You are probably wondering how to achieve financial freedom in the future. The struggle to achieve financial freedom is one that plagues households all over the world so you are not alone. The idea behind living financially free consumes many people and they ultimately spin their wheels because they have no guidance on how to set themselves up for success.

In order to help you not get distracted by all the fluff and empty promises offered by the “get rich quick” gurus out there, I have compiled my personal list of 3 key things you should be doing right now in order to achieve financial freedom later on in life. These are real life solutions, not some magic formula that will make you millions overnight.

1. Get Out Of Debt

One of the biggest problems in society today is the abundance of debt that consumes individuals. You can never achieve financial freedom, and ultimately entrepreneurial success if you do not get yourself out of debt.

If you are currently in credit card debt (one of the most common types of debt), you must dedicate your time and efforts to getting rid of this debt.

If you are in student loan debt, read my article on how I paid off my nasty student loans in a little under a year.

If you owe a mortgage or maybe have a small car loan out, that is acceptable because some debts are too large to pay in full in any short amount of time. However, make sure that you can refinance or have your rate lowered so that you can afford the most important step (step 3) that I will talk about below.

The biggest problem with people in excessive debt is that they can’t get help escaping this debt. If you do need help, I highly suggest you find a program that suits your needs.

I have found a program that I recommend that has helped thousands of people fight off debt collectors, credit card companies, and even allows people to keep their homes. In fact, many people end up getting paid out after using this service. With a 60 day risk free trial period it is more than worth it to see if you can truly make money and escape your debt at the same time.

2. Educate Yourself

Many people think that the only way to become educated these days is through rigorous schooling. This is not true at all. There are so many ways to self educate especially with the accessibility of internet resources these days.

If you are struggling to make money, find a job, or struggling with life in general…A few good reading materials and the right platforms for education can really help. I can say from experience that attending a university will teach you a ton of information in one specific field.

However, attending a university doesn’t teach you everything you need to know to make it in life. It doesn’t teach you how to be an entrepreneur when you have absolutely no money starting out. It doesn’t help you to make money online, or even to build yourself an excellent resume that will land you a job.

Self education can teach you everything from networking skills, to technical skills that you may need in the future. In addition, there are always certification courses offered online that will allow you to build yourself some credibility when applying.

The more you learn the more valuable you become. You can also use the things you’ve learned to teach other people. This is one of the fastest growing markets on the web and the creation of digital content is quickly becoming one of the best ways to make money this day and age.

If you have ever wanted to work from home, land the job of your dreams, or become financially free and see your goals become realities, then it is necessary that you learn as much as you can.

Don’t just learn from every resource out there. While learning a large quantity of information can be helpful, you want to tailor your self-education to topics that will benefit you or that really fine tune your interests and passions.

A main interest for me was online marketing so I have now built multiple successful websites just by educating myself and leveraging resources like Wealthy Affiliate and Affilorama.

3. Invest Your Earnings

One of the hardest things out there is figuring out where to invest money. With thousands of different options including real estate, online business, the stock market, private investments, or advertisement it is hard to know what will generate you more revenue in the future.

You should never be sinking your money into items that depreciate. Necessities are understandable but make sure that you are investing your earnings in things that will end up making you more money in the long run. One of the easiest things to invest is your tax return. Check out some solid suggestions on what to do with such a large lump sum.

There is also some importance to understanding how to create a variety of income streams for yourself. I’ve managed to create 7 forms of income for myself and some are definitely more profitable than others. Did you know that the average millionaire has a minimum of 5 forms of income? This seems like a lot but after you break down all the different possibilities of where to invest your money you will quickly realize that it’s not too hard to attain.

Why These 3 Things Will Lead To Financial Freedom?

It’s hard to imagine that three simple elements like this can contribute to the ultimate goal of financial freedom but they certainly can. When you remove debt from your life you are essentially removing money leeches.

Debt accumulates and perpetuates and can keep you from turning what you earn into more money. When in debt you are just paying out all the money you work hard to earn in the first place. If you want to be financially free this model is not sustainable.

When you finally pay off all of your debt you will then be able to spend the same amount of money you were spending on debt on investments instead.

The second point of self education is important because if you don’t teach yourself how to properly manage your money and adjust your life to propel yourself forward, you will not achieve financial freedom as you hope to.

By investing a large majority of earnings now you can see huge potential for earnings in the future. Making more money on the money you are currently bringing home is the only way to be truly financially free.

