I want to be financially free is that to much to ask for?

[MisterEThoughts]

I want to be financially free is that too much to ask for? I am working on it. As of right now, I am a college student only 21... I have my own freelance writing business and I work as a sales person for Helio. I go to school and have three majors. Technical Writing, English, and Communication. My goal is to ditch the 9-5 life, like everyone else. However, I am striving but I am having a few roadblocks. I am not sure where to go. I am wondering if there is anyone here, who can help me. Check my site by the way.


misterethoughts.tripod.com


Thank You All!

I love this forum and all the people here... so, helpful

[norbert]

Getting financially free is a very realistic goal today. Basically it takes that your income be greater than your expenses. I've been playing Kiyosaki's Cashflow 101 board game past weekend which made me realize that becoming financially free doesn't take more money. It takes more passive income than your expenses. The less income you have now, the less expenses you must have Thus the less income you have the easier it is to reach financial freedom.

Hope this makes sense

What kind of help are you looking for?

[MisterEThoughts]

Well, I am trying to get a mentor. When I speak about being financially free, I am speaking about, passive income

How is this done? Am I asking for too much? That the people who know, are greedy to tell? Moreover, the people who do not do not want to work with the person who does not either.

[da1prophet]

Originally Posted by MisterEThoughts

Well, I am trying to get a mentor. When I speak about being financially free, I am speaking about, passive income

How is this done? Am I asking for too much? That the people who know, are greedy to tell? Moreover, the people who do not do not want to work with the person who does not either.

Read Steve's articles on the subject--they're as good as anything you'll find on the subject. You're obviously a very sharp, industrious person so its just a matter of connecting the dots and you'll be fine. I've had a fairly lucrative "non-traditional" business and I'm trying to move into a more passive income generation model based on what Steve's done. My "old" business allowed me a lot of freedom in terms of where and when I worked, but it was a 24/7 job. Your advantage is that you've figured out what you want and don't want early in life, and now its just a matter of figuring out how to get it.

In any case, I'll be happy to help in any way I can. Feel free to drop me a personal email if you'd like...

[Hugh Hollowell]

Freedom costs.

Is a new car too much to ask for? No, as long as you are willing to write the check for the car.

Freedom is the same way, it costs, but as long as you are willing to do what it costs, then there is no problem. If you are not, then stick with milk and cookies because otherwise you are in for heartache and misery.

[rene_stpierre]

Ohhhhh yes ... I do want financial freedom.

I have set that as a goal last year (that was actually my first ever, real, written, personnal goal ... I'm 34!). Better late than never!

However, I disagree with a few posts. Financial freedom is a lot more than having income greater than expenses. To me, this is not financial freedom, it is ... financial balance. But, this is definitely feasible for most people.

My definition of financial freedom is ... to have the money to do what I want, to go where I want, to have what I want, whenever I want. No restrictions!

Although I truly believe it is possible to achieve, it's a little more difficult to get than financial balance.

So, last year, I embarked on my journey to financial freedom.

Step 1 ... achieving financial balance. I am there now.

Step 2 ... achieving financial health. This means, zero debt, systematically save maximum allowable amount in RSP (secure retirement), and a net monthly income to allow some flexibility in spending (I have set a specific amount). This is for 2007.

Step 3, I will begin to build wealth to reach financial freedom. I have not set a target date for this ultimate goal yet. I will do that when I up-date my goals for 2008.

René

[bullet77]

Hi. I think I can help a little bit with a truly passive income stream. I have been searching for a truly passive income for some time now. I have tried a few that say they are passive income but really are not and usually take some money to setup and then more money to keep them running. And if you don’t know what you are doing you can rack up the debt pretty quickly. I came across the one I am involved in now a couple of months ago. It does take some money to get started but once you are started your money works for you.

As I am new to this forum I’m not sure exactly what the rules are for posting links. Please PM me or send me an email for more information. Email address: powerse_99@yahoo.com

I hope I can help you out on your journey to passive income.

[eternomi]

Originally Posted by MisterEThoughts

Well, I am trying to get a mentor.

Make sure you find one that has already achieved financial freedom. You can learn swimming from someone who can swim, right?

Originally Posted by MisterEThoughts

How is this done? Am I asking for too much? That the people who know, are greedy to tell? Moreover, the people who do not do not want to work with the person who does not either.

