EXPOSED! 6 WAYS TO ACHIEVE FINANCIAL FREEDOM.

If you can design your life and plan anything in it, what would it look like? Some people would love to own and live in that dream house, some people would love to tour the world and others may love to have anything in the world that money could buy. The list could be endless and we could see that money is needed to make all this come true. I’m not trying to say money is everything, but money is important.

Imagine a life where the decisions you make won’t be based on what you have in your bank account. You won’t have to struggle to get a bus when you can just order a ride. This sounds sweet, right? But you need to know all this won’t happen overnight if you don’t put in the efforts to attain financial independence.

In this article, you would get to know 7 (seven) ways you could take control of your finances, but before I do that, let’s get to know what financial freedom is.

WHAT IS FINANCIAL FREEDOM?

Financial freedom is when you have enough savings and financial investments to afford the life you want. It also means taking control of your finances and not allowing your finances to control the decisions you make.

Don’t think being financially independent means you must be rich, no it’s not. It’s just having enough money to meet your basic needs.

WAYS TO ACHIEVE FINANCIAL FREEDOM

1. SET LIFE GOALS

The very first step to take for you to be financially independent is to create a list of life goals. Don’t just put down anything on a piece of paper, take out time to think deeply and identify the important things you want out of life and once you’re done set deadlines for your goals. Your goals should be specific, accurate, measurable, relevant and time-bound, I.e. your life goals must be SMART. Your goals should be realistic.

2. TRACK YOUR SPENDING AND CREATE A BUDGET.

It’s important to know what you spend money on every day. This is the only you can keep track of your spending. Many people avoid tracking their spending because they might feel overwhelmed or guilty about their spending.

Tracking your spending will allow you to be in control of your spending so that you can create a budget that works with your lifestyle. Writing a budget and strictly sticking to it will save you a lot of money. This will help you save, spend and give how you want to.



3. CREATE AUTOMATED SAVINGS

One of the best things you could do to your finances is to set up automated withdrawals. Once you have an outlined budget, determine how much you’ll be putting into your savings every month and make this an automatic deposit into your bank account. The money should be pulled out once you receive your salary to avoid temptations. Think of it as saving for the future. Talk to your bank and find out how you have automated deductions from your monthly paycheck.

4. FIND WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR INCOME

The best way to increase your saving is to increase your income. There are several ways to do that. I would give you a few tips.

(A) Start a side hustle; starting a side hustle that earns you extra money is an enormous asset. You could learn a skill, master it and monetize that skill. There are tons of side hustles you could try, such as writing, affiliate marketing, digital marketing, selling clothes, perfumes, etc. Find a side hustle that is flexible with your work and your lifestyle.

(B) Find a higher paying job; think of a career you’ll be happy in and keep doing your best at it, then you could negotiate for a higher salary.

5. START INVESTING

Investing is one way you can multiply your money. Once you’ve created a structure on how your income would be spent, then you can create an investment plan. However, you have to be patient once you invest, as results would only be seen after some time. How do you start? Don’t just opt for any investment plan. Make sure you do your research first, ask for help from experts, and then create weekly on monthly deposits.

6. INVEST IN YOUR FINANCIAL EDUCATION

The best way to stay on track with being financially independent is to educate yourself on finances. Like they say, knowledge is power, you should be financially literate. Go to YouTube and choose a couple of channels that talk about finance, a blog or a money podcast, and read financial books. Do anything that keeps your knowledge of finance up to date. With time, you’ll grow your financial knowledge and be able to make decisions that would favour your financial growth.

One last thing I would love to tell you is to hire a financial advisor. Once you’ve followed all the steps for your financial freedom, you’ll have a lot of money and might not know how to manage it. This is where the role of a financial advisor is needed. The financial advisor would educate you and help you through your decision-making process so you don’t go back to where you started.

I’m you learnt a lot, thanks for reading.

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