An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest. — Ben Franklin
Achieving financial freedom is no small feat to undertake. Bogeyman is around the corner to snatch up your money before you even know. Even brightest among us face peril of losing wealth, if few major bumps come along the way.
How can you achieve financial freedom amid the ocean of financial information to explore? If you’ve felt hapless finding your safe harbor of financial freedom, you’re not alone!
Isn’t it a fabulous idea if you can get valuable advice to achieve financial freedom from 10 brilliant articles of financial wisdom on the blogoshpere? Of course, it is.
1. Saving money is the key to achieve financial freedom
The first step is to save aggressively. I’ve been saving 50%-75% of my after tax income every year for the past 13 years. I try not to be a miser and have done my best to try and spend money on things I enjoy e.g. vacations, food, a home, and tennis. Where I did “sacrifice” was not buying higher-end new cars (all but one were second hand and under $20K) and going on less exotic vacations. Amanpulo I’m coming for you eventually! — Financial Samurai
2. Live Modestly
A lot of rich people constantly stress about their financial situation, all the while spending like there’s no tomorrow. If you’re making $500,000 this year and spend $400,000, you’d better hope that the economy doesn’t crash because once you’re out of a job, good luck funding that $400,00 a year hole in your pocket. By living modestly, you can relieve your stress and sleep well at night. Ostentatious living creates stress over your bills. — Modest Money
3. Become a Renaissance man
What does becoming a Renaissance man mean? Think of a man like Leonardo da Vinci. Not only is the man famous for his inventions and scientific studies, but he is also one of the most famous painters of his time. His talents and interests were broad and deep, and there was no shortage of things to work on and explore. — Invest It Wisely
4. You can’t go wrong with an Index fund
A portfolio of 100% stocks, which is what VTSAX(Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund) gives you, in study after study provides the greatest return over time. The only downside, and I mean only, is that the ride will be very rough at times. Admittedly, it’s a big one. If you are not tough enough to stay the course, if you get scared and bail when the storms are raging you are going to drown. But that’s a failure in you, not a downside of this asset class. — jlcollinsnh
5. You are responsible for your financial destiny; choose well
It is widely believed that small changes, practiced regularly, lead to out-sized results. Many great accomplishments began with tiny actions, implemented again and again. There’s research supporting the financial and personal benefits of quite a few of these habits. — barbarafriedbergpersonalfinance
6. Ordinary people can do great things too
I used to think that only geniuses and superheroes could achieve fantastic things in life. Or, at the very least, I felt that to have any success you had to be a totally go-getting, risk-taking, all out entrepreneurial maverick. At heart, I’m a cautious, down-to-earth kinda guy. My personal experiences, though, have shown me the potential that comes when you take positive action – even if it is only one step in the right direction. Extraordinary things are happening around us every day … all achieved by ordinary folk like you and me. — Vividways
7. Learn to invest in dividend growth stocks
The goal of Dividend Growth investing once retired is to maintain and grow your income from the dividends your portfolio produces. You maintain steady uninterrupted monthly retirement income as long as collectively your stocks will continue to produce 4% or more income annually and the dividend is not cut. — SeekingAplha
8. Think like a hamster, live like a hamster
Think less about money, more about time. Stop thinking of physical possessions in terms of money and start thinking of them in terms of time. Mentally convert money into minutes and you’ll achieve financial freedom faster. — Free Money Finance
9. Save as if you were a 60 years old
Three things saved us: 1. Our unwavering 50% savings rate. 2. Avoiding debt. I’ve never even had a car payment. 3. Finally embracing the indexing lessons Jack Bogle perfected 40 years ago. — Mr. Money Mustache
10. Learn from the Greatest Investor
Making money isn’t the backbone of our guiding purpose; making money is the by-product of our guiding purpose.” If you’re doing something you love, you’re more likely to put your all into it, and that generally equates to making money. – Warren Buffett
Achieving financial freedom is all about developing mind-set to develop laser sharp focus on every aspect of your financial health. If you follow these articles of financial brilliance, you will be well on your way to the road of prosperity and happiness.
Elsewhere:
Improving Your Finances by Gaining Control Over the Person in the Mirror — PicktheBrain
8 Essential Skills They Didn’t Teach You In School — LifeHack.org
Photo courtesy: Courtney0609
Great list!
If I may, I’d like to add something to #4. I agree with the point (as does Mr. Buffett) but there is something to keep in mind. The stock market goes in cycles, as everybody knows. You have to keep that in mind when planning your exit. If we’re close a market high within 5-7 years of when you plan to exit, then exit sooner, rather than hold on to the end, only to be caught when the market is at its cyclical down.
