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Last year I wrote a series of posts focused on the theme of money and finances (click here to see the entire list). And with today being the last day of the shortest month of the year (and an extra day we don’t normally have), I thought I’d focus on the cornerstone of a healthy, stable, independent life that aids in creating your most fulfilling life.
Money is not always fun to talk about especially when you don’t have much of it or are in debt, but ignoring it will never solve the problem or create successful habits that will better support your dreams.
Whether you are single or married, I strongly advocate for creating a life that is established through financial independence. In other words, by being financially independent, you then make big and small decisions because you want to rather than because you have to and when the latter occurs, it ultimately takes you off track as you strive to create your best life.
I’d like to share with you today five benefits of becoming financially independent:
Enables You to Pursue What Makes You Happy
Once you have a financially sound foundation, you are now able to pursue your passions, spend your free time as you wish, travel the world if you choose, treat your children or save for their education, pamper yourself, take that cooking class you’ve had your eye on or learn a new language or two. In other words, when you are able to live in a manner that is congruent with who you are, you become better in tune to which direction your life should go in order to arrive at your desired destination.
Boosts Your Confidence
It will take time to become financially independent. For some it will take longer than others. However, no matter how long it takes, it is when you successfully reach a point in your life where you have a enough to live on comfortably that you realize how capable and disciplined you are. A sense of accomplishment washes over you and most people see an increase in their confidence. And confidence (not arrogance) is a very magnetic and beneficial characteristic.
Able to be the Curator of Your Life
When you have enough money to pay the bills without asking for help, when you have enough money to buy those tickets to Paris without asking for a handout or when you have enough money to live the life you desire without putting it on a credit card, you become free. Free from owing anybody anything. Free from guilt. Free from obligation. Free to help those who you truly love and care about because now you can. Free to be single if you choose and not marry because you have to. Simply free and what better state of being is there to be?
Helps to Foster Healthy Relationships
One of the biggest stressors in a relationship is financial woes. By getting your financially situation in order and knowing that you aren’t dating someone because of how much money they make but because you love being with them (and visa versa), you are establishing a much more stable foundation from which to build a lasting relationship. Do yourself and your partner or future partner a favor and respect yourself enough to take care of yourself financially. Needy isn’t attractive. Remember what was mentioned about confidence? And remember one way to gain it? Become financially independent.
Peace of Mind
As I mentioned yesterday, one of the most effective and fiscally sound medicinal practices that aids in living a healthy life is a good night sleep. And one way to ensure you have a good night sleep is to have your finances in order: knowing you don’t have outstanding balances, knowing that you’re able to pay your debt off in full each month, knowing that your bills are paid with extra in the bank. There is nothing more sleep inducing than knowing you can take care of yourself financially.
Now, with all of this said, it is the end of the month and the near beginning of another. I’m off to balance my checkbook.
So true, always love your advice!!
XO,
Lucija
WLL
Hi there. Just wanted to drop you a quick msg to let you know that I discovered your site a bit by chance today.. and loved loved loved it! I pinned quite a few of your pictures on Pinterest. I hope it’s ok for you (it does link back to you so hopefully all good)?. I am a blogger from Milan. I am also your new email follower now.
http://absolutelyfaaabulous.wordpress.com/
Such great advice. I promised myself on my last birthday that I would get all of my finances in order before the next birthday rolled around. It was THE greatest gift I’ve ever given myself. Every benefit you listed in your post was correct – I have peace of mind, confidence, a wonderful relationship with my husband, and perhap the best benefit – knowing I did it by myself. (we keep our finances seperate) The independence and confidence I gained is priceless.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful advice!
Being independant in general is very important to me and should be to all women. My husband and I have a great relationship and in part is because we both bring in money to the household. I also know that if something were to happen I wouldn’t have to stay in a situation because of finances. I have someone very close to me that is going through that. She was always financially dependant on someone else.
Besides money my husband and I are primary on everything. There is not one thing that he is primary or vise versa. I will never forget when I was younger my mom wanted to change something on a bill and she couldn’t because my dad was listed as the primary person. I learned from then on that he and I are both equal.
Great blog, always love your posts! Keep up the great work.
http://www.dylandrake.blogspot.com
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Even though I always read your lovely posts, I almost skipped this one, because being financially independent has always been a goal for me, but there have been times that this has (frustratingly) not always been attainable. But I’m so very glad I did read it, because it has helped me articulate why financial independence is so important to me. Rather than making a woman self-centered, greedy, or materialistic, striving for a certain financial goal makes any person confident, healthy, and (my favorite), FREE! 🙂 Thank you for another wonderful post!
Is that a picture of a ghost bike? A ghost bike in Melbourne, Australia is a bicycle painted white and put in the place of a death of a cyclist, usually by the cyclist’s friends or relatives. It’s supposed to be a memorial and it’s usually surrounded by flowers left by loved ones. Melbourne has a high cyclist mortality rate caused by aggressive drivers and poor infrastructure (which makes the drivers aggressive, particularly towards cyclists). http://ghostbikes.org/
Lovely advice, and all of those reasons to pursue financial independence are, of course, absolutely true. But there does seem to be one key piece missing from your post….the how-to 😉
So many people understand the NEED for it, but it’s not just about recognizing the necessity of it that actually allows for it to happen. There’ s a certain naivete to this particular post, I’m afraid. Times are extremely tough, and I don’t get the sense that this post addresses that at all.
The how to piece is found on my “Money” page – here is the link https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/p/money.html
It is full of ideas on how to become Financially Independent. Thank you for stopping by.
Ok, I’ll eat my words 🙂 This is a great, and complete, list. Thanks for sharing!