How Much is Your Freedom Worth?

They say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, while expecting a different result. Take a moment to look around you and you’ll find that many of your friends and neighbours are following exactly the same financial route map – and all ending up in roughly the same position.

What all this means is that if you have big financial dreams, you need to start doing things a little differently.

If you want to truly achieve something exceptional – from becoming mortgage free in the next few years to retiring ten years earlier than your peers – then you really need to take some extreme action.

The question is this: what are you willing to give up or change in order to meet your financial goals.

If the answer is “not much” then you could be in for a bumpy ride.

In light of this question, I got thinking recently about my own financial transition from serious piles of debt to a comfortable lifestyle complete with savings and investments. What big changes did I make to overhaul my financial situation over recent years? Here are some of the highlights…

Relocated Half-Way Across the Country

Until last year I lived in the cramped and expensive commuter belt in the south east of England. It’s an area with great employment opportunities, but also property prices to make your eyes water and traffic that makes you wish you never learned to drive.

Just recently, however, all that changed. Having slowly built up my career over consecutive years, and seen just how much more property you get for your money elsewhere, my girlfriend and I recently packed up everything we own and moved 250 miles north. In our new location we can finance a four bedroom detached house for the same price we paid for a one bedroom in the south.

Of course, we didn’t do that; instead we chose to rent somewhere just a little bit bigger than we’re used to, and pocketed the considerable difference every single month. Oh, and did I mention that I managed to land a pay raise with my relocation, meaning evening more going into investments every month?  

Changed Industries

Fresh out of university I sort of “fell” into a career in retail management. It was never really planned for, and wasn’t something that I particularly enjoyed, but I did find that I had a surprising aptitude for it.

That’s all well and good, but retail managers don’t tend to earn a lot of money, no matter how big the company that you’re working for. So I hatched a plan to escape from retail, and managed to jump into the rather more interesting (and better paid) world of marketing.

Whilst I’m so glad I made the transition, many of my friends continue to work in retail, so I have found that I have less and less to talk about with them, and our days off rarely seem to coincide. These days I’ve made a whole new set of friends, but it’s still tough not to see my old friends for months at a time.

Job Hopped Continually

An odd experience that many people have experienced, myself included, is that one of the easiest ways to land a pay raise is to move to a different company. At face value it seems to make no sense; why is a company willing to pay over the odds for a new starter, but won’t offer the same perks to existing staff?

Whatever the reason, you’ll find that one of the most effective ways to increase your salary is being willing to hop from one company to another. Never settle down and get comfortable; always keep an eye out for new opportunities and be willing to jump ship if the finances make sense.

In just a few years it’s possible to job hop on multiple occasions, each time significantly increasing your income.

Had a “No Spend Year”

I lose track of how many personal finance bloggers talk about a “no spend week”. The theory is that you buy nothing but true essentials for that period – just food, gas and so on – but nothing you might call a “treat”.

Well, when I was clawing my way out of debt I frankly lived like that for months – even years – at a time.

I didn’t buy any new clothes – I just made do with what I had.

I didn’t go on vacation, or eat out, or spend anything on hobbies.

If it wasn’t critical then I didn’t buy it.

Of course, such a lifestyle is far from fun. Everyone needs a little treat now and again, but adopting such a “no spend” attitude for several years helped me to reduce my expenses considerably, and hence speed up the process of becoming debt free.

Drove Three Cars into the Ground

Whilst I need a car in order to get to work, I’m not one for taking on unnecessary debt. Instead, I bought the cheapest car I felt I could trust, and kept on driving them until they were good for nothing but scrap.

Whilst friends of mine may have mocked my battered old cars, I was able to put much more money into savings and investments.

All this while my friends continued to pay over the odds for vehicles that – while flashy – really didn’t do anything that mine didn’t.

Invested in Myself

I’m passionate about learning, and as a result have spent considerable amounts of free time doing online courses, reading books and getting practical experience. It was in this way that I was able to jump from a poorly paid career in retail to the much better paid marketing industry.

I’m not giving up now either; I’ve recently started to teach myself web design and to learn the Python programming language to improve my skills yet further.

Summary

If you want to achieve more financially than your work colleagues and neighbours who live in constant fear of an unexpected bill or job loss, you need to be doing things differently.

You need to be willing to make sacrifices.

From spending your weekends improving your work-related skills to moving to an area with a lower cost of living it’s these elements that can make all the difference to your financial future.

If you’re serious about living a life of abundance, where you don’t have to constantly worry about money, it might just be time to consider making some big decisions that will pay you back for years to come.

What big changes have you adopted to improve your financial situation? What sacrifices have you made recently to accomplish your dreams? Please leave your thoughts and experiences in the comments section below; we’d love to hear from you 🙂