7 practical steps to Financial Freedom

Want to be financially free?

The true goal of financial freedom is not to make enough money to buy any object that you want. Instead, the goal of financial freedom is to make money NEVER be an object! It’s a subtle, but huge difference. If pursuing multiple streams of income, acquiring assets that pay you, being your own boss, or even having the freedom to make your own schedule sounds daunting and unrealistic to you, then you must simply alter this way of thinking. Ultimately, if you are interested in pursuing financial freedom you must first change your mindset. Let’s take a look at the 7 steps to achieving financial freedom:

1. Don’t just save to save - Save to invest

Most people will advise you to simply “save your money” in order to build wealth. However, money is no longer money after 1971. So today, when bonds are paying almost zero and the Federal Reserve is printing trillions of dollars in fiat currency, pitching the notion of “saving money” is terrible advice. Since our government can mandate the amount of money that can be printed, every dollar you save becomes subjected to government control. As more money is printed, your dollar decreases in purchasing power and the money you have in the bank becomes worthless over time. As the dollar loses value every time more money is printed, saving is a sure way to let the government and banks take your money through inflation and taxes.

Unfortunately, many of us are still only saving, and it is now the worst time to save. This constant cognitive reinforcement while expecting different results can be considered a form of insanity. Instead, using it to buy assets that pay you positive cash flow can increase your wealth. Remember, a true investor and a financially educated person can make money when the economy is up and can make even more money in a bad economy. 

2. Ignore ‘thy’ ignorance about money

To actually understand the language of money and how to stay ahead of the curve, you must ignore your ignorance about money and retrain your mind to see the other side of the coin. If you are part of the 99 percent of the population that has to share less than 40 percent of the wealth generated within our economy, then everything you have been taught about money is keeping you from reaching financial freedom. The information that is currently being spread throughout the masses tells us that “debt is bad,” that we should “work for money,” or that we should “focus on saving or paying down debt.” However, this advice will only keep you in the rat race and dependent on the government. Breaking free of these invisible chains and financial dependence will require more than just having a salary, pension, and 401(k). You will need to understand how you can use the liquidity you have to buy assets that appreciate and pay you while you wait. The truth is we all can make money, but only a few of us can reach financial freedom and wealth. Arriving at this plateau takes not only knowledge but a burning desire to become free from economic deprivation and the ability to see and leverage both sides of the economic coin (income and debt).

3. Sell the eggs, not the goose!

Have you ever read the story of the goose that laid the golden eggs? This simple story applies to finance in so many ways. In our current economy, the people who get crushed are the people who invest for capital gains and not cash flow. It does not matter what market you are in. Whether it’s stocks, commodities, real estate, or business, if you are going into it hoping to sell to a bigger idiot than you, you are playing the wrong game.

Let’s look at a brief example of someone buying for capital gains:

? You buy something at $5 and hope to sell it later for $10. You purchase a house for $300,000 and hope to flip it for $600,000. You buy a penny stock for $0.05 and try to sell it for more.

These examples show people investing for capital gains. When I invest, I invest for cash flow. In my opinion, how I invest is a lot like the game Monopoly. It goes as follows:

? One green house gives me $50; two green houses give me $100. Three green houses give me $150, and then I do what is called a 1031 exchange and buy one red hotel that makes me $500 in cash flow.

It’s not rocket science! You don’t even need a high school diploma to understand this basic formula of wealth creation. I just keep buying assets, and they pay me a consistent monthly income. The more assets I accumulate, the more I make in monthly income. It is just that simple. Capital gains mean that hopefully there is someone stupid enough to relieve you of your stupidity. So if you’re going to be smart, play the cash flow game. This will allow you to increase your wealth and get a positive income at the same time. Capital gains are like eating the goose instead of the golden eggs. It’s foolish; why would you eat something that is producing golden eggs? Why would you eat the goose? 

4. Bargain hunt like the rich

Many of us only shop for liabilities that are considered on sale, such as a nice car, exclusive sneakers, clothes, and jewelry. Although these items make us poorer and cost us money in the long run, we convince ourselves that this is the right way to bargain hunt and “save money.” However, the wealthy approach to bargain shopping is completely different to that of the financially uneducated. The rich wait for pullbacks in the stock market and corrections in real estate and purchase these assets “on sale” as the herd begins to sell in fear. The rich also invest in assets such as businesses, gold and silver, and technologies that will be at the forefront in the future before people are made aware of it. 

You must learn to see what the financially uneducated are blinded by and bargain hunt for assets rather than liabilities. Unfortunately, the poor mentality tells us to shop for liabilities that are on sale. Start to bargain hunt like the rich and learn to buy assets that are on sale. This is a proven way to increase your wealth and build your income stream so that you can buy liabilities on sale with the profits from your acquired assets. This technique is how you amass a real fortune within our society.

5. Frugality is freedom

Frugality is more about making distinctions between things that matter and things that don’t matter than it is about saving money. Being frugal is a discipline that requires a strong sense of equanimity and EQ. It is also the closest thing to financial freedom. Once you make the connection between frugality and financial freedom, you are on your way to reaching millions. Frugality allows another friend of mine to get away with working less than eight hours a week. He makes thirty dollars an hour, but he saves 40 percent of his income to invest, and the rest goes to living expenses—food, shelter, and water. This may sound like a nightmare until you hear that he is able to take three trips to exotic locations a year. Even better, the cash flow that he receives from his investments are funding these trips, and he mentioned that it took him five years to set himself free financially.

7. Understand your ‘number’

Unfortunately, there are no guarantees that we will survive until the consensus retirement age or that the same rules of money (rates, regulations, and macroeconomics) will apply once we get to retirement. In order to achieve a financially free retirement, you must have a number in mind regarding the money you wish to accumulate as opposed to having an appropriate age range that you will retire at. This is because this fairy-tale notion of working and saving until you are sixty-five years of age ignores one rule of humanity: we are all different and have different circumstances in life. Having an “age cap” for retirement is like playing a game of musical chairs, and we know there always has to be one or two people standing at the end of that game. What if you are the one standing? This is why instead of having a cap for your age, you should set a number in mind that will allow you to live financially free. Doing this will not only make you stress-free as you begin to approach that age but will give you the discipline and clarity you need in order to reach your goal for retirement.

7. Fail fast

I have not failed. I’ve just found ten thousand ways that won’t work.

—Thomas Edison

Do any of your fears consist of the following?

? Fear of failure

? Fear of rejection

? Fear of looking stupid

? Fear of messing up

? Fear of being wrong publicly

? Fear of being exposed

The longer it takes for you to embrace and get over your failures, the longer it will take for you to learn from them and achieve financial freedom. I recommend that if you must fail, you should fail fast and learn from your failures even quicker. Some failures may require more time to come back from than others, and others may even leave a bad taste in your mouth as you try to move forward from them. However, to move forward from these mishaps, I want you to ask yourself, “Did I die, or did I kill someone else?” If you did, then God bless you; I have nothing for you. However, if you didn’t, lighten up! What didn’t kill you (or anyone else) will only make you stronger and wiser. Embrace failure, because this is your inner compass; your inner divinity is checking in and putting you back on course to receive your true blessing. This is a blessing that no human engineering can ever take from you. This blessing is divine, and embracing failure is the key to unlocking this divinity. So don’t be afraid of failure so much that you aren’t willing to try and reach your true greatness. Understand that there is no security in life, only opportunity. Embrace it, learn from it, and move on! Because if you aren’t moving, you might as well be dead.

For more information and an expansion on the topics and book listed above, please visit https://amzn.to/2J61iUQ , and pre-order your copy today!