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I Achieved Financial Freedom From Working 9 To 5: Here Are 5 Money Principles That Helped Me To Do So


Shao Chun may now be living his best life in financial freedom. Image credit: CNBC

Experience has shown that poor people think it's their right to hate on the rich. The truth however is that it's not every millionaire or billionaire out there who STOLE from society. Instead, many of us only took certain money principles seriously to get to where we are.

And that's also the case with Shao Chun whose remarkable story is shared here. It is a story every employee needs to stay stable, break even from the rat race at the bottom, and become truly financially free rather than getting disgruntled at the sight of everyone having it good.

Money principles are called ‘principles’ for a reason: It's because they work everywhere and every time once they are correctly applied. That's one lesson that's clear from Chun’s story. So, the first thing you must do to get there, is to throw any kind of excuses out the window and take the sole responsibility for your happiness.

After working at Google for 8 years, Chun was laid off in February - yes, February 2024. But, getting laid off wasn't an issue to him because he had already built a $2 million portfolio, a claim that was document-verified by CNBC journalists.

Then, he confidently told the journalists that, “you can actually achieve financial freedom while working 9 to 5”. But how? In response, Chun shares the money principles he lived by. Here below, we extract, outline, and share them in an easy-to-grasp language (and, tbh, they are worth every second you spend to check them out):

1. Be "Intentional" About Being Financially Free


If you must make a headway in any life endeavor, it always starts with the right mindset. Thus, it's no wonder Chun says his first step was to get “intentional” about what he wanted in life.

“Short story is to get rich,” says Chun. But, it's not enough to want to get rich. Instead, think about being “financially free” and all the perks that come with it - such as having all the time to pursue your beautiful dreams.

“Your objective is to be free… When you are financially free, you can then have that flexibility or that air space to actually do what you want,” Chun explained.

How can YOU begin to apply this principle? Simple: Start now to visualize where you want to be, why you want to be there, and start taking the required steps to be there. Yes, the right visualization naturally leads to the right action.

 2. To Save Time And Make Faster Progress, Acquire The Needed Knowledge 


Since Peter Drucker declared it over 5 decades ago, many successful people have agreed that the world economy will become increasingly knowledge-driven. So, it's no wonder Chun also gravitates to this reality that all unsuccessful people ignore.

“The current generation feels stuck like they need to dedicate themselves to one particular path,” Chun is quoted as saying. “The beautiful thing about our lives right now is that…while jobs no longer provide security, we have many [learning] resources that are available”.

The mother of poverty is ignorance. Even the Bible agrees that “my people perish for a lack of knowledge”. There are things you can't figure out easily unless you learn them well from the right sources. There are some that you may succeed in figuring out on your own, but it takes time and a lot of energy. And, time and energy are too costly economic commodities to be wasted by any wise person.
In all you do in life, seek a good conscience and financial freedom. Image credit: X

3. Work Hard And Smart With A Goal In Mind


You will get financially free, but you will work first. You don't just WORK, you also WALK at the same time. This is to say that you should see your 9-to-5 job as a means of WALKING to your financial destination.

“You must find ways to increase your active income,” says Chun. That's where the real deal starts. Without having income first, you'll ever have good intentions but feeling bad that you can never actualize them.

Chun recommends having one or two side hustles while you still work at your 9-to-5. But he warns against just taking up any endeavor at all as this has the chances of creating damaging burn-outs. And you know, such burn-outs eventually impinge on your mental and physical health and ultimately work against your wealth goals.

According to Chun, “the other way is to be over employed. So, you have people working multiple jobs, having side hustles or even working two remote jobs. That's one way, but the burnout is high”.

Therefore, Chun recommends having only side hustles that align with your passions, that complement your skill set. This way, although this of course involves hard work too, you're like catching fun in the midst of your work, while building a great future at the same time.

4. Be Financially Disciplined


To say this in a simpler way, you need to be careful how you spend money especially before you break even financially. Spending on anything that catches your fancy will keep you struggling financially for a long time.

So, you need to break that habit. “If you want freedom, you actually need to be disciplined,” Chun said. “It's actually a very popular concept that is advocated by the US Navy SEALS: ‘discipline equals freedom’”.

Hmmmm! This is one reason I advised you to kill any form of excuse-giving if you will ever get where you want to be financially: No matter the amount you earn, as long as there are things to buy, you can always be broke before the next paycheck - that is, UNTIL YOU GET FINANCIALLY DISCIPLINED.

If you must spend - and of course, you must -, ensure that you spend only on the things that take you closer to your goal, such as your health, vitality, and the acquisition of relevant knowledge.
Poor financial discipline keeps you and your family struggling financially. Image credit: Facebook

5. Respect The Time Value Of Money


Everything respects time, and this includes money. Someone earns the equivalence of $30 a month in a third world country brick-and-mortar setting while another earns $30 per hour working remotely...in the same country. 

No doubt, $30 is $30; isn't it? But then, the rate at which you earn $30 makes all the difference between someone who is struggling financially and someone else who is financially free.

So, always prioritize time. That means you should always trade more money for more time to create more wealth and feed your dreams. 

Yes, money is very important. Yet, life is not all about money. Therefore, always have at the back of your mind, the need to get more income with less time investment. How you actually do this is up to you.

“The last pillar of achieving financial freedom is to not trade time for money, and that's when you need to start investing,” said 38-year-old Chun. “Invest for the long term, not the short term”.

Talking about investing, Chun returns to the high importance of knowledge. Having a good knowledge of any investment you are undertaking is very important. As he says, “if you can't explain the investment to a 6-year-old, that investment might not be for you”. 

Think about that for a moment...

Again, this is a great reason why everyone needs to learn how to acquire important knowledge and skills much more easily.

As you might hear me say sometimes, “you can never be wealthy and stay wealthy until you learn to make any wealth at your disposal to give birth to more wealth. It's the greatest and yet the simplest secret of any self-made millionaire or billionaire you know”.

Indeed, the idea of informed investing is so paramount that I have dedicated my new WhatsApp platform to explaining investing in simple language that any elementary school leaver can understand. If you support the initiative, join the platform and share this article. Locate the share button below 👇. 

Remember that...

THE RICHER EVERYONE IS, THE HAPPIER EVERYONE IS.

Also, if you have any question about any point raised in this article, feel free to ask in the comment section as I'd be available to answer them. And, any member of the public can also contribute an answer. We're all here to grow together. Thank you.

_______
NOTE: This article you have read is based on an interview report by CNBC Make It.





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