4 Weeks to Freedom: The Road to Financial Independence
Financial independence is highly desirable. Yet, for some reason, it seems to elude many of us. You've likely tried your hand at many different approaches, yet none have been able to give you the anticipated results.
The good news is that financial independence can be achieved. By making certain adjustments to your life, you'll find yourself starting to build financial independence. So put aside your plan to work harder or put in longer hours and read on to find the answers you've been searching for. You'll still need to work and you'll still need to do your research, but following these following these steps will lead you to financial independence:
1. Eliminate the word "credit" from your vocabulary. Having a good credit score can open up opportunities for you. But living in the credit culture also puts you in a stressful situation.
If you're seeking financial independence, start by doing away with credit. You probably have a few credit cards in your purse or wallet. Get rid of them! If that makes you nervous, only keep one for emergencies. Just ensure the credit limit is somewhat in line with the amount of cash you've saved.
Don't believe you can live without a credit card? Well you can! We haven't had or used credit cards of any type since we were married over 29 years ago. When we want something, we save up for it and pay cash. It may take longer to reach our goal, but we own it outright, and we aren't paying more than the ticket price (and often less, cash is king when it comes to haggling).
If you're unable to purchase something with cash, it probably means you can't afford it. Live within your means. Make the $100/24 Hour Rule the rule you live by and start saving for that holiday or new dining setting or even a new car.
Avoid borrowing for frivolous expenditures. Those are usually the hardest loans to repay and they generally don't add value to your life or your net worth.
Step 2. Treat needs and wants differently. Take a look at your life. How many of the things you have or do can be considered necessities? If you're honest with yourself, you'll realise you're piling on unnecessary expenses focusing on your wants rather than your needs.
Making a list of the things you require for survival is a necessary step for financial independence. Needs include:
• Rent/mortgage
• Utilities: gas, electricity, phone, water (but look for ways to lower these bills so the next bill is cheaper)
• Food: shop at home first. Check your pantry, fridge and freezer and menu plan with what you have.
• Medical/pharmacy: don't scrimp on your health – the future cost would be far too great
• Petrol and transport: unless you can walk everywhere you'll need your car. But try to limit how far you go and how often you use it. Carpool if you can, share the school run with another mother, make one trip and do all your errands. Ditto for bus, train and tram. If you have a bike now might be a good time to start riding to work or school.
• Other regular monthly bills you have
Everything that didn't make the list can easily be eliminated from your expenses each month. Why put that amount of burden on yourself? It's time to give your finances a break.
The things you do to maintain a calm existence can be added to your list of necessities. For example, your yoga class may be necessary because of the physical and emotional benefits. But you can reduce the monthly expense by buying a yoga DVD or looking up some YouTube clips and working out at home.
Step 3. Tap into your skill set. Are you working in a field that you love and that maximizes your skills? If you think about it, you'll realize that you're most productive when you're doing something you like or are good at.
Think about your current job. Is it bringing out the best in you? Or, can you earn more and increase your productivity in another field? Perhaps you can pursue a transfer to another department at your current place of employment. Or maybe you want to move on to something completely different.
Step 4. Save money at all costs. Even if it's a dollar at a time, put aside money for your savings account each month. Learning to save helps you develop an understanding of its importance.
One way to save is to request a salary deduction each week/fortnight/month. That amount can go to an investment account, which limits your access. Add to your savings with any extra cash that comes your way: birthday and Christmas money, tax refunds, profit from garage sales, any overtime/extra work you get paid for. This money is bonus money; it shouldn't be included in your budget so you won't miss it when it comes to day-to-day living. Using it to build your future financial stability just makes sense.
After reading this, hopefully you'll likely realise it's much easier than you think to make some simple financial adjustments.
Give yourself four weeks of this routine and then assess how it's going. You'll feel encouraged by the positive results!
The good news is that financial independence can be achieved. By making certain adjustments to your life, you'll find yourself starting to build financial independence. So put aside your plan to work harder or put in longer hours and read on to find the answers you've been searching for. You'll still need to work and you'll still need to do your research, but following these following these steps will lead you to financial independence:
1. Eliminate the word "credit" from your vocabulary. Having a good credit score can open up opportunities for you. But living in the credit culture also puts you in a stressful situation.
If you're seeking financial independence, start by doing away with credit. You probably have a few credit cards in your purse or wallet. Get rid of them! If that makes you nervous, only keep one for emergencies. Just ensure the credit limit is somewhat in line with the amount of cash you've saved.
Don't believe you can live without a credit card? Well you can! We haven't had or used credit cards of any type since we were married over 29 years ago. When we want something, we save up for it and pay cash. It may take longer to reach our goal, but we own it outright, and we aren't paying more than the ticket price (and often less, cash is king when it comes to haggling).
If you're unable to purchase something with cash, it probably means you can't afford it. Live within your means. Make the $100/24 Hour Rule the rule you live by and start saving for that holiday or new dining setting or even a new car.
Avoid borrowing for frivolous expenditures. Those are usually the hardest loans to repay and they generally don't add value to your life or your net worth.
Step 2. Treat needs and wants differently. Take a look at your life. How many of the things you have or do can be considered necessities? If you're honest with yourself, you'll realise you're piling on unnecessary expenses focusing on your wants rather than your needs.
Making a list of the things you require for survival is a necessary step for financial independence. Needs include:
• Rent/mortgage
• Utilities: gas, electricity, phone, water (but look for ways to lower these bills so the next bill is cheaper)
• Food: shop at home first. Check your pantry, fridge and freezer and menu plan with what you have.
• Medical/pharmacy: don't scrimp on your health – the future cost would be far too great
• Petrol and transport: unless you can walk everywhere you'll need your car. But try to limit how far you go and how often you use it. Carpool if you can, share the school run with another mother, make one trip and do all your errands. Ditto for bus, train and tram. If you have a bike now might be a good time to start riding to work or school.
• Other regular monthly bills you have
Everything that didn't make the list can easily be eliminated from your expenses each month. Why put that amount of burden on yourself? It's time to give your finances a break.
The things you do to maintain a calm existence can be added to your list of necessities. For example, your yoga class may be necessary because of the physical and emotional benefits. But you can reduce the monthly expense by buying a yoga DVD or looking up some YouTube clips and working out at home.
Step 3. Tap into your skill set. Are you working in a field that you love and that maximizes your skills? If you think about it, you'll realize that you're most productive when you're doing something you like or are good at.
Think about your current job. Is it bringing out the best in you? Or, can you earn more and increase your productivity in another field? Perhaps you can pursue a transfer to another department at your current place of employment. Or maybe you want to move on to something completely different.
Step 4. Save money at all costs. Even if it's a dollar at a time, put aside money for your savings account each month. Learning to save helps you develop an understanding of its importance.
One way to save is to request a salary deduction each week/fortnight/month. That amount can go to an investment account, which limits your access. Add to your savings with any extra cash that comes your way: birthday and Christmas money, tax refunds, profit from garage sales, any overtime/extra work you get paid for. This money is bonus money; it shouldn't be included in your budget so you won't miss it when it comes to day-to-day living. Using it to build your future financial stability just makes sense.
After reading this, hopefully you'll likely realise it's much easier than you think to make some simple financial adjustments.
Give yourself four weeks of this routine and then assess how it's going. You'll feel encouraged by the positive results!