Starting the journey to financial freedom is easier said than done, I know this more than anyone else. I knew I always wanted to become financially free but didn’t know the first step.
I ended up working for many years before I decided to take the leap. Before taking the leap, I started to put things in place to make my transition easier. The steps were:
- Gaining knowledge of the field
- Building up an emergency fund
- Letting go of societal expectations
Gain Knowledge
Before jumping into anything, you need to gain some knowledge or better yet an in-depth understanding of the venture or undertaking.
I started to read all I could find on acquiring financial freedom. I bought various books and watched a lot of YouTube videos. In my opinion, the YouTube videos did a lot for me. I’m more of a visual person, I don’t like to read but I had to do what I needed to do.
When seeking knowledge, an important practice is to find a mentor or someone that has accomplished what you are trying to do.
I found many mentors, but the ones that stood out the most to me were people like – Warren Buffet, Steve Jobs, and Michael Lee-Chin just to name a few.
Emergency Fund
First of all, what is an emergency fund? An emergency fund is simply money you’ve set aside for life’s unexpected events or in times of financial distress.
This should be a norm for everyone whether you are starting a venture or not. Life throws us curveballs all the time, it’s best to be prepared.
What I did was save at least 30-40% of my income, it was not easy but was necessary to accomplish my goal. I avoided hanging out with friends and buying the latest stuff. This part was easy for me because I’m an introvert and I consider myself to be frugal.
The final step with having an emergency fund was controlling my expenses. Instead of eating out, I focused on cooking. I did my best to ensure my utilities were as low as possible. My venture was online so I didn’t have to worry about travel expenses, apart from those I didn’t have many expenses.
Societal Expectation
The societal expectation is not necessarily bad in its entirety but can increase your anxiety. For me, it was a real issue because what people say and think can get to you whether you agree or not.
I wanted freedom but was scared to let people know. At one point I was just going to continue on my path to becoming an accountant even though I knew I would be miserable.
Doing an unconventional job like Blogging, YouTube, or even Forex was seen as a waste of time and not a real job by others. Telling people or even getting the necessary support to take the leap was not so easy, especially if you work in a corporate job. It would be seen as giving up something that is good for something that is uncertain.
How I overcame this was by not caring anymore and doing what was best for me. At the end of the day, it’s my life, and how I choose to live it was up to me ultimately.
Luckily I got support from a few close people so it wasn’t extremely hard making the transition. Getting the necessary support is very important and I would advise having even one person on your side when pursuing your venture.
Seeking financial freedom was the best thing I ever did and wouldn’t change it for the world. I’m still on my journey and can’t wait to see where I end up.
