Financial freedom : the freedom to choose

 

Financial freedom means many things to many people.

If you were to stop the average working person at the bus interchange, the MRT station or the car park and asked him/her what does financial freedom mean to him/her, you will get many different answers. That is perfectly normal as you and I are unique. There is only one of you and there is only one of me in this world. In our uniqueness, there are similarities. The similarity comes when we are posed this question:

"What would you do if you had a million dollars?"

This question is still as relevant today but perhaps due to inflation we should bump up the amount to 5 million dollars to make it interesting. :-)

What would you do if you had 5 million dollars?

I bet you that many of us would say we would quit our jobs right there and then and do whatever we fancied as making a living trading our 8-10 hours a day for a monthly wage no longer appeals.

In that response, there is a commonality that connects us. Many of us really dislike our jobs or would rather be doing something else.  The world is a practical place, we need to work for a living and quite a number (myself included) work at a decent job at a decent wage but we would rather be doing something else if we won the $8million Hongbao draw that is coming on 28 February 2008.

Some of you would want to go travel the world if you have $5 million in your piggybank. Some of you would photocopy your winning TOTO slip and attach it with your resignation letter to your boss. Some of you may even just disappear to another country overnight. Whatever you choose, the possibilities start to become endless and I believe many are salivating at the prospect.

Now what if I told you that you could get $1 million dollars if you truly focussed on the slow and steady path towards financial freedom by saving and investing, living within your means and developing multiple sources of income?

CHOOSE TO BE FINANCIALLY FREE

I'm sure you would be excited and energised by the prospect. However, there is a catch. You would have to work hard at:

1) Developing multiple sources of income

2) Continue to live within your means and save

3) Invest prudently and wisely

4) Repeat 1 until you reach your target

That is what is happening for myself. I too dream of hitting that magical $1million in my lifetime and to do it using the tried and tested methods of what is shown above. It will take time, effort and a little bit of luck for me to achieve my target and I intend to do so eventually.

This blog is a small step for me in trying to develop multiple sources of income, in time to come, this blog will also serve as the genesis for a book that I would want to write about financial freedom from Panzergrenadier's perspective and to allow me to connect with others who have similar dreams.

As we embark on the Lunar New Year period, it's time for us to choose to dream, choose to take action to start on our journey towards financial freedom and choose to be proactive.

Be well and prosper.

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.