Step 9 Review and Reflection
- Financial independence is having sufficient income, from a source other than paid employment, to meet your needs for the rest of your life. Anyone from any walk of life can achieve financial independence. (See the FI web site to find real-life examples).
- Did you consider financial independence a possibility when you started the program? Do you feel any differently about that as a goal now?
- In terms of the financial integrity program, the foundation of financial independence is investing your capital in secure, long-term investments. Financial independence can happen when that stable investment income is at a level that will meet your projected expenses for the foreseeable future. How is this different from the messages you hear about “retirement”?
- Disintermediation (“cutting out the middle man”) means taking responsibility for purchasing and managing your own investments. How do you feel about the idea of being responsible for your own investment decisions?
- What do you think will be the hardest part of this program for you to maintain? How might you meet that challenge?