No you are not. You are asking great questions. The simple answer is that, you provide value and in return you get your freedom. Don't let the word "passive" in passive income fool you though. You are still very much actively providing value. However, with the use of technology, your employees etc, you are providing it without being fully engaged in it perhaps.

The best advice I can give is figure out what you love to do and become an expert in it. I know this sounds like a cliche, but it is not. There are lots of people who know a little about a lot of things, but very few "experts" in various fields. You gotta love what you do. Otherwise, you will never be able to push through and become an expert. Once you become an expert, people will recognize that and you will have more than you can handle in your hands.

Age is no issue here. You can be an expert at the age of 20 or at the age of 80. What counts is how much you know and what the depth of your understanding is. Being an expert is also a very relative thing. You don't have to be THE number one expert in a field... just enough to rise above most everyone.

[PMcDonald]

Originally Posted by rene_stpierre

My definition of financial freedom is ... to have the money to do what I want, to go where I want, to have what I want, whenever I want. No restrictions!

Exactly! The people I talk to who have achieved this truly say that in the end being wealthy is great, but it is what the money affords you which is what they are ultimately grateful for.

Money is just ink on paper. The experiences and opportunities that money can bring me is what I strive for.

[joshbickford]

Originally Posted by PMcDonald

Money is just ink on paper. The experiences and opportunities that money can bring me is what I strive for.

That's a great quote!

Let me add to this conversation--I think you're doing the wrong thing if you don't want financial freedom. Who wants to be a slave?

[judge45]

It is your birthright to receive abundance in every area of your life including money.

You can have love and health, quiet easily, but money is different because of the high level of programing that you've received since birth.

We are all taught to believe that being rich is wrong or that it's hard.

You have to work very hard and long to get just enough to survive.

There ae people who make money effortlessly, but they may suffer in love or health. You just have to change your beliefs about money.

If you want money be very specific, saying I want more money is too vague, the universe might give you a dollar more.

If you want a million dollars, state it and believe it. There is more than enough money in the world for everyone and there's never been a better time in history to relatively, easily get a million dollars.

As for how to make money..........

I believe that when you help others, the money you make is more rewarding.

When you solve a problem that you have, you'll find many other people have the same problem. So helping them solve the same problem and getting paid for it creates social value.

The bigger the social value the bigger the payoff.

Google wanted a better way to search, they created that, then tried to sell it to Yahoo who couldn't see the huge social value.

So they went into business themselves and the rest is history and now Yahoo are stumbling.

HTH

Jeff

[problemsolver]

hi,

been there, done it! Basiscally it is simple: make money, and spend less untill you have a big enough pile to live off without having to work the rest of your life.
You have to mazimize your income. The best way is to find something that ppl want: happiness, security, beauty, you name it and find a way to sell it. Think out of the box, keep trying different things. On the other side you have to minimize your spending: no debt, record every penny you spend, and keep judging every single thing you buy: was it worth it?
The best book I read about it was "your money or your life".

I personally set up an internet business in the early days, first to cover the cost of internet (chatting), but than I saw there was a very big interest from companies, that wanted security, because internet was very scary to them. Somehow I managed to make them feel secure and that was the start of a succesfull business. I sold the business 2 years ago

[cpcpy]

i came across this quote sometime ago:

"you achieve financial freedom when you stop paying interest and start collecting interest"

[ahimel]

Originally Posted by MisterEThoughts

Well, I am trying to get a mentor. When I speak about being financially free, I am speaking about, passive income

How is this done? Am I asking for too much? That the people who know, are greedy to tell? Moreover, the people who do not do not want to work with the person who does not either.

It sounds like you're just starting out. You have to be patient. Wanting to be financially free is perfectly reasonable. Asking to be financially free within a couple months just because you've decided you want it.... well, I wouldn't say it's too much to ask for, but I wouldn't place any bets on you receiving it.

