{"id":3303,"date":"2017-07-26T06:00:28","date_gmt":"2017-07-26T10:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.investmentzen.com\/blog\/?p=3303"},"modified":"2022-04-22T00:37:49","modified_gmt":"2022-04-22T04:37:49","slug":"financial-goals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.investmentzen.com\/blog\/financial-goals","title":{"rendered":"Setting Financial Goals: The 4 Phases To Financial Independence"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I was in university, I just wanted to eat.\u00a0After graduation, my goal was to pay off the $60,000 I had accumulated in student loan and credit card debt. In those early phases, my relationship with money wasn’t interesting. Money was just a raw tool deployed to meet basic needs.<\/p>\n

I’m financially independent<\/a> and life is different now. As my net worth approaches $2,000,000, money has a different and better purpose. Instead of deploying my dollars for utilitarian purposes, I’m using them to directly influence my happiness.<\/p>\n

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s back up to\u00a0Phase 1 where I found myself deep in debt.<\/p>\n

Phase 1: Preparing for Adulthood\u00a0(on the launchpad)<\/b><\/h2>\n

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This is the phase\u00a0of our life when we’re financially standing still. Instead of building wealth, we’re arming ourselves with skills necessary to succeed as adults. This phase may end after secondary school or we may continue on to university or a trade school.<\/p>\n

At the end of this phase, most of us have debt<\/a>. Maybe it\u2019s from college loans or you made some questionable decisions in your youth. I did both.<\/p>\n

My family had no money, so I took out loans. I had a job, but it only paid $4.25 an hour. This didn’t stop me from ridiculous\u00a0purchases like a $200 stereo.\u00a0At the end of this phase I had $60,000 in debt; $50,000 in student loans and $10,000 in credit cards.<\/p>\n

I’m lucky that my rocket didn’t explode on the launchpad.<\/p>\n

Phase 1 Financial Goals<\/strong><\/h3>\n