Stages to financial freedom

Wow what an amazing year 2012 was, My business grew by just over 70% and I'm getting closer to my goal of being financially free. Financial freedom is a varied term though in that it means different things to different people, for me it means never having to work again if I didn't want to! So that every month all my bills and living costs would be covered by multiple streams of income and residual income at that.

I have several stepping stone goals to reach this one big goal

Firstly I need about £950 (before tax) per month, now that would cover all my contribution to the household ie utilities, food, rent etc and at this point (and I'm already on the way to this goal with my Utility Warehouse business)  I could be financially free, if I never went out again or did anything else! That would be pretty boring though, so that leads me onto stage 2.

Stage 2 I need around about £1800 (before tax) a month coming in on a residual income basis, to cover other bills like fuel, mobile phone, going out for a meal once per month, car insurance and so on, Then I'd be pretty happy with that, I'd pretty much never have to worry about bills again. Of course I'd still have a linear income at this point by that I mean I'd have an income where I get paid for the hours I work.

Stage 3 is around £3250 (before tax) I think this is a nice figure for me to be able to have and do what I want when I want, also if I wanted I could drop the linear income sources, although I probably won't as I'll take the income from that and invest in to a residual income such as shares.

Final stage of financial freedom would be around £6500+ (before tax), Now I say plus, because why limit yourself, but on this sort of income for me it means not only will I never have to work again (if I didn't want to) but then neither would my wife (well you need someone to share the time with). This would mean being able to have what we want when we want it, going on holiday at the drop of a hat, go to any restaurant we want and not have to look at the right hand side (the cost) you get the picture.

So why do I have these four figures? 

The £6500+ figure is nice and I will get that within the next ten years but it's much better to have those smaller goals on the way to tick off, otherwise it's be a bit like having a 20 ft ladder with only 2 rungs! Of course I have other goals in between and there aren't only four rungs on my ladder, I've just written this to give you an idea, so what are your goals to your greater goals, get it written down and have it clear in your head, it is very motivational.

If you want to share your stepping stones, feel free, I'd love to know.

To your success

Paul

Are you 'Towards' or 'Away from' - financial freedom?

You're reading this because like me you're not wealthy (whatever that means to you) yet! It may even be that like me  you have some debt.


Now for many people thinking about that debt and worrying about it, how they may get out of it, has a tendency to keep them in debt and never get to a goal of wealth. For people who say things to themselves such as 'I don't want to be broke', 'I don't want debt' is called having an 'Away from' strategy, the thing with this kind of thinking is that they are still thinking about the negative side of finance and even using the statement 'I want to be debt free' isn't the answer! this is because the word 'debt' is a negative one and the unconscious mind picks up on this and then delivers what we think about most!


A much more positive way of thinking is to use positive phrases such as 'I want to be financially free' or 'I am working my way to financial security' this is known as a 'Towards' strategy. If you imagine a line with 'Away from' at one end and 'Towards' at the other end, when you think about your current wealth situation and the statements that you make, you'll be somewhere on this line. The trick is to make your statements more 'Towards' than 'Away from'.


Reframe
If you are in debt and when you think about it and think about paying it off, if it brings up negative feelings is to reframe that thought, a great reframe is to think of that debt that you are paying off as if you are paying off for your education, however much it may be and whatever the circumstances may have been for you getting into your situation, thinking of it in this way takes the edge off think of it as a learning experience and then allow you concentrate on a time when you'll be financially free. This reframe certainly works for me, and I'm sure you can come up with your own reframes and let me know.




To your success
Paul

So where am I in my Journey?

While I've read a bit on wealth and wealth creation over the last few years, really I'm just at the start and still learning and looking for a means to become wealthy. 

I believe that it is easy to make money and become wealthy which differs to the common held belief with wealth.

I started an electrical business back in 2005 and employed people too but totally lost heart in doing it in 2008 and then got into debt in 2009, while I still run the business, I do so with a view to closing it in the future or selling it on. At the end of 2008 I joined a Direct selling/ Multi Level Marketing business (see last post) and have been growing that ever since and I'm currently doing a NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) Master Practitioner  Certification and I'm currently working to get a business off the ground in that area.

The goal is to then create other income streams and some ideas are to write some books, set up affiliate websites, savings, investments and property.

Whatever happens I hope you'll enjoy following me on my journey and find tips that help you on your journey to wealth.

To your wealth

Paul