Eventually you may find a program or outlet that will allow you to make money from anywhere in the world or make money while you sleep. This is the ultimate goal and true luxury lifestyle.

Financial stability is not to be underestimated. This allows a legacy to be created that you are establishing the pillars for in your lifetime. Work hard now so that your children’s children will have the life that they dream of. In the end, you will likely have the life you dream of as well.

If you have any questions or comments for me, feel free to leave them below. I would love to talk about any struggles you may be having and see how I can help.

There are millions of Americans out there struggling with extreme student loan debt. Everyone is pressured into going to college these days and quite frankly, it costs a fortune. Graduates are faced with the looming payback period and don’t really understand just how much it can influence their personal finances.

I have personally paid off all of my loans, and have come up with a guide to pay off student loans in less than a year. If you want to learn how to live debt free, and do it as soon as possible, keep reading.

I managed to take care of all my loans and you can too.

The Effects Of Student Loans

Student loans can really take a toll on you if you aren’t careful. Student loan debt across the nation is, according to Mark Kantrowitz editor at FinAid, growing at a rate of $3,000 per second.

While in college a large majority of people forget about their loans completely. They see a check come in and take care of their tuition but are not conscious of the total amount of the loans that is perpetuating until they suddenly have to pay them back.

I have seen so many friends go to school for 4-5 years, take out the maximum allowable on student loans, and be stuck with $50-100k worth of debt upon graduation. This can be overwhelming depending on the average salary for your major.

Would you invest in a house that is guaranteed to be worth less immediately after you buy it? No. So why would you invest in an education paying out a ton in loans that isn’t worth it from a salary standpoint when you finish.

Most graduates these days don’t even manage to find a stable, well-paying job right after school. I know you might be thinking, what about the grace period? Well, 6 months is hardly a grace period, especially when some of those loans are still racking up interest behind the scenes.

If you really think about how much student loan debt you are in, it is probably enough for a down payment on a house, or enough to pay cash for a nice car. Wouldn’t it be nice to be a millennial, or any age and be able to actually own the place you live in?

The harsh reality is, student loan debt can actually ruin your chances at ever buying a home.

This is not because they tear down your credit, but because even $60k worth of student loans can add up to a $500-1000 payment per month depending on what you earn. In some states, this is a mortgage.

If you do use the pay as you earn option that many lenders allow, you will just be stuck paying more interest on those loans as time goes on.

Granted, refinancing options are available, but when I tried to refinance through SoFi I was given a rate that turned out to be the average of the rates I had initially had for each individual loan.

This doesn’t make sense as now I’m just consolidating multiple loans into one giant loan with the same crappy rate. Then the pay as you earn option flies right out the window.

One key concern that should be brought up when discussing potential loan consolidation options is that you are then removed from any potential forgiveness programs, or PAYE (Pay As You Earn Programs).

Although these programs might not be the most lucrative in terms of interest… there are some other benefits to them.

These programs are important because they allow you to lower your overall payment month to month and help you tackle individual loans ultimately using the methods outlined in this article without being burdened by too giant of a payment.

Any extra payment you make during this period is counted as overpayment and reduces your timeline to payoff which is the ultimate goal.

It should be noted that, sometimes these personal loans can be tied to some form of collateral. Ultimately, your 401k, home, car, whatever you use to pledge your allegiance to paying off this loan can be at risk.

Having these loans, both your traditional federal student loans and any potential consolidation or personal loan you take out can really hinder your long term movement towards generational wealth.

You’re probably feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the bad surrounding student loans, but that’s okay.

All the negative effects of student loans aside, there is a way to pay them all off and you can even do it very quickly.

I didn’t say this was going to be pretty, but if you take care of the evil veil of debt now, you will never have to worry about it again.

Steps To Pay Off Your Debt

1.Pay while in school. This one is the hardest for people, and you are likely taking out loans to afford school in the first place. However, if you have excess after your loans get paid out, or you make enough working part time that you can pay towards your loans.

Do it now! The future you will thank you. I made the mistake of not doing this. While I managed to pay off my loans in less than one year it was much more painful because I didn’t pay towards them while still in school.

2.Live below your means. You will likely have just graduated and see a huge pay increase from working down the street at the local deli for minimum wage. This doesn’t mean you can forget about your loan payments coming down the line.

