{"id":1124635,"date":"2019-07-03T20:20:16","date_gmt":"2019-07-03T20:20:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyreckoning.com\/?p=107614"},"modified":"2019-07-03T20:20:16","modified_gmt":"2019-07-03T20:20:16","slug":"what-does-freedom-mean-for-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/?p=1124635","title":{"rendered":"What Does Freedom Mean for You?"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post What Does Freedom Mean for You?<\/a> appeared first on Daily Reckoning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Two hundred and forty-three years ago, our Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence, freeing our great nation from the rule of the British Empire. <\/span><\/p>\n

On July 4th, we acknowledge their courage with celebrations all across the country.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While you probably associate the fourth now with fireworks, cookouts, and summer mattress sales, I\u2019m willing to bet you still hold freedom as one of your highest values. <\/span><\/p>\n

But if you\u2019re deeply in debt \u2014 or on shaky financial ground \u2014 fiscal freedom might seem like another 243 years away. <\/span><\/p>\n

First, what does monetary independence mean to you? <\/span><\/p>\n

For some people it\u2019s a retirement number. Maybe $1 million in a 401(k), with your house paid off and expenses less than $1,000 a month. That person is probably more financially free than someone with $3 million in the bank and over $10,000 in monthly expenses. It all depends on your specific circumstances. <\/span><\/p>\n

To me, monetary freedom is simply not having to base my decisions on financial constraints. You can achieve freedom with more money or less spending. It doesn\u2019t really matter how you get there. <\/span><\/p>\n

In the spirit of the holiday, I want to share with you four fiscal freedom principles. These should guide you throughout the rest of the year toward your own monetary independence. <\/span><\/p>\n

Principle #1: Confront Your Spending<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

American households owe more than $1 trillion in credit card debt, according to the Federal Reserve.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chalk it up to a lack of discipline to save or a meager salary that\u2019s not enough, so you turn to borrowing to make ends meet.<\/span><\/p>\n

No matter how you got there, it\u2019s time to add up your debt and confront it \u2014 you\u2019re not going to get ahead if you stay in denial. <\/span><\/p>\n

And just like our forefathers had the courage to imagine a nation of liberty long before it materialized, you need to believe you can get yourself out of debt and stay out.<\/span><\/p>\n

Starting this July 4th, commit to paying down your debt with a portion of every dollar that comes into your bank account. <\/span><\/p>\n

Principle #2: Understand Your Investments<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Just over half of Americans \u2014 54% \u2014 invest in stocks, according to Gallup. While that number may sound decent, it still means there are millions of Americans missing out on their best chance at building real wealth.<\/span><\/p>\n

Historically, the stock market has been the best place to build wealth over time. But you need to have some basic understanding of how investing works before you start. <\/span><\/p>\n

As it stands, a lot of investors barely know what they\u2019re invested in. For instance, among investors who own target date funds, the SEC found that only 48% knew that target date funds don\u2019t provide guaranteed income after retirement. <\/span><\/p>\n

Make sure you know what you\u2019re getting into before you do it. But the bottom line is invest. <\/span><\/p>\n

Principle #3: Improve Your Credit Score<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Your credit score affects so many different areas in your life that you need to figure out how to improve your score. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you have lousy credit, it impacts the rate you get on car loans, property, and all sorts of large purchases you make. The better your score, the lower your payments will be, and in turn the more money you can save.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another reason you desperately want to start improving your credit score is because every inflated payment you make means those dollars can\u2019t be invested elsewhere. Payments on large purchases typically last for many years. So, a bad credit score today will impact your lifetime savings dramatically. <\/span><\/p>\n

Improving your credit score should be at the top of your list after this weekend. <\/span><\/p>\n

Principle #4: Don\u2019t Give Up<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

One of our Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin, famously said: \u201cA penny saved is a penny earned.\u201d America had to struggle hard for its own independence, but the payoff has been more than 200 years of freedom and prosperity. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you truly want to achieve fiscal independence one day, it\u2019s going to take some grit and self-discipline. You\u2019re going to have to sacrifice short term pleasure for long term gain. But once you eliminate your debt, and continue saving and investing, you\u2019ll eventually reach your monetary freedom day. <\/span><\/p>\n

There are no magic shortcuts to wealth accumulation. If you apply the basics found in these four principles, you\u2019ll be celebrating the rest of your life.<\/span><\/p>\n

To a richer life,<\/p>\n

\"Nilus<\/p>\n

\u2014 Nilus Mattive
\nEditor, The Rich Life Roadmap<\/i><\/p>\n

The post What Does Freedom Mean for You?<\/a> appeared first on Daily Reckoning<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post What Does Freedom Mean for You?<\/a> appeared first on Daily Reckoning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the spirit of Independence day, I review four ways to achieve monetary freedom.<\/p>\n

The post What Does Freedom Mean for You?<\/a> appeared first on Daily Reckoning<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[459,366,626,1674,2961,2096,1311,923,476],"tags":[64],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1124635"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1124635"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1124635\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1124636,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1124635\/revisions\/1124636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1124635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1124635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1124635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}