Financial Independence Means More Than Rich

By Author: Sharon
Total Articles: 89
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We all have our needs and wants in life, and afford the lifestyle that we want. Think of it. Do you want to retire early? What about being mortgage free? Or being debt free?

Actually being financial independent is a goal to a lot of people. Financial independence is being put right near the top of their long-term-goals list. There are also many personal financial books, companies and individuals that can give much advice about how to deal with the financial problems. But if a person wants to be financial independent, he has to set his goals and works for it.

Financial independence does not simply talk about being rich or has a lot of money. Actually having a lot of money does not necessarily mean financial independence. A person has a lot of money or real estate, but he may have to pay more taxes and wind up in debt.

For example, there's a person who earns $300,000 a year, while the other person earns $50,000. You might think that the first person should be richer, and seem more financial independent than the other one. But it is more than that. Financial independence is not only about how much money you ...
... are earning, but also how much you are spending. And actually the latter are more important in the process. Let's see. If the person who earns $300,000, but he spend $600,000 a year, while the person who earns $50,000 a year but only spend $40,000, what do you think? Obviously the person who spends more money than he earns doesn't have financial independence. He's going into debt. And the latter are more likely to have financial independence.

Financial independence, to some people, merely means not relying on their parents or other loved ones to help pay the bills. For some others, it may mean the freedom from all debts. And there are also people think that financial independence means freedom from having to work for income.

I think, financial independence means a person is able to afford the lifestyle that he or she desire, without having to work. It's talking about 2 small but important definition -the lifestyle someone desires, and he or she doesn't has to work to achieve it.

I like going out shopping with my friends. Whenever they find something that they really like but unaffordable, some of them will be upset but promise to work hard to pay for it. On the other hand, some will immediately buy it with their credit card, but they are really upset on the day they receive the bills, and tighten their belts in the following months.

Those situations, I think, are not freedom, aren't they? I think financial independence gives us freedom. It gives you flexibility and freedom to choose the way you desire for life, and being able to afford such lifestyle, without having to work. That's really a beautiful thing. And you don't have to face the dilemma worrying about Am I going to be downsized? Am I going to lose my job? Am I going to be able to afford my next mortgage payment? or When is the time that I can live the way I want? How can I afford the lifestyle that I desire? Financial independence just gives people the freedom and security that a person really need.

However, being financial independent does not mean guarantee that you are going to be happy. It is not a formula that you can put an equal sign between the financial independence and happy. Actually nobody is able to find the formula for what makes people happy. Financial independence should be a condition that makes people much happier than having money alone or cannot afford the life one wants.

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