How to Achieve Financial Freedom

Project future income and expenses. Use the information you learned in part one to do this. Add up your expected income in the coming months, then subtract the cost of all your necessary monthly expenses (such as rent/mortgage, utility bills, etc.). This will give you an idea of how much money you will have for discretionary spending, paying off debt, savings, etc. Take stock of your monthly bills. Look over all the payments you have each month, and see where there's room to cut back. Notice where you're spending money on unneeded goods and services and consider eliminating these expenses. Even small tweaks can result in big savings over time, eventually resulting in financial freedom. Debt is a huge burden for many, and in order to become financially secure you'll need to eliminate as much debt as possible. Make a list of all the existing debts you have, and figure out how much you can reasonably pay each month towards eliminating these debts. You may have to make some sacrifices, like skipping the family vacation this year, but it'll be worth it to live debt free. You should make sure you're not overusing your credit card, as this can lead to big debt. Credit cards accrue interest over time, and having debt over the long term can damage your credit score. Make sure to pay your credit card in full each month. Mark when the bill is due on your calendar. Monitor your results and make changes as necessary. At the end of the month evaluate whether the changes you have made have been effective. For instance, you might see that cutting out your daily latte saved you $90, which you were able to put toward paying down your credit card debt. You may also find that you need to adjust your budget — perhaps you need to further prune your expenses, or maybe you got a raise and you can contribute more to paying off your debt and your savings goals.