Start here
How Do You Afford to Live the Life of Your Dreams?
I have been working on the answer to this question most of my adult life.
I have been chasing money for years as if it were the answer to all my problems. Money to pay for the mortgage, money for the car payments, vacations, college for the kids, etc., etc.
A constant grind. A daily hustle. A new gray hair each day.
And then, I started to read articles about people who were retiring in their 30's and 40's. These people were not living paycheck to paycheck – they did not rely on a full time job. They were doing what they loved and enjoying every day.
They were living the life of their dreams.
How do these people afford to stop working full time jobs? How do they afford to pay the mortgage and car payments? How do they afford to travel and enjoy hobbies?
The answer is surprisingly simple and is something that the wealthy have known for years – it's called passive income. Investments, real estate, and small businesses provide income passively and appreciate in value over time. Once your passive income exceeds your living expenses you have reached Financial Independence.
I know. Financial independence sounds like a buzz-word for the rich and lucky.
But it's actually something that average-income people have been doing for years – because they know the secret formula.
Sounds too good to be true, right?
Well, check this out...
I took a deep dive into the world of Financial Independence and the FIRE movement to break down exactly how they achieved this dream lifestyle. I've interviewed self-made millionaires. I've read hundreds of success stories. I've observed their habits, their rituals, and their advice.
While every story is unique – when I broke them down I found that they all shared two common grounds to becoming financially independent... earning & investing.
Every single self-made millionaire found ways to earn money followed by ways to invest that money. Over time, the money earned and invested outpaces expenses to reach financially independence.
The formula is simple: earning + investing + time. These variables will be different for every person – simply find what works for you!
The new American dream is no longer owning a home or a fancy car – it's owning your own time.
There are a million ways to earn and invest – and The Afford is a blog and newsletter dedicated to sharing all of them.
Are you Ready to Start your Financial Independence Journey?
- Subscribe to The Afford to get our FREE weekly newsletter – FI-Day (every Friday)
- Read our Complete Guide to Financial Independence
- Read stories on earning
- Read stories on investing
About me
Hi, my name is Christian. I'm an entrepreneur, investor, and blogger. I started learning about Financial Independence (and FIRE) in my late 30's. I was amazed by how people were quitting their jobs well before retirement age and living a life doing what they loved.
I never made over $75k a year in my life. However, I have always been somewhat of an entrepreneur and enjoyed creating things. I hustled offering various services and built online businesses to make extra cash.
I invested that extra cash into companies I loved such as Amazon, Apple, Tesla, Shopify, Netflix, and more.
After feeling like I had found a secret sauce to the good life – I wrote an Evernote for my children called "How to Afford the Life of Your Dreams". It was a simple how-to article that teaches the concept of financial independence with ideas on how to earn and invest money.
I shared the Evernote with a few close friends who encouraged me to share it with the world – so I started The Afford.
My goal is to help others achieve Financial Independence so they can afford the life they desire. The formula is simple: earn more money and invest it wisely. Time and patience will do the rest.
REALLY IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER
We are NOT certified financial advisors, accountants, tax advisors, or finance professionals. We are individual investors who share our personal journey. While we do share our investment ideas and strategy – the information we provide is NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE specific to YOU. Please do your own due diligence before you make any investments with your money. What works for us, many not be the best choice for you.
Some of the links found on this website may contain links to affiliates where we earn a commission if you make a purchase. There is no extra cost to you, nor do we share any information with our partners. You can also trust that we only share content and links to products or services we find of value.