如何实现财务自由at Last

我们梦想着它，为此而努力，有时我们甚至为此计划 - 但是，普通工作的普通人可以实现真正的财务独立性吗？答案是一个响亮的“是的，”我可以证明这一点。

大多数人会实现财务独立吗？遗憾的是不是。1978年政府启动401（k）计划时，退休资金的整个概念发生了变化。在此之前，大多数人都有公司赞助的养老金。bob全站app一旦401（k）计划变得司空见惯，雇主几乎完全制定了养老金计划。

This move, however, presented a new problem: workers were never educated in personal finance and were suddenly left to themselves to figure it out. Understandably, this left a lot of people confused about how to set up and contribute to their 401(k).

How much does the average American have saved for retirement?

Here are some alarming2018 retirement savings statistics from Northwestern Mutual：

• 21％的保存或投资为零
• 31％的人不到$ 5,000
• 40% have less than $25,000

平均工人离开退休，在401（k）中仅获得最后几年的赔偿金三倍，但专家说您需要该金额的6至12倍。

What does this tell us? Most Americans need help achieving financial freedom in the short- and long-term. So, I’ve sourced two industry experts who’ve spent years researching and defining the right steps to take and are willing to point you in the right direction.

请记住，这种类型的财务独立性承担了一定程度的个人责任，self-discipline。但是首先，您需要一个计划。

如何实现财务自由

Begin by understanding your personal net worth. Your personal net worth is a combination of:

1. What you earn
2. The assets you own
3. The liabilities you owe

Assets include what you own, like a house, investments, or cash in the bank. Liabilities are what you owe -- think rent, mortgage, credit card debt, or student loans.

Create a personal net worth statement in a Google Doc or spreadsheet -- and start tracking. Or use a handy net worth calculator like this one from保险公司。

我喜欢将人们指向计划中重要的两个基本因素：赚取的比例。

• Burn rate:How much money does it cost for you to live your life annually?
• Earn rate:您从投资（即产生收入的资产）中收到了多少钱 - 不包括工作中的收入。

The great news is when earn exceeds burn you’ve achieved financial freedom.

The next step is to increase your assets and decrease your liabilities. But which comes first? Everyone is different -- and I don’t want to give specific advice -- but once you know what you owe and what you own, you can decide which is more important to focus on first. For many of us, accrued student debt from attending university is one of our biggest liabilities.

How one couple paid off $93K in 30 months

我的同伴HubSpotterLauren Hintz决定首先从事责任，并以这样的方式讲述她的故事：

“My husband and I are a 20-something couple of Midwest transplants living in Boston. We married at age 25 and moved to Sydney for my job at HubSpot. What we didn’t realize about this move was just how much it would teach us about personal finance.

We spent the next two and half years attacking our student loan debt. We craved the financial freedom of planning for our future together and actually getting to keep our paychecks.

当我们返回波士顿时，研究生院的学生贷款利息刚刚开始。我们已经结婚不到一年了，仍在弄清楚如何合并我们的财务，交流有关花钱的习惯，并共同努力以金钱赢得胜利。

We also got serious about paying off our debt. We did some quick math:

$93,000 loan x 5% interest rate/365 days

We realized we were paying more than $10 a day in interest. That was a wake-up call. During our first year of focusing on our finances, we paid more than $10,000 in interest on our student loans.

在那段时间里，我们预算了，出售东西，讨价还价，租了我们的客人卧室以现金，只是不再买了这么多垃圾。

After 30 months of hard work, self-discipline, and delayed gratification, we crushed those $93K in student loans. Along the way, we learned a ton about personal finance and marriage.

自从我们完成偿还债务以来已经有几个月了，而且我仍然对个人理财进行挑剔。我在wirdmoneylife.comand share tips on Instagram at@weirdmoneylife。”

财务独立的六个步骤

艾伦·麦克米兰（Alan J. McMillan）, a professor at Ohio University and founder ofLearnearnretire, has defined six steps for increasing your assets on your way to financial independence. Here they are:

与所有财务计划一样，最好从职业生涯开始并避免债务。之后，按照这六个步骤在职业生涯结束时建立公司财务。

步骤1：设置最初的401（k）供款（收入百分比）

当您加入新组织时，您可以选择加入他们的401（k）或403（b）（对于非营利组织或公共教学组织）计划。一些公司会自动以默认贡献百分比选择您。以预定的贡献百分比来指挥这一刻。

如果您的雇主不提供401（k）或IRA（个人退休计划），请与外部投资顾问联系，创建退休帐户，并使您的银行每月将自动存款纳入该帐户。

如果您通过公司与401（k）合作，那么关键是在可用的情况下利用雇主比赛。bob全站app典型的金额是您投资的前6％的100％。

That means for every dollar you contribute to your 401(k), the employer matches you. Some deviate from this and will match, say, 50% of your first 6%. Your priority should be to get to the top of the match.

My suggestion is to begin with a 6% contribution. Be aggressive in what you allocate and learn to live with long-term funding at this level. You’ll see why in a moment.

Step 2: Set Your Goal 401(k) Contribution

When I first began studying this space, I turned to the top personal financial minds in the nation, and most of them agree you should allocate 12-15% of your salary for your 401(k).

如果您刚刚开始职业生涯，您可能无法做出太多贡献，而是打算在达到这一里程碑之前每年增加一个百分点的贡献。我建议这样做不指望您的雇主比赛（如果您得到的话），然后将其放在蛋糕上。这就是原因。

Step 3: Hold Your Lifestyle Flat for The First Number of Years

As you receive raises in your career -- especially early on -- consider taking those modest raises (say, 2-3% per year) and pushing them entirely to your 401(k). You’ll find yourself at your goal percentage faster than anticipated. Once you’ve reached your goal, allocate 15% of all future raises toward long-term financial security and savings.

Step 4: Take the Pledge

You stand in front of the mirror, raise your right hand and pledge to yourself, “I will never divert long term assets (your 401(k) or retirement savings) to near term expenses (like buying a car or paying off credit cards).

许多人离开雇主时，可以浸入并花费401（k）资金。问题的问题是政府将受到严重的惩罚，您将在长期内后悔。

为了解决这个问题，请保证自己永远不要将长期资产（401（k）捐款或退休储蓄）转移到近期费用（例如购买汽车或支付信用卡）。

Step 5: Build an Emergency Fund

Start this habit when you set up your initial 401(k) contribution -- or as soon as you read this. To do this, allocate a percentage of your paycheck and have it sent automatically to an emergency savings account at the start of each month.

Your benchmark should be to have at least three to six months of expenses (not compensation) in this account. That way, if your transmission goes out, you have an unexpected healthcare expense, or you lose your job, you have a financial cushion to fall back on.

哦，去度假或购买假期礼物不是紧急情况。

Step 6: Navigate to a Debt-Free Life

我们生活在由债务资助的高消费世界中。避开它。通过使用现金支付汽车或衣服等可折旧费用来保护您的长期目标，并保护您的长期目标。不惜一切代价避免债务，您将在20年内感谢自己。

那么，为什么要遵循这6个步骤？

Try this free calculator atwww.learnearnretire.com。它允许您运行多个场景where you might end up financially over time. Remember, there are no guarantees and future financial performance may vary, but this calculator is based on industry research -- and if you disagree with the assumptions you can change them.

财务自由并不容易。您的朋友可能住在更豪华的公寓里，并开车更好的汽车。但是，如果您尽早养成正确的习惯，避免债务并在自己的手段范围内生活，那么财务独立性可能会在您将来的门口处于您的未来。

What would you do with financial freedom?成为一名企业家？Start a business？无论您选择什么，都要负责任地做好计划。