7 Seeds for Attaining Financial Freedom: Growing Your Money Tree

Success guru Brian Tracy once said the stool of personal finance had three legs.  These were Investing, Saving, and Insurance.  As much as it was true back then, times are rapidly changing.  The foundation stones of attaining financial freedom should be shielded by a broader set of roots.

These roots require a set of viable seeds.  This is how you grow your money tree successfully.  Here are the seven seeds that will give your investment nest egg its life.  They will advance the onward fruitfulness and harvest at the end.  Whether your objective is to retire early, or to keep doing what you love; these are definitely for you.

Seed #1:  CHARITY – Pay God First

The most important seed for attaining financial freedom is one that covers the invisible bases.  Here, you’re laying the groundwork for the more natural and practical financial items to rest on.  Charity is an invisible power.  Is works as powerfully as prayer does.  Millions of individuals from all walks of life have testimonials to this fact.

It may have difference names in many circles, culture and religion.  It could be the function of giving money to your favorite charity or foundation.  It can also be the paying of 10% tithe to your church or synagogue – if you favor the religious route.

Does charity really entail the giving of money to God? Does God need our money? He gives it right back to us, as we offer it to others in need.  This principle is etched in many religious doctrines but not taught in schools.  The outcome is however very tangible and true if your charitable deed is done with a generous heart.  You don’t have to take my word for it; you’ll only have to practice this to see if it helps in attaining financial freedom for you.  It provides a rather intrinsic non monetary fulfillment that makes you feel rich on the inside.

Seed #2: INVESTING – Pay Yourself Next

From the above, we’ve learnt that God pays us back as we give to others.  I’ll phrase this financial karma.  The next most important item on the list is investing.  You have to pay yourself next.  This should be a minimum of 10% of your after-tax income.  If you’re starting out from a place of debt or are in a tight financial corner, start with something smaller.

The magic begins to happen when this is done in conjunction with your charitable donations.  You can invest in an asset class such as equities.  The safest entry is Index Funds and ETFs with lower fees.  However, individual stocks will provide a more suitable growth rate.  Think long-term and select a handful of great companies to invest in.  Have adequate diversification in your portfolio. Reducing your risk is also paramount in attaining financial freedom with securities.

Your investments will compound over time.  This will cause your money tree to pivot until you begin attaining financial freedom goals you’ve set.  Every new deposit you add to your investments will continue to grow.  Your top-ups will swell together with the existing pool of assets.  You are enriching your future while creating more jobs also in the economy.  Your capital will lubricate the engine of the financial markets.

Seed #3: SAVING – Pay Yourself Again

After investing your money, why is there the need to save? The next seed, saving is as important as the first two discussed above.  Since investing is a long-term game, saving is a short-term strategy.  This ensures that your financial castles have enough sharks and alligators.  It is that moat which keeps financial troubles at bay to start attaining financial freedom dreams.

Your savings objectives should include having an Emergency Fund.  This rainy day fund is money that you can draw from.  It is very useful in the event of a personal financial emergency.  This is a 6 to 12 month worth of living expenses.  The fund can disburse monthly cash payments or a lump sum.  This arrives in the event of a job loss, health emergency or urgent repairs for your home or car.

Saving money also gives you the room to put aside cash sums.  This is for carrying out the planned purchases of the important things in your life.  Yes! You can save up for furniture, a car, or school tuition for your kids.  Achieve these without resorting to using credit.  You should create short-term, medium-term, and long-term savings goals.

Keep them in various investment types.  Aim for a fair yield in interest payments, as well as a protection for the principal.  Money kept in a savings account will have its interests eroded by inflation.  Nevertheless, it is suitable for short-terms hoarding strategies.  It gives you immediate access when you need it.  Attaining financial freedom and mastery would be so much easier.

