Hi Reader,
Financial Freedom. Financial Independence. Retirement. You can call it whatever you want, and there are always going to be subtle differences in how we each might define it, but ultimately it means “not having to work.” This is the goal for many Americans, the reason for most of the saving and investing and worrying about our financial future. The Piece de resistance.
As easy as it is to lean on the familiarity of the word “retirement” in truth it paints a very black & white picture. You work, and then one day you don’t work, and that’s it. But we don’t live in black & white. We live in glorious, high-definition color. So, we’d like more people to retire the word “retirement” and embrace the concept of Financial Freedom. Or Financial Independence if you’d prefer. For our purposes they mean the same thing.
Financial Freedom means working if you choose to, not because you have to. It means taking a pair of scissors to the money threads that attach “work” to “need.” Beyond that, it means knowing that no matter what happens financially, you’re going to be okay. Your financial success is just that – yours. It’s owned by you. It’s operated by you. It’s backed by the power of you. You may have partners or collaborators in this operation, but it is yours to do with as you please.
Of course, we live in a society that is completely dependent on money, so we can’t remove that dependence entirely. We also can’t control how much that money is worth, or how much we can buy with it. There are parameters of the game by which we must abide.
Many of us also rely on provided revenue streams during our independence phase. Those might be pensions, social security, Medicare, etc. Then there are the leaps of faith we take on our investments, on the passive income of real estate ownership, on stocks, on bonds, on alternatives. All of this is a reliance on an overarching assumption that the world will not fall apart around us, and if it does, well, a new adventure awaits.
Knowing these parameters and assumptions, getting comfortable with them, enables us to master the rules of this game and, at peak independence strength, bend them to our will. To make the game work for us is the ultimate coup.
So what is Financial Freedom? One might define it as winning the game. And one might define THAT as a strategic alliance with – and reliance on – a system that enables you to live without HAVING to work in order to accommodate the financial wants and needs of your life. You might CHOOSE to work. You might also choose to volunteer, or spend time with family, or travel the world, or ALL of these things. The choice is yours.
Or simply put, freedom. To work if you want to work, or not. To spend what you want to spend, to live without financial worries or concern. All according to a plan that is flexible and adaptable. All within reason.
Because unreasonable financial freedom is most certainly a risk of another kind, and that’s a different conversation entirely.
Stay Positive!
CoFi
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. No strategy assures success or protects against loss.
