Freedom is the power or right to act, speak
or think as one wants. It is a state of not being imprisoned or enslaved.
Financial freedom could be defined as being in a state where money is your
servant not your master. Some sources define financial freedom as having
sufficient personal wealth to live, without having to work actively for basic
necessities. It is a state where one's assets generate more income than their
expenses.
Financial freedom is much more than having
huge amounts of money in a bank account. It’s the freedom to be who you really
are and do what you really want in life. Just because you have a lot money does
not mean you have financial freedom. Money does not guarantee your sense of
financial freedom. This can be a lot more confusing - if our needs or expenses
can be met by money, why doesn't having colossal amounts of money give us
financial freedom? It may help to understand financial freedom by studying
financial bondage. What is bondage?
Bondage is the state of being a slave. A
slave is a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey
them. A slave is forced to work
excessively hard. Being in financial bondage is being in a state where money
(or the need of it) owns you - it forces you to obey its beck and call. As a
slave of money you have no choice but to work excessively hard to earn it.
Since it is never enough, you have to keep the money-generating engine running.
The result - Frustration!
Let's look at some indicators of financial
bondage:
Fear
The thought of losing your most prized
possessions, does that make us afraid? You own a successful, fast growing
business in a certain country and war breaks out. All you salvage is the
clothes on your back. Does that make you afraid? Maybe in monetary terms, you
are content with living a modest life - roof over your head, decent meal and clothes
to keep you warm. A tsunami hits your town and you lose everything. Does the
thought of loss make you afraid?
Insecurity
Is your sense of freedom based on a person?
Maybe a spouse or your endowed parents? What if your spouse loses his job or
your parents decide to donate their wealth to charity? Where does that leave
your? Maybe your sense of freedom is in the assets you possess. What if there
is an economic crash that devalues them significantly, do you still feel free?
Insomnia
Even the rich suffer from lack of sleep! When
you have little to lose you probably sleep better than he that has much to lose.
Do you worry about your ability to keep generating money? Does the pressure or
need to make more money grip you? It is worse when the loss of sleep is because
you are looking at how far back you are at meeting your company's sales targets
and what that means to your job security - and the thoughts keep running
through your mind till daybreak. And when you sleep, the nightmares are worse!
Anxiety
I know I get this sometimes - you look at
the financial obligations and they overwhelm you. Bills to be paid, school
fees, the holiday you promised the kids, the lawsuit…. Others allow the anxiety
to have a physical toll on them - the psychological torture affects their
health.
Disillusionment
Thinking that a bigger house will bring you
joy and lasting fulfillment only to realize that your mortgage obligation just
grew bigger and that means you have to work harder. Maybe an expensive holiday
on a cruise in the pacific will do the trick. You go on the cruise, but on
return the bills need to be paid. Well maybe a bigger car will do - you realize
that you cannot afford the insurance premiums for a comprehensive cover, so you
go for a third party cover. You are now fervently praying that you do not cause
an accident!
I invite you to take with me a journey. We
are all at different phases in life, our interests differ, but I am almost
certain all of us desire the freedom to live a fulfilled life. We all desire a
lasting and true sense of freedom. Walk with me in this journey of discovering
financial freedom. I would like to hear from you what Financial Freedom means
to you. How did you achieve it? How are you working at achieving it?
