Running this blog is a passion that’s second nature to me. If my resume is an indicator of what I value and what I’m passionate about, it would say that I’ve been a strong proponent of advocacy work. I’m grateful for all the leaders who are volunteering their time, energy and money working tirelessly turning their visions into realities. It’s no surprise then that once I created a Twitter account, I followed @MelindaGates and @LeanInOrg. I enjoy being part of this inspirational and uplifting community. As for myself, even though Ms. Financial Literacy blog is a small platform now, I feel like I’m spreading an important message here while sharing practical and valuable contents.
Recently, @MelindaGates and her supporters have been doing lots of work and running campaigns empowering more women and girls to become technology innovators. I absolutely believe in and support this cause. In the same spirit, in this post I am sharing why I believe empowering and supporting women to be financially independent is good for the world, too. Knowing what I know now about the freedom and sense of fulfillment that comes with being financially independent, I have this vision of my own–that our world would be a much better and sustainable place to live in when (1) we aren’t constantly worried about money and we can take care of ourselves and follow our hearts and passions while making a contribution in the world; (2) we are able to build meaningful relationships with those we truly love and care about and (3) we are thinking about our planet as we align our behaviors with our core values.
Recommended reading: Your Money or Your Life and Money, A Love Story
#1) Focusing on Personal Growth and Your Contributions in the World
As women across the globe join high ranking/high paying job sectors, we need the tools and skills to help us become financially secure and stay self-reliant. Having a high income is not the whole story to a woman’s financial independence (FI), but supporting a woman to have a FI mindset and live her life according to FI principles and values is a step closer.
The first step in the process is becoming aware of what lies ahead once FI is achieved, which is freedom and self-satisfaction. The process also requires us to reexamine our values and identify what makes us feel fulfilled. If staying in the “rat race” is not a priority, then we need to come up with an exit plan in order to pursue what truly matters to us. That is, view the high ranking/high paying job as a means to FI (having high income certainly helps speed up the process), but always keep in mind the end goal. Once one decides that FI is what’s desired, then there is a need to make conscious choices to live life a certain way and be okay with that (e.g., minimizing spending, minimizing waste, having a long-term view of money invested today). From my own experience, working toward financial independence takes discipline and hard work, however, I believe that all the hard work is absolutely worth it. True individual freedom cannot exist without financial security and freedom from all money woes.
Once FI is achieved, we can begin to lead a life without financial constraints, where we can take care of ourselves financially, be free from owing others and free to do as we choose. With FI, we can finally sleep well at night and take care of our health. And we can finally summon back the life and creative energy that our money worries once sucked away from us and begin putting this energy toward pursuing our passions and building our dreams. From hereon, when we choose to do something, it’s because we want to and not because we feel obligated to do so. And when we do something, all the big and small decisions we make will be in accordance with our values and our own terms. In other words, financial freedom allows us to focus on personal growth. We now have the time to work on improving our health, pursue hobbies and learning of our choice, and do meaningful work. Yes, knowing that we no longer owe anybody anything puts us more in control of our lives, and as a result, we feel empowered and become more confident. This sense of empowerment and confidence is not of the same kind that one would derive from having a high status and/or high paying job.
Moreover, when we choose to spend our time doing meaningful and impactful work (because we can), our families and communities benefit, too. When we’re doing work that we enjoy and take ownership of, our passions and dedications are likely to show through. Amazing results can come out of this kind of work benefiting society. It doesn’t matter whether the positive impact is big or small, the fact that we’ve a vision and are chasing our dreams is already a positive addition to our families and communities. Imagine the accumulative impacts we can have if there’re many of us pursuing our passions, even when each of our contributions are somewhat small!
#2) Making Meaningful Connections
Once FI is reached, we’re no longer exchanging our life energy for W2 income because we’ve debts to pay off or we’re living paycheck to paycheck. We can now give our time and focus on the people who matter most to us. Imagine a life where we have the power to not only take care of ourselves but also those we truly love and care about. How many times have we turned down family invitations because we didn’t have enough vacation days? Or we didn’t have the funds to purchase plane or train tickets? How many times had we missed our chance to spend quality time with our significant other/kids/nephews/nieces/parents because we had work obligations? How many times had we missed congratulating our loved ones because we were not emotionally there with them as our minds were preoccupied with health and/or work-related issues? And what about the times when we couldn’t commit to volunteering because we lacked time? Financial independence affords us the time to do all the above and so much more, physically and emotionally. And the result? Our loved ones are happier and we’re happier. Yes, our time is truly the best resource we give our family, friends and communities. We can make meaningful contributions to the lives of others when we give our time.
#3) Spreading Values and Saving Planet Earth
Women in high ranking/high paying jobs aren’t necessarily aware of the financial independence movement, the benefits associated with FI or how to achieve FI. Otherwise, we would have many doctors, lawyers and politicians who are financially independent. Many of those high income earners have not achieved FI because they’ve been busy funding an excessive lifestyle, characterized by excessive waste (i.e. deviations from their personal values and how they choose to spend their money). This is unfortunate as such professions and the like often come with high overheads, and those who hold those professions are expected to dress or entertain a certain way or drive certain types of “luxury” vehicles. In other words, some of our fellow women feel obligated living up to certain images as a way displaying their successes. Hence, in the future when we find ourselves seeking advice from high ranking/high paying professionals, I encourage all of us to do business with those who’ve demonstrated excellence in their respective field rather than by their appearances.
High income is only part of the equation to FI for many women. When spending is out of control, we have to depend on someone else (e.g., employers) to pay the bills, and we feel like we’re constantly within the rat race. This is unsustainable because no job is a guarantee. Moreover, over-consumption has a terrible impact upon Earth. Thus, it’s important to spread financial awareness and education among women as we strive toward earning higher incomes.
Those who have achieved financial independence have been living by a set of core values and disciplines that are worthy of study and spreading. The FI-ers are generally minimalistic people who care a lot about the footprints they’re leaving upon Earth. They don’t consume more than they need and typically have a very healthy and conscious relationship with their money. FI-ers consciously and regularly choose individual freedom and peace of mind over material things. They appreciate having the time and freedom to take care of themselves, do things on their own terms, be totally present with those they truly love and care about and adding values to the world, all the while, minimizing their footprints or having to depend upon others.
If more of us begin embrace the FI movement and set up our lives living like a true FI-er, we’d have the power to influence many others to consider the FI path. Our new set of values and our new ways of life would attract many curious minds. Over time, our minimalistic and sustainable lifestyles would save our planet Earth!
Concluding Remarks
As more women across the globe are securing high ranking/high paying jobs, let’s also support our gender with the tools and skills we need to become financially secure and stay self-reliant. This is important because a high paying job is not a predictor of financial health. The world benefits little when individuals produce high incomes, yet constantly feel stressed about paying bills and having outstanding balances (e.g., trying to maintain a certain high lifestyle and being wasteful), not having the power to take care of themselves and loved ones (e.g., working more hours just to pay the bills and feeling obligated to spend time with those we don’t like and/or trust) and not being able to add their value to the world through their passions. To build a world where our gender has the means to take control of our own lives, be self-reliant and participate in important matters of decision making (both in our families and in society at large), I truly believe doing work that supports women toward achieving financial independence is the key step. And all this begins with financial literacy for women and girls. We don’t need very high paying careers to achieve FI (although that certainly helps). Once women and girls around the world have the means to earn decent incomes, we need the tools and skills to embrace the FI movement so that we can truly work toward achieving FI and staying self-reliant.
Readers, I would love to hear your thoughts. Please share!