Financial Freedom is Achievable

Four years ago, I first heard of the concept of financial freedom. I was in my 30s, and the concept seemed foreign and so unfeasible to me.

Financial freedom is the state when we have enough passive income to cover our living expenses, so that working for income is no longer necessary.

How passive income can get you there

Passive income is essentially a dependable source of income one receives without working for it. Some say it’s money you earn when you’re sleeping, and examples include:

• Interest received from banks on cash savings
• Dividends from shares
• Rental income
• Royalties

We become financially free when we have enough of these sources providing us with passive income perpetually.

Becoming financially free enables us to separate how we choose to contribute to the world through our work from the necessity to earn a living.

Four years ago when I learned of this concept, I couldn’t imagine the possibility that I could one day get to the point where I’m producing enough passive income to cover my living expenses whilst raising a family of three kids who suck up all the money hubby and I make like it’s chocolate milkshake.

My journey to financial freedom

It’s certainly a journey and has taken me four years just to educate myself, build a strategy, develop the right mindset and form the right habits that will enable me to get there by the time I’m in my 50s. I now see a clear path ahead and know I can achieve it as the early parts of the plan are taking shape.

I’m not there yet, but I’ve since found that it is possible for me and for anyone else. I’ve learned that achieving financial freedom is not by any means a get-rich-quick scheme.

Over the past four-year journey, I’ve grown to understand that there are many feasible methods to financial freedom as well as different timeframes to get there. We need to choose the path and speed that best suit us and that’s compatible with our other life priorities.

For example, my decision to have three kids and put them through private schools has significantly slowed down my progress, and I wouldn’t change that for the world. Yet, my decision to work as a consulting engineer full-time has sped up my journey. The main point is that it is possible to get there if one is determined and willing to learn, grow, make the necessary adjustments to their life, and continually work towards it.

Spend less and keep yourself informed

The particular method to financial freedom I have chosen involves the cliché of spending less that I earn and investing the rest. In order to do that, I’ve had to make deliberate changes to my life such as forming the habits of budgeting, tracking our expenses, increasing my income through more worked hours and seeking pay increases. Then the surplus I make is invested with the help of my very experienced, qualified and reputable financial advisor who I selected after much research and deliberation.

But before I even started off on this plan, I spent many, many, many hours, days, weeks and months independently researching and learning about the topic of financial freedom and the various ways others have achieved it. This included reading articles and books, listening to podcasts, and talking with people who had already achieved what I wanted to achieve.

The understanding I gained from all this learning allowed me to take the first step, then the next, then the next and so on. And now I’m four years into the process and have a clear pathway ahead to the end game which is visibly achievable, though still many years away.

I now have a dream to help guide and lead other women along this journey with me towards financial freedom.

I'd love to hear from you and from the voices of women at the various stages of their journey. So reach out to me and make sure you sign up to the HFJ newsletter where I share my learnings, inspiration, tips and tricks with you on our path to financial success.