Financial Independence

How do you become financially independent?

“A big part of financial freedom is having your heart and mind free from worry about the what-ifs of life.”

— Suze Orman

“Remember that life is lived outside the spreadsheet. Be as aggressive as you want with your goals — dream bigger than you ever thought — but remember that money is just a small part of a rich life.”

— Ramit Sethi

Financial freedom is doable. It’s not necessarily easy, though. Generally speaking, you will have to make some tough decisions along the way.

Also, you have to ask yourself how much money you need to live a “rich life” do you think? That’s totally up to you; you must decide what fits your needs and wants.

If you’re unable to save much, try your best to save something, even if it’s only a small percentage of what you make.

Financial freedom is not only living within your means but also taking care of needs that make you feel rich.

For example, save aggressively, and live within your means. That means paying off debt and then living under your pay. What you want to do is to save enough to be able to live off a percentage of what you have saved. This number is up to you and depends on what type of lifestyle you want to live. Your lifestyle will also determine how long you will have to save. If you want to live a large life, then you will probably have to save for a longer time.

You will have to be somewhat frugal in your spending if you want to retire earlier than 67. You will also have to put off some things, like vacations and such if you are aggressive in your savings. However, in terms of regrets, I think this is a bad idea emotionally. We all need breaks and having a small vacation here and there will be worth the money you spend. It will put off your financial independence a little, but in the long run, you will feel better about things and won’t feel deprived.

This is similar to a diet. If you deprive yourself of certain foods, you will feel frustrated and discouraged. I’m not saying eating everything in sight, but you get the point. It’s the same with finances and enjoyment. As they say (whoever “they”are), you’ve got to live a little.

Now don’t go and live large before you’ve saved enough to retire. You don’t want to blow all the money you’ve saved.

Another thing you can do is build a side hustle. In other words, make more money than you are currently making. That’s what a lot of us here on Medium are doing. We may not be making a lot, but a lot of us are making something.

Save aggressively, cut spending, and make more money. This trident of ideas can be found in any good financial book. I used I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi.

What are your ideas about achieving financial freedom? What specifically are you doing to help save money, cut spending, and make more money?

I hope you enjoyed this article.

Thanks for reading!

Peace.

T

If you liked this article, consider buying me a coffee at Tfwadewrite is Writing Online, Mostly Self-Help and Finances (buymeacoffee.com)