The road to financial freedom is a spiritual one, not a financial one. Sure, it involves numbers and percentages, but emotions play a much larger portion of the journey.
They raised us from the beginning to be debt slaves, that serve at the mercy of the God of Consumerism. To be financially free, you must overcome this dependence on spending.
Furthermore, you must understand that your true purpose does not lie in an email your boss sent you. They combined “work” and “debt” to keep us beholden to false prophets. In reality, we can serve a higher purpose when we don’t work for someone else.
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This may all sound like mumbo jumbo, but I deeply believe that we cannot achieve our true calling until we are financially independent of the workforce. So, let’s start our journey by looking at my journey.
How I became a debt slave. I got my first job in the summer of 1996, at age 15. I was in beautiful San Diego, California, and I was excited to become an office janitor.
As soon as I started working, my parents stopped spending money on school clothes for me. We didn’t have much money to spare, so this seemed like a fair concept.
I worked at McDonald’s for the next few years, which I enjoyed. I spent my money on fancy Nikes, which I couldn’t afford because I made $4.25/hr.
It was during this time that I learned how to work and spend. The only purpose of working was to purchase things I wanted, right?
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I left for the Marine Corps in June 1999, as a proud 18-year-old. I spent the next twenty years working and spending until I reached $77,000 in debt.
As a 38-year-old Master Sergeant in the Marine Corps, I had no idea how to control my finances. I couldn’t even take my wife to Applebee’s without using a credit card. It was time for a change.
Making the switch to freedom. You become financially free as soon as you decide to become financially free. No—seriously!
I am being 100% honest and serious. In fact, you can read my early articles on financial freedom—well before I even read my first book on the topic.
In June 2019, I made a decision to get my family out of debt. That was the minute I became financially free because my spending could never control me again.
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My goal in June 2019 was to finish the remaining 10 years of my military career and save $100,000 by the end. In theory, that meant saving $100,000 by June 2029.
Well, I ended up retiring in September 2023 and saving $400,000. As soon as you commit to your journey, your actions will compound exponentially faster than you can imagine.
Looking back, I am surprised at how easy the process was to free myself and my wife. However, I read over 150 books along the way, which probably played a major part in the process.
What’s so spiritual about this journey? I cannot fathom how we got out of debt. I don’t know how we erased $77,000 in debt and accumulated $400,000 in wealth. It all happened over six years.
The journey is spiritual because you must trust the process and that something higher is putting things in motion ahead of you.
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As soon as you start protecting your resources, God will give you more to protect. Even setbacks (like broken air conditioners) are minor blips along the path.
If you perform a few positive things a day toward your journey, they will compound at an incredible rate. You’ll begin to see fantastic opportunities than you could have when you are in debt or working. I’ll share a few experiences we have had over the last six years.
Finding good roommates. It‘s tough to find great roommates, but eventually you will. And when you do, you’ll cherish them. We have a good one now.
Buying our third house. We had just started our journey, and a great house opened down the road. It had three acres and put us closer to God. This was a great purchase, but I still don’t know how we got it.
Refinancing our homes. We are lucky to have great rates on our three properties (2%, 3%, and 3.5%). This has led us to keep our mortgages low.
Great tenants and property managers. Our home in Arizona has a great property manager, and we have great tenants in our Florida home. This keeps the stress low as we collect rents.
Tax returns and stimulus. I understand the tax code and get nice returns (because we have kids). We reinvest all of our tax returns and stimulus into our portfolio.
Military pension and VA disability. These government blessings are beyond amazing. They save us so much money that I don’t even want to list it. The key is seeing these entitlements as blessings and paying them forward to others.
Writing career. I love writing. I only make $200 to $300 monthly from it, but this is money from God. I am able to invest all of this money into the markets.
Dividend investing. My favorite thing in the world is dividend investing. It is a great hobby and also makes us wealthier. I am blessed to have an eye for math.
Putting it all together. The key to this journey is doing something positive toward your financial freedom every day. Over time, these daily interactions and choices will make you wealthy and happy.
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Let’s look at an example. Suppose you buy Starbucks every day. You have no clue about how much you spend, you just love going to Starbucks.
In your quest for financial freedom, you must institute some control measures to regulate your Starbucks spending. Let’s assume you start with a $300/month Starbucks allowance.
Over time, you may cut your Starbucks spending to $150/month and invest $150/month into Starbucks (SBUX) stock.
Eventually, you’ll be able to fund your entire Starbucks habit with dividends from Starbucks stock. How cool would that be?
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That is the journey in a nutshell. First, you gain control of your processes. As you take control of your financial life, you’ll begin to see things differently.
Things that were important before, will not seem as important. Eventually, time will be the most important part of your life.
The freedom of time. Once you begin to value your time, it will be extremely difficult to sit in boring, worthless meetings. This was one of the driving factors behind my early retirement.
You’ll want to purchase your freedom back from those who enslaved you. You can ask for your freedom papers once you have no debt and lots of passive income.
I got mine in September 2023 and never looked back. I can now focus on getting my son into the military, buying more real estate, and homeschooling my youngest kid. That is true freedom.
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Conclusion. Instead of working to purchase Starbucks, your Starbucks stock will buy your coffee. Yes, it’s a novel idea, but it works.
However, it is a process, so you must take it very seriously. The good part is that once you commit, you are already free.
Then, all you must do is stay on the path. Make lots of average boring choices and you will become an above-average person with an extraordinary life.
Anything is possible if you believe. I thank God every day for blessing me with the freedom to help my family and friends. I am not beholden to a boss or my credit cards; I am spiritually and financially free. 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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