Financial Freedom – How people live when they no longer need to work.
This book is a distillation of a series of conversations with people who have already achieved financial freedom, how they got there, and what they now do. It is an easy read. Many ideas are just dropped in, for you to think about as you read on.
Who is it for?
People who are not yet Financially Free. However as someone who is already financially independent, it still gave me some very interesting ideas to think about.
Key points
- Everyone’s journey is different
- Even when you are Financially Free, you still need a path through life
- Financially Free people buy themselves time. Time they can spend however they like
- If you’re working towards Financial Freedom, you need to spend some time thinking about what your ideal life would be like
Summary
I enjoyed this book. In reading some of the personal stories I encountered many things where I thought to myself – I wish I had done that when I was 30 or 35. Gisela also explores some of the deeper questions around ‘Where would you get your recognition from?’, ‘What would give your life purpose?’
Availability
If you wait until November 24th – 26th, the English kindle version of the book is available on Amazon at a special price of €2,99. Otherwise it is available now for £17.50 for the paperback, £7.90 for the kindle version. All proceeds from the English version go to a Romanian Children’s Charity.
(And for the record, I have not been paid anything for the review, neither am I getting a fee for the link to Amazon – but I do think the Romanian orphanage is a good cause!)
Detailed Review
The book is split into two parts. The key points about Financial Freedom, then all the conversations she had with Financially Free people.
Main part
In addition to looking at why people want to obtain Financial Freedom, Gisela also looks at different ways of achieving the amount needed to stop work.
As her example she uses a young graduate who has money to invest. Should she put it in savings, investments, property etc
Location is very important – if you have achieved Financial freedom, your money can go a long way in different countries.
Expenditure – Gisela notes that many people who aspire to, or who have reached Financial Freedom are frugal, and elsewhere says that reaching Financial Freedom means saying goodbye to consumption. I would add a word in there – mindless consumption. As for being frugal, I would again qualify it by saying – they don’t waste money. If a large expenditure is needed on a house, they often don’t buy the cheapest, they buy the best value. I was intrigued by the concept of multiplying a weekly spend by 752 to understand the cost to you over 10 years.
The difficult question of ‘when do you decide you are Financially Free?’ was discussed but maybe not quite as fully as it might have been.
For me there was just one thing missing – how having a partner with similar values can speed up the process. It comes though in the interviews, but I missed it in the main text. Some have separate finances to their partners. Others have pooled resources. Brandon – We always just kept separate finances because we both had different goals.
I liked Gisela’s comment that money buys you time, time to do what you want. I would also add, that it buys you choice – do what you want, when you want to do it.
Interviews
I found the interviews interesting. Every person had different reasons for pursuing Financial Freedom, and had approached it in very different ways.
Some interesting thought provoking ideas that I picked up on
- The country you are living in, influences how quickly you can reach Financial Freedom. This was alluded to by Emma and Robert, and clearly called out by Brandon. The differential between what you earn, and your expenditure makes a huge difference. It comes up again with Dagmar & Norbert, who chose to move to a country with a lower cost of living. A very sensible approach!
- I loved Melanie’s comment ‘In the last two years I’ve said, “Isn’t life wonderful?” more times than I did in the first 40 years of my life.’ I feel the same!
- Emma summed it up well. “For me, being rich has nothing to do with money, but rather with quality of life. In that sense, for me financial freedom does mean being rich – rich in time, rich in
health, rich in family and friends, rich in fulfilling, meaningful projects, rich in lust
for life and in the desire to constantly learn new things and develop yourself” - Monika’s advice is incredibly simple – save money and invest it properly. It says it all really.
- Christian – money gives us independence and free time to spend how we see fit.
Overall
An interesting book. Take time to read it and absorb it! I hope you enjoy it.
If you wait until November 24th – 26th, the English kindle version of the book is available on Amazon at a special price of €2,99. Otherwise it is available now for £17.50 for the paperback, £7.90 for the kindle version. All proceeds from the English version go to a Romanian Children’s Charity.
(And for the record, as mentioned earlier, I have not been paid anything for the review, neither am I getting a fee for the link to Amazon – but I do think the Romanian orphanage is a good cause!)