Don’t inflate your lifestyle. Live in the same place, drive the same car, and eat like you are a broke college student for just a while longer. Don’t plan the expensive trip out of the country to go backpacking and gallivanting all over. You can do that AFTER you pay off your debts. Oh and quit buying clothes you don’t need.

In addition, stop hitting the bar every single weekend. If you step back and tally up how much you spend on alcohol each weekend, you will be horrified. This is the first thing I did and I cut my drinking to almost zero.

3.Create a plan. You need to know exactly what the maximum amount of money you can afford to pay on your loans per month is. I quadrupled my minimum payment on my $65k debt and paid directly to the principle balance with any excess.

I lived in an apartment well below my means with roommates for my first year. This allowed me to spend whatever I could actually afford for rent on  my loans.

However, I couldn’t do this without a plan. I had a strict budget that I had worked out, and I used multiple apps to keep track of my minimum expenditures. Mint and HelloWallet are both solid choices to download for budgeting.

4.Pay off the largest interest loan first. This has become commonly referred to as the Avalanche Method. As you begin to pay down loans interest can still stack up very quickly on any larger loans you have. If you get rid of these larger, high interest loans right off the bat, the accruals from the smaller, low interest loans will not cause you to drown.

Once you pay off the highest interest loan, go to the next highest and pay that off, but still pay the total amount you designated in your planning session above. To clarify, still pay the minimum on every single loan, just pay the excess to the principle balance on the highest interest loans.

5.Lump sums go to loans. This one is probably the hardest to stick to. I came into decent amounts of money randomly in returned security deposits that I had essentially forgotten about, large tax returns, and small bonuses at work.

Any time you receive a lump sum like this that you were not expecting, put it directly towards your debt. This money was not necessary, and usually you wouldn’t have thought twice if you didn’t have it. Pretend it never happened and knock down some debt with it.

I took my $12,000 tax return and applied it straight to multiple loans. It paid off 3/11 loans right then and there. Christmas bonus, same thing, paid off loans. Keep doing this and you’ll be shocked at the impact it will make on repayment.

6.Stick to it. One of the biggest problems with aggressively attempting to pay down your student loans is the fact that it doesn’t feel good. Sometimes you have to do things that don’t feel good in order to see the reward later. The light at the end of the tunnel is there let me tell you. You just have to keep moving towards it.

If you stop paying on your loans or drop back to the minimum you will quickly realize that the interest will once again catch up with you. There are many spreadsheets out there that can actually help you knock out these loans using my above method with little to no Excel experience.

Final Thoughts…

I have knocked out my own student loan debt and I am now saving to pay cash for a home using the same method. The fact of the matter is, if you are willing to do this for just one year in order to pay off your debt, why not stay hard at it for 2-3 in order to better setup your life for the future.

It’s not easy to be an entrepreneur, work a full time job, and focus on paying off all your debts. But let me tell you, it can be done and you will be a much happier person with much less stress because of it.

If you are stuck in limbo between jobs, this is the best time to pursue an online marketing career to supplement your future income. My personal favorite route to success is Wealthy Affiliate.

Do you wonder whether you need college to become a successful person?

The short answer is no, not necessarily. Let’s talk about why this is true.

I want to outline to you some of the best self-education tools out there, and also stress the importance of college at the same time.

Self Education

There are pros and cons to pretty much every decision you make in life. Let’s examine the pros and cons of self education.

Pros:

• Learn the information you find relevant. Learn what pertains to you, not all the fluff. Learning relevant information will improve performance in that niche.
• Work at your own pace. You don’t have to blaze through a chapter of material in one week. This allows you to truly absorb the material.
• You can learn as much or as little as you want. This allows you to focus your learning on Quality over Quantity.
• The cost of self education can be extremely cheap. Most self-education resources are free, and some are much cheaper than a tuition payment.

Cons:

• You have to stay self-motivated. For some people this is easy to manage, but for many, it is easy to ignore your educational responsibilities.
• No structure. The lack of structure or planning in self-education can be a huge deterrent. Often times you will find yourself jumping from topic to topic with no rhyme or reason.
• Filtering quality resources. Sometimes you can’t tell whether or not a resource is a quality resource. Everyone can learn from Wikipedia, but that doesn’t mean that it is providing you with true and correct information.
• Opinions over facts. Most self-education systems are put in place to learn about things that you don’t really learn about in college. This can mean that there is a large amount of opinion associated with your learning.

College

Just as there are pros and cons with self-education, the same applies to college.

