There are many paths to financial independence.
Mine took 20 years. Here are the 4 steps I followed.
Photo by Rich Martello on Unsplash
1/Have the end in mind.
At 20, after reading Awaken the Giant Within – by Tony Robbins, I made a mind map with my different goals. Not having to work for a living (my definition of financial independence) was one of them.
2/Start with sales.
Despite being junior, I was not limited in my salary. I soon started earning a six-figure annual salary. Sales was a great learning experience. It has served me well during my whole career and life.
Why sales is a great job and a potential career accelerator.
3/Embrace professional risks.
An excellent school for learning, making giant leaps in your professional career and salary. I accepted all opportunities that allowed me to learn, even when they were risky.
Saving a few years of salary allowed me to take these chances. At worst, I had some time to bounce back.
8 Habits To Grow Your Career. What I’ve Learned In 20 Years And After Reading Over 300 Books.
4/Invest young.
I made all the rookie mistakes, but I started young. Compound interest did the rest.
- First mistake: I invested alone by choosing stocks and trying to time the market.
- I went through funds. They are costly in fees, and few of them perform every year.
- I have invested for too long in safe products. Low risk, low return
- Finally, I discovered ETFs (market indexing). I started with a sophisticated strategy. I simplified, simplified, simplified…to finally arrive at one ETF covering the world. It works great for me, and I spend less than 60 minutes monthly on all my finances.
Financial independence is much more accessible than it seems.
If I had to start again today with my knowledge. I would start with an ETF covering the world and a broker with low fees. And I would invest every month, no matter what the market weather.
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How to better manage my budget? Don’t live on a budget, live on your frame.
Don’t try to master the market; master yourself…
You can replay everything but the market. Are you ready to enter it?
Financial Independence. I’m Retiring From Corporate Life At 46.
Hello and thank you for your blog and experience sharing. You say that you started with a complexe strategy to finally end with only one ETF, VWRL. Can you explain why did you select this ETF ? I am very curious to know how to you selected it. I am 33 and investing each month in VT ETF via Interactive Broker. Thank you
Thanks for your feedback and for reading the blog Mr GP.
What I call a complex strategy is not so complex😀. I was following the concept of the “all-weather portfolio with ETFs” …. (30% US stocks/40% long-term treasuries/15% intermediate-term treasuries/7.5% commodities, diversified/7.5% gold)
And when I say I simplified it is because I invest almost everything on VWRL now.
My selection method has not been super sophisticated.
I feel more comfortable buying in CHF (even if it doesn’t make a difference) and at the time the tax rules seemed more complex with VT.
VT & VWRL are both excellent choices.
And at 33 years old, by investing regularly in VT, you are on the right track.
Good luck in your project.