Financial Independence

This 4th of July weekend, I had time to relax, recharge, and prepare for 3rd quarter. We listened to A LOT of Toby Keith (RIP), along with one of my favorite songs – “God Bless the USA” by Lee Greenwood. The first verse opens with:

“If tomorrow all the things were gone I worked for all my life, and I had to start again with just my children and my wife. I thank my lucky stars to be living here today, 'cause the flag still stands for freedom and they can't take that away.”

The song is powerful because here in America, you can do whatever you want…

You want to have children? Buy that house? Start a business? Move to the country? Become an artist? Run for President?

You can do all these things, as long as you’re willing to work for it. Some planning would help as well...

This leads into the idea of Financial Independence.

Financial Independence means different things to different people. For some, it’s having the ability to pay for their kid’s education or retire at age 65. For others, it’s simply being able to sleep at night without worrying about bills, debt, or taxes.

To me, Financial Independence means having the ability to live life on your own terms. Not being forced to work a job you hate, for money that’s already spent before the paycheck comes in. It's about having the flexibility to take off on a Friday to swim with your kids. It's living life without pinching every single penny, while also striving towards goals with defined dates – i.e. “Pool Opening - Summer 2029” or “Oklahoma State University Class of 2042.”

Financial Independence begins with planning and moves forward with budgeting, saving, investing, and monitoring.

If you’ve been given the gift of living here in the United States of America, don’t waste it. Put a Financial Plan together and go achieve your goals!