You can actually afford your dream lifestyle if you find ways to earn more

There’s absolutely no sin in owning a dream home facing the beach — really!

If you can keep your lifestyle expenses (rent/mortgage, love-life, and beyond) to about 50% of your income, and you save/invest the other 50%. This budgeting plan is perfect except that it looks almost impossible in the world we live in today.

Wouldn’t you rather be this person?
The basic reality with most people is that they actually over spend; which is basically spending beyond what they earn – meaning borrowing to cover the extra expenses. Mostly, no one wishes to live in debt, but flashy advertisements and product discounts makes spending within one’s means almost impossible.

However, there is an urgent need to find a striking balance between earning and spending. To spend more you will have to earn more and the more you can save each month to invest the faster you can become financially independent.

Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people that they don’t like

Will rogers
There are some things you need to put in place to attain the desired result of finance freedom;

Try as much as possible to save and invest 20% of what you currently earn into a passive income generating business. Keep in mind that the best way to save is to remove the savings first, before spending. Doing it the other way around is a common mistake many make.

Regularly keep some amount of money in an emergency savings account so you don’t withdraw from your saving/investment, except in cases of emergency.

Constantly resist the urge to buy things you don’t need or buy things just to impress or show-off.

Have ways of earning more income maybe as a second job or side hustle. There are many skills people will pay money for. Think about things you can do that others cannot, and start making a plan to monetize them e.g Financial advice, creative/business/speech writing etc. You can also learn skills with the intention to earn freelance cash from said skills. Examples would be digital marketing, coding, designing, and a host of others.

Financial peace is not the acquisition of stuff. It is learning to live on less than you make, so you can give money back and have money to invest. You can’t win until you do this.

dave ramsey