How can i help others to gain financial Freedom?

Question

I have met and know people that are strugaling finacialy and they need help but i just don't know enough about debts and other financial stuff to help them out, as I would love to help as i dont want to see them stuggle to make ends meet.

So if you could help me I would greatly need advice on how to help them with there financail needs now and in the future?

Answer 1

In my view, you do not need a great deal of expertise to sort this out. You need commonsense, which is, sadly, far from being common.

Financial freedom is easy - earn more than you want to spend. The earn comes first, so stop borrowing money. Note, I said "want to spend" not "need to spend"

This is the clue of how to get out of the debt trap. Look in detail at everything you do spend, and mark those things that you can survive without. That means essentials. You might class something as essential when it is not - that is why people get into debt.

This is not a game. You have to physically write down everything you spend money on, including the things that you do not see, like deductions from wages, or bank charges.

Whenever I have done this for myself, or for a friend, the total of essential spend items NEVER exceeds the amount of income. To be blunt, the difference is greed, but as I am as guilty of this as everyone else, I do not see it as my job to simply say "stop spending"

Without knowing the specifics of your friends situation, I cannot give specific help, so perhaps an example may help.

What I often see in these situations are unused subscriptions. This is where people spend money they cannot afford on special deals, but never take advantage of the deal. E.g., a cell phone contract that offers thousands of free texts and minutes, but these are never used.

Companies often market PayAsYou go schemes to look expensive. They compare cost per minute, but this is not relevant. The only thing that matters is how much a month you spend.

You can usually find several items that you can stop or reduce. If this brings the total spend down low enough, then apply any surplus every month to reducing debt.

We then move into the area of thins that we want, but cannot afford on our current income. For this stuff, you need an income generating project. The purpose of that project is easy - earn enough money to finance the thing that you want but cannot afford.

Once you identify that, the process is easy. If you have such a project in mind, please ask it as a related question. The question can be along the lines of "How can I afford [exact description]?" The details box of the question must include the exact cost (lump sum or per month), together with personal details about why and when you want it.

As long as you promise to get the money before you spend it on what you want, you never get trapped in debt, and you can enjoy your financial freedom.

Comments

I thank  you for this answer as i agree with you on a lot of this people spend money because they have to and even I do this if i have money and I see something that I like but I don't really need I would still buy it. The reason why I feel this is a great answer is because that you have got straight to the point and answered the question well.