illone Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 How do you define Financial Freedom? Corporate America doesn't really exist to help people and I've seen so many times where guys spend 30 years slaving for the man only to get let go when the company downsizes or changes directions. Point being, rarely do you really see someone who is financially free from working a corporate job for many years, promoting through the ranks, and doing the right thing. Is this really what people are lead to believe in the College system? If they continue to work hard they will one day wake up and be free? Is this really as good as it gets? Does the alarm clock sound more like a death drum beating the tune of impending horror when you wake up? Why do people accept this fate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seabee1973 Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 To start cut down on credit card use. they are a big rip off unless you have the money to cover it and are making a major purchase Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illone Posted August 1, 2006 Author Share Posted August 1, 2006 That's part of the American dream now, though. If you can't afford it just pay for it for 30 years. I'm more talking about the culture of America in general. Are people seeking out other methods of attaining freedom? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seabee1973 Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 actually I forget the exact num bersbut they say the average american only has between 2-5 k saved up in savings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaddogCT Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 How do you define Financial Freedom? Freedom to spend what you want, on what you want. Corporate America doesn't really exist to help people and I've seen so many times where guys spend 30 years slaving for the man only to get let go when the company downsizes or changes directions. Point being, rarely do you really see someone who is financially free from working a corporate job for many years, promoting through the ranks, and doing the right thing. Is this really what people are lead to believe in the College system? If they continue to work hard they will one day wake up and be free? The college system teaches, in my opinion, Financial security. Work hard and invest young, and you too will also be free buy what you need. And occasionally splurge on what you want. Is this really as good as it gets? Depends on what you call good.If you equate your job with happiness then yes. The only way to be truly happy in your job is to have your avocation and your vocation be one and the same. Does the alarm clock sound more like a death drum beating the tune of impending horror when you wake up? Only if you hate your job or the people you work with. Why do people accept this fate? Because sometimes what you do is less important than who you are doing it for. :logo: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsD Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 Luckily my future profession shields me from having to worry about financial hardships. It's ironic that a vocation that pays you 10k a year gives you this opportunity! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeanCollins Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 How do you define Financial Freedom?Is this really as good as it gets? Self employment. yes it's as good as it gets. there are some very good free money mgt. seminars out there being given by investment brokers and insurance companies. I took one in the early 90's and it changed my outlook completely. I went from saving $5k per year to $35k, then in 2000 when the stock market was declining, I started buying real estate. The days of corporate america taking care of thier career employees is long gone. If you don't save money, you're better off pulling 20 in the military after college. at least at 42 you can draw a pension. The deffition of Financial Freedom is getting up for work because you feel like it, or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The 12th Commandment Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 I'm lucky enough to still have my grandparents on my moms side. They're in their mid nineties and lived through the depression. My grandad was fortunate enough to have worked in the mail room for GM during that time. He really put it in perspective for me when I was complaining about my job at a family function once. Although he's stoic Michigander, he got as hot as I've ever seen him. He knew many friends and relatives who wanted work, any work, in the worst way. He told me you "You don't know the abject loss of pride and self that a man goes through when he can't feed himself or his family. When you've seen a grown man crying over a lack of work, any complaints you have about your job, seem ridiculously selfish. It's a privelege to have a job, and remember that you're not always working for yourself, but for your family and the ones you love." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bandito28 Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 Point being, rarely do you really see someone who is financially free from working a corporate job for many years, promoting through the ranks, and doing the right thing. IMO, it's not all about how much money you make. You can make 60k a year and be financially sound, or you can be self employed, make 500k a year, and have no savings. To me, it comes down to having the discipline to manage whatever I have, with a financial eye on the present (so I'm not paying 18% interest when I don't have to) and a financial eye on the future (401k, IRA, and for my son, VPEP for college). I can understand why older Americans who were used to the pension system had gotten used to the idea of pensions, but it is not corporate America's responsibility to make sure that I am taken care of until I'm 104, and it's not the government's responsibility, either. It's my responsibility, and mine alone. There is another issue with your argument, and that is that everyone can become self-employed, find a niche in the business world, and do better financially. I don't think that's the case, but instead of going into details on my opinions on that, I'd rather stay on topic about everyone's feelings on being financially sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thiebear Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 You have to take chances and fail and learn and do it again till you don't. I joined the Army at 17, got my GED at FT. Riley Kansas... (the judge said so...) I'm hoping to be the manager of 4 datacenters in the US and Canada in the next 3 months... Did lots of night schooling, no social life for 2+ years, military + night school + security guard at Springfield mall the other nights riding the bike around... Make sure your one of the 20% of those that work, not the 80% that watch. The world is what you make of it.. Doing really good right now. Spent the last 2 years practicing yard work and sanding floors/ceramic/tearing out walls/resurfacing driveways (the beginning of my driveway looks like crap, shoulda started at the back ). Building a gazebo now, for future prospects. There is LITERALLY nothing you can not do if you focus.. Really focus as that being the pinpoint of your goal. For me to maintain season tickets for the skins I need a raise.. incentives are great.... Financial freedom mean your actually waking up and smiling when you work. you have to frown for a while to get there unless your lucky... most arn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illone Posted August 1, 2006 Author Share Posted August 1, 2006 Financial freedom is actually defined as the ability to continue your current lifestyle without going to work. Some call it residual income, other's call it financial freedom. All the same, really. For example if you owned two investment properties free and clear and were able to collect 5K a month in rents, after paying taxes and maintenance costs you were able to net 4K a month. I'm more referring to trading time for money in corporate America. No way could you be financially free by my definition, even if you make a Mil a year. At the end of the day you are trading time for money. Dean is on the right track here. Self employment is the answer. As a business owner you spend first then pay taxes. It's like America's big secret that's right in front of our noses. How many posters here have future goals to attain time or financial freedom? