How will you approach becoming financially independent?

To become financially independent you may need to create some space between your income and your expenses, either by cutting back on your spending or finding a way to boost your income. Simply saving money and parking it in a bank account isn’t enough, as over time inflation will erode the value of that money. In order to gain financial independence you may need to invest your savings, picking an investment vehicle such as stocks, bonds or real estate that matches your risk tolerance and liquidity needs.

There are many times on your quest to achieve financial independence where math will butt up against human psychology. If you don’t have the mindset locked and loaded, it will be harder to keep going on a long journey where the results can take decades to appear. A classic example would be the decision to pay down your mortgage sooner vs. investing the extra money, or which approach you should take towards paying off debt (the snowball method, where you pay off the smallest balance first or the avalanche method where you attack the highest interest rate first). In each case, the math suggests a clear winner, but you’ll need to pick a plan that you know you can stick to, even when things get tough.