FINANCIAL FREEDOM

Your complete guide to achieve financial freedom. Proven tips, tools and tactics for you to achieve financial freedom. Make money, save money and effectively manage your money.

Simply living

Written by Dian Herdiana on 5:09 AM

Simply living is about living a happy, fulfilled life that has purpose and meaning. It is about having control over how and where you spend your money, and how you spend your time. When you establish goals for a satisfying life, you take control of the present and the future and you are going to quickly learn that ‘less is more’.

In a world where hyperconsumerism is rampant, you are able to bask in the glow of a newfound freedom from debt. But it is not just being debt-free that helps you create the life you desire. It involves more than money. You focus not only on your financial wealth, but you create a new life that encompasses:

1. Financial wealth
2. Mental wealth
3. Physical wealth
4.Spiritual wealth

Simply living gives you fulfillment and joy in living every day. It does not take money to be happy, but you may find that being happy leads to more meaningful jobs and work that are able to result in having more money. When you are happier with your work, your life, your family, and yourself, you are more productive and creative.

You identify new ways to build wealth in all areas of your life. The focus is no longer on the material possessions of the world or the social clout you have. It is about a life lived to its fullest – with purpose and meaning.

And all by living simply happy and debt-free!

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Ten Ways to Simplify your Life and Lower Debt

Written by Dian Herdiana on 6:56 AM

You should shop for quality insurance. Ask your friends for their recommendations. Do they like their insurance representative? Does the insurance agent seem to be responsive to their needs? Is the agent easy to contact? How long have they had this agent handling their insurance?

Determine your real needs. What types of insurance will you need in retirement? Consider medical, dental, free or low cost coverage. Look at your medical bills and see the types of services you were charged for? Do you anticipate needing surgery or more heath care?

Get several quotes. Even if a company is recommended by a friend or relative, you might want to get at least three quotes so you can make a comparison of the services and fees. Check the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website for any complaint. Also check the rating of the insurance company. Among the commonly-known rating financial agencies are Moody's and Standard & Poor's.

Be prepared to answer a long series of questions as they relate to your health.

Ask about annuities, Medicare, Medicaid, Medigap, prescription drug payment assistance, long-term care insurance, travel insurance, etc.

How stable is your current income flow? Do you currently own financial products? Are you wondering whether you should cash out any of your financial products? Ask your rep if you should refinance your home or not.

There are many reasons to save money. One main reason is retirement. Today you cannot live off of social security alone. Another reason to save is because there are situations ahead. Straight if your kid are quiet in high day-school, college is not far off, and neither are cars and graduation parties. Other acceptable argument to protect is because you understand you are going to want bigger, better things soon. You understand soon you are going to want that bigger house, or that better car, or that boat you have been dreaming of. Save now so all of those are an option. Another reason to save is because of the unexpected things in life coming toward you. For example there is job less, illness, or home repairs. These are all goods you are going to require saved small change for. According to bankrate.com, "Americans at present expend extra than they deserve. Savings are less than nil. But you are able to break out of that mold all on your own and reap the advantages of sensitivity at liberty and free"

Here are some real ways to save, and save aggressively. First of all, pay off all of your credit cards. That credit being open is an amazing opportunity, character uplift, and safety net. Debt is suffocating. Next, make sure you budget your income so your cost of living is as low as possible in contrast to your income. That is, if you calculate your bills, your gas, food, and extra spending, it is much less than what you are bringing in. With that extra money, you save. Put it in a savings account and act like it does not exist. Another great way to aggressively save is to have a roommate. If you are single, this is a great way to literally split your bills in half. Carpooling is also a great way to save money and split a bill in half.

Lastly, when it comes to saving it is very important to remember you are spending and what is necessary and just a want. For example, calculate how much money you are spending on going out to eat and how much that would equate to for groceries. You would be surprised. Remember how much you are buying that you do not need, that you won't even use that often. Is it worth it right now? Saving and not spending when it comes to wants is exactly what makes it aggressive saving.

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Avoid These Major Money Missteps and Stay Out of Debt

Written by Dian Herdiana on 9:46 AM

What you can do to avoid getting into debt? Experts say there are certain money missteps that many of us are likely to make. Here are the major money missteps that can easily land you in debt. These are very common missteps that many of us fall into without even knowing it.

Buying a new car

OK, this is not so much a money misstep (unless you really can’t afford a new car, or finance it with a high interest rate) as a preference that can easily get you into debt. Sure, you love that new car smell, the feeling that you are the one adding up the miles, but it is a known fact that new cars depreciate several thousand dollars as within the first year. Save yourself all that money that you’re paying for the privilege of the new car smell and buy a high quality pre-owned vehicle. Many used cars still carry the original warranty—even more incentive for buying a quality used vehicle.

Borrowing from your 401(k) or 403(b)

In most cases, you won’t get a great deal at all. Your 401(k) deals are pre-tax, which means that eventually the money that you put in will get taxed when you withdraw it. Taking out a loan from your 401(k) or 403(b) means that you will be borrowing from pre-tax dollar which will eventually have to be repaid. When you eventually retire and begin your withdrawals, you will be taxed again. If you borrow money from your 401(k) or 403(b), you will effectively be getting taxed twice. Did you know that you are also required to repay the loan in only a few months? If you don’t happen to have the money for repayment, your loan will be treated as a withdrawal. You can expect a whopping 10 percent early withdrawal penalty.

Using your home equity line of credit to pay off your credit card debt

You can lose your home if this doesn’t work out. Credit card debt is often described by unsecured debt, because there’s no real collateral that the credit card company can force you to sell in order to collect on the debt. A home mortgage and home equity loan is known as secured debt because your home is the collateral. But if you fall behind your payments, the lender can easily require you to sell your home in order to collect on the debt.

Avoid buying a variable annuity

When you buy a variable annuity you are making a contract with the insurance company and the money is used to buy mutual funds. Salesmen may try to pitch this kind of investment as a way of buying and selling funds inside the annuity without the tax bills as long as the money is invested. But did you know that you will have to pay income tax on any withdrawals? Plus, if you withdraw any money from your variable annuities before you are approximately 60 years of age, you will also be penalized with a 10 percent fee. So watch out for what may seem like a great deal on that tempting variable annuity. There are often many buried fees that are attached to variable annuities. Make sure to read all the fine print.

Do not finance your new home purchase with a variable interest loan

Avoid those low initial teaser rates for financing your new home. If you can’t afford the home otherwise, you should probably not buy the home. Avoid option adjustable rate mortgages too. This will usually cause your loan balance to become bigger each month as the lender adds the unpaid interest on the balance of your home loan. Watch out for those great introductory rates—they can often turn out to be not-so-great.

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