The basics of financial freedom: a beginner's guide for digital nomads
It's exciting to have the freedom to live anywhere, but it can be equally terrifying. You might not know where to start when it comes to managing your money, and you may be wondering if you'll ever be able to afford rent or buy a plane ticket again. Fortunately, there are some basic steps that can help you build a solid financial foundation for your new nomadic lifestyle.
Stop living paycheck to paycheck
The first step to financial freedom is to stop living paycheck to paycheck. It's easy to get stuck in a rut of spending all your money on bills and not having anything left over for savings, but it's also one of the easiest things you can do to get out of that situation.
Here are some tips for stopping this bad habit:
Track your spending - Keep track of everything you spend money on, including groceries and bills. You might be surprised at how much money goes toward unnecessary things (like snacks from Starbucks). This will help give you an idea where the bulk of your money goes each month so that when it comes time for budgeting later on in this guide, it'll be easier for us both!
Automate your savings
The easiest way to save money is by automating your savings. You can set up an automatic transfer from your checking account to your savings account, or have a fixed amount automatically deducted from each paycheck and deposited into your savings account.
Set up an automatic transfer to your savings account: This will take some time and effort in the beginning, but once it's set up and working smoothly, it will be one less thing for you to worry about and keep track of. Just make sure that any transfers don't happen more than once per month (unless there is some sort of special event or emergency). Otherwise, if they happen too often then it becomes difficult for banks and other financial institutions not only because there are more transactions occurring but also because those transactions may look suspicious because they're happening too often!
Set up an automatic payment plan: One easy way I've done this is by using my credit card company's website where they allow customers like me who have high credit limits access their system 24/7 even though most businesses aren't open all day long every single day year round 365 days per year without any breaks whatsoever! What does this mean? Well basically what happens next depends entirely upon which type(s) specific product(s)/service(s) offered by each individual company offering these types products services etcetera....
Negotiate your rent/mortgage
Negotiating your rent or mortgage is one of the best ways to save money. If you're not sure how to do it, don't worry--it's actually pretty simple. When you're leasing a place and negotiating with a landlord or real estate agent, there are some things that can help tip the scales in your favor:
Ask for a lower rate on your rent/mortgage payment
Ask for more perks (like free cable or WiFi) as part of the deal
Ask for longer leases if possible--this gives both parties time to see if everything works out before either has to make any big decisions about ending the lease early or extending it beyond its original term
Figure out your health insurance situation
When you're moving to a new country, it's important to figure out your health insurance situation. If you don't have any coverage, then this is the time to get it.
If you are moving somewhere where there are no visa requirements and therefore no need for health insurance (like Thailand), then check with your current provider to see if they cover the country and whether there's an additional cost involved in getting covered abroad.
Start budgeting
Budgeting is the key to financial freedom. It's not hard, but it does require some discipline and commitment. If you're looking for a quick way to get started, try creating a monthly budget template in Excel or Google Sheets (or even on paper). Then, start tracking all of your spending for one month--and use that information as a guide for future months when creating new budgets or making adjustments to existing ones.
If you want more detailed steps on how to create a basic budget that works for you, check out our post here!
Pay attention to where you spend money most often
The first step to financial freedom is knowing where you're spending money and how much of it.
This can be done by looking at your bank statements, credit card statements, receipts or budget. For the sake of this guide we'll focus on the latter two options because they are free and easy to use!
Don't waste money on unnecessary services, subscriptions, and items.
The first step in avoiding unnecessary expenses is to identify them. The easiest way to do this is by looking at your bank statements and seeing which payments are recurring and non-negotiable. For example, if you have a gym membership or a streaming service like Netflix, these aren't going anywhere anytime soon--so let's focus on the other things that might be draining your bank account:
Car insurance - If you don't use public transportation often enough for it to make sense financially (and if there's no public transportation available), look into getting rid of this expense altogether by selling or donating your car instead! You could also try carpooling with coworkers or friends who live nearby; just make sure everyone gets along well enough before committing yourselves together in such an arrangement!
Credit card debt - This one seems obvious but many people still fall prey to credit card offers every day without realizing how much money they're wasting on interest rates and annual fees until it's too late...which brings us right back around again: don't waste money on unnecessary services!
There are several steps you can take to make sure you build a solid financial foundation for your new lifestyle.
As you begin your journey to financial freedom, there are several steps you can take to make sure you build a solid financial foundation for your new lifestyle.
First and foremost, you should have an emergency fund of at least six months' worth of expenses saved up. This will give yourself some breathing room in case something unexpected happens or if something goes wrong with one of your businesses (like losing equipment). It also helps ensure that if something does go wrong--like getting sick or injured--you won't need to tap into other savings accounts like retirement funds or investments as quickly as possible, which could hurt their long-term value.
Second, create a budget that works for both short- and long-term goals: monthly bills plus savings goals such as buying property abroad or starting another business later on down the road when things stabilize financially enough here at home (or wherever else). Thirdly: negotiate down rent costs by searching around online beforehand; landlords often aren't aware how much they could charge so finding better deals isn't impossible! Fourthly: find out what health insurance options are available where we want our base location/household setup before moving abroad permanently; otherwise we could end up paying double premiums because coverage wasn't available overseas.
The most important thing to remember is that you are in charge of your own financial freedom. You don't need to wait for someone else to give it to you, and there are plenty of ways to get started right now. The best part about being a digital nomad is that it gives us all the time in the world to figure out what works best for our individual situations while still having access to all of these resources online at any time!
