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The 4 Things You Must Do For Financial Freedom
- September 12, 2023
This article requires an average reading time of 2 minute 43 seconds.
Financial planning involves establishing goals, working out what assets and liabilities you have, evaluating your current financial position, developing a plan to achieve the goals, implementing the plan, and monitoring and reviewing the plan whenever needed. The main goal of a financial plan is to achieve financial freedom and this cannot be done without doing the 4 things below:
1. Maximize your income : Needless to say, you cannot create wealth without a steady source of income. The more income you have, the more you can save. Therefore, explore all available options to maximize your income. If your job doesn’t pay you well, find a new job or find a part-time job to supplement your income. If you do not have the necessary skills to get a better-paying job, go for upgrading courses or night classes. If you believe you have some entrepreneurial skills, consider starting your own business. Running your own business has its risks, but the rewards are also potentially higher. Just don’t keep watching TV or playing electronic games and expect your income to suddenly increase!
2. Protect your income: Improving your income level is one thing, it is another to protect it from loss. Buy adequate life insurance policies to make sure your hard earned money does not go to the hospitals when serious illnesses strike. Medical insurance is a must. Life insurance to cover eventualities such as death, total and permanent disability as well as critical illnesses is also necessary. Just don’t dump all your money under insurance plans. A good financial planner will be able to share with you good budgeting habits and strategies to allocate your budget wisely.
3. Save first, then spend: If your idea of saving is to save what is left after spending, then throw it out of the window immediately. Anyone who says he or she will save after taking care of all the expenses will have no money left to save at the end of the month. Therefore, you should save first and then spend what is left after saving. First, determine what percentage of your income you can save every month and adjust your lifestyle around it. Ideally, you should try to save at least 30% of your gross monthly income. But if that is not possible, then try to start small first and increase savings as you adjust your spending habits. Saving is the pillar of accumulating wealth. Think of how the ocean is made up of droplets of water.
4. Invest as much as you can: The more money you can save, the more money you will have at your disposal to invest in investments assets that will grow your money exponentially over time. You cannot become wealthy by just saving your money in the bank. A passbook savings interests can be as low as 0.05% per annum. It is as good as zero if you ask me! When you take into account inflation eg about 3% in Singapore, the value of your savings in the bank is actually shrinking every year! Therefore, you should invest as much savings as you can in investment assets such as endowment plans, real estate, stocks, commodities, unit trusts and ETFs . Every investment has risks associated with it. As the saying goes, you cannot potentially make good profit without taking some risk. But instead of putting all your money in one or two assets, build a diversified portfolio of assets so that if one goes on loss, the others may protect or even improve your overall position. If you are not as financially savvy, get good advice from financial advisers who can offer you a wide range and selection of products. It is one thing to get sound financial advice, it is another if you can implement an effective financial solution with a suite of good financial products in the market.
3. Save first, then spend: If your idea of saving is to save what is left after spending, then throw it out of the window immediately. Anyone who says he or she will save after taking care of all the expenses will have no money left to save at the end of the month. Therefore, you should save first and then spend what is left after saving. First, determine what percentage of your income you can save every month and adjust your lifestyle around it. Ideally, you should try to save at least 30% of your gross monthly income. But if that is not possible, then try to start small first and increase savings as you adjust your spending habits. Saving is the pillar of accumulating wealth. Think of how the ocean is made up of droplets of water.
4. Invest as much as you can: The more money you can save, the more money you will have at your disposal to invest in investments assets that will grow your money exponentially over time. You cannot become wealthy by just saving your money in the bank. A passbook savings interests can be as low as 0.05% per annum. It is as good as zero if you ask me! When you take into account inflation eg about 3% in Singapore, the value of your savings in the bank is actually shrinking every year! Therefore, you should invest as much savings as you can in investment assets such as endowment plans, real estate, stocks, commodities, unit trusts and ETFs . Every investment has risks associated with it. As the saying goes, you cannot potentially make good profit without taking some risk. But instead of putting all your money in one or two assets, build a diversified portfolio of assets so that if one goes on loss, the others may protect or even improve your overall position. If you are not as financially savvy, get good advice from financial advisers who can offer you a wide range and selection of products. It is one thing to get sound financial advice, it is another if you can implement an effective financial solution with a suite of good financial products in the market.
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Disclaimer: All information, commentary and statements of opinion contained in this publication are for general information purposes only. They are not intended to be personalized financial or investment advice as they do not take into account your individual circumstances. You are advised to speak to a qualified financial consultant before making any financial decision. This publication should also not be construed as an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any insurance or non-insurance products including any that may be mentioned here. Whilst we have taken all reasonable efforts to ensure that the material contained in this publication is accurate and informative, InsuranceGuru.com.sg and the author of this article do not warrant or guarantee its accuracy, reliability or completeness. InsuranceGuru.com.sg, its employees, parent, related companies, agents and the author of this article will not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental or any other type of loss or injury resulting from your use of this content.
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The author of this article, Mr Sean Ong is a Certified Life Coach, a Master Practitioner in Neuro-Linguistic Programming and a Chartered Financial Consultant who has been featured on the local TV and radio, having begun his career in the finance industry since year 2002. In his efforts to contribute to the society, Sean ran 1,000 km over 87 days to successfully raise more than $13,000 for a children charity in year 2012. He also published a book subsequently where sales proceeds were donated to charity. Sean completed his Masters of Science Degree in Technopreneurship & Innovation in year 2020 and was honoured in the Director’s List for academic excellence. He has keen interests in InsurTech projects and mental wellness initiatives for the youths. Above all, Sean counts knowing Jesus Christ as the most significant event of his life. He can be contacted at seanong@ippfa.com.
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