5 Financial Independence Levels
By Miguel Dos Anjos
Financial independence
means having enough money to live without having to work. Achieving financial
independence requires acquiring, and developing assets that will generate
income (cash flow) big enough to cover all of one’s expenses.
The
cash flow generated by these assets is known as passive income, and some of
these assets can be:
- interest collected from high
interest savings accounts,
- dividends collected from stocks,
- royalties from the sales of owned
books, music, etc,
- rental properties, and units,
- a business you own, but does not
require you to run, etc.
For
other passive income sources, and a specific guide on how to implement these
ideas and strategies check my previous book “Making Money While Sleeping: 10passive income ideas + a bonus”.
5 Financial Independence Levels
Financial independence can also be divided
into 5 levels:
1- not
having to count on your next week’s paycheck; reaching this level requires having paid all your debt, and having a small emergency fund saved.
2- Enough to quit your job;
at this point your emergency fund is big enough to cover 3 to 6 months of your expenses. Even though you cannot permanently quit your job yet, it gives you a chance to try, or start a new job, or a better job, or be prepared for a medical emergency, or any other emergency.
3- Enough to cover all basic expenses;
at this level you have enough money to retire permanently, and your assets are enough to cover all basic expenses, such as food and taxes, no luxury items, or cars, or unnecessary expenses.
4- Enough to retire in abundance;
here a dream retirement is achieved to live happily and well.
5- More than you can spend;
this is the ultimate retirement, where a few can ever enjoy. People like Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett, or Bill Gates for example could retire, and start spending, and buying planes, jets, and yachts, or anything they want, and would still struggle to burn their money pile entirely.
Remember
these levels of retirement, figure out where you are currently located, and where
you wish to get to. Having a mind realization can be a great tool to help stay
focused, and on track into achieving that dream, abundant retirement.
More Options = More Open Doors
Even
if you do not wish to retire, maybe you like, and enjoy your job, and feel that
working is what gives you happiness, and purpose in life. That is completely
acceptable, and true for some people. Still, a goal, a plan and commitment will
give you options for the future, and for sure you can still keep on working for
ever, but maybe one day, as the years pile up you may decide, longer vacations,
and an abundant retirement does sound appealing; that option will be there for
you, because you planned and prepared. Having more options is a good thing.
This
blog next week's, and following posts will cover the behaviors used by the people
already at the top, so you can also enjoy a happy, and guaranteed retirement. None
of the strategies we will cover will require living in a tent in the mountain,
or forest, neither foraging for food.
Which of the 5
levels of Financial Independence are you currently aiming at? Let us know in
the comments down below. Add your email to our subscription email list to get
the next post. Thanks for passing by.
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