Earning money after 55

Earning Money After 55: My $3,000 90-Day Challenge

At 55, I find myself in a situation I did not expect to be in at this stage of my career.
After approximately 30 years working in IT consulting and contracting, I am currently unemployed and finding it increasingly difficult to find new work.
So instead of simply waiting for the next contract, I have decided to start rebuilding my income in a different way.

My first target is relatively simple:

I need to earn $3,000 within 90 days.

The reason for the target is very practical. I want to use the money to pay for dental work in Thailand.
The $3,000 target is only the beginning, however. The larger objective is to build income streams that can eventually provide more financial independence and help me rebuild my retirement savings.

Why am I trying to rebuild my income at 55?

For approximately 30 years, my main income has come from IT consulting and contracting.
Over that period I have worked for a range of organizations, including Royal Dutch Shell, the Dutch government, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Transavia and KPN.
Freelancing and contracting can provide a good income when the work is available.
The problem is that finding work has become more difficult for me since turning 55.

One of the recurring responses I have received is that I am overqualified or that my profile is too senior for a particular position.

That creates an unusual situation.

I have decades of experience and a proven track record, but that experience can sometimes work against me when an organization is looking for someone with a different profile or budget.
I am not abandoning IT consulting. If the right contract comes along, I will still take it.
But I also recognize a fundamental limitation of selling your time:

You can only sell the same hour once.

That is why I am looking at additional income streams.

My $3,000 90-day challenge

The immediate goal is to generate $3,000 in 90 days.
The money is intended for dental treatment in Thailand.
The plan is not simply to find one source of money. Instead, I want to experiment with several income streams and see which ones can actually produce results.

These include:

  • IT freelancing and contracting
  • YouTube
  • YouTube advertising revenue
  • Sponsorships
  • Brand partnerships
  • Affiliate marketing
  • Website income
  • Investments

Some of these income sources are already familiar to me. Others are areas where I am still learning.
The purpose of documenting the process is to show what happens in reality rather than presenting an unrealistic “get rich quick” story.

Income stream 1: IT freelancing

IT consulting remains one of my potential income streams.
I have spent approximately 30 years working in IT, so walking away from that experience completely would not make much sense. If an appropriate contract becomes available, I will take it.
However, I also want to reduce my dependence on finding another organization willing to buy my time.
That is one of the reasons I am experimenting with online income.

Income stream 2: YouTube

I currently have two YouTube channels.

One is focused on IT, where I cover subjects such as software, automation, technology and practical IT information.
The other channel is focused more on my personal journey.
I am not trying to become “YouTube royalty.”
The purpose of YouTube is much more practical.

I want to use the platform to:

  • Share what I know
  • Document my journey
  • Learn how online content businesses work
  • Build an audience
  • Create additional income
  • Develop income streams that are not directly tied to selling my working hours

YouTube itself can generate advertising revenue once a channel is monetized, but advertising is only one potential source of income.
The bigger opportunity is using the audience to support other parts of the business.

YouTube sponsorships and brand partnerships

Another potential income source is sponsorship.
A software company, hardware company or other business may be interested in sponsoring a video that is relevant to its audience.
This is not necessarily predictable income.
Sponsorship opportunities depend on the channel, audience, subject matter, views and the relevance of the product or service.
Nevertheless, sponsorships can become another piece of the overall income model.
I also want to learn more about how creators should price sponsorships and negotiate these agreements.

Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is another income stream I am exploring.
The basic concept is straightforward. I can recommend a product or service and provide an affiliate link. If someone purchases through that link, I may receive a commission. For example, I can discuss a computer monitor or other technology product and provide an appropriate affiliate link. The important part is that I want to recommend products that I actually know and can reasonably stand behind. I don’t want to build a business around recommending products simply because they have an affiliate commission. Trust matters. Affiliate income can also be incorporated into a website rather than relying exclusively on YouTube. That is one of the reasons I am developing my website alongside the channels.

My bigger problem: retirement

The $3,000 target is the immediate challenge. But it is not the biggest financial issue I am trying to solve.
The bigger issue is retirement. At 55, I am not where I want to be financially to simply stop working.
That means I need to continue generating income and building investments.
My current thinking is that I need approximately $2,500 per month for my basic living requirements.
Anything I earn above that target can potentially be directed toward rebuilding my investment and retirement position.
The objective isn’t necessarily to stop working completely. I actually expect that I will continue working for many years. The difference is that I want working to be a choice rather than something I absolutely have to do to pay the bills.

Why I’m documenting this publicly

There are plenty of videos and articles about making money online. Many of them focus on rapid growth, passive income or becoming financially independent in a very short period. That isn’t what I am trying to document. I am 55. I have 30 years of professional experience. I have worked as an IT consultant and freelancer. And right now, I am dealing with the reality of having difficulty finding work. So this is an experiment in rebuilding income from where I actually am. There will probably be things that work. There will probably be things that don’t work. I want to document both.

The longer-term goal

The $3,000 challenge is the first milestone. The next objective is to establish enough recurring income to cover my monthly expenses.
After that, the focus becomes rebuilding my retirement position.

The income could eventually come from a combination of:

  1. IT consulting
  2. YouTube
  3. Advertising
  4. Sponsorships
  5. Affiliate marketing
  6. Website income
  7. Investments
  8. Other online income streams

I don’t expect every income stream to become successful.

The point is to build several smaller streams rather than relying entirely on one source of income.

Earning money after 55 is a different challenge

There is an important difference between starting a business when you are 25 and trying to rebuild your income at 55.
At 55, you have experience, knowledge and a professional track record.
But you also have less time to recover from major financial mistakes.
That makes experimentation more important, but also makes risk management important.
I don’t need to become an overnight success.
I need to build something that works.
The first step is therefore relatively modest:

$3,000 in 90 days.

Then I can work out what comes next.

Follow the journey

I am documenting this journey through my YouTube channel and website.

I’ll be sharing what I learn about:

  • Making money after 55
  • Rebuilding income after unemployment
  • YouTube as an income source
  • Affiliate marketing
  • Sponsorships
  • Freelancing
  • Online business
  • Technology
  • Retirement planning
  • Building multiple income streams

I’m not starting from zero in terms of experience.
But financially and professionally, I am at a point where I need to build something different.
So this is the beginning.

55 years old. 30 years of IT experience. Currently unemployed.

The first target: $3,000 in 90 days.

Let’s see what happens.