Be Obsessed With Financial Freedom In 2022
Don’t stay in bed, unless you can money in bed!
Financial freedom is a complicated beast. You can’t just wake up one day and decide you’re going to be financially free. It takes years of planning, careful management, and a good amount of luck (Unfair advantages & Timing).
There are a lot of ways to create financial freedom for yourself. If you’re working a job that you hate because it pays only the bills or if you’re living paycheck to paycheck, then you need to make some adjustments. The key is actually having your money work for you so that it can grow into something more substantial.
What is Financial Freedom?
What do you define as being financially free? For some, being free from debt is the ultimate goal. Others want to be able to travel at their leisure and not have to worry about how they are going to pay for it.
Whatever your definition is, financial freedom is a state of mind that many of us want to achieve. It’s important to understand what financial freedom really means, so you can get there faster.
There are four levels of financial freedom: having fun, being free from worry, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. These are all different for everybody, but all can be attained.
Why do you want financial freedom?
I think every human being dreams of financial freedom. When I was growing up, I always thought that I would be financially independent when I hit a certain age.
But life happens and I started struggling at 14. I made Fiverr and Upwork profiles, Facebook pages, and YouTube channels. All were failures.
But after meeting Mr. Practicality, the man who showed me the road to Financial Independence, who kept me grounded and helped me see the world from a different perspective, I finally started achieving goals at 19. It’s been 5 years, and I am now on the road to financial freedom.
For most of us, money is the #1 stressor in our lives. We don’t have enough of it. It’s stressful to think about how we’re going to make it through the month. We’re anxious about whether we can pay our bills and save for the future.
The reason I want financial freedom is that I want to be able to work on things that really matter, and not worry about money.
How to achieve financial freedom!
I would like to talk about the reasons why people fail to achieve financial freedom. I believe that the main reason is that they lack patience, perseverance, and discipline.
So many people start off strong with a good plan and lots of motivation. But then, when their income doesn’t increase as quickly as they thought it would, they jump ship and look for the next best thing.
People tend to analyze the success of others but are too quick to forget how long that success took to achieve.
1 — The Foundation
The first step is to know where you stand. You need to take an honest look at your own finances. If you don’t do this first, it will be very difficult for you to make the right decisions moving forward. This doesn’t have to be complicated.
The secret to financial security is a well-balanced portfolio of assets and liabilities.
- Create an income plan — If you have no income, what is your plan for generating one? Who are your clients going to be and how will you find them?
- Create an expense plan — Write down all of your expenses and categorize them into fixed and variable costs. How much do you need to make each month in order to cover your costs?
- Balance the two plans — Now balance your income plan with your expense plan. Make a plan for your needs, wants, and investments. You know your income very well, there is a 50/30/20 rule which shows 50% for needs, 30% wants, and 20% for investments. But try to invest as much as you want!
2 — Plan B
Plan B is when you have a backup plan. It’s the second choice, the backup option, to achieve your plan A!
It is impossible to be financially independent without a Plan B. There are no guarantees you may work hard for years and never get there. It’s not about the money, but about the freedom that financial independence can bring.
There’s no question that money buys freedom. But it doesn’t have to be from your job. You can be financially independent of your day job.
You have to be prepared for any possible result. In that case, you need to plan your backups. You can never leave your job to start your side hustle without having expenses for one month. It would be a foolish act. You need to set up your side hustle and then leave your job.
3 — Going, Going, Gone
The saying “work smarter, not harder” is one of the most popular clichés in the business world. But the truth is that it applies to almost every aspect of our lives, including wealth-building.
“The man who does more than he is paid for will soon be paid for more than he does.” -Napoleon Hill
Being consistent with your efforts is a key part of getting ahead financially and making money work for you instead of against you. It also helps you achieve financial freedom faster.
If you want to be financially free, you have to be consistent. It’s important to make a plan, set goals and take action on a daily basis. If you do so, your income will grow over time and you will become financially free.
4 — Invest For Passive Income
Passive income is earnings from a rental property, limited partnership, or other enterprises in which a person is not actively involved.
It is a very popular topic of discussion in the world of finance, but it is a term that is used a lot without much context. This can lead to confusion about what passive income actually means and how it can be achieved.
Following are some ways to build passive income:
- Create a course.
- Write an e-book.
- Rental income.
- Affiliate marketing.
- Flip retail products.
- Sell photography online.
- Dividend stocks.
- Create an app.
- Sponsored posts on social media.
- Invest in a high-yield CD or savings account.
- Rent out your home short-term.
- Advertise on your car.
- Create a blog or YouTube channel.
- Rent out useful household items.
- Sell designs online.
5 — Understand Your financial Situation
Most people are working too hard to make their dreams come true and not making enough money to enjoy that dream lifestyle. The biggest reason for this is that they don’t understand their financial situation.
They know how much they make, but they don’t know how much money is coming in, going out, nor do they have a plan for the future. They think that more money will automatically solve their problems, but when it comes down to it, more money just brings more problems.
Financial freedom will not come to you, you need to go after it.