Pros:

• Structured learning process. You will be learning within a program that has been well established and is structured in order to propel you to the next level of learning.
• Networking. Networking in college can be one of the biggest benefits of attending. Building a system of peers and colleagues can lead to job opportunities or growth opportunities in a particular industry.
• Proven track record. Usually a university or college is accredited. Therefore there coursework is proven.
• A degree helps. Higher paying jobs generally require some sort of specialization. This is true even in a manual labor sense. If you attend college you are likely to find a higher paying day job.
• Entertainment value. You can’t deny that college is usually a blast. If you don’t attend a commuter school there are tons of opportunities to get involved in your college community and truly make it a well-rounded experience.

Cons:

• Cost. Colleges and Universities are steadily increasing tuition. Often times many cannot afford to attend prestigious universities. This causes less likelihood of your degree paying off in the future.
• Time to learn. Usually with structured programs, there is a designated amount of time you are stuck there. While this can be good, the pace isn’t left up to you. This forces you to learn at their pace, and can actually waste time or cause poor performance.
• This isn’t the environment for the entrepreneur. If you want to learn how to be an entrepreneur you have to be self-taught to an extent. College doesn’t generally teach you the stuff behind being dedicated to your own business.

The Best Option For You?

I have personal experience with both self-education and college. I have attended a 4-year university and obtained my undergraduate degree in engineering. In addition, I am completing my graduate degree in mechanical engineering in the near future.

I can tell you, college will set you up for success when you self-educate post college. 

I learned a lot in college, and everyone’s experience is different. However, I do know the most important thing I learned. I do understand what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur and I have to say college did contribute to this.

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills… The absolute most important thing I ever learned at a university was how to think critically and solve problems.

Setting up problems takes structure, and self-education may not direct you down the path of structure. This is why I find a university education to be extremely important.

Granted…you can learn structure on your own, and how to solve problems, or at least methods to solving problems. The problem with this path though, is that you are not faced with the same complicated variety of problems that you face in college.

Self-Education still has its place…

In order to get the most out of your college education, you must continue to learn. Ian Leslie’s book Curious is one of my favorites. He relates success to your desire to know.

If you are pushing yourself down a path of self education then you obviously have the desire to learn and know more. This is the desire that will make you a successful entrepreneur.

What you want to learn is completely up to you. Whether you want to learn a specific trade, how to market to a particular audience online, how to build your own successful brick and mortar business…whatever your passion may be, there are resources out there for you.

My personal favorite resource is one that I use daily. My self-education is perpetuated by the drive to understand everything there is about online digital marketing.

I learn more every day about catering to audiences and building the best possible site available to users. Digital marketing is nothing like what I studied in college, so I am forced to use the skills developed in college to educate myself on the tricks of the trade.

My Conclusion

I think the best option for you… is a combination of college and self-education. Both have their benefits as outlined above, and when combined these two forms of education become a force like no other.

You are taught how to learn, study, and develop skills in college that will allow you to make a living. However, you must further your education after learning these skills in order to make a fortune.

I personally create passive income through Affiliate Marketing. You can too.

If you’re interested in Affiliate Marketing, I have the resources that you need right now.

The BEST Resource For Self-Education

I have written a review about my favorite online marketplace for education. Here you can learn about everything ranging from optimizing your keyword usage online, to attracting users, and converting your websites to money machines.

If you want to know the secrets to how I make money online, check out My Wealthy Affiliate Review and go sign up for free.

If you have any of your own ideas, share them in the comments below! I really want to hear about your experiences with self-education. 

Tis’ the season of Tax Returns! For some this season brings joy (those of us who don’t have to fork over the dough), for others, immense amounts of pain in their wallet region.

As much as it is a chore to go in and have someone prepare your taxes for you or take care of your own tax forms at home, we all enjoy that big fat check that comes a couple weeks later. You may be wondering, however, what should I do with MY TAX RETURN?

Well first, let’s talk about what people usually do with their tax return.

Generally Speaking, They Blow It

When most people receive their federal or state tax return they usually have in mind that one special item that they’ve been eyeing for months. Whether this be a brand new article of clothing, a motorcycle, a jet ski, a boat…who knows, maybe gambling? While all of these things may seem like the best use of your money, are they really?

Let’s talk about what you’re gaining from the purchase of that shiny new watch at your local department store, or online at your favorite retailer.

