Hello from Sycamore,

What is financial freedom? Financial freedom can mean many different things. To us, it means having the ability to live the lifestyle that you want while working and throughout retirement.

Depending on where you are in your life, the term Financial Freedom may seem overwhelming for many different reasons – you may feel bogged down with student loans, you may have credit card debt that is hard to dig out of, you may be saving for college expenses, you may be saving for your first-time home purchase, you may be saving for retirement, the list goes on. While different lifestyles require different financial resources to be financially free, there are few things we believe will help make financial freedom more attainable:

  1. Build up an emergency fund.
    a. This is a personal preference on the “right” number. Typically, between 3-6 months of living expenses is a good rule of thumb.
  2. Create a budget.
    a. Often, we don’t know where our money is going – creating a budget and tracking our expenses is a great way to find out where we may be overspending.
  3. Invest enough in your employer-sponsored retirement plan to get the full employer match.
    a. You should be doing this while building your emergency fund – the match is “free” money left on the table if you don’t invest enough to get the full benefit.
  4. Work toward paying off debts.
    a. Begin paying extra toward your highest interest loans first.
  5. Begin investing in a brokerage account, ROTH IRA, College 529 plan, or increasing contributions to your employer-sponsored retirement plan.
    a. It is a good rule to have this come out of your savings automatically each month to make it automatic and easy.
    b. Consult with a financial advisor on what the best investment vehicle is for you and your family.

Remember to set small achievable goals and reward yourself when those are met. The process of accumulating wealth and becoming financially free is not short or easy, but it is rewarding.

Everybody’s financial situation is different. These steps will not solve all financial problems and there is no fast and easy magic formula, but they are steps toward financial freedom.

As always, we would love to hear from you! Please reach out with any comments or concerns you may have.

Thank you for your business and trust,

Brent Yard
Sycamore Financial Group

***This article is distributed for general informational and educational purposes and is not intended to constitute legal, tax, accounting, or investment advice. The information, opinions, and views contained herein have not been tailored to the investment objectives of any one individual, are only current as of the date hereof, and may be subject to change. Any ideas or strategies discussed herein should not be undertaken by any individual without prior consultation with a financial professional to assess where the ideas or strategies that are discussed are suitable based on your own personal financial objectives, needs, and risk tolerance.***