Do you think about the day you can retire? Do you dream about living a different life, one without your current boundaries? I’ve always thought it was crazy to wait for retirement to start living the life you want. I don’t believe you have to wait until 65 to live the life you truly desire. Life isn’t really about how much you make, it’s what you do with it that counts. For most people, smart use of their money can give them the life they want sooner than they might think. I think we should replace the R word, retirement, with two new words, financial freedom and live the life you want to live sooner rather than later.
There are two approaches to achieving financial freedom. The first is having enough money to be totally free, which is traditional retirement. The second is to save enough so that you can earn less and live a better life sooner–or financial freedom. For a lot of people, planning for financial freedom is a better goal and a better life plan–it means choosing the most fulfilling work, deciding how many hours to dedicate to that work, living where you truly want to live, and doing it a lot sooner than sixty-five.
I think if you plan for financial freedom instead of retirement you can open your life up to anything you can dream. Focusing on financial freedom opens the gates to dreams of limited work that is gratifying and often focused on personal passions, hobbies, or giving back, rather than on making enough money to fund an entirely carefree lifestyle later on.
Let’s change the way we think of retirement. Don’t wait to shape the life you want to live. Retire the word retirement and focus on financial freedom and live the life you want.
Do you have a solid plan in place for creating financial freedom? Start here.