Financial Freedom, Financial Independence, or simply put, being among The Fortunate Few

You are here reading this article because you’ve finally figured out you want to be financially free.  Like us, you want to retire in 10 years or less and give up this working culture we learned so well.  You finally realize there is more to life than working 8, 10, 14 hours a day.  So let’s talk about financial freedom and what this means.

Let’s break down the term “financial freedom”.  The word financial relates to money and freedom relates to being independent, that is having the freedom to do as you wish and having enough cash flow to do it.  Some also refer to as «financial independence»: Having sufficient personal wealth to live the life you desire without having to hold a regular job.  This means you can either dispose of enough money where you can withdraw 1000 dollars a week from your bank account for the rest of your life for example.  Still have plenty of money left over or having enough assets generating income to cover your expenses, and more.   In this example the person is perhaps receiving dividends from stocks or a MIC (Mortgage Investment Corporation) investment.  Being financially independent does not mean your mortgage needs to be paid off.  It only means you are generating enough income without working to make your scheduled payments.  Obviously, your goal is to have all debts paid off however we will talk about good debt and bad debt in another article.

Like we mention in our book, it is time to change the way we think and relate to money.  We need to break free from what we were taught and realize there is more to life than work until you reach 65.  I know, this only happens in the movies right!?   Waking up when you want, doing what you want with your time and your days. Enjoying all the activities you always wanted, when and where you want. Traveling to exotic places or visiting ancient lands, having time to spend with your family, or to simply read as many books as you want.  Perhaps you’re a movie buff, or a gamer, or love sports, or always wanted to climb Mount Everest. Well this is possible if you develop a simple 10-year plan and stick to it.  We are going to take you through our journey and share what we did with interesting article and stories so that you can join us among the fortunate few.

If you’re like most Canadians and Americans, you probably are not where you want to be right now.  Most of your working income is going towards debt and you can’t invest to get ahead.  This is perhaps your reality and most people are in this situation. The reason for this is because we live basically the way we were taught, that is, go to school, then work hard, pay off your house, work your whole life to pay off debt, retire at 65 and live off of some type of pension.    This is BS, sorry for the language but it is.  You can retire at 30 if you start at 20, you can retire at 35 if you start at 25 and yes you can retire at 40 if you start at 30.  You need to develop a plan that works.  Break free from what you were taught. We are living proof to the fact that this can work and there are many others also doing the same.

First, start by stopping the blame game, recognize that you blame the government, or you blame the economic situation, your family upbringing or your employment, what ever it is, there is only one person to blame and that is yourself.  Change this now and change your ways.  Become a regular reader of The Fortunate Few and learn the best practices used by people with financial independence.  Start applying them in your life and become The Fortunate Few.  Share with us your situation and what you think.