The ULTIMATE Guide to Financial Freedom
The 10 steps you need to follow to be financially stable !
OK so you’re probably stressing day and night about how you’re going to pay your regular bills and expenses. Maybe your current salary is just not enough to live your dream life. How would you like to know that you that your mindset is the one thing blocking from financial freedom? What if i told you don’t have to worry about paying basic stuff every single month and instead live the lifestyle YOU want ?
This may seem too good to be true don’t you think ?
Well in this article i’m going to show you exactly the 10 steps you need to follow to reach financial freedom.
So what’s financial freedom ?
Financial freedom is when you feel confident about your financial situation. You don’t worry about bills or expenses because you know you will have the funds. Financially free is also being debt free, and being to cover emergencies maybe even having money saved for your future goals.
Do NOT confuse financial freedom with being rich !
In order to reach this situation you have to put in the work and sacrifice but it’s totally worth it. If you follow these 10 steps, you’ll reach your financial dreams.
1- Focus on Your Own Finances :
First of all finances are a personal thing. But that doesn’t mean personal in he sense of not talking about it to anyone. I mean by personal focusing on you and not worrying about other people’s situation.
We live in a time where we constantly compare ourselves to others, and that’s totally due to social media. But successful people focus on their own thing, and don’t waste their time comparing or even trying to impress other people.
Remember that everyone has their own timeline. You’re not late or early, you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.
2- The Best Investment You Can Make is in Yourself :
You may hear people often talking about investing in the stock market and how it can it be extremely profitable. But investing in yourself is far more profitable.
I mean by investing in yourself learning new skills and acquiring knowledge that is going to be certainly helpful down this journey. Employers look for people that are well-rounded and are being able to constantly improve and adapt to different situations.
Don’t ever hold back on investing in online courses, webinars and books to just you can spend money on something stupid and probably won’t help you in any way, shape or form.
3- Start Doing Something You Enjoy :
This may mean to some of you changing careers. Maybe changing companies because you don’t like the people, the structure or both. Maybe getting a part-time job or start freelancing is the key for you.
If you think about it the primary way for people to make money is through earned income(a job). So if you’re thinking financial stability, you should start with a job that pays a steady income. You want something even better, do what you enjoy.
4- Start a Budget :
Budgeting is as bad as it may seems. A budget helps you spend money on the things you want to spend your money on.
It allows you to track where your money is going. It’s easy to spend more than you should if you don’t know how much you’re supposed to spend in the first place.
Once you know how you spend your money, you can make a plan. The essential things such as rent/mortgage, utility bills, food and car payments/transportation should make up about half of your spending. Most experts recommend that your mortgage/rent not make up more than 30% of your monthly spending.
It’s always a good idea to try to put 10% to 20% of the remaining money toward your future. That means retirement account, emergency fund and other savings accounts.
5- Live Below Your Means :
You probably heard about this advice, but you’re having a hard time following it. Living below your means is key for your long-term financial success. Remember this is a long-term race. If you spend all of your money, or more than you make, you can’t expect to grow any savings can you ?
Also living below your means works jointly with budgeting. Your budget tells you how much money you have and can spend each month. Then you can work with that to make sure you don’t overspend.
6- Create an Emergency Fund :
Before you start thinking about putting money into retirement or debt, you should work to build an emergency fund.
An emergency fund is meant to protect yourself from the unexpected. There is always a chance to lose your job, a big car repair, an unexpected trip or you know a global pandemic. An emergency fund will always cover the costs generated by unexpected situations. Think of it as a backup plan.
7- Pay off Your Debt :
Debt will always be an obstacle in your journey to reach financial stability. Once you know how much you can spend (budgeting) and once you created an emergency fund, focus on getting rid of your debt. This can mean credit card debt, student loans ……
Just because you signed a 10, 15 or 30-year payment plan doesn’t mean you can’t pay off your loans sooner than it’s planned. Paying your loans sooner actually helps you saving money in the long run because you’ll pay less interests.
8-Invest in Your Retirement Account :
It’s hard to think about retirement when you’re young. You probably asking why i should worry about something that’s many years away? Well that mindset is why the average American has no retirement savings.
You’ll actually be glad that you prioritized your retirement in the future. Even if you’re left with just little money, you should start saving NOW!
The reason i’m telling you start immediately is you’re going to earn more in the long run through the magic of compound interest.
9- Relax and Have Some Fun :
When you’re caught up planning the rest of you free time planning ahead your life, you easily forget about having fun. While focusing on money helps you reach financial stability, enjoying your live helps you stay happy and healthy.
In the process of budgeting, try to figure out a certain amount just for fun. Don’t forget that having some fun doesn’t always mean spending money, it could be a hike, a game night …..
10- Stay consistent :
This is by far the hardest step you could ever do. Doing the 9 last steps every single month is hard. I agree that we don’t live in a fantasy world where unexpected things don’t come up and sometimes you just spend more than you anticipate. But don’t get discouraged but instead stay consistent, follow through and stick with it.
Do your best and try to get just a little better everyday !
