That’s because they think about it in the wrong way. And it’s not their fault. The education on financial freedom is terrible. It’s either Lambos and yachts or stop drinking $5 lattes.
What I’ve learned is there’s a middle ground between the two.
The first thing to note about financial freedom is it doesn’t mean you never work again. It just means you don’t work to acquire money again. The other thing to note is financial freedom has nothing to do with your net worth.
It has to do with how much free time is on your calendar.
Here are the three most important things to know about money that can help you access financial freedom.
One: Money is a result of how you think
I don’t see anyone talking about this.
Money advice always centers around what stocks to buy or when to YOLO into Bitcoin and get rich. But how much money you make is related to how you think.
I recently spoke with a small business owner. She’s run a Facebook page for 15+ years and her business is still struggling. She’s tried everything to get better but nothing works.
I came along and said “Maybe you should stop using Facebook to run your business.” This broke her thought pattern. She’d always assumed Facebook was a must, but when I said to try something different, it undid that programming.
This strategy only worked because she was open-minded enough to consider another reality. Most people aren’t.
They get their money programming from their friends and family and they refuse to give it up. Underneath their day-to-day life this programming drives every financial decision they make.
And they can’t see it.
So they continue on this downward spiral that inflation and government currency devaluation help to make worse. Then they wonder why money is so hard. It’s hard because of the way they think.
And they refuse to think another way or to believe there may be a better path than the one they’re following.
The takeaway here is that money is just an extension of your psychology. It’s why they say mindset is everything — because it is.
Two: 1–2 clients away
When people hear “financial freedom” it sounds impossible.
It sounds like you’d need millions of dollars or to join some super-exclusive club and meet millionaires. Not quite.
One of the fastest ways to make more money is to use the skills from your job to take on a few freelance clients, and work in their business part-time, after hours, or on weekends.
A friend of mine did exactly this. After he had two $5000 a month clients he had enough money to live his version of a dream life. He realized he didn’t need his job anymore either because these two clients paid more.
Once you understand your job makes you a business owner with one customer, all you need to do is be willing to take on 1–2 more customers.
Sure, it won’t be easy to find them, which is why it’s essential for normal people to use LinkedIn. Because that’s where customers and career opportunities come from.
Financial freedom sounds simpler when all you have to do is find two new customers. Maybe it takes a year, or two — but it’s not impossible.
Three: Buying assets is a down payment on your financial freedom
We all have some amount of income.
We can choose to spend that money how we like. About 10 years ago I chose to spend a lot of my income on financial assets. A high school friend named George chose to spend his income on cars, girls, and holidays.
Now he’s stuck living in a house he hates, working for a boss that grinds him harder than his wife on a Saturday night love-making session.
I’m no smarter than him, I just chose to spend my money differently.
So much of financial freedom comes down to when you start buying financial assets that appreciate instead of depreciate. The hardest decision here is which assets you’ll buy.
That requires research and professional advice — but it’s not an impossible puzzle. The choices are stocks, real estate, crypto, gold/silver, and bonds. And the balance between all these asset classes tells you how much money to invest and where.
Then it just takes the magic of time and compounding to slowly build moderate wealth that creates financial freedom.
I understand this approach isn’t sexy … but it’s the only way.
Boring roads to financial freedom are the easiest to execute. And these strategies are the least likely to end in gambling behavior that drives a lot of society to bet on dog coin cryptos and luck games at the casino.
The bigger your investment portfolio, the less you have to worry about traditional income sources.
Closing Thought
The reason I fell in love with financial freedom is I got sick of being told what to do in life and at work.
I also found that financial freedom means you can spend less time with people you dislike. At my previous job so much of my stress was caused by 3–4 people. When I got to say goodbye to them forever a lot of my unhappiness and stress disappeared.
The greatest thing money buys you is choices.
This article is for informational purposes only, it should not be considered financial, tax or legal advice. Consult a financial professional before making any major financial decisions.
