11 Ways to Gain More Freedom

If you ask someone the question “what would improve your life right now?”, most people will answer with “more money!”. However if you dig a little deeper, what most people desire is increased freedom and their belief is that more money will help them achieve that. In reality, more money is only part of the equation as more money tends to lead people to increased spending and the result is that they remain in the exact same situation.

If you crave more freedom, consider the options below instead of simply trying to earn more money.

1. Downsize

Increased freedom comes when you have less ties and less stuff to maintain. A few years back there was a big trend towards extreme minimalism, living with less than 100 items total.

The obvious starting place with downsizing is your house. By living in a smaller or lower value house you could cut or possibly even free yourself from your biggest tie, your mortgage.

On a smaller scale you can cut back on the amount of stuff you own or have one family vehicle instead of two. There are lots of ways to downsize and create the financial and physical breathing space you desire.

2. Become debt free

Debt keeps you in a cycle of needing to work to earn money to meet debt repayments. If you have no debt you create more freedom. If your requirement to earn money reduces you can choose to work less hours, work at something that pays less or if you’re financially free, you may choose to give up paid work completely.

3. Find a job that’s flexi-time

Increased flexibility is always welcome. Before I became self employed ten years ago I had a job that was flexi-time, while the job was rubbish, the flexi-time was great!

4. Go freelance

Although you still have to work when you are freelance you do have quite a lot of flexibility in choosing your hours and the type of clients you want to work with.

5. Spend less than you earn

Spending less than you earn will keep you out of debt meaning that you won’t have to work extra hours or find an extra part time job just to keep your income in line with your expenditure.

6. Move to the country

For increased physical freedom, move to the country. Houses often come with more land and will be cheaper on the outskirts of a city or in more rural areas. Living in the country can also distance you from the rat race, giving you some much needed breathing space.

7. Start your own business

Starting your own business is hard work and can mean a significant investment of time and commitment upfront. However it will provide you with more freedom over the longterm.

8. Become self-sufficient

Becoming more self reliant is empowering. If you have the ability to provide more of the things you need yourself, you can have greater freedom to choose how you live and how you utilise your time.

9. Personal development

Freedom is not something that can be bestowed upon you. Freedom is something you create and give to yourself. Personal development is the most effective of way of regaining control of your life.

10. Create a residual income

A residual income allows you to break the tie between time and money. Start working at creating a residual income, in ten years time you will be very pleased that you did.

11. Learn to say no

Are you allowing people to suck your energy, time or money from you? Learning to manage these things involves the ability to say no when your freedom is at stake.