Here is some news for you:

Society doesn’t want you to be financially literate.

Why would they?

If they keep us financially stupid, we will keep buying things we don’t need; oncredit we can’t afford to impress people we don’t even like.

The modern loan sharks of bankers, governments, and multinational corporations can line their pockets at the expense of the common people.

In short, you are set up to fail when it comes to your personal finances.

I could go on and on. But that’s not the point of this article.

I can safely assume that if you’re reading this article it’s because you’ve taken the hard steps to educate yourself, break out of society’s mould of what being ‘rich’ looks like and are trying to set yourself up financially for the future.

But with so much noise in the media and financial gurus, it can be hard to tell whether you are on the right track when it comes to your financial health.

But just like your physical health, there are key signs that you are in a better financial position than you might initially think.

Here are some signs to look out for…

Your emergencies become an inconvenience.

I got COVID-19 earlier this year.

I also had major expenses come through my life at the same time. Insurances, car repairs and house deposits.

When it rains financially, it tends to pour.

While a little overwhelming, these circumstances weren’t threatening to my livelihood.

Back in 2020, I had created a financial plan for myself and stuck to it. This included creating an emergency fund that would save my bacon in these situations.

Instead of becoming a piece of fried meat, my behind was safely cushioned on a financial cloud I had built for myself.

My main thought during this time was how annoying the timing of these expenses was rather than worrying about whether I would have to eat beans this week or have shelter over my head.

I could take a few weeks off work, focusing on getting better from COVID, watch Netflix and my bills would still be paid.

What would have constituted a financial emergency for me only a couple of years earlier is now just a minor inconvenience to vent about to my best friend.

When your emergencies are more annoying than threatening, that’s a clear sign you are financially responsible.

Your time preference changes.

When I was younger, I was terrible with my money.

I didn’t blow my money by going out and partying every week, but I bought stupid stuff to impress my friends.

I once had only $250 in my bank account and reasoned to myself that I could afford to spend $200 on five dress shirts.

I know what you’re thinking. I feel it myself. It is painful to think back to how impulsive I was with my money.

And quite frankly, how stupid I was.

I wanted everything yesterday. And if I didn’t get it, I would feel sad.

Ever since reading dozens of personal finance, blogs on Medium and watching Youtubers like Andrei Jikh and Graham Stephan, I have rewired my brain to have a longer-term view of money.

Instead of spending my hard-earned cash to gratify my immediate needs, I now invest my money to build a financial future.

I now have financial dreams that will take a decade or more to achieve, months to build, and require daily sacrifices.

I scrutinize any purchase I make with the question: how many hours of my life am I trading in for this purchase?

This might sound like I live a spartan life deprived of any amenities, but I would disagree. I regularly buy books, travel and get to have exciting experiences with people I love.

When you are starting to plan for your long-term financial future, you’ve moved past 60% of the people around you. Short-term thinking only gets you short-term results.

Your imagination of what wealth looks like changes.

Growing up, I would go green with envy at the guy or gal with the expensive time bracelet, fancy sports car and designer clothes.

Coming from immigrant parents who didn’t have much, I internalized the message that someone’s wealth is based on their possessions. And I used the same bar to judge my own level of wealth.

I would watch in marvel at everything ‘rich’ people owned and what it symbolized.

After some maturing, I quickly realized how stupid the conspicuous consumption game was. Someone will always have nicer clothes or drive a better car.

Nowadays, I judge someone’s wealth by how much time freedom they have. And I see big luxury purchases paraded on social media for what they are: debt and insecurity.

If you can decide to take a day off whenever you want and work in your underwear, you’re wealthy to me. An empty calendar that is only booked with meaningful activities is true wealth.

Real wealth creates time freedom.

The freedom I want is freedom from, rather than freedom to.

Freedom from obligations from doing things you don’t want rather than freedom to acquire a new car.

When you start to judge wealth in time and freedom rather than dumb possessions, you’re on the path to financial freedom.

You understand how money can be made.

Making internet money is more addictive than heroin.

When I made my first $1 from writing online, I was hooked.

I wanted more and more. I finally saw for myself the potential for making money online and I couldn’t get enough of it.

We are now living in a platform economy. You can monetize just about any skill, passion or hobby that you have. There is a market for literally anything. Just look at the success of Only Fans.

Now there is no guarantee that you’ll make money online but there is also no real limit to how much money you could make. By its very nature, any platform-based business inherently has scale economies and network effects built into it.

I’ve made money from my writing by publishing articles on Medium, I’ve attracted grants and sponsorship by creating a podcast, I’ve marketed my consulting skills by starting a freelance business via content marketing on LinkedIn, and I’ve leveraged my brand to get paid board positions.

Once you’ve got the taste, there is no going back.

All I needed was a laptop, wifi and a pulse. And oh yeah, a skillset I could sell.

When you start making wifi money, you’ve become financially free. There are no barriers to entry and no limit to how much money you can make. There is no boss who can fire you and no one to report to.

You realize money is not the most important thing.

If you were miserable before you had money, you will be miserable after you have money.

Money doesn’t change as much as it reveals the type of person you are.

If you’re naturally a generous person, money will amplify your generosity.

If you’re a spiteful person, money will be used for spite.

Money will only solve your money problems. It won’t fundamentally change your psychology or the chemical balance in your brain.

Money is still very important don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

But there’s no point having a million dollars in the bank if you’re miserable inside and have no purpose to live.

Relationships, connection with nature, and enjoying the work that you do are far more important than just having money.

When you realize that money is a tool to make your life easier, it stops controlling you.

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