Financial Freedom
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Why Financial Freedom and Time Freedom Are the Foundation of a Life You Love
Financial Freedom. More free time. Less stress.
It was one of those mornings where everything seemed to go wrong. The alarm didn’t go off, the coffee maker overflowed, and just when you thought you could rush out the door, you realized your wallet was empty and you needed cash today. That's when it hits you: the constant chase for more hours in a day and a more money is all too real. Who doesn’t want more wealth or time? Most of us desire both.
Hi, I’m Faye, the face behind Travel Wallet, a blog dedicated to travel, well-being, and living our best lives.
Financial freedom and time freedom are something I’ve been interested in for as long as I can remember. The dream of working on my own time while making an income that supports my wanderlust and family. A life where I have time to pursue my hobbies and interests and develop nurturing, supportive friendships.
This blog began as a project I needed to enjoy and hoped would become a passive income stream, inspiring me to keep pursuing my dreams.
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P.S. There’s no spam here only amazing humans who love to travel and live well!
What Is Your “Why” and Why It Drives Financial Freedom
Defining Your Personal Motivation for Financial Success
The first step in moving towards financial freedom is knowing why. Your why is the strong driving force that keeps you going when you may feel you have nothing left in you. The why is the deep “do or die” reason you won’t give up on because it’s that important to you — like your family, your passion, and your values.
To work toward financial freedom, start by writing down your reasons and goals. Be specific about what motivates you: is it your family, traveling, or building a secure future? List your top reasons and refer to them when challenges arise.
Do you want to open a business, pay for your kids' college, retire early, build homes for homeless families, or travel?
I’ve tried many avenues but quit before they prospered—whether I lost interest, life intervened, or I hesitated to put myself out there.
If big changes were easy, we’d all be doing them, right?
Looking back, I was my own worst critic, making excuses not to continue instead of focusing on why I needed to. My why wasn’t strong.
How a Strong “Why” Helps You Overcome Fear and Setbacks
What gets in the way of the changes we seek in our lives? The thing that clouds our why. The stronger our why, the more perseverant we are when challenges and delays come up.
To address this, identify specific unsupportive habits or beliefs you can challenge each day.
Sure, external circumstances can be temporary barriers and bring our momentum to a halt, yet they are not the driver. We are.
If you're looking to deepen your positive mindset, check out my blog, Travel Bucket List Unlocked: Empowerment Through a Positive Mind, full of tips and tools to get your mindset moving in a more positive direction.
The Road Trip to Financial Freedom (A Powerful Mindset Metaphor)
Think of the journey to financial freedom as an adventurous roadtrip. Imagine you and a loved one, like a pet or person, venturing out on a 2,000-mile road trip to a destination you’ve been dreaming of for as long as you can remember.
When the Journey Is Easy, and Everything Feels Aligned
The car is packed, the tank is filled with gas, the course is set, the snacks and beverages are taking over the middle console in abundance, and you’re well-rested and ready to embark on this journey.
Cruising on the highway before dawn, the road is clear, peaceful, and even easy. Your favorite playlist is on. The sky is turning all sorts of beautiful colors as the sun gets ready to rise. It mirrors the feeling of achieving those first financial wins; you feel like you're finally moving in the right direction. You feel grateful, amazing, and even high.
Handling Unexpected Setbacks and Mental “Blowouts”
Then, out of nowhere, BOOM! The car reverberates with the sound as it becomes hard to control. You cautiously make your way to the shoulder of the road, pull off, and stop the car. The tire blew out.
How do you respond? What are you thinking now?
Do you get mad and start cursing that your trip is doomed? Will you start panicking, since this is out of your control? Will you think, “It could have been worse,” and count your blessings?
How you respond determines how the journey continues.
How You Respond Determines the Outcome
You could quit and return home because you didn’t anticipate spending money on roadside service and a new tire. You could helplessly wait on the side of the road in self-pity until someone stops to help.
You could change the tire to a spare and go as far as it takes you, ignoring that a spare won’t get you all the way. You could pause, then adjust the plan, letting nothing stand in the way of your destination.
The popped tire in this example represents a deeply rooted fear in our minds. It doesn’t want us to leave the comfort of the known. It will do anything to keep things as they are because of what has been predictable and survivable (to the protective ego).
On our way to a new destination or a major life change, we often encounter doubts, fears, and pain that try to stop us from moving forward.
When we run from them, they chase us until they catch us. When we pause and face our fears, we realize the power we gave them is what fed them and kept them alive.
The Tale of Two Wolves and the Power of Choice
A Cherokee Nation proverb that reminds me of the power of choice is the Tale of Two Wolves. Have you heard of it? I’ve included it below.
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about the battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ inside us all.
One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, forgiveness, truth, compassion, and faith.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute, and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
Love that. The wolf who wins is the one you feed. For more inspiration visit my blog, Lift Up Your Day Quotes and Affirmation to Inspire full of visuals to spark your best day!
