Financial freedom is not how much you earn, it’s your ability to live on less than you earn and then grow the surplus to make you wealthy and free.

While you’re still working towards becoming self-sufficient, home is a good training ground to practice living within your means. If you live within your means, money will always be your servant. But if you develop a borrowing mindset, going into debt for anything other than what will help create an income, you’ll find that debt becomes a hard task master.

To be financially free, make sure you pay for your needs first, and then you can spend what’s left over on your wants. Watch out for close friends or romantic partners who are ‘spenders.’ They tend to use up their own money and then become dependent on yours!

This philosophy isn’t as hard as it might first sound because, really, we need less than we think. Unfortunately, our super-commercialised world has spun us the lie that our wants (i.e. things we can live without) are the same as our needs. But if you’re brutally honest, you can actually live with a lot less stuff than you think.

Here’s an important tip: Cut up your credit card and only use a debit card that draws money direct from your everyday bank account. And before you make that purchase, think very carefully about whether it’s a want or a need

 

Smart Way #46 of Making It on My Own; 52 Smart Ways to Smash It in the Real World.