Financial freedom can be a controversial topic depending on the lens one is using. For some, it’s the ability to have enough savings to afford the kind of life they desire, while others may define it as having the capacity to take financial decisions without being overly stressed about the impact. According to businessman Matthias Kafel, financial freedom is about being in control of your finances. It’s the person’s ability to be able to afford and pay for what they need and within their means, he says “It can be achieved by paying debts, spending less on unnecessary things, saving money, and setting aside money for bad days. This is a quick jot. I think financial freedom is also an individual goal.” Pacifique H. Ubukombe, an entrepreneur, believes that when one has financial freedom, money is never a problem but also time to do what one wants never becomes a concern at all. For him, someone who has attained financial freedom has reached a level where they deploy both capital and labour to deliver products or services, which results in accumulation of more money that can again be deployed as more capital. “Financial freedom is real wealth, but you might ask yourself how one attains this. Well, having financial freedom genuinely means you have a business that is thriving enough and can extremely perform well in terms of revenues and profitability while at the same time satisfying the clients without your physical involvement and contribution. How does this happen? As mentioned earlier, capital and labour are deployed to deliver results,” Ubukombe says He notes that some people jokingly say that you know when you are rich when you make money while you are asleep. “Great insight, let me put it in the same perspective; financial freedom is when you are making money while you are asleep. Most people confuse financial freedom and financial independence. Actually, they are not the same. Financial independence is when you presumably have enough money according to the middle class but barely have time to enjoy the sweetness of it and to make many major moves, you need to seek approval,” he says. “It literally means that someone has control of most of your moves. You can conspicuously afford the vacation but some people have to let you go for that vacation and it is seasonal. You’re just a highly paid individual on a monthly basis and can afford most of the luxury life setups but you need to work to earn such an amount of money. Anyone who is employed might have financial independence but not financial freedom,” he adds.
