Music Mondays - Miss Independent
Miss Independent
With 4th of July and the celebration of Independence for the United States right around the corner, I thought I would take this time to talk about financial independence. 4th of July is actually one of my favorite holidays every year. I love that it symbolizes the ultimate David vs. Goliath story and in the end, David won. Don’t we all feel a little bit like David when it comes to our financial situation?And I don’t know about you, but I love a good underdog story. It makes me proud to think of the forefathers of this country taking a stand for something they believed in and I am grateful that their efforts have led to many of the personal freedoms I enjoy, namely life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and the pursuit of financial freedom.
Discovery of "Financial Freedom"
Until I trained as a financial advisor, I only thought of retirement as a word. Truthfully, I thought of it a little as a death sentence, the beginning of the end. I always told people that I never planned to retire because I was going to work forever. At this point in my life, I just can’t imagine sitting around reading the paper for most of the day and the highlight of my day being a shopping trip to the grocery store.During one of my training exercises, though, one of the other advisors used the term “financial freedom,” and my ears perked up immediately. Financial freedom sounded like something cool and nothing like a death sentence. So I asked this advisor what he meant and he said, “Financial freedom is the place where you have enough money that you do not have to work and you are free to make whatever choices you would like.” Wow! To me, this sounded like heaven. And in that moment, my world shifted on its axis, and I had a new focus in my galaxy.
Financial Freedom is Worth Fighting For
Instead of working forever out of fear of death or boredom, now I wanted to work toward freedom. Retirement is no longer a word that I use in my vocabulary, financial freedom is the word that I use and it feels good every time I say it. I am working hard and saving hard so that I can be Miss Independent (or technically Mrs. Independent). And every time I think about it, it makes me feel like it is a title worth fighting for.See 238 years ago, the forefathers of the United States determined that there were a number of basic liberties that were worth fighting and dying for and three years ago, I determined that there was a financial goal that was worth fighting for as well. Financial freedom is not something that comes fast or comes easy, but it is something that is possible for anyone and it is something that we should all fight for.
Financial Freedom is Unique
What does financial freedom look like? Well, on Wednesday I will let you know what it looks like to me, but the great thing is that it is unique for everyone. You can’t get the answer from a calculator or website, you truly have to find the answer within yourself or between you and your partner.So if you are having a rough time with your money or it seems like you are not getting anywhere or you realize you have a long road ahead of you, think about your end result not in terms of retirement but as financial freedom. Or as my dad calls it, “the ability to say “F-U” to the man.” Wouldn’t it be nice to think about having the freedom or the choice to work or not?
Keep Fighting the Good Fight
I don’t know about you, but I am working hard to call myself Miss Independent and the possibility of this title makes all of the hard work, the difficult choices and the constant financial battles worth it to me. I know that my financial freedom will taste as good as my political freedom does. Let this Independence Day remind you of the fight for your own financial freedom and wage a war against everything that is keeping you from it. It is a battle worth fighting!Gif Source: GiphyImage Source: Free Digital Photos.net Watiporn
Do you think about retirement as financial freedom?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS1ZW0FdoIU