I have always said I wanted to be financially free, retire by 50, be a millionaire…convinced of the latter of course! Despite being very goal oriented, I never really planned how I would do this with smart objectives (tangible goals and actions I could accomplish).

My plan so far had been to work hard, progress up the career ladder in my job, earn more. This is what most people are brought up believing. In tandem, I would focus on some key projects that may offer the opportunity of making a lot of money. This included (well was largely focused around…) internet marketing. My husband and I also strongly believed the property market would help us achieve financial freedom by flipping properties and eventually building a buy to let property portfolio.

As the years went on, I still wasn’t hitting any financial targets. Indeed, I was earning much more than previous years, climbing the career ladder. We had purchased our own property and started some savings. But the prospect of financial freedom and wealth, were still at a distance. 

My breakthrough moment was in reading the Wealth Chef. I realised that we had a habit. And that habit wasn’t leading us to financial freedom. And that habit was not going to simply disappear one day without intervention. Our habit was spending as much, or more, than we earn. As my earnings increased, our outgoings simply increased too. 

We had savings in the past – which went towards our home deposit. We also had savings from a lump sum work bonus. It was earning a measly 0.4% in my bank cash ISA. We had also purchased some premium bonds which won a few small prizes but no more than a 0.6% annual return.

What we weren’t doing, was building up a wealth pot. Now to be wealthy I used to think was just having lots of money. But really it’s more complex than that. It’s having money that makes you money and generates an income. This is an alternative to having a job to generate an income.

The concept is to have a big enough pot of money that will itself earn enough interest to fund your expenses.

Now I had learnt the concept to wealth creation, I explored a couple of other resources. I found Andrew Craig’s How to Own the World  – a very thorough and comprehensive guide to finance – I learnt a lot about what underpins the stock markets, oil prices, inflation as well as an essential guide on where to put your money. Finally another book I highly recommend is Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover (A proven plan for financial fitness), which outlines a step by step process to actually put in place your path to wealth and financial freedom. 

Interestingly as I was enlightened, this is also the concept for life insurance or if considering inheritance to your loved ones. Don’t look for the lump sum to be used bit by bit, and last them a distinct number of years. Look at it being a source of income – to be invested so that the interest alone provides them with a regular income.

So with a new found plan (and one that actually leads to financial freedom), my new journey began. Here I document my journey to financial freedom, both for my sanity and a learning diary, but also to help others. I strongly believe financial education should be part of the National Curriculum here in the UK and that children, particularly young adults, are entitled to understand how to manage personal finance and know the path to wealth. I wish I knew more about personal finance earlier in my life. That aside, it’s never too late to start and there is no better time than now.