More women are graduating from college, becoming the primary breadwinners in their home and reaching new levels of career success than ever before.  In fact, according to BMO Financial Group (Women of Wealth. Ettinger, H. and O’Connor, E. Family Wealth Advisors Council, 2012. http://familywealthadvisorscouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/pdf/FWAC_ WomenOfWealth_12pp.pdf)

“women are now the primary breadwinners in over 40% of U.S. households. This represents an almost four-fold increase from 196012. Women also own 30% of all private businesses in the United States, employing over 7.8 million Americans13, and control 51% ($14 trillion) of U.S. personal wealth. The wealth that women control is expected to grow to $22 trillion by 2020”.

So why is all this important in my own financial freedom story?

With economic power comes the power to make choices that are best for you and your family.  By understanding your own finances, you have choices.  Here are some situations where women held back because they didn’t have financial freedom.

  1. Staying in that unsatisfying job because you don’t have emergency savings
  2. Not leaving the wrong relationship because you could not afford to be on your own
  3. Choosing not to go back to school because it cost too much and you would not make more money after the degree is earned
  4. Starting your own business and taking the risk of creating something new

Creating Financial Freedom

Financial Freedom is not created overnight.  You must first identify why you want this freedom and make the dream big enough that you want to chase it morning, noon and night.  Understanding where you are today and where you ultimately want to be are the first steps.

Eliminating debt is a must in gaining this freedom, borrower is slave to the lender. Here are some articles on dumping debt.

Establish your goal. Why do you want Financial Freedom?  What will it allow you to do in life?  Make it dream worthy, then get practical.

  • How much do I need in savings to implement this goal?
  • How could this impact my retirement planning?
  • Could this impact other savings goals? Kids college?

Working Towards Your Goal

This is the slow part, this is where the work happens.  If you are working towards a specific number determine how much you have to save each month.  If you have career goals, map out with your mentor roles that will help ready you for that job.  This part is boring, long and can sometimes be lonely.  Create an accountability group, find a friend with a similar goal.  Create a vision board that you can look at everyday to reinforce your reason to achieve Financial Freedom.

Continue the conversations with money coach Kara Perez founder of Bravely.