The baby boomer generationincludes 79 million people?26 percent of the population?in just the United States alone. In 2011, the first of this generation reached age 65, and for the 19 years after, approximately 10,000 more of them will reach that age every single day.
Needless to say, financing retirement is a hot topic these days. Far too many retirement-age folks are getting caught without enough money to survive after they leave the workforce. And with fewer jobs available for older workers, many baby boomers are learning that they won?t be able to work through their retirement years even if they want to.
Retirement should be on your mind whether you?re 20 or 60, whether you have grandchildren or you?re young and single, and whether you?re wealthy or poor. As Corporate Director Jim McCune is fond of saying, ?Your life today is the result of your attitude and the choices you have made in the past; your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitude and the choices you make today.?
Melaleuca: A plan with a future
A typical day for Terry and Marty Johnson might start with business calls, but the Johnsons will tell you their official employment status is ?retired.? Their lifestyle might not fit the stereotypical concept of retirement?you won?t find any rocking chairs on their front porch and they aren?t counting sunsets yet?but the Johnsons say they?re spending their time exactly how they like to spend it.
?I want to help this little team in the Texas Hill Country get where they want to be,? Marty says about her morning Melaleuca calls. ?We helped one of our customers become a Director this month. We go to bed when we want to, wake up when we want to and have our morning coffee together every day. It?s a huge blessing to have the resources, time and health we have.?
Although the Johnsons enjoy a tremendous amount of flexibility in their schedules today, their lives weren?t always that way.
When they first heard about Melaleuca, the Johnsons never imagined it would help them purchase a home and retire early. Terry already had an established career as the president of Oklahoma Christian University, and Marty served as the university?s first lady. Their schedule was consumed with campus construction and renovations, increasing student enrollments, and hosting university events, as well as spending time with their two recently married daughters.
Then one day, Executive Director II Dr. Michael Feldman, a university donor, paid Marty a visit.
?He and Nancy Mitchell, my sister-in-law, pulled up in a brand-new Mercedes convertible,? Marty remembers. ?They told me about this neat company in Idaho Falls that made some outstanding products. I told them I didn?t have time to build a business?but then I tried the products.?
A business built on exceptional products
Before she knew it, Marty was sharing Melaleuca?s products with others, inadvertently laying the foundation for her Melaleuca business.
Soon after, Marty achieved Senior Director and qualified for the Car Bonus. Terry already drove an elegant, spacious Lincoln Town Car that belonged to the university, but Marty had been good-naturedly driving a beat-up Chevrolet Citation, complete with a difficult-to-maneuver stick shift and broken air conditioner. Then, with her Car Bonus, Marty purchased a sharp-looking green Mercury Grand Marquis?the first of seven cars Marty paid for with Car Bonus checks.
?I loved having a legitimate car,? Marty says. ?That Citation was so hard to drive.?
Only nine months later, Marty became an Executive Director and achieved a larger annual income than she ever imagined.
?Melaleuca helped me realize I had the ability to earn a larger income,? Marty says. ?I took pride in that, and Terry was so appreciative of having another income stream.?
From house to home
The Johnsons knew that some day they?d need to leave their university-owned house in Oklahoma City. When Terry learned of a picturesque home loaded with amenities on a verdant golf resort near their grandchildren in Horseshoe Bay, Texas, his curiosity was piqued. The Johnsons closed on the house just as Terry finished his 21-year tenure as a university president.
?Our Melaleuca income gave us the courage to purchase that home,? Terry says. ?Without Melaleuca, we never would have ventured out and acquired a place like this.?
For five more years, Terry continued working as the university?s chancellor. Marty, however, loved their new home in Texas and started spending more and more time there. Before long, the Johnsons took an early retirement and moved to Texas for good.
?Not only did we purchase that beautiful property, but Terry also retired at 58,? Marty says. ?We couldn?t have done that without our Melaleuca income.?
An early retirement unlocked new opportunities. In just a few years, they traveled to China, Croatia, Turkey, Greece, France, Italy and Spain. Marty particularly loved Paris, and Terry enjoyed seeing the Terra Cotta Soldiers in Xi?an, China, in person.
?We were still in really good health when we retired,? Terry says. ?It was amazing for us to have time freedom to travel before we reached our 60s and to engage with our grandkids while they were still young. We got to see and do things we might not have done if we?d retired later in life.?
Just two years ago, the Johnsons achieved Total Financial Freedom when they paid off their mortgage. Melaleuca CEO Frank L. VanderSloot flew out to help them celebrate by burning their mortgage papers.
?It was emotional for us to pay off our mortgage and burn the papers,? Marty says. ?There?s no greater feeling than not having a house payment. We hosted a big cookout with 75 friends?it was really exciting.?
?Earlier in our lives, we carried too much debt, and the difference is night and day,? Terry adds. ?We really believed in getting ourselves out of debt so we could focus on sharing our resources with others in need.?
Now, 12 years since they retired and 20 since they started building a Melaleuca business, the Johnsons enjoy the peace of mind that comes from true residual income combined with freedom from debt. They know they?ve created a legacy of financial freedom they can pass on to their children and grandchildren.
?We invested in a self-retirement program while I was working,? Terry says. ?But we really haven?t had to draw much from that fund or rely on Social Security because our Melaleuca checks take care of our monthly expenses.?
Free from financial stress, they spend their time with hobbies and family. Terry enjoys writing books, and Marty ?has never met a set of golf clubs she didn?t like.? They?re planning to take their family on a trip to Hawaii to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in 2014. In the meantime, they love traveling to support their favorite baseball team: the St. Louis Cardinals.
?We attended the World Series in 2006 and again in 2011, and we were at the all-star game in St. Louis in 2009,? Terry says. ?Just last night I bought baseball tickets for a St. Louis trip with our grandchildren in July and tickets for the opera while we?re there. Those are trips we almost take for granted; they?re just part of the time and financial freedom we enjoy because of Melaleuca.?
Related posts:
- Melaleuca: A Steady Income for a Secure Retirement ? An Acorn Becomes an Oak Tree
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