Ever dream of living stress-free without worrying about money? Imagine having plenty of cash, a healthy savings account, smooth investments, and debt-free. Who wouldn’t want that kind of life? And guess what? You don’t have to be super rich to achieve financial freedom—living without stressing over money.

What is Financial Freedom?

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In short, financial freedom is living without worrying about money. This happens when your income, savings, and investments are enough to cover daily needs, debt repayments, emergency funds, and retirement savings.

There are a lot of benefits to financial freedom. First, you won’t stress about rising living costs or struggling to pay debts. Second, you’re free to switch to a job you enjoy more. Third, if you or your family face an illness or emergency, you won’t have to worry about where the money will come from to cover hospital bills and other expenses.

That’s why aiming for financial freedom at a young age is crucial, especially when planning for retirement, which often requires significant money. Here are some tips on how to achieve financial freedom early on:

How to Achieve Financial Freedom at a Young Age

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1. Know Your Financial Situation

The first tip for reaching financial freedom while you’re young is to understand your financial situation early on. This is as simple as knowing your income, expenses, and monthly debts. From there, you can strategize for financial freedom in the future.

For example, if your current salary is Rp3,000,000, with Rp1,500,000 spent on food, transport, and rent, Rp300,000 on Honest credit card bills, and Rp500,000 on motorcycle installments, you know that you have Rp700,000 left for other purposes, like in the next step.

2. Set Your Financial Goals

Everyone has different financial goals. Some might feel financially free even if they’re still renting, while others won’t feel satisfied until they own a home. So, if you want financial freedom while young, ensure you know your true financial goals.

Knowing your financial goals helps you stay focused on managing your monthly finances. For example, if your goal is to live healthily without medical debt, then you could use the Rp700,000 leftover in the above example to pay for monthly insurance premiums and build an emergency fund.

3. Pay Off Debt On Time

If you don’t want money stress, paying off your debt on time is necessary. In any form, debt comes with interest, which only grows if you keep delaying payments.

Plus, if you’re using an Honest credit card, you can save even more by paying your bills in full and on time. Honest credit card offers a 100% admin fee refund if your bills are paid off promptly.

4. Control Your Spending

Besides paying off debt, if you want financial freedom at any age, you must manage your spending wisely. Self-rewarding is good and important, but make sure it’s under control.

Avoid impulse buying just because you want to treat yourself so your money can be used for more benefits. Regularly review your expenses to see where you can cut back and save. You can use the Honest credit card for this. All your purchases with this card are recorded in the Honest app, making it easier and faster to review your spending.

5. Develop Passive Income

To reach financial freedom faster, develop passive income sources. With passive income, you can keep earning even while you sleep or spend time with your family.

So, where does passive income come from? It can come from various sources like stock or bond investments, property investments such as renting out rooms or houses, or buying gold. You can reinvest the earnings from passive income or use them to cover daily expenses.

6. Stay Consistent and Disciplined

Want to achieve financial freedom while you’re young? Then, you need to be disciplined in doing all the above steps. Take advantage of bank products like savings plans and auto-debit features to ensure bills are paid on time, even if you forget. Also, use the Honest app to keep track of all your credit card spending and ensure your limit doesn’t get maxed out, leaving you stressed overpayments.

Everyone wants financial freedom, but only those who stay consistent and disciplined will achieve it. Consistency and discipline in anything are harder than starting it. Build your habits now for financial freedom in the future.