Beginning your Personal Journey to Financial Freedom

 For most people, the new year brings many New Years Resolutions of goals to accomplish and habits to create or eliminate.  Many resolutions center around two main topics - fitness and finance.  While I am no expert in fitness, I do feel that I have learned many lessons in finance that may be helpful to others.  Nothing I have learned is particularly new, but it has been gained out of my own personal experiences as I have worked to eliminate debt and become more financially secure.  This journey is not complete, but I have made progress and hope to share tips and suggestions on how to best manage personal finances and finding financial freedom.

In order to begin your own personal journey to financial freedom, you must first get an accurate picture of where you are at financially.  This includes adding up all of your assets as well as debts and determining your net worth.  At this first stage, for most people it is probably more important to understand your debt in order to create a plan to eliminate that debt.  For many people, this may be the first time they have actually seen how much they owe, and the results might be shocking!  Other people might be surprised at how well they have done in managing money and not have to worry as much about eliminating excess debt.

After creating an accurate picture of your current financial status, it’s time to set some goals. These should be both long term and short term goals designed to help you accumulate wealth and find financial freedom. It is also a time to look at ways to increase your income, whether that is through additional education, job promotions, online sites (HubPages!), as well as reducing expenses if you are currently living outside your means.  Everyone is in their own unique situation, so you need to decide what will work best for you.

Remember that money is a tool, and it is either working for you or against you. Make the most of the new year and begin your own personal journey to financial freedom!