At the very minimum, you'll need to:

• Decide what financially free means to you To me, being wealthy is all about time. Although I'd like to be able to decide, on a whim, to fly to Tahiti, as suggested by Rene, what I want most is to wake up in the morning and decide what I'm going to do that day. If I maintain my current standard of living, but can pay the bills by watching TV all day, that's good enough for me. You have to decide what you want. Not just "financial freedom", but a definition specific enough that any stranger could look at your definition, look at you, and answer definitively whether or not you have met that goal.
• Determine an outcome that would result in you meeting that definition Maybe that's building a business. Maybe that's buying a business. Maybe that's real estate investing. If so, do you want to do buy-and-hold, buy-and-rent, fix-and-flip, rent-to-own, or something else? Maybe you'll make an online business. Maybe you'll invent a product and sell it for royalties. Maybe you'll invent a product and sell it for profit. Maybe you'll make a blog. That will depend on your interests, your skills, the opportunities in your area, and (to a certain extent) pure chance. Also, be prepared for it to change a couple dozen times as you progress.
• Develop a plan to arrive at that outcome If you want to be a buy-and-rent real estate investor, for example, then your plan would look something like, "Buy a house for low mortgage. Find a tenant. Make a plan to keep me out of the day-to-day details. Make improvements to increase income. Repeat." Different plans for different outcomes, obviously.
• Develop the skills to accomplish the first part of that plan Again using buy-and-rent as an example, you'll need to know how to find houses, how to estimate their value, how to estimate their mortgage payments, how to get a mortgage, what the process looks like, etc. If you don't know all that, you'll need to learn.
• Develop the skills to accomplish the second part of the plan
• Develop the skills to accomplish the nth part of the plan Then you'll need to know how to find a tenant, how to select a management company, what improvements will increase the value of the house, what improvements will increase the rent, what contingencies need to be planned for, etc. This process will continue for a while.
• Develop a budget, financial accounts, and enough other financial tools that you can keep the money once you get it If I gave you a million dollars right now, could you use it wisely? You should be able to use it to be financially free forever -- could you? Do you have plans for savings? How much money do you need for day-to-day expenses? What about taxes? Are you taking advantage of government incentives to reduce them? Do you know what incentives exist?
• See if that reached your goal Odds are good that your first house won't get you out of the rat race. You might get 5 years down the road and realise that blogging isn't working for you. I'm working to build a business right now, but it may turn out that I'm fully successful -- the business runs great -- but I don't get enough income to live off of. In which case, I'm back to the drawing board. Always leave room for your goals to change.
• If yes, set a new goal. If no, enjoy what you've accomplished so far and start over at the beginning.

That's what Hugh means by the "price". You can't just wish financial freedom into existence. (Well, it's possible that you could study and meditate for years until you were incredibly good at intention-manifestation, and then intend to get passive income. But I'm guessing that even then, you'd have to do something to set it up.) You have to create it. Will it be easy? Absolutely not. Will it be easier than selling 100,000 hours of your life to someone else? I think so. But it's up to you.

Once you've decided on the path you'd like to take, you'll have a better chance at finding a mentor, because you can ask them specific questions, and expect to get a valid answer. Steve Pavlina would be a terrible mentor for real estate investing; Bill Gates would be a terrible mentor for blogging.

In the meantime, check out the recommended reading thread at the top of the forum, and keep posting questions here, or in other business/financial forums. We'll be glad to help as much as we can.

[MisterEThoughts]

Thank You! I appreciate each and everyone of you for replying. I have been struggling with school. I am not struggling in a sense of failing classes, I am struggling in a sense of wanting to major in 5 things at once. However, in the past few months, I believe I have cut down to the core root of what exactly I want to do further out. Accounting/Finance and Writing. Currently I have two jobs and go to school full time. I work for Helio.com.... I do sales for them. In addition, I am a freelance writer. I have recently picked up accounting/finance as my passion. Writing has always been my passion. I have been writing for 7 years now. I make about 500 bucks monthly from it. My goal, is to get my English degree and my Accounting/Finance degree. Work as an accounter and continue writing on the side. I hope to make money in accounting, and start investing and expanding. In addition, I want to open my own publishing company and maybe do workshops on the side. I have multiple goals, I just have problems sticking to one thing. I mean we all have that problem, I tend to start something and move onto something I also,want to do. It's definitely hard. Also, I have never been great in math in High School, nor have I enjoyed it. However, for the past few months I have been growing fond of it. Thank You! I appreciate all of your responses, and hope you all get what you all desire.

