and now it keeps giving. It is evergreen.
But what about side-hustles? Can side-hustles be evergreen?
Well, once you have produced a course, video or eBook, it could be ‘evergreen income’ if it brings in money and you are not doing any work. But, if you engage with the community associated with the product, then it is no longer ‘evergreen’ as you are now doing work.
So, let’s say you have set up an online gardening course or have written an eBook on the subject. You have done the work; it brings in income, and you are not promoting it or engaging with the community; it is ‘evergreen’. But, it can go stale, particularly if you have not ‘future-proofed’ it when you made it.
For example, you are making a gardening video, and you say, “at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show”, and you include a shot of you admiring a garden at the show. That video is only ‘green’ for that year. Next year, it will be out of date, and it may make your viewers question if your material is up-to-date and contains the latest ideas. Therefore, when producing anything, you should think about how it might age and how you can slow that process.
But don’t despair; if you plan, there is always recycling.
Recycling
With a side-hustle that produces a course, video or eBook, there is always some recycling that can be done to maximise the return on your initial investment of time.
So, what do I mean by recycling?
You can recycle scripts from videos or material from a course as eBooks. You can convert eBooks into blog posts, newsletters, courses and videos.
The secret to recycling is to be creative and think about how to reuse material you've already produced.
For example, I’ve produced many videos to support my teaching. I have tried to make those videos ‘evergreen’ in that I do not mention things specific to that teaching year, such as dates of particular classes. When I produced those videos, I viewed them as a series of small videos (think-scenes) that can be dropped out and reused in later videos or courses. All of this takes some planning and thinking, but it is possible. It means from the initial time I spent scripting and editing the video, I have something I can reuse multiple times in other videos.
Likewise, suppose I have material that I need to mention a specific date or event. I produce that material so I can swap in alternative text or video later or reuse the other material in other projects. It’s all about planning.
The take-home message is to be creative, think about what you are producing, how it will age, how you can slow the ageing, and how you can reuse the material in other projects.
What ‘evergreen’ ideas do you have or use? Please don't hesitate to share your tips and tricks below.
Money — Talking to Pension Wise
OK, I am not a financial advisor. I am writing about what I have read over the years about money and preparing to retire. This is not financial advice.
This week (see, that is not an ‘evergreen statement’), I met with Pension Wise to discuss my retirement plans and pension. One thing they make clear is that the interview is that it is not financial advice — it is to help educate you about your pensions.
Pension Wise is a service the UK government set up for people approaching retirement to get safe and unbiased information about pensions. The service is free in the UK; the interview lasts 45 minutes to an hour and is either face-to-face or on the phone.
So, how did it go?
If you are familiar with my newsletter, you will know that I have been thinking about retirement for a long time. And I've been stressing about my pension and investment for even longer.
As I have read a lot about retirement and pensions, and I run a newsletter about planning for retirement, I thought I was pretty clued up on pensions, types of pensions, investments, strategies, etc. It turns out I didn’t know as much as I thought I did.
My interview with Pension Wise has made me stop and think.
The interview with Pension Wise was over the phone and lasted 50 minutes. And in that time, we covered a considerable amount of ground. At the end of the interview, I was sent a link to a lot of material to read online.
Did I find the 50 minutes helpful?
Yes. I learnt a lot, but it has left me with many questions. And I need to do a lot more reading. Therefore, I will not go into the interview in depth this week; I will leave it for a future edition of the newsletter. I need time to sit down, read, digest and understand all the information I've received.
If there is one thing to take home from the interview, it is that if you are in the UK and approaching retirement, you should take the time to chat with Pension Wise. It is free, and it won’t be wasted time. (Well, it wasn’t for me.)
Please note I am not a financial advisor. I am writing about what I have read over the years about money and preparing to retire. This is not financial advice.
Travel — Nostalgia Corner
This week, I continue with my tales from Myanmar (Burma):
Myanmar (Burma) — Yangon (Rangoon) International Museum, Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar (Burma) — I went to visit the museum, but why didn’t I go inside?
Myanmar (Burma) — What did we do before mobiles for navigation and recommendations? — reflecting on being a modern traveller. How did they manage years ago?
Myanmar (Burma) — Bogyoke Market (Scotts Market), Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar (Burma) — Exploring the famous Scotts Market, Yangon — what did I find? Is it a tourist trap?
Myanmar (Burma) — Demanding money with menaces? The “pink nuns” of Myanmar (Burma) — The nuns may not be all they seem!
Myanmar (Burma) — The Sule Shangri-La, Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar (Burma) is in distress! — Was the Sule Shangri-La in distress, or were they being rude? And am I a pedantic Brit?
And next week, I will continue with my stories from Myanmar (Burma).
Useful links
UK Government Website:
Next week
Next week, in issue -20, my thoughts turn to the coming winter in the Northern Hemisphere and ask — Where do we stand with COVID-19 and flu?
Thanks
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Until next time,
Nick
Please note: I am not a financial advisor. Writing about money and financial matters is based on things I have read over the years about money and preparing to retire. IT IS NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE