Being financially independent is a beautiful dream for many people, but it can be achieved when you have a clear strategy in mind and follow the right path to earn it. It should be mentioned from the start that nothing is won quickly without working, without having a concrete plan in mind, and following a series of steps that can finally give you this freedom.
If you have wondered what you should do to be financially independent, it is essential that you first understand the mechanism it involves, what it is, how it can be achieved and above all what are the healthiest practices in this regard.
The key to being financially independent is financial education and arming yourself with patience, steady growth, and investing. It is a long process, but in the end, when the essential steps are taken, this can happen.
Either way, once you’ve completed this journey, you’re much better off than when you set out because you’ll have a much clearer picture of what needs to be done. You will be better educated, and you will know what mistakes you made, what obstacles you encountered, and also possible solutions to be able to correct the mistakes.
So, all you have to do in the first instance is to inform and educate yourself economically and financially.
What is financial independence?
Many people who look for the definition of financial independence on the Internet often find quite ambiguous answers because it is often the personal opinion of each individual. Financial independence isn’t littered with get-rich-quick opportunities, or the ability to pay your bills on time or save some money at the end of your paycheck. It is about the freedom gained from a prosperous business, about the key to personal success.
Financial independence can be achieved at any age, regardless of income or debt. Financial independence is not defined by the amounts that are available in personal accounts but rather by the freedom that a life that does not impose limitations and financial burdens gives you. Also, there is no age or destination in life to reach.
The earlier the journey towards this ultimate goal begins, the better. It is recommended to be equipped with as much knowledge as possible, determine what you want, and start on that path without hesitation.
Strategies for obtaining financial independence
Although it may be impossible for many people to achieve financial independence, as mentioned before, it is possible through financial education, by learning how to manage financial resources more efficiently and productively. Thus, it is important to increase your income constantly and invest in assets that can bring you passive income.
Since it is a long-term process, you need concrete strategies from the beginning to avoid starting down the wrong path and then concluding that you wasted your time and effort. Thus, to make your work easier to find the best strategy, we will propose some that are easy to put into practice.
Save more
Saving effectively does not mean reducing your expenses so that you lose out on the comforts you enjoy every day. Educate yourself to determine the most effective and appropriate ways to achieve financial independence.
The easiest way to save is to have control over expenses, eliminate unnecessary ones, and ensure financial balance. Set a monthly budget to include your most important expenses and set a series of goals to set aside even a small amount of money each month.
Learn to invest
Even if you manage to save it is not enough to be able to gain your financial independence. The next natural step is to learn to invest. With a little willpower, research, and information you will be able to discover the resources needed to learn how to put money to work.
To generate a passive income from the savings you make, you have at your disposal several types of investments, namely investments in the stock market, investments in real estate, agricultural land, dividend-paying shares, bank deposits, intellectual property rights, etc.
In order not to fail, you need to make sure that the potential to win money is greater than the probability of losing.
Earn by diversifying your income sources
You can do this either by developing professionally or by getting a new job where you can develop, advance, and obviously earn more money or by diversifying your sources of income. For example, you can try to turn a passion into a business opportunity. Especially since we live in the digital age that offers endless opportunities to make money right from the comfort of your home. In the end, you will realize that it was worth the effort to work and secure a constant income.
Patience is the key to success
Once you’ve started on this path, it’s important not to give up on the first obstacles you encounter. You have to be realistic and admit that the process, even if it takes time, will be worth it in the end. If we are to take into account the example of developed countries where the population manages to achieve financial independence very shortly before retirement, be patient and understand the process you have to follow.
Prepare for the unpredictable
You may need to change your strategy or even approach a different plan of action along the way to financial independence. Of course, this does not mean that you should give up, but on the contrary, regroup, analyze what went wrong, and move on.
Strategy is very important and you need to get a clear picture of what you need to do to get the desired results. If until now you have only looked for chaotic and quick ways to make money, you have achieved nothing but wasting time and resources unnecessarily.
How do women achieve financial independence?
Many women fail to become financially independent due to the fact that their relationship with money is quite unhealthy, they have fears, they lack confidence in their own strength and all this only leads to self-sabotage of efforts and actions that lead to the fulfillment of the goal.
Financial independence does not take into account age, gender, religion, country, region and so on. It is something that is achieved through hard work, healthy habits cultivated at the right time, education and a series of decisions. There are a number of steps that can help you overcome the issues that prevent you from walking the path to financial independence.