When prices go up, it’s hard emotionally to forgo that last 10% of increase. But that’s better than suffering the crippling loss that comes with the crash. And we have a crash every 10 years or so, sometimes less. So it’s going to happen. You just need to plan around it.
I agree. I only hold my dividend stocks — GE, JNJ, AAPL etc. I sell other stocks when major indices move below 50 day moving average, and wait until indices find bottom.
Agreed, William, and in fact I talk about just that in this article Shilpan was kind enough to link to.
VTSAX is a wealth building tool. Other tools are needed for retirement.
Also, in Part IV of this series I talk about market crashes, if you or anyone else should care.
Good to see you back in action, Jim! I encourage everyone to read Jim’s series of articles on how to invest and generate passive income.
thank you, my friend.
not entirely back, but at least I’ve responded to the comments left on my blog while we were in South America and I’m beginning to catch up with some of my favorite blogs.
Like yours!!
I need to work on asset allocating more to dividend growth stocks. I just feel the whole space is a little overbought and sold about 40% of my equity holdings last Friday. Who knows what will happen. I just now you can’t lose if you lock in a gain.
I’ll be reviewing your GPost soon and schedule it before Sept 1. Thx!
Thank you for the opportunity to guest post, Sam!
Wow, Shipan, I’m honored. You choose two of my pieces for your article: #4 and #9, my guest post on Mr. MM.
Great surprise to wake up too!
Honor is all mine, Jim. I feel rich to have a friend like yourself with so much wisdom.
Cool idea to collect quotes from various bloggers like this. I might have to try something like this when I cover a general topic that I know many other bloggers have already covered. Thanks for the mention Shilpan, even if it was a guest writer’s words in that post 🙂
That’s a wonderful article, Jeremy. Ostentatious life, indeed, creates stress and misery.
Some great pieces. Tony Robbins said that when you start reading, look for the repeated phrases because that’s where the truth probably lies. It seems like the idea of taking control yourself and sticking with your plan are paramount in many of these articles. Thanks!
You are a smart cookie, my friend.
Living modestly is so important, man.. It is amazing how many folks just increase their spending every time they get a raise at work, and never break out of the paycheck to paycheck cycle..
You’ve hit the nail on the head, Jefferson!
That beach looks very very tempting at the moment 😉
Thanks for the include. I love Mr. Money Mustache’s advice 🙂 Very true.
I am a big fan of Mr. Mustache!
I think that Ben Franklin quote is so important. Knowledge is the key to many things in life. We just have to acquire it.
We are big into index funds. We find them really easy to manage and they provide sustainable growth over time. I like to recommend them.
Living like a hampster is something we are trying to do too. Focusing on time has been a big priority lately.
Time is money, Miss T! So, it’s inevitable that we think about time as much as money. Time is more important than money as we get older.
Beautifully constructed article, and so true. Ben Franklin said it all…. 🙂
Ben was genius. He was way ahead of his time. Everything he said few hundred years ago is still as valuable, or even more!
These are fantastic lessons. I am starting to think of things in terms of time investments, and its amazing how many things I can walk away from.
So true, Marissa. As I am getting older, time is more important for me. After all, we all have finite time on this earth.
What a great idea for a post! I particularly identify with Modest Money and Invest it Wisely’s comments.
Agreed. Both articles are essential — for anyone — to achieve financial freedom.
Another excellent post, Shilpan, and I’m honoured to be included here, too. 🙂
Thank you for the kind words, Kevin! I really enjoyed reading that article. And, I am planning to buy the book as it is very intriguing. Thanks for sharing.
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I liked “Become a Renaissance man” the most. This gives a new meaning to the “jack of all trades” a new meaning, this time a bit different than the conventional one.
It certainly saves you lots of money, if you learn to do basic chores like painting, carpentry etc. Think how much you can save if you know how to fix your car. Unfortunately, I don’t have passion for these essential skills.
Great list! choosing a total stock market index fund is a great way to keep it simple, plus there are bond index funds, too. Plus, they tend to be less expensive.
I like bonds but, in the long run, stocks outperform bonds.
This is such a great blog post, Shilpan. What a marvelous idea to quote differing opinions from some of the top PF bloggers in the blogosphere. You are to be commended for such an excellent job, my friend.
Thank you my friend. It’s fun to share good content that every one can benefit from.
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[…] Achieve Financial Freedom: Awesome Lessons to Spruce up Your… An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest. — Ben Franklin Achieving financial freedom is no small feat to undertake. Bogeyman is around the corner to snatch up your money before you even know. Even brightest among us face peril of losing wealth,… Read more […]
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Some really fantastic advice here, Shilpan. Especially love the 50% savings rate. This is something I’ve been doing for years.