What does financial freedom mean to me?
Sounds simple enough…financial freedom…but what does that really mean?
I think you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn’t want it, but what is it, what does it look like or feel like?
I certainly don’t know those answers for others, but I think I’ve figured out what it means to me; what I’m striving for. For me, financial freedom is not about being uber rich or riches at all; it’s about independence, it’s about choice.
I’m looking for the freedom to choose what I want to do, when I want to do it.
What would I choose to do when I’m “free”?
Travel more for one. Volunteer much more to causes for two. Have more time to share, connect and visit with family and friends for three. Start a new career or learn something new for four. Have more personal time to engage in current hobbies or start new ones for five. The list goes on…
Any of the above would be less stressful and more fulfilling. These freedoms are not in any particular order of importance, but these are the choices I’d like to have, some choices I feel I don’t have right now. In recent years, I’ve become more motivated to be financially free in order to share those choices with my wife, family and friends, sooner than later. I don’t want to look back years from now and think how dependent I was on my career to achieve my goals, I’d rather take control over my financial future now, so I have have a say in what that future holds.
Will I get there? Can I do it in the next 20 years? Well, my last post talked about moving so it looks like we’re going against the grain but overall, yes, I think I’m definitely on that road. I know this year more than ever, I’m looking forward to where all the turns, bumps and twists take me. It’s a journey I’m really starting to enjoy.
Here’s to the weekend, I hope you find your small dose of freedom over the next couple of days yourself!
Even when I was 60 I didn’t think about retiring. I enjoyed work but at that point in life I did wonder if I’d have enough money to retire when I no longer had earning income. With no company pension and not having great investing success I really wondered if I’d have enough money to enjoy retirement.
Dividend growth investing changed that and now at 74 I believe we’ve reached Financial Freedom. We have more income than we need, we’re not rich in my opinion, but not having to worry about income and feeling we’ll never run out of money means we can concentrate on things that matter to us. I found Connolly and his advice lead me to where we are now. I can’t express our Gratitude to Tom and his support.