Change your mindset
“I can’t”, “I don’t think” or “It’s not for me” are the obstacles that stand in the way of achieving financial independence. You can’t know if an opportunity is right for you if you don’t spend at least some time thinking about it to see if it’s really for you. Discover your passions, explore your skills and get rid of fears and doubts. For example, if you know about yourself that you have a talent for photography, you like to paint, or you have a hobby that can be turned into a profitable source of income, then fearlessly explore such an opportunity.
Build a healthy relationship with your income
Especially emotional shopping is quite a harmful habit in your relationship with money. It is important to learn to save more, to educate yourself about personal finances. You can even create lists of expenses and income on which you have better control by eliminating unnecessary ones. Also, stop borrowing from friends or family when you feel your personal financial situation is getting worse.
Once you are able to re-establish a healthy relationship with your money it will be easier to move towards your goals of being financially independent.
Learn to invest
Financial education is vital but often missing from the context. And this is due to the fact that neither school nor society emphasizes the acquisition of these practical skills. In theory you know what investments are but in practice you fail to invest intelligently. A course, a book, a training, even a short article on the Internet can help you take a smart step towards being able to find opportunities to take advantage of to increase your income.
Invest in your education
Financial independence for many women is unknown precisely because the meaning of this goal is not sufficiently explored. As a result, by educating yourself more you will be able to reach this end goal much more easily and think about the steps you need to go through until you get the necessary results. Invest in your own education and training and then in projects that can bring you profit.
Financial independence in children
As I said before, the earlier the education to achieve financial independence begins the better. As a parent, of course you are concerned about how your children will earn their money or how they will manage it in the future. Every parent wants to see their children financially independent, prosperous and happy.
There is no right age to understand certain aspects of financial literacy. Money is a resource and the child’s well-being in adult life depends on how he learns to manage it.
In the first year of life, children develop attachment, and depending on how this need is met, they understand that life is a safe environment and that they are a loved and accepted person.
A child who has not received proper attention will have problems managing his own emotions and may find refuge in money. A child who has had no material possessions or parental love can easily become a notorious spendthrift to compensate for those gaps, or on the contrary, he can become a miser in order not to lose what he has.
From the age of three, the child can be taught not to waste by imposing some limits, for example, not to play with food, not to throw on the floor, not to let the water run without needing it. After this age parents can introduce the notion of a piggy bank and teach him the difference between need and want.
Children learn very easily through play and small financial education lessons approached in this way can be very useful. A child educated well in childhood and taught to respect their own finances (allowance or small financial rewards from parents) will grow up to be a responsible adult.
Financial education is a process that requires time and interest from parents. It is important to give them explanations for each aspect, why certain things are bought at the expense of other more expensive ones, why it is saved, why every lei must be managed.
Parents set an example for their children, and these things are taken for granted without analysis. If parents are open to developing and self-educating themselves financially, it will not be complicated to pass these habits on to their children.
Tips and ideas to put into practice for financial independence
They say that in some countries being financially independent is almost impossible to achieve because salaries are low, prices are high, education is expensive and opportunities are only for those who have money that they can easily lose without even blinking .
But the reality is completely different. More and more people succeed in achieving financial independence because they make effective use of all the resources available to them (books, courses, access to financing, remote jobs, etc.).
The status of financial independence depends on the individual and the goals set and the steps required to achieve it. This is precisely why you need to know what income you need to achieve your goals without depending on other people.
You can become financially independent by implementing a series of ideas that will not make you rich overnight, but with perseverance and patience you can reach the desired results.
Choose a career or a job
To be able to reach a certain point to enjoy financial independence, you also need to have experience behind you. As a result, you need to have a job or career that will help you with this.
You can choose fields such as IT, programming, finance, human resources, marketing, social media, design, etc. Of course, although at first it is necessary to overcome yourself and become better at what you do, you must remember that it is a long-term process.
For example, without experience in accounting and even management, you will not be able to start a business in which, through the help of hired experts, you can earn and ensure a constant income without being afraid that the business could close at any time.
You basically won’t be able to sell anything to someone if you don’t have experience and if you haven’t spent some time working on yourself to develop and learn everything there is to know about a certain field.
