Happy Financial Independence Day

I hope you all are having a safe and fun Independence Day!  It’s a good time to talk about financial independence, which is the main reason why this site exists.

Financial independence probably means different things to different people but at the core I think it boils down to being able to make decisions independent of financial concerns.  To me it means being able to pursue your life goals without being constrained by money.

I think that being able to control your source(s) of income is an important step to becoming financially independent.  My thinking behind this is that if you can generate income independent of an employer then you have more freedom in terms of where you work, when you work, what specific work you do, who you work with, how long you work, etc.

Of course, finding ways to generate money independent of an employer takes time and most people can’t just jump into it full time because we all have bills to pay and mouths to feed.  But we can start something small in our free time, what Robert Pagliarini calls “Your Other 8 Hours“.

Side Business Examples

I have a former co-worker who’s found something he can do in his time after work that pays his mortgage each month.  He still works full time but he’s on the road to either leaving his job or his wife leaving hers.  I put together a video case study a while back for our newsletter subscribers that walks you through what he does to make extra money each month.

I’m going to be sending out more case studies like this in the future, if you’d like to get them you can get the free newsletter here.  There are things I’d do differently about the first video  to make it better but I think it’s still a pretty useful case study.

You can read how my friend pays his mortgage each month by selling Legos and get some ideas on how you can start your own side business.  Happy financial independence day!

Ben Edwards, the founder of Money Smart Life, saved up enough to buy a Nintendo back when he was 12 years old. When he used the money to buy shares of Wal-Mart stock instead, he knew he wasn't like the other kids... His addiction to personal finance has paid off for his family and now he's helping you to afford the life that you want. Check him out on the web at Google Plus, Twitter and Facebook.

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