Retirement may be a long time from now but the truth is that it will happen eventually. Retiring with no debt, a nice home and to do that in comfort is a nice future to have indeed. But you should know that there is no shortcut to achieve this and these steps are practical ways on how you can achieve that financial freedom in time for retirement.
Make a Conscious Decision to Be Financially Free Early
Make that decision. That may sound quite simple but you need to actually consciously decide that you would be financially free in time for your retirement and then everything will follow. Because by deciding, you actually open up yourself to ideas that seem absurd to you before. Saving up would be easier and paying off debts would also be a major goal for you. The path to becoming financially free becomes clearer once you solidify that decision.
Remember to Make Big Sacrifices For Big Gains
In order to save up for the future, you need to make a deep lifestyle sacrifice. It doesn’t matter if you barely go out and eat out. What matters is that you are living within your means. You need to make this frugal choice because the result would be the huge payout of retiring with financial independence. Work hard for a few years and only buy the things that you really need and then you will have plenty of time later to do the things you want when you are finally financially free.
Get Rid of the Big Spenders in Your Life
There are various people in our lives and a few of them can be characterized as spendthrifts or big spenders. Yes, they are your friends and you may even tell them at one point that you are saving up and can’t spend as much but they completely ignore it and plan that extravagant trip anyway. This basically means that you need to cut them off from your life if you truly want to commit to saving up. Because in the end result is that you will get pulled into their lifestyle forget to save up for the future.
Remember to Create a Safety Net
Having an emergency fund or a safety net can save you from stressing over living from paycheck-to-paycheck. And that emergency fund should be kept in a perfectly safe account, like a savings account or a short-term certificate of deposit. You also need to keep in mind that it’s not for investment and that you need to be able to pull out this fund whenever something of an emergency emerges. The goal here is to get rid of the stress and even potential debt when you get laid off or your car dies on you or any other surprise life gives you.
Keep Your Career/Business Moving Forward
Increasing your value means working hard in your career or business. Think of it as an investment in yourself and in return you get that much-needed salary increase or boom in sales that could add up to your overall income to allow you to purchase your own home. Try to keep your work skills sharp and steadily work to keep your business/career moving up to the next level. And always remember that the more value you bring to the table that it is highly likely that your income increases with it.
Create a Diversified Source of Income
Creating other sources of income that you can fall back on not only saves you from stressing over potentially getting laid off but also allows you to increase your source of income at your own pace. Do consider creating a passive income source as well to not let yourself get overworked and be able to focus on finding more ways to diversify your sources of income. This way you are able to pay off your debts and even get that last payment in for your dream home.
Retiring financially free is a possible goal. You just need to set your priorities and know that there is no easy way to achieve this. You need to work hard, save up, and invest wisely early on to get to live your retirement in comfort.