Financial independence is not about not working or not having to work for the rest of your life. Lots of people, who are lucky enough to become financially independent early in life, choose to work, basing their choices on what they want and what’s right for them, instead of having to make their decisions on financial security only. That’s what financial independence is all about, having choices. And when you’re chained to a dissatisfying job because of outstanding credit cards and personal debts, it’s difficult to have real choices.
Financial independence is not about rolling in heaps of money as Scrooge did. It means being able to walk away from a job that crushes your spirit and eats away your precious time.
Financial independence also allows people to walk away from toxic relationships, without the fear of not being able to feed their kids or becoming homeless.
Financial independence is not about skipping on life’s little pleasures so you can save up enough for the future. A lot of financially independent people enjoy an abundance of life small pleasures. Those pleasures just don’t cost an arm and a leg.
Financial independence isn’t about not buying anything for the foreseeable future; it’s about buying and spending wisely, planning and knowing what small prices can do for your savings.
I know that spending money is one of the easiest activities on Earth. Buying shit that we don’t need can be fun for the first 5 minutes but once the feeling of happiness dissolves, we impatiently itch to begin the buying-high cycle again, ultimately getting stuck with stuff we don’t need and credit cards we cannot pay off. If half of your earnings goes towards paying outstanding debts, that isn’t freedom of choice, that is living in fear.
In reality, every one of us dreams of having real choices, but only a few of us are patient enough to put in the effort to build financial independence, instead of building mountains of disposable goods.
Many people decide to freelance or start-up their businesses to have control over their own time. However, if you need to make a certain amount of money a month to stay afloat, it is not freedom of choice. When you are financially independent, you don’t have to sell your time to anyone; your time is yours to govern and do with what you please.
Don’t let anyone tell you that financial independence has nothing to do with living in the now and that the only thing you are doing is saving up for the future. It’s a lie; you are living in the now. You are living a conscious, stress-free life because you know that whatever happens, you have enough.
Financial independence is in everyone’s reach, so don’t waste your time believing that only the one born into money can be financially free. Shift your thinking and spending habits, and you will see how many amazing opportunities and possibilities life can offer when you don’t have to make choices based on your bank account balance.