Unless you are currently a billionaire, you understand quite well how hard money is to make and how easy it is to spend. When you consider your income and the lifestyle you want for yourself and your family, you realize you have a long way to go. You either have to wait a long time or work hard. But what if I tell you that you can skip the wait and achieve financial freedom now without doing all that work?
That’s right! You don’t need to work hard, you only need to work smart and you’ll achieve the level of financial freedom you have always dreamt of. Sit tight as I explore how you can achieve financial freedom in this article.Â
1. Understand what financial freedom means to you
Everybody has a different definition of financial freedom. Most people define financial freedom as having the money, assets, and resources necessary to support you comfortably throughout your life and fulfill all your commitments without depending on a wage.
Some view financial freedom as having a stable source of income that is adequate to support the lifestyle you want, as well as having a retirement fund and savings set aside. While others view financial freedom as the ability to pursue any career of your choosing or live your life the way you want to without worrying about money.
How you view financial freedom is extremely important, as it will guide you on how you will go about achieving it. Knowing what you want to achieve will help you set goals and put you on the path to attaining success.
2. Start with the right mindset
Most people believe that financial freedom is for people who are extremely lucky or hardworking. However, that is far from the truth. Although working hard will help you achieve financial freedom in the long run, working smart will do the job for you much quicker.
So shift your focus from grueling hard work to smarter work so you can your goals much faster.
3. Have a plan
Everyone wants to be financially stable, but that’s a goal that’s too vague. You must be explicit about timeframes and quantities. Your chances of success increase with the specificity of your objectives.
What does financial freedom mean to you? What much money do you need to achieve financial freedom? What age is the cutoff point for saving that much? You need to ask yourself these questions and more and put them in writing.
Next, determine financial milestones at regular intervals between your present age and your deadline age by counting backward from the latter. Then carefully write down all amounts and due dates. Make sure they are realistic, and it is something that you can achieve with your present income.
By doing this, you have successfully created a plan, that will make it much easier to achieve your goal.
4. Adopt a minimalistic lifestyle
The financial advantages of downsizing, decluttering, and owning less possessions cannot be overlooked. Living a minimalist lifestyle and owning fewer possessions will lead you to financial freedom.
Developing a mentality that emphasizes living a happy life with less is necessary to master a frugal lifestyle, and it’s not as difficult as you would believe. Many successful people formed the practice of living below their means before becoming affluent.
Adopting a simple lifestyle is not difficult. It entails learning to discern between what you need and what you desire and then making little changes that have a significant positive impact on your financial situation.
5. Reduce spending
Reducing expenses is the greatest approach to control your spending and manage your life. This is the first piece of advice that should always be followed since it is effective. Spending less and halting the acquisition of new items can increase your bank account balance while providing you with more time and space to tidy up and clear.
Go one step further and declare a ban on shopping. Choose an area in which you are overspending and put a time limit on your purchases.
6. Follow a budget
The easiest method to ensure that all bills are paid and savings are on track is to create and follow a monthly budget. Additionally, it’s a consistent practice that strengthens your determination against the need to overspend and reaffirms your objectives.
If you are unsure of where to start, request a bank statement from at least the previous six months. Evaluating your income and expenses for the previous six months will provide you with a wealth of information. Keep a careful eye on the areas where you know you spend too much money and make adjustments as needed.
7. Set up autonomous savings
Prioritize paying yourself. It’s beneficial to have an automated withdrawal into an emergency fund, which may be accessed for unforeseen needs, as well as an automatic donation to a brokerage account or something similar.
The funds for your retirement and emergency funds should ideally be deducted from your account on the same day that you are paid, preventing them from ever leaving your hands.
8. Invest your money
Bear markets sometimes referred to as bad stock markets, may cause individuals to doubt the logic of investing, but historically, there hasn’t been a better method to increase your wealth. Your money will expand exponentially only by the miracle of compound interest, but it will take a long time to see any real growth.
Start an online brokerage account that will help you learn how to invest, build a reasonable portfolio, and automatically contribute to it on a weekly or monthly basis.
9. Create passive income streamsÂ
Having passive income streams is invaluable if you want to achieve financial freedom. With passive income, you make money without lifting a finger. Of course, there is the initial time and money investment to start, but once your passive income stream starts to run, you can relax and make money while you do nothing.
There are many passive income streams you can try your hand at like blogging, investing, creating digital products, and so on. Do research and choose the one that will work best for you.
10. Leverage technology and AI
Technology makes life easier, but you can make life unnecessarily hard for yourself by not using them. There are so many technologies out there that can automate several processes for you. You can utilize robo-advisors to invest with minimal effort, automatic budget apps to help you create and manage your budget, automated saving to save money without lifting a finger, and so many other areas.
You can even outsource some time-consuming tasks, and finding freelancers has become much easier with the internet.
Make sure you are always researching new technology so that you do not waste your time and energy doing something technology or AI will accomplish in only a fraction of the time.
11. Keep your property in good condition
Proper property maintenance extends the life of everything from properties and vehicles to clothing and shoes. Maintenance is an investment that should not be overlooked since the cost is far lower than that of replacement.
This is another reason why having less is always better. If you have less property, the less time and effort you will exert in maintaining them. Regardless, always ensure that everything you own is in good condition, as it will save you the cost of repairing or replacing them.
12. Consult a financial advisorÂ
To achieve financial freedom, you need to be adept at finances and master how to manage your finances. It may take a lot of time and effort to reach that stage, but you can cut the time short by hiring a financial advisor.
This doesn’t mean that you don’t need to learn anything. You do need to learn how the basics, but hire a professional for the more complicated issues.Â
Conclusion
Attaining financial freedom with minimal effort doesn’t mean laziness, but working smart. You can achieve more in less time if you put your brain to work and take advantage of every resource available to you.
With the tips above, you wouldn’t need to exert yourself to achieve your goal, but with minimal effort, you will be well on your way to attaining financial freedom.
