What is Financial Freedom?

Financial freedom is going to mean something different to you than it does to me. That’s because we all have our own idea of what our ideal life and success means. It’s also reflective of what stage of life we’re in and what we have left to achieve. In its essence, financial freedom means having the freedom when it comes to money to live your best life the way you want to.

You don’t feel trapped by money constraints, you’re not living to work instead of working to live (unless you want to) and there isn’t anything that you can’t achieve because of money — except for maybe buying that yacht, but do you really need it?

Figuring Out What Financial Freedom Means To You

When you think of what your life would look like if you didn’t have to worry about money, what do you picture? Is it a retirement home on the back nine of a golf course? Living your dream life as a novelist in the Bahamas or being able to legitimately take two weeks off a year to head out on a vacation? To some people financial freedom means:

• Not having to work and depend on a paycheck
• Spending more time with their family
• Having the freedom to pursue your dreams
• Being able to visit a new country every year
• Moving to your dream city (and being able to afford to live there)

Financial freedom is based on your personal definition of success and the “plan” you put in place for your life. Where you want to go, what you want to do and who you want to do it with — defining those will help you figure out what your definition of financial freedom is and, most importantly, how much you need to achieve it.

Obtaining Financial Freedom

Much like defining financial freedom depends on your personal goals and successes, achieving financial freedom will change based off of your circumstance as well. If your idea of being financially free is retiring at 40 and traveling the world, then your road to financial freedom is not getting the corner office in five years but it might be running your own online business. Likewise, if financial freedom for you means taking home a good paycheck and being able to travel the world on the job, then the corner office might be for you!

Ultimately, financial freedom is not something that comes overnight and being truly financially free and getting it is different for you and me. But at the end of the day, regardless of what your idea of financial freedom is, it means you are not barred from doing what makes you happy because of money. What does financial freedom mean for you? Tell me about it in the comments below!

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Taylor Haahr

Tae started out as a journalist before following the money into the corporate world. But it turns out that the grass isn’t always greener and now you can find her spending most of her time writing about all the things she loves. Namely, money, travel and business with a hefty dose of self-deprecating humor. She is a podcast fanatic, blogging aficionado and loves to find new ways to turn passions into cold hard cash!