[Alvin]

MisterEThoughts,

Here's a formula that's helped me:

Income = Time x Value x Scalability

Most of us up the time and value factor in our full-time jobs for income. But let's say you want to have more free time on your hands, how do you produce the same income or more? Increase either the value you add or how scalable your value/time can be.

[selfimprovementjunkie]

This is a great thread. It's great to see all the helpful people. I think it makes a lot of sense to first achieve financial balance (passive income is more than living expenses) and than use the extra time to look for additional opportunities to increase your passive income to the point where you can buy or do anything you want. The question I continue to struggle with is providing service and helping others versus solely pursuing passive income for myself. What I am starting to realize that I only struggle with this because there is a problem with my map of reality. It is very possible to provide service and achieve passive income. For me the idea of waking up at 6 or 7 and working for three or fours hours on my website, blog, or simply managing my investments and then having the rest of the day to do whatever I want would be the ultimate.

Self Improvement Junkie

[ahimel]

Originally Posted by selfimprovementjunkie

It is very possible to provide service and achieve passive income. For me the idea of waking up at 6 or 7 and working for three or fours hours on my website, blog, or simply managing my investments and then having the rest of the day to do whatever I want would be the ultimate.

In point of fact, providing service is the only way to achieve passive income. If what you provide is valuable, people will come back to you again and again and again and pay you for it. If what you provide is junk, you'll have to keep working to expand into ever-shrinking markets, trying to find a sucker who hasn't heard of you yet.

Imagine being awakened by the sun (no ear-splitting alarm clock for you). Your leisurely breakfast is interrupted by a call from a real estate agent asking if you want to sell one of the buildings you bought the previous year for a profit of $150,000. As you gaze out over the ocean, sipping your freshly squeezed orange juice, you weight the relative merits of selling and decide, in this instance, to keep the building. Your breakfast was interrupted and you still have more decisions to make today, such as whether to go snorkeling or surfing, and where to have dinner tonight. But with this one business decision, your working day is over. - Making Money In Real Estate

My goal is to enjoy my 40-minute workweek so much that sometimes I work a minute or two of overtime - just for fun!

[Andrew Michaels]

I would check out the book "Your Money Or Your Life". It talks about this exactly.

Originally Posted by MisterEThoughts

I want to be financially free is that too much to ask for? I am working on it. As of right now, I am a college student only 21... I have my own freelance writing business and I work as a sales person for Helio. I go to school and have three majors. Technical Writing, English, and Communication. My goal is to ditch the 9-5 life, like everyone else. However, I am striving but I am having a few roadblocks. I am not sure where to go. I am wondering if there is anyone here, who can help me. Check my site by the way.


misterethoughts.tripod.com


Thank You All!

I love this forum and all the people here... so, helpful

[MisterEThoughts]

Thank You! very helpful and definitely intriguing. I am going to check those two books out. I am working on writing a book on financial planning for college and high school kids. In addition, to all of this, I will be giving seminars and speechs. The book should be done in a few months. I will let you all know, what the outcome is. Thanks!

[SeriousKidding.com]

Originally Posted by MisterEThoughts

I want to be financially free is that too much to ask for? I am working on it. As of right now, I am a college student only 21... I have my own freelance writing business and I work as a sales person for Helio. I go to school and have three majors. Technical Writing, English, and Communication. My goal is to ditch the 9-5 life, like everyone else. However, I am striving but I am having a few roadblocks. I am not sure where to go. I am wondering if there is anyone here, who can help me. Check my site by the way.


misterethoughts.tripod.com


Thank You All!

I love this forum and all the people here... so, helpful

Just wanted you to know I can completely relate. I will not rest until I have found the success I've been craving. I am working to attract what I want into my life. Sound familiar?! LOL. Good luck. --"brad"

[MisterEThoughts]

Definitely does... Thanks!

[ken nubo]

NO, that isn't too much to ask for. You now have permission to be finacially free

[jolynnong]

There is never too much to ask for financial freedom. Put Law of Attraction into your daily practice can make a big change in your life. It requires believing not only in yourself but in the belief that what you believe can manifest itself into your real world life, changing it for the better. Attract the positive energy to you, soon you will be answered what you are desired.

[vellpower]

Today we have so many opportunities...
You will abligatory be financially free, just need a little more time and experience in life.
Good Luck to you!