What does financial freedom mean to you?
I’m guessing you might define it as finding yourself in a financial position where you don’t need to work unless you want to.
Ultimately, freedom means you are in control of your finances and your life choices.
Too many individuals are frustrated working their tails off. Still more feel boxed in and lacking any control in their lives. Would you not choose an alternative if it were available to you?
Don’t become a financial prisoner.
Financial burdens force us to make desperate choices. For some, this means getting trapped in golden cages—imprisoned by lifestyles they cannot afford and investments designed to erode their wealth.
To get out of your cage or, better yet, to avoid it entirely, all you need is a methodology you can use to keep from getting tricked into doing things that create financial imprisonment. While the execution may seem difficult to many, I’m here to show you it’s not.
Like those seeking to lose weight, the answers may often seem straightforward (e.g. burn more calories than you consume). But getting in shape isn’t easy for most people. It takes self-discipline and conscious effort. Money is no different.
The solution to avoid financial imprisonment is simple and not biased to who you are.
Whether you are rich or poor, an employee or self-employed, a college graduate or not, you have the same access to the tools the rich have been using for generations to create perpetual wealth for themselves and their families.
Create financial freedom for years to come.
Anyone can build perpetual wealth—and create true financial freedom for themselves. Ultimately, financial freedom is going to look a bit different from one individual to the next. The common denominator is the control and freedom to choose to do what you wish.
To illustrate this point, consider what comes to mind when I say, “What does financial freedom mean to you?”
Let me offer my own reaction to that question as an example. For me, one thing financial freedom means is that I get to travel. The next step is to answer the following question: “Why is this important to me?”
What is important to you and why.
For me, I might write down that I want to experience the culture of my ancestors. You would continue repeating that same step until you arrived at the core of what it is that is motivating you—what it is that financial freedom really means to you, individually. Continue to drill down and truly come to an understanding of what is important to you and why.
When you make the effort to not only think through this exercise, but write it down, you are halfway to identifying the reason and motivation for seeking financial freedom.
Without this clarity, we are at the mercy of our whims. Achieving financial freedom is just as much about generating wealth, as it is figuring out what is most important to you.
Defining financial freedom is different for everyone.
So how do you define financial freedom? For you it might mean that you don’t have to go to work anymore, or you can take a lower-paying or non-paying job to do something you love. It might mean knowing that you always have a roof over your head.
For some it means that you own your house and your cars outright. You don’t have debt. That might be what you need. Others might say they need to know that they have a certain amount of income coming in and are not reliant on others so that they can travel the world without worrying about paying bills.
Still others might want to fund charities, do mission work, or give money to help others. There are no wrong answers, but we do need a destination. Think about what it means to you to be financially free. Once you know what it means to you, it’s time to calculate how to accomplish it.