What if I tell you that you only need to take 4 STEPS towards Financial Freedom?
Yes, you heard me right. I took these exact four steps to reach financial independence and retire early from corporate at 25 years old. In this blog, I will reveal to you the four easy steps!
1. The 1st step to financial freedom starts with an S. If you guessed “SAVE,” you got it right!
In my opinion, it’s not just about the saving, but it does give most people the quickest wins.
If you have money or make money, you can save.
I also don’t consider saving as a one-time thing.
I believe in building systems and processes so you can automate the savings and make it as easy, friction-free, and hassle-free as possible.
I also believe in prioritizing saving.
"Some people spend then they save. I save, then I spend. Whatever is left over after I save and invest is free to spend."
2. The next step is I. If you guessed INVEST, then you’re right.
With the interest rate so low and these high yield savings accounts paying you peanuts, investing is not just nice to have. It’s a must.
It’s the only way for you not to lose money to inflation.
I want to clarify that when I say investing, I don’t mean trading like day trading, swing trading, scalp trading.
No, none of that.
I mean long-term investing. Buy and hold. Research what you’re investing in so you are confident with holding on to the stock or index fund or ETF for more than a year.
Three benefits to doing that.
- Less Taxes
- Less Work
- More Gains
The more you buy and sell, the more taxes you have to pay, especially for long-term and short-term capital gain.
The more you buy and sell, the more work you need to put into researching each company.
That is if you want to do it right. Suppose you want to invest instead of a gamble.
Then, it comes to the third step. Most personal finance gurus focus on savings and investing and call it a day. How about those of us who want to retire in our 20s and 30s?
Just saving and investing cannot get us to early retirement unless we already make high six figures at our 9 to 5s.
Not all of us are software engineers who joined startups pre-IPO and make millions after the company IPOs.
3. This is where EXPAND comes to play.
Here’s what I believe.
"You can monetize anything. You can turn anything into an income stream."
Think, Techlead’s YT channel. He monetized his identity as an ex-tech lead, ex-facebook employee, and ex-husband, and current millionaire.
Think, Graham Stephen, who monetizes his Tesla, net worth, house, and girlfriend.
Think, the Boy who unboxed toys and made millions.
Anything can potentially be an income stream if you know how to monetize it.
That is also what I teach in my program named Early Retirement Academy. Watch my FREE MASTERCLASS HERE to jump start your financial freedom and early retirement journey!
4. Lastly is LIVE. Life is not a numbers game.
When do we know when to stop? When we see that, we can live the lifestyle we desire.
This is where we calculate the FI/RE number.
What’s the lifestyle you want to live after retirement?
What’s included in the life that you desire?
Husband? Kids? Big houses? Backyard pool?
These all impact the eventual stopping point. AKA, when do you stop chasing after the numbers. When do you stop trying to maximize your earning potential?
When do you get to focus on living life, enjoying the journey instead of chasing after the end result?
I’m fortunate that I’ve done these four steps early on in my early 20s so that at five years old, I get to just LIVE.
I retired from corporate at 25 years old after being betrayed by corporate life.
Yes, I don’t believe in retiring at the traditional retirement age.
"I don't believe in enjoying the fruit of my labor when I'm all old and wrinkly."
Because I’ve done the four steps, SIEL, I can take control of my life and disprove the people who mistreated me with My Income Streams.
That, my friend, is the power of the four steps to financial freedom. Now tell me, what’s your version of Financial Freedom? What’s included in it? Dream big!
The sky’s the limit!
Let me know if you found this post helpful. And if you haven’t already, make sure you check out my other contents where I share my TIPS and SECRETS to RETIRE EARLY and achieve FINANCIAL FREEDOM!
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