 TITLE: How to Achieve Financial Freedom CONTENT: What Is Financial Freedom?\n--------------------------\nThere are many ways to feel financially free. You can earn a modest income and experience a great deal of freedom around money if, for example, you define it as being able to take your family on a meaningful vacation once a year. The primary feature of financial freedom is a feeling of security around money: that it will be of service to your goals, rather than a source of stress.\nFor most people, reaching that place involves the following:\n*   **Paying every bill on time each month**: Financial freedom begins when your basic needs are met. That means living without fear of your electricity or water being turned off, and avoiding damage to your credit score with a missed loan or credit card payment.\n*   **Being debt-free, or working toward eliminating your debt**: It's difficult to have a healthy relationship with money when you feel you're not in control of it. When you're in debt, and interest charges make your balance grow faster than you can pay it off, you're also losing money you could be saving instead. Work toward getting out of debt—with the help of a nonprofit certified credit counselor, if necessary—as part of your path toward financial freedom.\n*   **Having at least three months of basic expenses saved**: Maintaining a safety net of savings may be the biggest contributor to financial well-being. It can keep you from worrying about how you'll deal with a job loss or unexpected bills. Experts recommend keeping an emergency fund of three to six months' worth of basic expenses, but you may wish to save more if your income fluctuates month to month. This will also help you avoid accumulating credit card debt to pay for unforeseen costs.\n*   **Saving for goals or experiences beyond emergencies**: The next level of financial freedom is keeping your emergency fund intact while saving for other goals, like retirement, a home, vacations or your child's college costs. Retirement should come first, since you can't borrow for it, and saving up for retirement longer generally means having more when you stop working. You'll know you're on the right track when you're able to allot portions of your paycheck—even if they're small—to several needs simultaneously, including regular bills, debt payoff and short- and long-term savings.\n*   **Not feeling regularly preoccupied with financial concerns**: A key feature of financial freedom is a general feeling of well-being around money. A little bit of worry is natural, but consistent anxiety, fear, shame or uncertainty about the future are signs that you haven't achieved a sense of control over saving, spending or debt repayment. When financial freedom is yours, you can monitor your finances and address issues that come up with openness, confidence and optimism.\n*   **Being able to treat yourself and those you love—responsibly**: A financially free person can use their money in ways that fulfill them, which for many includes gift-giving. Freedom around money gives you the opportunity to, within reason, provide yourself and others with things and experiences that bring joy—whether that's theater tickets or a new yoga mat. END