Independent Wealth Mind-Shift

The envelopes sit in silent recrimination on my desk.  Bills, no doubt.  They aren’t open yet, as I stretch out the time before I have to face their contents.  I enjoy the sensation of having money in the bank, briefly, for the moment.  Then I reach for the letter opener.

My mastermind call this morning was on goals for 2009.  The biggest one I’d love to accomplish is to start bringing money in online, so I can free myself from the paycheck cycle.  I know that the main obstacle between me and that sought after ideal is that never-ending pile of envelopes.  I’ve worked out how much I’d need to take care of most of those for a couple of years.  That’s the benchmark I need to meet before I can make my bid for freedom.

Or is it?

Picturing Freedom

I pause for a moment and reflect.  What will be different when I no longer have the security blanket of a job?  Those envelopes will still come, but it will be up to me to raise the funds to cover them.  Is that any different from how it is now? Not really.  A lightbulb moment holds me still.

What if I forget, for the moment, about raising a pile of money to cover bills in advance before I take that step?  What if I test out how well I can raise those funds as they come in. If I can consistently cover them, then there’s no need for a stockpile.  It’s security in another form – false security, since even with a stockpile I can’t be sure I’ll know how to keep bringing that money coming in as and when it’s needed.

Small Steps First

I’ll start with one bill.  The smallest one.  My mobile phone.  That’s usually around $9 a month.  If I can start raising money when it arrives, and have enough to pay it before it’s due, then I know that bill isn’t going to stop me.  Then I can get more ambitious and look for the next one I can become self-sufficient on.  Taking one step at a time that way, weaning myself away from needing salary money, freedom suddenly doesn’t seem so far away.  Plus if I’m no longer using my salary for bills, I can build up that emergency stockpile fund more quickly…

What do you think?  Does it sound like a plan?
Do you have any ideas or comments on how I can raise $9 quickly next time that bill comes in?

Tagged as: bills, false security, financial independence, independent wealth, mind-shift, Security blanket, wealth mindset