Create sources of passive income
Passive income is that type of financial earnings generated by activities that do not require your full attention and is a good idea to ensure your financial independence and gain experience in various fields. Here are some good passive income ideas to inspire you:
Real estate– rental income is passive, so if you have land or even a small studio, put them to work for you. You can also purchase real estate with credit and, although you will not have profit in the first months because you will have to pay off the loan, it will certainly be profitable in the long term and a source of excellent passive income.
Online courses– if you have experience in a field you can use this to your advantage by creating an online course that you can resell at a price you set. Once written, all that remains to be done is to promote the course and make it as attractive as possible.
Invest in shares on the stock market – you will need experience and knowledge in the field but if you get involved and study then you will be able to turn this activity into a source of passive income.
Affiliate Marketing – if you have a blog, YouTube channel or social media page with a steady stream of followers then you can turn it into a source of passive income through affiliate marketing.
Buy an already working business– there are many types of businesses that are already working very well that you can invest in. For example, you can invest in a self-service car wash that is a business that works well without any major intervention on your part.
Invest in your own education
Financial independence is not only about having a well-paid job and sources of passive income, but also about the confidence that if everything were to end tomorrow you could start over. This can be achieved with the help of specialization courses that can give you valuable knowledge but also a job that you can practice at any time.
Courses such as those in the field of beauty (makeup, cosmetics, manicure, hairdressing, etc.), tailoring, cooking, trainer and more, can be to your advantage. Having knowledge in a field distinct from the one in which you operate is a valuable thing because you never know when you may hit the need to practice it. For example, if you are passionate about cooking and you work as a professional in another field, if you lose your job or want to take it in a different way, you will be able to turn the job you know more into a business.
Books about financial independence
When you want to achieve financial independence, the most important step is self-education, and this can be done most simply by reading books, attending courses, informing yourself on the web, talking to specialists in the field.
But if you’ve decided it’s time for a change then it’s good to take things step by step, like for example reading a financial literacy book.
Next, we propose some titles to help you in this regard:
“Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert T. Kiyosaki
This book takes readers through the author’s memories and emphasizes the contrast between his father who was not very wealthy and the father of a friend who was one of the wealthiest residents of Hawaii. According to Kiyosaki, financial independence is not only for the rich, but that you can create sources of passive income even with little money.
The book is good, it teaches you to be modest and to manage your income more carefully, but it is more about a volume of fiction. It is worth reading for the simple fact that it is a book that can encourage you to change your mindset and try on your own to get out of your comfort zone.
“You’re the Coolest” by Jen Sincero
Named the #1 self-development book by the New York Times, it’s organized into five parts that answer essential questions: how you got to where you are, how to embrace your inner greatness, how to tap into your full potential , how to get rid of problems faster, how to overcome obstacles? At the end you will be encouraged to take winning actions and use some simple to apply strategies, explained in detail by the author.
“Think and you shall be rich” by Napoleon Hill
Most financial education experts consider Napoleon Hill to be one of the best motivational writers in history. For this masterpiece of his, Hill interviewed over 500 of the most successful people on earth including such personalities as Alexander Bell, John Rockefeller, Thomas Edison and many others. The result is an engaging book that presents 13 steps to success that are equally applicable no matter what year you read this remarkable work.
“The Richest Man in Babylon” by George S. Clason
It is a financial education book written 100 years ago but whose teachings can be successfully applied even today. The volume is intended to offer a series of advice through parables dating back to Babylonian times.
The teachings are still applicable today and for beginners it is a decent volume that will help them learn the essence of financial education.
“Secrets of the Millionaire Mind” by T. Harv Eker
It is a financial literacy book that takes a different approach to how novice investors should approach things in order to be successful. The first question that emerges from the volume is that certain people get rich quite easily and others are destined to struggle a lifetime to succeed? You might think it’s all about intelligence, education, maybe some luck or fortune, a right job choice or investments? These are important but in the author’s opinion none of them is determined by financial achievement.
An interesting book that can change your whole perspective and certainly give you food for thought.
Financial independence is a long-term process in which you need to invest time, patience and above all to educate yourself. You don’t have to start getting financial education at a certain age or reinvent the wheel to succeed. Even a child, no matter how small, can assimilate valuable knowledge even from the environment in which they grow up and through the lessons taught by their parents.
Financial independence is not a matter of luck because even with a little you can achieve the desired results. Education, mindset, healthy financial habits, inspired investments, in short, these would be some of the most important things that underlie achieving financial independence.
