So many people have different opinion on what it means to be financially free and sometimes it depends on one's previous finances or experience with scarcity or abundance. But in actually sense I feel being financially free is having means to execute any financial responsibility with ease even without having to depend on a monthly or yearly income of any sort.
To me when there's no steadiness or certainty to means one can't actually say they're financially free. A lot of people make the mistakes of overestimating their means and as a result of this, their spending capacity increases, their wants and their desires too. I've been opportuned to meet a lot of people who had a lot of money.
But then money in itself isn't a finished product. Inflation affects money, saving in the bank affects the value of money overtime, the economy of a country affects the purchasing power of money, having money at hand only creates a reason to spend and this is why I do not feel having money in the bank guarantees how rich or how wealthy one is.
I know a lot of people who own expensive iPhones, expensive denim jeans and Guccis and without any form of investment, they equate these personal belongings to wealth. These belongings are prone to spoilage thereby diminishing their worth overtime, as a result of new tech, older techs and fashion reduces in value as newer ones happens
This is why i often see materialism as a means for. Truthfully I often consider being wealthy as the ability to replicate replicate richness rather than the ability to showcase or prove wealth. One of the reason why people become penniless faster than they know is because they feel they're finally financially free when they either hit a jackpot, win a lottery or maybe inherit an outrageous amount of money.
To me being financially free is having prospects that is certain of yielding dividends. It is actually true that when people are financially free that they might not need to work again but then, we're spenders, each and everyday we need money to go buy and having a feeling or a sense of abundance without it being back by logical means then we can't actually deem ourselves to be financially free.
When money at hand is not backed by investments then there's danger. Someone can be financially free but economical and prudent. Some people depended on paid salaries to accrue a lot of money for a space of let's say 15 or 20 years and while they retire with a lot of money in their bank it means the liquidity of their wealth makes it easier for them to liquidate.
Things like courts case, the increasing pressure to showcase wealth, the need to buy expensive jewelry, the urge to express sophistication, all these things happen when people suddenly have a lot of money in their banks without them locking them up in one sort of investment or the other.
That is why I think being financially free is having streams of investment and not necessarily income with assured dividends at a particular period or space. The world is changing and it's very difficult to store 100% of one's wealth in fiat. While there's risk to other forms of investments, in the beginning of this post, I have been able to highlight the risks that fiat currency faces, unless you're storing in dollars and even if so.
Truth is, living decently comfortable is something a lot of financially stable people do. Building the means to make wealth is very important and so is recognising what true financial freedom is. Many of us aren't there yet but building various streams of investment is what eventually takes us there.
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My name is @Josediccus, a young Nigerian student who is a Vlogger, A Psychologist, Poet And Sports Writer/Analyst. I'm using my contents as a process to create shared meaning as well as create expressions through which people on/off hive can relate. I believe content is a process to be enjoyed and relished and I'm up for any collaborations in my field stated above. Cheers
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