Is financial freedom possible for someone like me?

If you’re walking around with a pulse, then yes it is.

Photo by kevin turcios on Unsplash

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 30 years, you’ll be familiar with the terms “financial freedom” and “financial independence” or some variation of the two.

And depending on your perspective, these terms might either fill you with intrigue (and visions of some alternative version of yourself, lounging on a beach or boarding a private jet to some fabulous destination) or with annoyance/dread (i.e. please don’t remind me that I’m broke, struggling and generally hating life).

I totally get why this subject can leave people feeling totally confused, anxious and wondering whether it even applies to them. So what does it all mean? What does it mean to be financially free or financially independent? Why should I care and can I even achieve either of these things?

“Financial freedom? What the hell does that even mean? Never having to pay for anything ever again? Sweet!”

Let me tell you that when I first heard the term “financial freedom”, I had absolutely no idea what it meant. In some ways, I suppose that I was led to the concept because of the difficulties that I was facing at the time. I was a young, recent college graduate. I’d moved to Chicago and was really struggling in life. I’d left…