It is common for people to develop the idea and desire of becoming financially independent in their younger years. Often, our relatives and peers influence us to aspire towards financial independence, that is to live life without worrying about money.
Yet, it is rarely an easy commitment to change your lifestyle in ways that will ensure that you achieve the goal of financial independence.
Jeff Rose wrote an informative article on “The 15 Crucial Steps Needed To Achieve Financial Independence” to highlight the remedies and solutions to extravagant spending habits. You can read it here.
But…what is the ROOT of the problem in the very first place?
The major impediments are Envy, Emulation and Endless material desires.
The three “Es” are sins that pull people further away from their actual goal of attaining financial independence.
We become envious of our peers who have high net worth; spend excessively on luxury items; live extravagant lifestyles and acquire material comforts with ease.
Thereafter, we associate financial independence to the ability to be profligate – to spend excessively and acquire the latest car or smartphone!
We strive to emulate our wealthier friends and adopt their spending habits and lifestyle. Ultimately, we become caught up in the endless pursuit of creature comforts. As such, any notion of saving our income takes a backseat.
This “seed” – the mindset that financial independence is equivalent to the ability to spend more money on luxury goods is deeply embedded in our consciousness.
Because of this misconception, we deviate further from the goal financial independence. We become less secure financially because we deplete much of our resources of unnecessary items that we continue to purchase to elevate ourselves to the status of our higher net worth peers.
To make matters worse, we draw from the images of renowned figures and adopt their lifestyles as best as we can. This puts us in danger of further using up our financial resources in our quest to be “just like them.”
The way out of this predicament is disentangle ourselves from this “seed” so deeply ingrained in our minds.
By turning our focus to the common folk and observe their spending habits and lifestyle, we can perhaps draw some innovative ways to move towards securing greater financial capacity and security.
Having a mind shift (A Paradigm Shift) is one of the basic steps to financial freedom.
With the help of basic knowledge such as budgeting, which almost everyone knows how to perform, we can start to build our own “financial fortress.”
What is your Path to Financial Independence?
But the only way for us to move closer towards financial independence and security is to first and foremost divest ourselves from the debilitating herd mentality that spending lavishly is equivalent to financial independence.
Realize that not spending excessively in fact contributes more to our goal of financial independence.
A high net worth individual may not look like they have high net worth on social media.
As Warren Buffett mentions, “do not save what is left after spending; instead spend what is left after saving.” As long as we heed this advice, we will be one step closer to achieving financial independence.
Our mindset that shapes our habits and habits affect our spending – and in time our financial future.
You deserve a stress-free life, with the flexibility to take care of your aging parents and pursue your dreams. By calibrating your mindset, you will be able to prioritize your spending. You will end up saving more, spending less and in time, you will be able to invest in smarter ways.
