Let’s talk about financial freedom. Many desire it. Few know how to get it. How does one “act as if” they are financially free while having to get up every day and go to an average paying job? Keep reading and I’ll explain what worked for me.

Backstory: I had a lucrative career but I was burnt out. I desired a lifestyle where I didn’t have to set an alarm, basically where I had full control of every day and my existence just paid for itself.

Changing your relationship with money

• Two books that were game changers for me were The Science of Getting Rich and I Will Teach You To Be Rich. The first book will help you fix your internal issues with money. The second book is a guide to managing your finances the way a financially literate rich person would.
• Rich people make their money work for them. So I acted as if I was already rich by making my money work for me. I opened a high yield savings account as well as a Roth IRA and set up an automatic monthly transfer. (Even if you can only do $10 a month to start, that’s fine). Boom! Now your money is working for you(by accruing interest and making you more money)
• Another way I acted as if is by creating a budget with the desired amount I wished to receive a month. How much goes towards bills? Short term savings? Long term savings? Travel fund? Shopping and entertainment? Write it all down! Rich people know where all their money goes.
• I started paying all my bills with credit cards. I cannot stress this next part enough. I PAY THE BILL EVERY MONTH IN FULL so I don’t pay interest. What I get in return is cash back and travel points. Again, making my money work for me, even when I’m spending it.
• Stop complaining about money you’ve spent after you’ve already spent it. Accept that it’ll come back to you and move on. I actually prefer to use the word “circulate” instead of “spend” for this reason.

Mental diet

• I’ll be honest. It took me about a year to change my inner conversations when it came to money. I had 25 years of programming I had to undo. This process can take time. How much time entirely depends on you, how deeply rooted your limiting beliefs are, and how disciplined you’re willing to be to change them.
• Stop consuming any media complaining about capitalism, the economy, inflation, criticizing rich people, etc. Sure, the news can be informative, but it’s mostly fear mongering (especially with it being election year right now in America.) We often internalize the tragedies we see on the news, which projects onto our outer world.
• Come up with two or three affirmations to counteract your negative self talk. Whenever you notice yourself thinking negatively about money, stop the thought and repeat your new affirmations.

Fake it Until you Make it!

• Go for walks, cafes, and run your errands in affluent neighborhoods. Observe the people you see, what they’re wearing, how they carry themselves. Make a note of what you’d like to implement yourself. Don’t put them on a pedestal. They’re made of the same stuff as you are, and you are just as deserving of getting rich as they are!
• Make a schedule for your new financially free life. What do you plan to do with all this new extra free time? Hobbies? Volunteering? Philanthropy? Focusing on raising your kids? Lounging around in fancy robes all day? Whatever it is, write it down! Look at what you can incorporate from that schedule today.

SATS

• A lot of people make SATS too complicated. Respectfully, you all are taking the word “scene” too seriously and trying to create entire movies in your head. A sentence or two will do. I’ve listed some examples below: • a scene of you throwing your work clothes away while expressing your gratitude for not having to work for money anymore. • doing a cheers with your partner. A cheers is short and sweet. Hear yourself or your partner cheers to financial freedom(or whatever words resonate), feel your glasses clink, taste the bubbly in your mind. Boom. done. • hear someone tell you how much happier you look since you’ve quit your job. Or hear yourself telling someone how much happier you are now that you have time to do the things you love.

My Results: This post is already lengthy so I’ll spare the details. But a few months into doing all of the above, my uncle reached out to me and asked to help with two of his businesses and I agreed. I reference one of them in this post. It didn’t even feel like work. We’re extremely close, so it felt more like just hanging out and brainstorming with my bestie. The businesses took off. Additionally, I received documents in the mail informing me that I was a beneficiary of a life insurance policy of a dear loved one who passed a YEAR earlier. I had no knowledge that I was a beneficiary previously. Money can come from anywhere and you don’t need to clock in every day for it! I’ll be happy to answer any questions!