Financial freedom is something I never knew was a thing until people started asking me how I gained it. It’s been ten years since I’ve been working-while-traveling running my own businesses, and fifteen years since I left my last office job.
I’m currently 36, I fully own a condo in Tulum, I make six figures per year, $15k of which is passive income, I officially now have a quarter-million dollars in savings, zero debt, hundreds of thousands of credit card points, and I travel on average to around 25 countries per year.
Spoiler alert: I do not live in the USA, nor do I have kids, which saves me a lot of money! But even if you do, I’m going to give you some basics for at least achieving a higher savings and passive income!
Important Note: I am obviously not a financial advisor, just a wanderlust adventurer trying to make enough to keep traveling for the rest of my life! Please only use this info as tips from personal experience, and consult an advisor before making big money decisions!
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STEP 1 to Get Financial Freedom: Set a Daily Budget & Save the Rest
My goal in life has always been to save as much money as possible while still being able to afford to do all the things I like doing. Unfortunately the thing I like doing the most, is traveling, which most would assume is super expensive, but I literally do not spend money on any other luxury.
Also, this has been my goal because my job and businesses are extremely UNSTABLE! I am a full time travel blogger/influencer/creator who relies heavily on social media for my income, and it’s absolutely terrifying! Which is why I have been acting like I need to save enough to retire by 40, even though I definitely don’t plan on retiring, I just want to have the peace of mind of financial freedom in case I had to.
Anyway, whether I’m traveling or just at home in Mexico (or now Italy with my fiance), I give myself a daily life budget of $100. That includes food, drinks, shopping, tours, and anything else that’s lifestyle or travel related.
I chose $100 per day, because that puts me at $30k per year for personal expenses.
Then I calculate in another $20k for business and life expenses, such as flights, hotels, business insurance, health/travel insurance, taxes, etc.etc.
So let’s say my income is around $130k per year, and I keep the above budgets — that’s around $80k I should be saving per year.
That being said, you should adjust your personal expenses budget according to your income, with the goal of saving ideally 60% of it. If that means cutting out Starbucks and high priced cocktails, so be it!
For more information, tips, and an active plan with step by step actions to to cut back on spending and set up a savings plan, here is my Wanderlust Workers Course 1 for FREE! I just ask you please share this post, and show some love to me on social media! (PASSWORD: freedom)
STEP 2: Put Your Money in High Yield Savings Accounts (and Business Accounts!)
IMPORTANT: The goal of this high amount of savings, is to put it in a high yield savings account, which will earn you passive income, while also keeping an investment and/or emergency fund.
I cannot believe I only learned about High Yield Interest Savings accounts a couple of years ago. Honestly I feel like an idiot for not maximizing on my savings sooner, and I seriously wonder why more people don’t talk about this!
In short: many banks offer as high as 5.5% (right now) interest on your savings! For my whole life i was using the Bank of America account my mom set up for me in like highschool, which gave me less than a dollar per month in interest.
Then I self-learned what a High Yield Interest account was, moved all of my savings into it, and was SHOCKED when I saw my first interest payment of nearly $400 at first! That was FREE MONEY! Just for saving money in a certain account!!
Now I know moving your savings around sounds scary and sketch, and I felt the same way. So although all of these money advisor websites suggested banks with higher yields, since I hadn’t heard of them, I ended up going with American Express Savings to start. Right now their yield is 4.25% APY, and I’ve been getting that for close to two years now.
But as my savings grew, and the interest payments grew, I became more and more interested with how to get even more.
So now I monitor sites like Forbes and NerdWallet, because they post every month which banks have the highest APY. Right now something called IVY Bank is one with 5.30%, so I’m considering moving some savings into there.
Here’s my tips for switching to a High Yield Savings Account with high APY:
- Check reliable resources like Forbes, or even better, consult with a financial advisor
- Make sure they are “FDIC Insured”
- Make sure the account allows withdrawals at any time, and doesn’t charge a fee or penalty
- That being said, pay attention to monthly fees! Most banks are free, but I just tried using BlueVine and it ended up giving me a $95/month fee!
- Check reviews for that bank!
Again, I am NOT a financial advisor! So you are completely liable for doing correct research, and making sure the bank you choose is legitimate! Reminder that that’s why I first started out with American Express, because I already know about them, and once I saw the results, I was ready to venture to new ones.
Below are what FORBES ADVISOR recommends for August 2024
INTERNATIONAL High Yield Savings Accounts for Foreigners
For those of you who aren’t U.S. citizens, and also U.S. citizens interested in international banks, I found a post that lists a few countries with pretty good offers.
See the full article: 5 International High Yield Savings Accounts
5 International High Yield Savings Accounts:
- GEORGIA: TBC and Bank of Georgia (up to 10% on 1 year terms)
- ARMENIA: Evocabank (10.5% local currency or 5% USD)
- CAMBODIA: ABA Bank (5.75% in local currency or 4.25% USD)
- MONGOLIA: Khan Bank and Golomt Bank (up to 12.4%)
- ECUADOR: JEP Ecuador (7% in USD for 1 year)
Step 2.5: High Yield Business Business Accounts with High APY’s
This section is for any business owners that aren’t maximizing on funds that might be sitting in an account waiting to be spent.
So one of my businesses is hosting group trips, and what started out as a courtesy feature to offer monthly payment plans, turned into a lot of money sitting in the booking platform I use, for up to a year sometimes!
One day when I was obsessively looking for higher APY banks than Amex, I wondered, “I wonder if they have this for business accounts?” And low and behold, THEY DO! So you can also earn money off of your business’ money!!
The easiest one for me to get an account with, was BlueVine, and it had one of the higher APY’s at 4%, but only IF you go for the premium account, which requires a minimum balance of $100k, plus you either have to spend $5k/month with your debit card, or pay a $95/month fee. If you don’t opt for those options, they only give you 2% and no monthly fee. Their fee to send money to partners/vendors/etc is also pretty affordable.
But THEN! I found a better option anyway! Wise now offers 4.95% APY on personal savings AND business accounts, without monthly fees, and around a $6 fee to send money to US clients…however the fee gets heftier for international.
So yeah! With just APY intererst payments on my existing money (personal and business), I’m up to around $1200 per month, which is amazing! And that’s still at the lower end, I am about to move money to the higher APY accounts as well.
***Definitely do your research to find the banks best fit for you and your money, and again remember, I am NOT a professional financial advisor! I just happened to figure out all of this in my attempt to have a safety net if this blog and my social media ever fails me!
Below is Forbe’s August picks for High Yield Business Savings Accounts:
STEP 3: Consider Other Types of Investments (Stocks, Bonds, CDs, Real Estate, etc)
Coming soon! Subscribe above for updates!
STEP 4: Ways to Earn MORE – Side Hustles
STEP 5: How Traveling/Living Abroad Can SAVE You Money, Plus How to Get Free Travel with Points
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