The past few blog posts have been very special to my heart as they have provided real solutions to real problems. Today, let me talk about one more real problem and how to solve it: reaching financial freedom.
What does the term “financial freedom” mean for you?
The way that I use it, “financial freedom” is a step beyond “financial independence”, which is where you can pay all of your bills with the money from your investments. That’s a great place to be and a worthy goal to work towards, but “financial freedom” goes even further.
Financial freedom means living the life you want and never having to worry about money.
How does that sound to you?
For most people, they think that unless they were born into a dynasty like the Kennedys or Vanderbilts that they are doomed to a life of just barely scraping by. And that’s what kills me, because true financial freedom is accessible to ANYONE.
So how can you get to a place where you can live the life you want and never worry about money? The first step is to set a number (we talked a little about this last week).
This number should equal all of your expenses. That is the amount of cash flow that you will need to generate in order to be “financially independent”. But if you want to be “financially free”, the I recommend doubling or even tripling that number. It might take a few more years of reinvesting and purchasing assets to reach that number, but keep your eyes on the prize and remember what you are working towards. Because once you have twice or three times more money coming in than going out, life takes on a whole new flavor.
Go ahead and take a moment to imagine how your life would be if you were “financially free”. Where would you travel to? Which charities would you support? What toys would you buy for yourself and your loved ones?
Financial freedom does not have to remain a dream – it can become a reality it you go about working towards it the right way.