What is Freedom? I mean, really think about it. What does it mean to be FREE? If you live in a free country you’ll still find nothing is free. We pay for everything from water (which is a basic necessity for us to live) to food, clothes, shelter ect.

With those things being not really free, imagine the other things that can drain our money. Typically, people believe they do not have enough money in general. The problem sometimes isn’t that we don’t have enough money, but rather, we spend it stupidly – Myself not excluded.

A year and a half ago I made a choice that I wanted to be debt free by the time I was 35. I discovered the internet and started learning EVERYTHING I could learn all while working a job that took 55-60 hours a week . I started working day and night trying to learn how to make money online.

Within a few months I started seeing results of my hard work paying off. Within a short year I was able to start helping others achieve their financial goals as well. It wasn’t an easy road but I made that CHOICE.

Choice is the keyword that I want everyone to keep in mind while reading this. I can preach to you and walk you through a ton of ways to make money but if you don’t make the choice to use them it won’t do you any good.

OK- let me get back on topic here. The choice I made a year and a half ago wasn’t to start making 7 million dollars a year. Rather, it was a choice to become DEBT FREE. To do that I was going to have to make an income outside of my regular job which meant the internet marketing/affiliate marketing – would be the way and I was going to have to work hard to do this.

This meant letting go of some of my FREEDOMS. It meant not buying coffee from Starbucks everyday or going out to eat 3 times a week. It meant no summer vacation for a couple of years and limited gifts for my wife and soon to be son. Christmas also took a back seat.

But I began planning and within 6 months I was able to tackle a major Credit card, Pay off my Wife’s Vehicle completely(which we still owed $13,000 on when I first started. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t easy. I had a lot to do. I forgot to mention earlier that my son was born in the meantime, which meant I had to become more productive with limited time.

So I came up with a system that I use to this very day. In fact, it’s very simple. But, hopefully this will be useful for other people as well.

1. Pay myself first. I pay myself 25% of everything I make. It can be used for spending purposes for anything my wife or I want. This includes gifts, dinner out, new clothes ect. When first starting this plan if you can’t afford 25%make it 15% or less if you must. The goal is to get it to where 25% of your money can be used for whatever you want.

2. Tithe. The next 10% I make gets tithed to church. I believe God has given me the abilities he has for a reason, so I render what is his to him. You may not believe the same things I do so you can use this 10% for whatever other purpose you’d like.

3. Pay the bills. Now the bills get paid. This includes the house, cars everything. Overtime get the things paid off that are constant money sucking things. Credit cards, cars, the house, loans. You’ll want to pay them off completely. You must build yourself to that point first. Pay things off one at a time and go from there. Once once thing is paid off, go to the next.

4. Invest the rest into your business being sure to save as much as possible. This will help you build your bank account and income.

The reason for percentages is because this way you never live above your means. Once you get your finances straightened out you’ll be in good shape which means less hours of working.

I didn’t quit my day job until I got to where I wanted to be in affiliate and internet marketing. That also meant a lot of BIG bills had to be paid off. The key was adjusting my income to live within my means. It was a small sacrifice to be where I am today.

In closing this post I’ll be 29 in a month. If I wouldn’t have made the choices I made not long ago I may still be drowning in debt. It was understanding that I/You don’t have to make Millions every year to end up being debt free.

This post isn’t to brag but to show you a realistic way to reach your OWN goals. If you are struggling with affiliate and internet marketing and need some help I highly suggest getting a copy of my e-book Affiliate Marketing Power Series. It will help set a realistic plan in place for you to quit your day job for good.

Tweet This Post