Seed #4:  DEBT – Avoid Personal Debt

Debt or personal debt is termed as a necessary evil by many.  This may be seen as a convenient way of making payments.  You can perform cashless transactions across various platforms in many locations.  But look past the convenience for a minute and see it for what it truly is.  Debt is compound interest working against you rather than for you.  It is a clear barrier in attaining financial freedom.

Cultivate the habit of paying with cash or cash equivalents.  This habit alone if well understood and cultivated could save you millions.  If investments could compound over time to make you rich, then surly, debt can also do the reverse.  Individuals and families all over the world are under undue financial distress.  And there are people on the other side profiting from your tears.  It gives them great pleasure to see you fall for the convenience mental trap.

If you’re currently in debt, you’ll need to create a payment plan.  Settle those debts as soon as you can.  The internet is littered with debt snowball strategies, templates, and tutorials.  Alongside the priorities you set for the repayments, you must endeavor to live below your means.  Start generating additional streams of income.  This speeds up your debt freedom objectives.  You get one step closer to attaining financial freedom and early retirement.

Seed #5: WORK – Discover Your True Gift

If you’re earning income today, you’re probably doing it under one of these three areas:

• Working or Active Income – Income that is based on your skill and time commitment either to an employer or self employment.
• Passive Income – Income from an initial work that was completed in the past but continues to pay out cash flow over time. This may include royalties, interests and dividends from investments, real estate, and affiliate marketing.

But the best way is to find your labor of love.  Discover and use your gift(s).  Find that one thing that you do the best that makes you unique.  Employ it in your main hustle or side-hustle.  This is an underrated leverage that will boost your drive to attaining financial freedom effortlessly.  You will have above average performance in your craft.  Chart your path to financial freedom by falling on this concept.

Seed #6:  LEARN – Grow Mentally

Another leverage that will boost your money seed is your learning cycle.  The best tools out there today are books.  These contain treasures stored for the current and future generations.  Online learning using YouTube, reading blog posts and tutorials are also essential.  Discover how to eat healthier, create a fitness program, or learn new things.  Give yourself the biggest gains in self growth.  Learning and attaining financial freedom at your own pace would be so easy.

The knowledge you will gain is your sickle sharpener.  This will help you harvest more of what you’re already looking for in life.  Learning will accelerate your prospects in your career.  It can equip you with financial literacy for the management of your investment nest egg.

Think about it, 1% mental growth per month is still 12% improvement at the end of the year (without even including the factor of compounding).  The reason why this works in attaining financial freedom for you is that wealth proceeds from a wealth mindset.  There is hardly any growth in the place of ignorance. So prepare the fertile ground for financial independence by learning something every day.

Seed #7:  PLAY – Take Timeout

There is a time to grind, and a time to play.  These two things must co-exist.  One is not antagonistically opposed to the other.  They must both abide as parallel compliments of each other.  Have you noticed the ferocious nature of lions and wild cats in general? They are so good at hunting prey because they played a lot a little cub.  Each time the cubs chase each other on the little grass, they’re practicing their subtle art of ferocity.

As humans, we must see rest as recharging.  Vacations are always a refreshing break to enjoy new scenery.  This is true for almost all leisure activities.  It doesn’t matter whether you choose to do it frequently or infrequently.  You are developing an invisible capital suitable for attaining financial freedom.  You are giving yourself a balanced and dignified life.

Using a writer as an example, taking time off writing content is not exactly a bane of rest. You’re still actively taking in more ideas and inspiration from new environments.  This will stimulate more growth and more creativity.  You can unleash this when you return to work on attaining financial freedom through your projects.

A Few Parting Words – About Attaining Financial Freedom

Your money tree has a life.  It is made up of roots, a stem, and branches.  It is not just numbers and commas.  It has an invisible power working behind the scenes.  These virtues and habits each have their individual benefits.  But when you put them all together they promote explosive growth to attaining financial freedom in your lifetime.  They will inevitably lead you to financial discovery and then financial mastery in the long run.

Do you have at least 2 of these habits working in your favor? Please share with other readers via the comments below.

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