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 It's scary, but you wont become financially free working for someone else. You can become comfortable, you can even be "rich". But never free. Take the risk. It's scary as hell, but worth the ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsHokieFan Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 And if you get in construction, for God sakes make sure you have good people working for you The amount of headaches and money you will save :doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 We could start an entire board about do's and donts of running your own business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsHokieFan Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 We could start an entire board about do's and donts of running your own business. I think that would be a great idea. I know there are several different fields on this board represented from construction to insurance to travel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 Financial freedom almost never comes via a paycheck. The higher paying job you get, the more you'll spend on clothing, your house, etc etc. It's a never ending race. Work hard to secure other sources of income. If you manage to get to the point where your money works for you - you're free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illone Posted August 1, 2006 Author Share Posted August 1, 2006 It's scary, but you wont become financially free working for someone else.You can become comfortable, you can even be "rich". But never free. Take the risk. It's scary as hell, but worth the ride. Exactly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prosperity Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 want less=financial freedom of course you can work for someone else. Just because you get money from another source doesn't mean you aren't free, that is what trade is about, duh. As long as you are competent you can work for whoever, and yourself. Just don't get stuck in some loser rat races always thinking you have to have more. Sometimes you need more, other times you ought to be happy with what you have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Tater Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 Freedom is the absence of coercion. As long as any transaction is a voluntary transaction, you have financial freedom. A voluntary transaction is one entered into based on ex ante belief by the parties involved that the transaction will improve their use-value positions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illone Posted August 1, 2006 Author Share Posted August 1, 2006 of course you can work for someone else. Just because you get money from another source doesn't mean you aren't free, that is what trade is about, duh. This describes someone in extreme denial, or the owner of a big company:laugh: No matter what you do, even if you love doing it, you are trading time for money by working for someone else. That isn't the definition of freedom. Personal independence means you are free to work when you want/need and take a vacation when you please without asking permission for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeanCollins Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 We could start an entire board about do's and donts of running your own business. but in the end it all boils down to three things, charge the right amount (profitable) for your goods or services, deliver a good product in a timely manner, and spend less than you make. Add to that, be in a business that satisfies (makes happy) your customers. speaking of which, what buss are you in Kilmer? I heard you say that you were always looking for good salespeople. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 Self-employment may be the answer for some, but it is not this magical solution for all. Don't kid yourself, small business owners are no more free than the rest of us. Not being able to take a vacation because you don't have enough leave is not that far off from not being able to take a vacation because you can't afford to or because your small business will fall apart without you there. What we do to make a living and support our families is an individual choice based on our skills and our financial assets and our level of aversion to risk, and no choice is the absolutely correct one for all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeanCollins Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 Self-employment may be the answer for some, but it is not this magical solution for all. Don't kid yourself, small business owners are no more free than the rest of us. Not being able to take a vacation because you don't have enough leave is not that far off from not being able to take a vacation because you can't afford to or because your small business will fall apart without you there. What we do to make a living and support our families is an individual choice based on our skills and our financial assets and our level of aversion to risk, and no choice is the absolutely correct one for all. this is true only in that not everyone has the drive and the various talents, but anyone with the desire to learn can be sucessfull. It does not take an mba or high IQ as I've know several millionaire lawnservice guys, pest control guys and plumbers. It just takes a desire to work hard and do a good job. It's not for everybody, but anyone can have their own business and do well if they are willing to work for it. It does require a leap of faith to leave the steady check behind for the unknown. Not to hard to do if you model your business after another sucessful business. Don't kid yourself Predicto, I vacation a good 6 weeks a year, not counting the other 6 weeks building my vacation home . Which is not out of the ordinary for service business owners. check out the book "the millionaire next door". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prosperity Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 This describes someone in extreme denial, or the owner of a big company:laugh:No matter what you do, even if you love doing it, you are trading time for money by working for someone else. That isn't the definition of freedom. Personal independence means you are free to work when you want/need and take a vacation when you please without asking permission for it. well you are always trading time for money. Businesses don't run themselves. If you are valuable enough in market value terms then you are free, because even if one place thinks they can do without you there will be other places bidding for your services. For example, I can think of a few doctors who don't own their own business, but they are pretty much financially free. But I also mentioned wanting less. There are millionares out there that always hope for that yacht, or that river house, and work hard as hell to get them, and once they get them they only want to get a bigger one, or one in a better location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Tater Posted August 2, 2006 Share Posted August 2, 2006 Simply put, financial freedom occurs when you generate more value than you require. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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