How to Measure Backwards for Mental and Numerical Financial Freedom

What is true financial freedom? Can you define freedom with a number? Is financial freedom achieved if you can simply save a million dollars and retire at 40? Unfortunately, while this is a common “goal” for today’s standards, it’s difficult to put a true numerical value on financial freedom. The work to be and FEEL free goes deeper than that, and it starts with measuring backwards.

Defining Financial Freedom

Financial freedom seems important to define because almost everyone–consciously or unconsciously–wants to be financially free. Given the choice between thinking about money constantly, and living a life where money is no consequence, it seems obvious what most people would choose. 

So is financial freedom the ability to be free of financial stress? In many ways, yes. While the world of typical financial planning wants to put a number on financial freedom, it’s more than that. True financial freedom starts with your mindset. 

You might think that being mentally free comes last–the result of reaching freedom in the numerical sense. However, studies have shown that you can’t put a number or an “end goal” on mental freedom. In Shawn Achor’s book The Happiness Advantage, he reveals his research that shows happiness drives success, not the other way around. The wealthiest, most successful people in the world may still find themselves in mental chains of their own making. No number in the world can fix a Scarcity Mindset. 

Achieving Mental Financial Freedom

Mental financial freedom can, and must, be found through a Prosperity Mindset. Through the latter, people tend to act and react out of fear. Financial decisions made out of fear rarely end well. 

When acting from a Scarcity Mindset, people tend to make choices that hinder them in the long run, such as:

• Reducing monthly cash flow and savings potential by making larger loan payments
• Locking money away in a qualified plan, only for money to be eaten away by taxes
• Missing out on opportunities due to a lack of liquidity
• Paying in cash, in order to own something free and clear, at a significant opportunity cost

While these actions are not inherently bad, fear tends to incite quick action on financial practices that feel familiar. The problem is that these are actions that rarely generate wealth. However, truly wealth-generating options can feel unfamiliar and therefore wrong. 

The key to finding mental financial freedom is to first look at everything through the lens of opportunity. This requires you to install some faith in your finances, and know that where there’s a desire for something, an opportunity exists. When you seek these opportunities and allow yourself to believe in them, finding work that is both enjoyable and profitable can occur. 

Furthermore, looking through the lens of opportunity can help you to slow down and examine your financial choices through the 7 Principles of Prosperity. On your journey to wealth, faith and confidence should be your top priority. These ideals can help guide you, ultimately, to financial freedom. 

What is Numerical Financial Freedom?

This is the big question that everyone wants to know, and the real answer is less satisfying than the assurance of a prescribed number. In reality, that number doesn’t exist. Many typical financial talking heads suggest that you save $1 million. And because this is a seemingly massive number, it’s easy to accept it and move on. 

However, this can lead to confusion and poor habits. Primarily, this instills the belief that if you save $1 million, you can retire comfortably and never look back. Not to...

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