In the difficult economic reality in which we live, we are required to be more independent today, also in our financial choices: do we make sure to set aside time and energy for proper management of family finances, do we track or record regular family expenses, have we learned to compare prices?
Many of us do not always know how to manage financially, which makes it difficult to ” make ends meet”, and often fall into a deep crisis that severely affects our quality of life and family resilience.
The first tendency is to complain. True, it is always possible to complain about the country and the authorities, and indeed there are many things that need to be taken care of and are not done. However, as mentioned, independence is acquired and not received as a gift.
And independence begins first and foremost with a deep decision to take responsibility for our lives. Our sages used a harsh expression: “Make your Sabbath like a weekday, and you will not need others.” To this extent. After our declaration of financial independence, we must henceforth treat all financial conduct within the family framework as a small economy for all intents and purposes, with expenses and incomes, with suppliers and price comparisons, bargaining with anyone who is involved with us in any form of trade or commerce.
It seems that this is also the secret of National Independence Day: the understanding, once amongst only a few in the Jewish people and later amongst many, that the Gordian knot between the Diaspora and the difficult situation of the Jewish people must be cut. A few among us decided not to wait any longer for salvation to come at the end of days, but took action and fulfilled a vision of generations. They immigrated to the Land of Israel with the goal of no longer relying on the mercy of foreigners. In almost all cases, the decision of independence and immigration to Israel was accompanied by a decision to achieve financial independence. Any establishment of a settlement based on agriculture or commerce instead of donations from the “partition” funds was the actual realization of the desire for financial independence. There were difficulties that seemed unbearable along the way, but the fundamental decision marked the direction, and by its light, we have come this far.
Imagine the moment when you wake up in the morning and know that you have reached financial independence.
Is this something that can suddenly happen to anyone in their life? Is it really a single moment, when life suddenly changes? Or is financial independence a process in which one moves in small steps towards the desired goal – an improved financial situation when dependence on other factors decreases?
A common definition of financial independence deals with the ability to manage existing money so that it is sufficient for the desired lifestyle.
How much money does that involve? And what is that desirable lifestyle? This varies from person to person.
Let’s start with money. Some believe that it is the total income of a person from work and profits on investments. Others view financial independence as a life in which a person is not required to work at all for a living and their passive income (his income not from work) will be enough for them to live their desired lifestyle.
Regarding standard of living, the question arises whether the standard of living defines the ability to achieve financial independence. Does the fact that your expenses today exceed your income necessarily mean that you will not achieve financial independence?
What is financial independence for you?
There are those for whom financial independence is the day when they can stop for a moment from the race of life and simply enjoy, there are those for whom independence is a reality without debts and without financial dependence on other factors, there are those for whom financial freedom means working in exactly what they want and only because they want to, and there are those for whom the ability to manage their money and control how it is spent is their long-awaited financial freedom.
Imagine the day when you will be financially independent, imagine an ordinary day, not a luxurious vacation but just a weekday. What would such a day look like?
What time will you wake up in the morning?
What will you eat at breakfast?
What will you choose to do that day?
How will you spend the evening?
What will your home look like?
How will you get around from place to place?
Now think for a moment, do you want to live financially independent as you defined it? Are you ready to make the necessary changes in your life to be able to financially achieve the desired financial independence?
It doesn’t matter what your personal definition of financial independence may be. The journey there will always begin with taking responsibility for your situation and building a long-term plan that will lead you, step by step, to your goal.
