6 Tactics to Achieve Financial Freedom and the Life you Want

As if FF needs any introduction, “Financial Freedom” suggests a life in which the bearer has dependable, passive cash flow that allows them to live the life they want. A financially-free individual has no debt and isn’t left scrambling to pay for unexpected expenses, medical, vehicular, or otherwise. I personally know dozens of people who have achieved financial freedom.

Is this lifestyle as wonderful as it sounds? In one word: yes.

Take Robert, for instance. Robert is 55 years old and lives a life of financial freedom. It wasn’t always the case. He racked up $225,000 in student loans out of school to earn his MD providing care as a gastroenterologist. Although his career earned him sizeable paychecks, he prioritized paying down his student debt. He also knew he wanted to eventually be financially free, so he lived a frugal lifestyle and earned money as a passive investor, honing in on opportunities that yielded a high return on investment and positive cashflow.

Today he is financially free and does what he wants. He spends time with his family and volunteers on various missions all over the world serving underserved communities.

How did my friend Robert, and many others achieve financial freedom? There are a slew of different ways, but here are six of the most powerful and effective tactics to get you there.

You want to get out of debt and perhaps quit your 9-5 job, sure. But what do you want, really? How do you envision spending your time if you didn’t have commitments to work or school? Do you want to be an accredited investor and go chin-deep in investing or do you simply want to be financially-free. What does that look like?

This question is a biggie. Ask just about anybody what they’re eating for dinner and they’ll fire back a reply, but ask them how they envision a financially-free future and watch the squirming begin!

Perhaps it’s because most people simply can’t envision a future in which they are truly and utterly free. I find that kind of depressing, because it doesn’t have to be that way!

This limitation of thinking is a problem, because in order to achieve financial freedom, you must be able to envision the lifestyle you want for your future self. Do you want a log cabin in rural Washington or an apartment at NYC’s Waldorf Astoria? Is it to travel the world and visit any country you like for weeks at a time?

What do YOU want?

Only when you know what will make you happy can you determine what a life of financial freedom means for you.

Here are some tips to get you started:

• What do you love about your life now?
• What about your current lifestyle can be changed or needs to change?
• What elements of your life can you simply live-with?

Now, combine all the best parts of your life in one big financially-free ball of bliss. What does it look like? That’s the lifestyle you’re shooting for… build from that foundation.

How much do you spend each month? If you haven’t already calculated this number, when you finally get down to doing it you may be surprised. There are various financial tracker programs out there, such as YNAB and Mint, or you can use a simple excel sheet noting money in and money out.

I love to eat, and before I started tracking my spending I had no idea just how much money was slipping through my fingers and onto my plate. Eating out adds up. Only until I saw just how much my daily habits added up to could I curb my spending.

When you track your spending, you’ll get some clarity on where you overspend, and can then compensate for that by eating out less, purchasing fewer lattes, or cutting back on monthly VOD subscriptions. Whatever your poison may be, know how much you’re spending and then devise a plan on how you can cut back.

At this point, now that you have your debt figure, savings figure, and have tracked your spending… you may be wondering how the heck you’ll ever be financially free, especially if your debts and spending is more than your salary!

If you already have a 9-5 job, this is where your active income comes in.

Your side hustle can be another stream of active income, that is where you trade your time-in for money. Or, the side hustle can be a passive stream of income, where you earn bucks through a passive process that requires no active time from you.

For example, an active side hustle may include the following:

Freelance on Upwork. You can find work as a writer, voice over artist, graphic designer, and much more.

Become a driver for a car share company like Lyft or Uber.

Find gig jobs on Craigslist.

Help your community while earning money picking up tasks on TaskRabbit.

Sell homemade products on Etsy.

Passive hustles may be investing in a real estate syndication or other passive investments that require an initial financial investment but no time commitment from you. I love real estate because there’s nothing more satisfying than seeing property appreciation and equity grow as the months or years go on.

Here are a few other ideas for passive income streams:

Sell content, podcasts, and subscriptions (enrich your offerings with a value add to justify a higher price than your competition).

Passive real estate investing.

Apartment syndication.

Invest in commercial real estate.

Purchase a rental property.

Stocks or other promising investments.

The bottom line with side hustles – it’s important to have several income streams. Your 9-5 job is one stream. Add a mix of other streams to achieve financial freedom faster.