Achieving financial independence should be on everyone’s radar. It may seem like a far-off dream but there are steps you can take today to set yourself for a better financial future.
- Regularly Review Your Budget
Regularly reviewing your budget will help you stay on top of cash flow, spending, and reaching your long-term financial goals. The aim of doing a budget review should be to analyze how effectively your budget has been working and to identify any areas that could use improvement. Financial obligations change more often than you might think. Regular reviews will ensure that your hard-earned cash is working as efficiently as possible. For example, if you are paying $25/month for a streaming service that you seldom use, you may consider cancelling the service and instead redirecting that $25 to your savings or paying off a personal loan company you may owe. Paying off debt first is key.
- Invest Aggressively
Investing is the best way to set yourself up for financial success in the future. Investing is like sending your savings to work every single day. The money you invest will earn interest, dividends, and capital gains. Then the money you earned will earn more money for you… and so on. This is called compound interest and it is the most powerful financial tool available to you. Here is how it works:
Let us assume you cancel the streaming service above and instead saved the $25 a month in your bank account. In 10 years, you would have $3,000 and in 20 years you would have $6,000. Alternatively, if you invested that $25 a month and earned a return of 6%, you would have $4082 at the end of 10 years and $11,391 in 20 years.
That is the power of investing!
- Increase Your Income
The biggest predictor of your ability to achieve financial independence is your income. How much money you are taking home every month is going to determine your budget and subsequently how much you can afford to spend and save. It is vital that your income increase annually and you can thank inflation for that. Inflation is a measure of how much things cost and how far a dollar will go. Inflation can happen in quick spurts, or it can happen slowly overtime. Either way, you can be assured it is eating away at the value of your money and raising the cost of living. The best way to combat inflation is to invest regularly and consistently increase your income. Increasing your income may be in the form of annual raises at your job, changing careers, or by taking on a side hustle to supplement your day job. Regardless of how you do it, increasing your income every year is one of the top ways you can achieve and maintain financial independence.
The ability to meet your financial obligations, save for the future, and handle unexpected expenses are all part of what makes you financially independent. Achieving financial independence is a process that will require dedication and time but will be well worth your effort.
It is normal to encounter some bumps along the way and that is when personal loan companies can help. Guarantee Loan is a personal loan company in Texas that can help you get access to cash quickly if you find yourself in a pinch. Give us a call… We are happy to help!