What do you mean by Free By 26?

Hey! Welcome to the first blog post of many. I am excited you are here because it means you are hungry… I am not referring to the “I want a pizza” hungry, but the hunger to learn a bit more about personal finance and how you can achieve financial freedom.

So you are wondering why ‘Free by 26.’ Where did that number come from? Well, I am 26 years old and I am on the path to achieve financial freedom before I turn 27. Personal finance is not something we are taught in school, but you must master your finances in order to be financially free.

To me financial freedom occurs when my passive income streams pay for my monthly expenses.

Does this mean I won’t work? NO. What this means is that I have the freedom to choose what I want to work on and with whom. I am in control of my life, of my time. That is my goal and I have been on this journey since I graduated college in December 2012.

I started with 0 in the bank, and actually had to borrow money from my dad so that I could pay the first month of rent when I move to Austin. Through my journey so far, I have learned a lot about controlling my expenses, increasing my income, connecting with mentors and having goals that will get me to the next level of my life. Now I want to share that with you. I don’t care how old you are. You can be in high school, you can be in your 20s, 30s or 40s. I believe it’s never too late to change your mindset and start investing in your future.

This path is not easy, and you will need patience because this is not a ‘get rich quick scheme.’ This is a path of  ‘work your butt off, and reap the rewards later.’

I am sad when I talk to some of my friends who are around 25 years old and they have over $30,000 in student loan debt. It is now normal to graduate college and have thousands of dollars in student debt. That has to change!

Then, here comes the kicker. Those friends get a new job and then they decide to buy a brand new car. Adding an extra $25,000 to their debt. They think they deserve it because of all the hard work that they did, but don’t think that decision will mean having a payment of around $500 for the next 5 years! And hey as soon as you drive that brand new car off the lot, the value of the car goes down 30%.

Why do I say this? It’s because I think that millennials have become part of the consumer society and value their lifestyle rather than valuing their freedom. It takes a mindset shift in order to begin valuing your freedom, rather than getting the new 70 inch TV just because your neighbor got one.

In this blog I will be sharing tips I have learned along the journey in the hopes that it makes you more aware about what you are doing with your life, your money, and your time. It will make you think about what you truly want deep in your heart, because trust me, there is more to life than going to work just so that you can pay for your credit cards at the end of the month.

So I hope that you stick around because this is just the beginning and hope you join me on this journey.

Grab life big!

Diego

P.S.: If this resonates with you, please let me know your thoughts and post on the comments below.

Also, What would you like me to write about? Any topic in particular?