Needless to say, in light of my changed circumstances, I have substantially revised my financial goals. I have little hope of retiring in the near future since my divorce has put a bit of a crimp in both my net worth and in my net earnings for the next several years.

I have become a big fan of having more than one iron in the fire when it comes to income sources. In my case, as with many others, I am sure that employment income is the main if not the sole income source. However, if possible, it is important to have a secondary or even tertiary source of income to help with those monthly bills or to build up a retirement income.

When I talk about other sources of income, I am not necessarily talking about a second or third job, although that might be appropriate for someone in a different stage of life than me. Indeed, a second job (or having a spouse who works, even part-time) could provide the needed capital to establish a savings fund where your money goes to work - instead of you having to go to work.

And that's one of my goals - to establish a secondary source of income that is derived from investments, not from labour. I like not being at work, and knowing that even though I'm putting forth absolutely no effort, the money is still dribbling in.