Financial Autonomy

In the interview I did with Adam Murray in episode 20, he spoke about how he reduced his expenses in a significant way when he worked through his employment transition and gap year.  And you might recall, he found living on less made him more happy, not less. Another key element in your financial independence plan is to have a financial buffer, an emergency fund, to get you through the unexpected.  Perhaps you already have this, but if not, you want to build this up.  Everyone’s needs are different, but you’re likely to need $2,000 to $10,000 in there to make you secure.  This assumes you’ve got appropriate insurances in place. Once you have that emergency fund in place, savings can go towards investment.  We’re not going to get into potential investment strategies in this episode, but the key point here is that the goal is to build up some investments, so that in future they can generate passive income for you, to help cover your expenses.  It might be rental property, shares, or if you’re real risk averse