Musings on financial freedom

It is coming to a year since I started this blog and looking back at my posts, my thoughts and views on financial freedom are slowly mellowing.

The journey is as important as the destination
I used to see financial freedom as the ultimate destination, where I would be HAPPY only if I reached this financial target of $xxx,xxx amount by age xx. The further I walk along this journey towards financial freedom, I realised that while setting goals and having targets are IMPORTANT for us to have something specific and measurable to focus on, it is the journey that we are experiencing at each moment of everyday.

How do you feel each step of the way towards financial freedom? Do you take each day as a sacrifice, scrimping and saving for that tomorrow that seems so far away? Or do you take each day as a promise, a promise of a better tomorrow ahead?

With each passing step I take towards financial freedom, I am happy to see my net worth creeping up slowly each month as my daily labours earn me my monthly wage. However, I realise that all this means nothing if financial freedom is the be all and the end all. Life is about the relationships and experiences that you encounter each day. You spend time working, with family and with friends. When you achieve financial freedom, the main difference that happens in your life is that you don't need to work for a living. That frees you up to do whatever you want for that 8 to 10 hours of your life a day to pursue interests other than work or business to sustain your lifestyle.

However, if you WANT and ENJOY working, you already have the freedom to balance your life among your various pursuits with your work or business taking up roughly 1/3 or more of you daily routine.

Happiness is...
I realise that happiness for me comes from achieving the appropriate balance of work-family-friends-self. This balance can be attained WITH or WITHOUT achieving financial freedom. Financial freedom makes your life journey smoother because you tend to be financially more secure which gives you the foundation to build the right balance for yourself in your life.

No matter what stage of the journey towards financial freedom you are at, I encourage you to enjoy each stage as you discover what it means to be financially free.

Live life to the fullest (within your means!) and be well and prosper.