Financial Freedom
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Financial Freedom.
More free time.
Less stress.
Today’s blog focuses on tools available to increase our finances and free time.
Who doesn’t want more wealth or more time to do what we enjoy?
Heck most of us desire more of both.
Hi, I’m Faye, the face behind Travel Wallet, a blog dedicated to travel, well-being, and living our best lives.
The topic of financial freedom and time freedom is something I’ve been interested in for as long as I can remember.
The dream of working on my own time making an income that supports my wanderlust and family. A life where I have time to pursue my hobbies and interests and develop nurturing supportive friendships.
It’s one of the main reasons I created this blog. I deeply needed to start a valuable project I enjoyed and one that could become a passive income stream. This is why I am still pursuing my dreams after all these years.
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What is your WHY?
The first step in moving towards financial freedom is knowing why. The why is the strong driving force that keeps us going when we feel we have nothing left in us.
It’s a conviction, a firmly held belief or opinion.
I’ve tried many different avenues before, yet I quit before they prospered. I would get stuck, pick a field I wasn’t interested in, something in life would come up and take my time, or I was afraid of putting myself out there and failing.
If big changes were easy, we’d all be making them, right?
Looking back, I was my worst enemy, sabotaging myself while making excuses about why I couldn’t keep going instead of why I had to keep going. My why wasn’t a strong conviction.
What is it that gets in the way of the changes we seek in our lives?
Mostly, it’s our thinking.
Sure, external circumstances can be temporary barriers and bring our momentum to a halt, yet they are not the driver. We are.
Road Trip
Imagine you and a loved one, like a pet or person, venturing out on a 2,000-mile road trip to a destination you’ve been dreaming of for as long as you can remember.
The car is packed, the tank is filled with gas, the course is set, the snacks and beverages are taking over the middle console in abundance, and you’re well-rested and ready to embark on this journey.
Cruising on the highway before dawn, the road is clear of traffic and peaceful, even easy. Your favorite playlist is on, the sky is turning all sorts of beautiful colors as the sun gets ready to rise. You feel grateful, amazing, even high!
Then, out of nowhere, BOOM! The car reverberates the sound as it becomes hard to control. You cautiously make your way to the shoulder of the road pulling off and stopping the car. The tire blew out.
How do you respond? What are you thinking now?
Do you get mad and start cursing that your trip is doomed? Will you begin panicking as this is out of your control? Will you think, ‘It could have been worse’ and count your blessings?
How you respond determines how the journey continues.
You could quit and go back home because you didn’t anticipate spending money on roadside service and a new tire. You could helplessly wait on the side of the road in self-pity until someone stops to help.
You could change the tire to a spare and go as far as it takes you, ignoring the fact that a spare won’t get you there. You could pause, then adjust the plan, letting nothing get in your way from your destination.
The popped tire in this example represents a deep-rooted thought of fear in our minds. It doesn’t want us to leave the comfort of the known. It will do anything to keep things as they are because of what has been predictable and survivable (to the protective ego).
On our way to a new destination or a big change in life, we often encounter doubts, fears, and pains that attempt to stop us from moving forward.
When we run from them, they chase us until they catch us. When we pause and face our fears, we realize the power we gave them is what fed them and kept them alive.
The Cherokee Nation Proverb
Have you heard the story The Tale of Two Wolves?
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about the battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ inside us all.
One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, forgiveness, truth, compassion, and faith.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute, and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
Using the Tools Given to Create More Financial Freedom
To make changes in our lives, we must be ready for the unexpected as expected. Our old beliefs like self-worthlessness, hurt, lack, corporate grind, loneliness, abandonment, insecurity, and victim mentality will arise and challenge us.
It’s not a battle, it’s an opportunity for a shift. Like the popped tire, fear-based thinking is replaceable and can provide us with a stronger determination to succeed, if we allow it.
The first and most important step in creating more finances and freedom is learning how to move past the fear-based blowouts.
Having the tools to help us navigate our mind, like having a wrench and car jack to change the tire, is essential to making it to our destination of change.
Check out these resources that can help us get started. By providing our minds with a safe space to grow we allow our actions to do the same.
6 Tools That Will Assist in Changing Our Minds to Change Our Circumstances
JK ROWLING - A Story of Perseverance
Most of us have heard of JK Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series and self-made billionaire. Her story from heartbreak to hero has inspired me at many points along my journey.
At age 25 she got the idea to write Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Within the three years following, she experienced the loss of her mom, moved countries, met a man, got married, had a baby, got separated, and moved back to the UK as a single mom on welfare.
She persevered through it all continuing to write the manuscript, which she finished five years after starting; two more years passed with many rejections before it would finally become published.
When we look deeper into her success, how she handled adversity stands out, including these Seven Traits of Success:
BELIEF - in the value of her story (vision).
COMMITMENT - to her goal of completing her project no matter what.
EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE - in the face of personal and professional challenges all along the way.
PERSISTENCE - in the face of rejection and loss.
ADAPTING - to feedback to make the necessary adjustments to improve her work.
FOCUS - on the value or quality of the work she was producing.
SUPPORT SYSTEM – that believed in her and encouraged her to keep going.
She is one example of the many people who have not given up on their dream regardless of the mental and external obstacles, the time and detours they had to take, or the mistakes they made to see it through. It’s a road trip bound to test us along the way.
Now we have the tools to drive us to our goals or to what we desire and clarity of why we desire it, we need the GPS on how to get there.
The GPS is a live map that may take us off the original route several times to avoid unforeseen hazards or delays. It represents how we make it to our goals.
The how is fluid, meaning it’s not in our total control and it doesn’t need to be to arrive successfully. It can feel counterintuitive as it’s in our nature to need a sense of certainty.
However, it’s in our best interests to be open and willing to let go of the how.
Sure, we have a “map” that shows us how to get from point A to point B, yet we can’t see exactly what lies ahead every second.
Trust and flexibility are crucial in arriving at the destination regardless of how “off” it seems from our controlled route.
9 Ways to Increase Your Finances and Time Freedom
Opportunities to get you started on your journey:
Budgeting & Saving: Manage your expenses and maximize your income by allocating a portion towards saving and investing.
Debt Management: Pay off high-interest debt and use debt consolidation when available.
Multiple Income Streams: Side Hussle and Passive Income
Financial Education: Continuously learn about personal finances, investing, and wealth-building.
Time Management: Prioritize high-impact tasks and schedule and organize important events and tasks.
Delegation and Automation: Use technology to automate repetitive tasks. Delegate tasks that others can do.
Create Passive Income Streams: Develop an investment portfolio that generates regular passive income and creates and sells digital products that can be sold repeatedly.
Work-Life Balance: Seek out jobs with flexible work arrangements and intentionally design your lifestyle to align with your values and priorities and desired way of living.
Skill Development: Develop efficiency skills and high-income skills.
As with most things worth pursuing these opportunities, like Rome, won’t be built in a day.
Remember, You Are Worth It
Move towards things that ignite excitement and opportunities that align with what brings enjoyment and value. See them as a road trip to financial freedom and time freedom.
When the road gets bumpy and there are unexpected turns, use one of the six mind tools or a trait of success to help move through the challenge.
Allow time, patience, and perseverance to guide the way. Observe which “wolf” is being fed and remember fear dissipates when faced.
Beginning our road trip to more financial freedom and quality time starts with one thought at a time!
There are signs of inspiration and places to rest along the ride, encouraging us to keep going because we can, we are worth it, and what we have to do is valuable.
Cheers to our Finances and Freedom! Happy Travels and Happy Wallets.
