Financially free: what does that mean to you?

Financially free. These two words are generally thrown around across social media, and it’s the end-goal for many, particularly when investing in property.

But financial freedom doesn’t happen overnight. Not unless you hit the jackpot on the lotto, anyway.

While some might turn to manifestation to make their aspirations happen, others work tirelessly to achieve their goals. And financial freedom is a huge goal, so it needs some serious groundwork.

The road to being financially free is a long one

Rome wasn’t built in a day and you won’t become financially free overnight. You’ll have to make sacrifices and be willing to do what most won’t.

If you’re saving for a deposit to invest in property, you might have to give up some little luxuries temporarily. That might mean no fancy holidays or nights out every weekend. Making savings anywhere you can will make all the difference.

You also need to stay strong and become comfortable saying the word ‘no’ – easier said than done sometimes. But if something you’re being asked to do isn’t contributing towards you getting to where you want to be in life, cut it out.

Our top three tips to make a start on becoming financially free

1. Set your goals and a timeline of when you want to achieve them.
   You can make a vision board if that helps. Having a constant reminder of what your end result looks like will keep you focused.

   Having achievable goals and a timeline to keep you accountable will help you in so many ways. It’s one of the biggest things we advocate here at Property Hub.

   Check out our course on setting property goals, and these principles will not only apply to the property world, but other areas of your life too. And then make sure you read this article to check your goals are achievable.

   
   

2. Don’t live life beyond your means

   We live in a world where everything is accessible pretty much immediately. There’s not much delayed gratification these days. We can buy now, pay later. We can hire things instead of buying. We’ve become accustomed to wanting something, and having it straight away.

   Delayed gratification is a wonderful thing. Making sacrifices today for long-term gain can pay off massively. And surrounding yourself with likeminded individuals might also make life easier. Check out this podcast episode we did on delayed gratification and how your ego can sabotage your dreams.

3. Diversify your investments

   Unless you need easy access to your cash, leaving money sat in a savings account might not be the best way to build up your cash pot. Your money can work harder for you when you invest it wisely, and that’s why we’d suggest looking at diversification.

   There are loads of benefits to diversifying your portfolio which we’ve talked about previously. Diversification can help you achieve your goal of being financially free sooner rather than later.

If these three tips weren’t enough for you, there’s another 12 in this article from Forbes that might be able to help you.

What does financial freedom look like?

Financial freedom can mean different things to different people. We asked some of our community what financial freedom meant to them…. here’s what they had to say:

Nick Boaz (Facebook) – “Financial freedom has 2 stages for me; first it’s not having to exchange my time for money (PAYE job), secondly, it’s having enough “passive” income to be able to enjoy a comfortable life with my family”.

@davinder1989 (Instagram) – “I’m 2 more refurbs away from financial freedom. I already own the 2 properties that will set me free. I just need to complete the refurbs and get them rented. It took me 9 years to get here. My reasons for starting and my reasons for continuing evolved along the way. Today, financial freedom means the ability to spend and savour limitless time with my kids”.

@altstproperty (Instagram) – “Being able to walk my kids to school & be in control of my day and what I do with my time”.

Elliot & Dan (Forum) – “Financially free (to us) means doing things on our terms and to be in control of what direction we want to go in life. 30% of your life being pain, hard work and resisting temptation could result in 70% freedom to do what you want, when you want”.

So there you have it, just a few different examples of what it can look like to be financially free. If this has given you the motivation to put the wheels in motion, why not take the next step and see if Property Hub Invest can help you on your way..