The road to financial independence is more a spiritual journey than a financial one. You must understand who you are precisely and your purpose on this Earth.
As a couple, the path to living on passive income is even more arduous. Now, two people must share one vision. The journey is usually too challenging to complete as bad money habits rear their ugly heads.
My wife and I retired at ages 39 and 42, respectively. We now dedicate our lives to ensuring our two kids (17 and 12) launch with every advantage possible.
How to FALL into Investing
Our humble beginnings. We started our married lives as two poor kids in 2006. I was 25, and Kristina was 22. We got pregnant on our wedding day.
We both had zero financial education from childhood. I served in the US military and met my wife overseas.
We spent the first 12 years of our marriage doing what most people do—getting into consumer debt and arguing about money.
Then, we had a revelation that this was not going to work in the long term. We had to make a hardcore change or suffer the same fate as our parents—never to get ahead.
Debt-Free? So, What’s Next?
The path to financial independence. Money is not about buying stuff; it’s about freeing your time. If you don’t know what you would do with your time, you’ll never retire early.
That’s why it is a spiritual journey; you must dedicate your time to something bigger than yourself. Most people would rather let their boss allocate their time than find their true selves.
My wife wants to free her family from their oppressed life overseas. It’s a long road to get her family here in America. I am here to help with the finances and support wherever possible.
I want to ensure my kids receive every advantage I can give them. Their lives will still be full of challenges, but those challenges won’t be putting food on the table.
The Magic of House Hacking
I also love teaching everything I learn by writing articles and books. The more I write, the easier it is for me to remember new things and process the information for general consumption.
Are you ready to make a change? Are you tired of the rat race? Do you want to spend as much time with your spouse and children as possible? Do you want to prepare for the arrival of your grandkids?
I have read 148 books over the last three years to prepare myself spiritually and financially for financial freedom. It takes a lot of effort to break the employee mindset.
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Let’s start with some of my articles on financial independence. Before you learn about money, you must prepare for an entirely new financial mindset that doesn’t rely on an employer.
- What is Financial Independence?
- Financial Independence Remain Employed
- The Magic of Marriage
- Happy Cash Flow Retirement 10
Budgeting to Financial Independence. The only way to achieve financial independence is to live on a tight budget while enjoying every day under it.
Living on a budget is different than living on a fixed income. A budget gives you extra cash flow to save and invest, which helps you grow your revenue continuously.
Getting yourself and your spouse on a tight household budget will be the most challenging part of buying your freedom.
What Type of Business Should You Start?
The most essential part of your household budget is your personal allowances. You both need to have money that you can spend frivolously. My wife and I have $750 each month to ourselves.
- Balanced Books: Living on a Hardcore Budget
- How to Live on a Daily Budget
- The 30-Day $1,000 Emergency Fund Challenge
Understanding how money works. Most of us don’t know how money works. We get our paycheck and try to make it stretch until the next paycheck.
We don’t understand that we can create as many monthly paychecks as we like. It starts with understanding interest.
RE Lifestyles 2: Investor vs. Lender
Once we comprehend how interest works, we can start building our lives around passive income. Let’s start with getting our money into high-yield savings accounts and bonds.
- Getting Started with High-Yield Savings Accounts
- The Magic of CD Ladders
- Series “I” Bonds for You and I
- Treasury in Treasuries
The Power of Dividends. Most people stop their financial knowledge once they start investing for interest. However, that is only the beginning.
Dividends are the key to financial independence. The next step is creating a massive dividend portfolio after you begin your budget and build an emergency fund.
The 8-Hour Mindset Destroys Wealth
My wife and I earn $1,500/month in dividends. This is money outside of our military pension income and personal allowances.
We can use our dividends to travel, shop, and eat out. The more we reinvest, the more income we have the following month—the power of compounding.
You can start investing small amounts of cash into your dividend portfolio until you get used to the process. It’s tough to believe you earn money while you sleep.
- It’s Raining Money: How Dividends Can Change Your Life
- Use Dividends As Your Safety Net
- Use Dividends As Your Lighthouse During Retirement
- Dividends: Now More Than Ever
The Magic of Passive Income. Dividends are not the only form of passive income; in fact, we are just getting started.
The Magic of Dividend Growth Investing
To retire early, you must use as many income streams as possible. They don’t have to make vast amounts of money, as your time is more valuable than working all day.
Once you determine your bare-bones budget, you can start to replace your earned income (from a job) with passive income (from various sources).
Let’s say you need $6,000/month to retire comfortably. You can break it down into $2,000 from dividends, $2,000 from renting rooms, and $2,000 from renting cars.
You want to save enough room in your budget to keep reinvesting in more dividends. That way, your cash flow keeps growing even though your budget stays the same. This is how you become rich, even in retirement.
- Passive Income for Everyone!
- Selling Cash-Secured Puts for Passive Income
- Blogging to Financial Independence
- My Five-Year Plan for My Book Business
- Start a Consulting Business
Conclusion. The process of living on passive income and becoming financially free can take a while.
Living Overseas Passively 104: Dividend Income
However, once you understand the path, you’ll be mentally free long before your finances catch up. I began writing about financial freedom in July 2020.
We freed ourselves in August 2023. In my first articles, I spoke as though I was already free, although I was still in debt.
Once we decided to free ourselves, we never looked back. It’s been a fantastic ride, and we enjoy our time immensely.
There is nothing like waking up on Monday and not having to go to work. You can also take this extraordinary journey when you decide to have it all. Good Luck!
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Disclosure: I am not a financial advisor or money manager, and any knowledge is given as guidance and not direct actionable investment advice. I am an Amazon Affiliate. Please research any investment vehicles that are being considered. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. All Right Reserved Military Family Investing
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