Path to Financial Freedom

Achieving financial freedom, defined as the freedom from having to work for survival, shall be one of my life goals. I hope to achieve it no later than when I reach age 60.

That does not mean that I will head straight into retirement. It just means that I can choose to work purely out of passion and love for my career. By taking the element of ‘working for survival’ out of the picture, I am certain that my job satisfaction will be much higher and my stress level will be at a more desirable level.

 

Furthermore, such freedom provides the best security for the future. I shall not have to worry about my finances for the remaining years of my life, and I do not have to burden anyone else financially.

But to achieve financial freedom is not easy. It takes a lot of determination, planning, hard work and education. That being said, I regard this as an important and long-term priority, and I am willing to put in the effort and time to work towards the fulfilment of this goal.

 

At my current age, I believe it is just about the right time to embark on this lifelong quest. The first step is to be educated. Education will provide me with the means to obtain an income through my career. At the same time, I am trying to be more financially literate by reading books and websites as well as attending talks and seminars. Being equipped with greater financial literacy, I hope I can plan and manage my future in better ways.

 

When I start working in the near future, I would have to learn to budget and manage my expenditures. I would also have to start repaying my study loan and income tax. To get closer to my goal of achieving financial freedom, I will save and invest regularly. Starting early is always a good strategy because ‘time is money’ and I would still have time and energy to start again should my initial plans fail.

 

As a long-term commitment, I will continue to educate myself while keeping up with the habit of saving and investing. Until I achieve my goal, this effort will not stop.

 

There is a price to be paid for financial freedom, and the price comes in the form of all the effort and time needed. However, I strongly believe that the returns will make all these worthwhile.

 

Some great pieces of information from the Rich Dad, Poor Dad series that I have been reading:

• Instead of thinking “I can’t afford that”, think “How can I afford that”
• Investing is a plan, not a product or a procedure
• Profit is made when you purchase, not when you sell
• Convert earned income into portfolio income or passive income as efficiently as possible
• It is the direction of cash flowing that determines if something is an asset or a liability at that moment
• Buy assets, not liabilities
• The biggest risk is to be an uneducated investor

The rich keep getting richer because they use their income to buy assets instead of liabilities. Above all, the rich get their income mainly via the cash flow generated from their assets!

Now that’s the kind of financial freedom I dream to achieve =P