Critical Success Factor #1 on Achieving Financial Freedom: Control Your Expenses

There are two critical success factors to attain early retirement:

1. Control your expenses
2. No debt

 Today, I will like to talk more about factor #1.

The expenses I talk about here is your daily essential expenses. How to define essential expenses? Put it in a simple form, it includes spending on those items to keep you alive. You need a roof to rest but not a three storey banglo; you need basic clothes to keep you warm but not necessary a branded one; you need a transport to move you around but you do not need an BMW to do this task; you need foods to keep you out from starve but you do not need fancy foods.

First, live within your mean. Second, stretch your dollar to maximum to fulfill your essential needs as much as you can. By doing so, no matter how much you could save, invest it for your future. 

One important act is to record down all your earnings and spending in one place. Work out your budget and keep track your actual outcome against it. Study the difference and how to make your action plan better.

The bottom line, if you could keep your essential living expenses low, your requirement to attain financial freedom will also be lower which you have less pressure to achieving it. In my book, "FREEDOM", I share how I do my own budget, record and tracking. Feel free to let me know if you need any clarification.