Essentially you are paying for a fashion statement here, correct? Most everyone these days has a smartphone or at least a flip phone that can tell you what time it is. Don’t get me wrong, I wear watches every day, it is quick and convenient to check your watch over pulling out your iPhone and I really like the way that they set off some of the other things I’m wearing. I’m a firm believer in the wristwatch as a staple accessory of your wardrobe.

But is this really where you need to be spending that money that you’ve already given to the government and had no expectations of seeing again? Usually people have no idea how much they are going to receive on their returns when heading into these tax appointments, so why not pretend like that money doesn’t even exist?

I’ve been in your position, I’ve received hefty sums back on my returns, and to be honest, I’ve spent it on some really stupid crap. Quite frankly, I wish I had that money back to contribute to things that will make me MORE money.

You might be wondering then what I suggest you do with this cash. I’m going to tell you right now.

3 Ways to Turn Your Tax Return Into More Money

1. Save it and invest in real estate in the future. Did you know that recently the percentage of people who own the home they live in has dropped to around 64%? This is lower than home ownership in 1994, and with the increasing population you would thing that this rate would be increasing.

So why would you go blow your hard earned tax return when realistically this could be a small down payment on a home, if you save your return for 2-3 years, depending on how much you receive back each year, and combine this with additional savings you generate throughout the year, you could easily be a home owner in 2-3 years!

I understand that the housing market crash of 2008 was a serious setback for many people. If you haven’t seen The Big Short I highly suggest you watch it, especially if you already have a general understanding of markets and the way they operate. But, this is really no reason to be scared of buying.

Ideally, you want to make sure you can pay your mortgage in case your home is not rented (if an investment property), and if this remains true, then renting it out will essentially pay for the investment property overtime, and after your mortgage is paid off this is money in your pocket every single month.

The average price of a home in the US is down to around $188k, this means that if you are receiving a $5-10k tax return, you could easily be putting down 5-10% after two years. This is especially great if you are a first time home buyer.

2. Invest in the Stock Market. Many are scared of the stock market because they don’t understand the trends and way things operate. There are multiple types of investments you can make, and very generally speaking, you can either go after a stock for the short term or the long term.

Now there are other options, ETF’s, Options, Bonds, CD, but personally I’m a fan of investing in particular companies. For those who plan to go after the short term trading ideal I highly suggest looking into the teachings of Tim Sykes. This guy turned $12,000 into over $4million and is still going strong.

His story is quite fascinating, he runs a couple penny stocking chatrooms, and really provides a ton of great training on day trading as long as some free YouTube video lessons. Check out his site for free and see what you think. I personally pay for Tim’s Alerts and I make back the cost of the membership in 1 or 2 good trades.

Investing long term is a bit different story. Not everyone can play the market at particular times of day (morning spikes, afternoon power hour) so that’s where long term investing comes in. For long term stock plays I hold true to the teachings of Warren Buffet and Benjamin Graham.

I know I mentioned before that millionaires have around 7 forms of income, if you want to achieve this goal, then you need to diversify your income now. Stop wasting money, start investing money.

3. The third option…and my personal favorite…is to buy something classic or antique that will only appreciate in value rather than depreciate. If you run out and buy a brand new car off the lot, usually you will end up in debt, and quickly become upside down on the car as it’s value immediately depreciates just because you drove it off the lot

The difference between buying mid-tier new vehicles and high tear used vehicles is extreme. I’ve personally purchased a number of classic vehicles, and all are now worth more than what I paid for them. The value of classics goes up every year as less and less of these remain in good driving condition.

If I ever NEEDED to sell these vehicles, my Return on Investment (ROI) would be substantial, in addition, I got to cruise around in a nice classic on the weekends for a few years. As long as you take care of your nice things you’ll see a positive impact on these types of purchases.

However, be careful not to sink your money into something with mechanical troubles, etc.

In addition to cars, classic or antique jewelry is also a quality investment. Granted, many things fluctuate with the price of gold which is extremely unpredictable. I personally would invest in a classic Rolex limited edition or something that will only become more rare and valued as time goes on.

My motto is essentially: “Only spend money on things that will make you money.”

Now this isn’t necessarily 100% true as I do like to have nice things, but definitely look for opportunities to turn investments into profits.

FACT: The number one goal of any business is to earn a profit. Treat your finances like a business, make your number 1 goal earning a profit.

I hope that I provided you with some quality ideas on what to do with your tax return this tax season. If you have any more clever ideas on where to invest your money please leave me a comment below! I’d love to hear your input.