Whether you’re an Artist, Teacher, Restaurant worker, or even an a CEO of a $1,000,000 company, being Financially Independent is something we all should strive for. Most people struggle living paycheck to paycheck just to pay bills and feed ourselves, but what if we didn’t have to? What if we could actually help ourselves to be better? But before we ask ourselves that, we have to ask what is Financial Independence and how do we achieve such a daunting task?

What is Financial Independence?

If you want to not have to worry about money one day, not worry about paying rent, or even just pay for hobbies you enjoy doing without the worry of it effecting you financially, you want to be Financially Independent. To break the words down literally, it means you are not depending on money for anything and your money does not depend on you to make it, almost as if you and your money are separate. To put it in laymen’s terms, your money makes itself every month, and pays for your bills for you, allowing you to spend excess on what you like.

How do I become Financially Independent?

To become financially independent, we to know what our Freedom Number is. What is a freedom number? A Freedom Number is a set amount of money that everyone needs. This money sits in an account, and builds income through interest. The typical interest rate most people use for their Freedom Number is 2.5%, so you build 2.5% of your income every year. I hear you asking “What’s my Freedom Number?” and we’ll get to that, but before you do you have to ask yourself something. Is this truly what you want? Yes, you want the freedom, but with freedom comes sacrifice, time, and undying dedication. It will take years, if not decades, but they payout is you will NEVER worry about money again, ever. So if you said “Yes. This is what I truly want”, then your Freedom Number can be math’d out easily. Add up all of your bills, subscriptions, food you spend, and anything else you spend money on on a monthly basis. It doesn’t have to be completely accurate, but it should be as accurate as possible, if not a little above to be safe. Here is an example list to help visualize how to set it up:

· $1000: Rent
· $350: Insurance
· $200: Car
· $75: Phone
· $200: Food
· $75: Subscriptions/ Services
· $150: Entertainment

· $2100: Monthly Total

In this scenario, you’re spending about $2,100 a month on wants and needs. To find your Freedom Number, you multiply this monthly total by 12 for the year, then again by 25 from the interest. This number, is this case, is $630,000. This sounds like a lot of money, and it is, but it’s not impossible to achieve. It’s not gonna happen in a few months, and you may have to risk a lot to make it happen, but if you can pull it off, you will never have to worry about money ever again.

How am I supposed to raise $630,000?

There are many ways to raise money. I personally suggest starting by doing what you love. Cosmetology, Teaching, Games, Creating Art, or Computers. Whatever it is you love doing, start learning the ins and outs and start a hobby. You can sell Products or Services. You can do yard work around the neighborhood, or debugging someone’s computer. No matter what it is you can do, find others that need you for that exact reason, and get paid for your services. You can build your way up to what you need, slowly. It wont be easy, it may cost a lot of money to get invested, but never forget your goal and never stop, and you will succeed.