Using Mindset Tools to Create More Financial Freedom
To make changes in our lives, we must be ready for the unexpected as well as the expected. Our old beliefs, like self-worthlessness, hurt, lack, corporate grind, loneliness, abandonment, insecurity, and victim mentality, will arise and challenge us.
It’s not a battle, it’s an opportunity for a shift. Like the popped tire, fear-based thinking is replaceable and can create a stronger determination to succeed, if you allow it.
Why Mental Tools Are Essential for Long-Term Success
The first and most important step in creating more money and freedom is learning to move past fear-based blowouts.
Having the tools to help you navigate your mind, like a wrench and a jack to change a tire, is essential to reaching your destination of change.
Check out these resources that can help you get started. As you provide your mind with a safe space to grow, you allow your actions to do the same. Track your progress and reflect on results.
Six Tools to Change Your Mind and Change Your Circumstances
JK Rowling’s Story of Perseverance and Success
Most of us have heard of JK Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series and a self-made billionaire. Her story from heartbreak to hero has inspired me at many points along my journey.
Overcoming Adversity on the Path to Financial Freedom
At age 25, she got the idea to write Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Within the three years following, she experienced the loss of her mom, moved countries, met a man, got married, had a baby, got separated, and moved back to the UK as a single mom on welfare.
She persevered through it all, continuing to write the manuscript, which she finished five years after starting; two more years passed, with many rejections, before it was finally published.
Seven Traits of Success That Support Long-Term Goals
When we look deeper into her success, how she handled adversity stands out, including these Seven Traits of Success:
BELIEF - in the value of her story (vision).
COMMITMENT - to her goal of completing her project no matter what.
EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE - in the face of personal and professional challenges all along the way.
PERSISTENCE - in the face of rejection and loss.
ADAPTING - to feedback to make the necessary adjustments to improve her work.
FOCUS - on the value or quality of the work she was producing.
SUPPORT SYSTEM – that believed in her and encouraged her to keep going.
She is one example of the many people who have not given up on their dream, despite the mental and external obstacles, the time and detours they had to take, and the mistakes they made to see it through. It’s a road trip bound to test us along the way.
Trusting the Process — The “How” Is Not Fixed
Now we have the tools to drive us toward our goals or toward what we desire, and clarity about why we desire it; we need the GPS for how to get there.
The GPS is a live map that may take us off the original route several times to avoid unforeseen hazards or delays. It shows how we reach our goals.
The how is fluid, meaning it’s not in our total control, and it doesn’t need to be to arrive successfully. It can feel counterintuitive, since it’s in our nature to crave certainty.
However, it’s in our best interests to be open and willing to let go of the how.
Sure, we have a “map” that shows us how to get from point A to point B, yet we can’t see exactly what lies ahead every second.
Trust and flexibility are crucial for reaching the destination, regardless of how “off” it seems from our controlled route.
9 Ways to Increase Your Finances and Time Freedom
Opportunities to get you started on your journey:
Budgeting & Saving: Manage your expenses and maximize your income by allocating a portion towards saving and investing.
Debt Management: Pay off high-interest debt and use debt consolidation when available.
Multiple Income Streams: Side Hussle and Passive Income
Financial Education: Continuously learn about personal finances, investing, and wealth-building.
Time Management: Prioritize high-impact tasks and schedule and organize important events and tasks.
Delegation and Automation: Use technology to automate repetitive tasks. Delegate tasks that others can do.
Create Passive Income Streams: Develop an investment portfolio that generates regular passive income and creates and sells digital products that can be sold repeatedly.
Work-Life Balance: Seek out jobs with flexible work arrangements and intentionally design your lifestyle to align with your values and priorities and desired way of living.
Skill Development: Develop efficiency skills and high-income skills.
If you're looking for a quick win, start with budgeting and saving tonight. Draft a simple budget to get a clear picture of your current expenses. Monitoring where your money goes is often the first step to improvement. Once your finances are organized, focus on setting aside a small amount each month for savings or investments. Beginning with these simple steps can lead to immediate progress and motivate you to tackle the other tactics over time.
As with most things worth pursuing, these opportunities, like Rome, won’t be built in a day.
Remember — You Are Worth Financial Freedom
Move towards things that ignite excitement and opportunities that align with what brings enjoyment and value. See them as a road trip to financial freedom and time freedom.
When the road gets bumpy and there are unexpected turns, use one of the six mind tools or a trait of success to help move through the challenge.
Allow time, patience, and perseverance to guide the way. Observe which “wolf” is being fed and remember fear dissipates when faced.
Beginning our road trip to more financial freedom and quality time starts with one thought at a time!
There are signs of inspiration and places to rest along the ride, encouraging us to keep going because we can, we are worth it, and what we have to do is valuable.
Cheers to our Finances and Freedom! Happy Travels and Happy Wallets.
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