Many people confuse financial freedom with financial independence or simply being very wealthy. At Trading College, we define financial freedom as having the freedom to choose how and when you work, and having the confidence that you can pay your way in life without depending on anyone else to give you a salary.
Many traders are financially free without being exceptionally wealthy. All they’ve done is work out how much money they need to live on each month, and then developed their trading skills and strategies to ensure they are making that amount, on average, each month. Goals can be achieved if you set them at reasonable levels and give yourself time to get there.
Trading is simpler than starting your own business. There are no products to develop or sell, you don’t have huge overheads and you are not obliged to be in a certain place at a certain time. When you are a trader, all you need is an initial investment to get the right technology and education, and then a good attitude and work ethic while you learn your skills.

The number one advantage of financial freedom is that you are in charge of your own time. You can go on holiday when you want. You never have to miss your child’s birthday or an important social event. You can schedule the times you work to fit around your life instead of fitting your life around your obligated working hours. To many people this is the number one benefit of financial freedom. They value time with their family and loved ones over anything else, and becoming financially free is the only way to guarantee that.

Anyone who has ever suffered through rush hour on the trains or roads knows how stressful commuting is. To start and end your day standing in a packed train or crawling along in solid traffic is no good for anyone’s health. When you are financially free and able to work at home, picking your own working hours, your health will improve dramatically just from the reduction in stress and pollution.

There are few situations more stressful in life than being forced to interact, every day, with a toxic colleague or boss. Getting stuck in a situation where you can’t escape working with someone who drains your energy, and even sabotages your work, is extremely toxic and bad for your mental health. When you are financially free you don’t have to spend time with anyone who treats you badly.

When you work for someone, they are in charge of how much you earn. Even if you are on commission, someone else is setting that rate. You can put in 100% of yourself, but you will only ever get a proportion of that back. When you are financially free, you get out 100% of what you put in; no one else owns the results of your hard work.

Following on from the point above, when you are financially free you have the freedom to maximise your potential. Most people don’t get anywhere close to achieving their full potential in their working lives. Why? Because they are working for someone else, so what’s their incentive when they know their efforts only go into making their employer’s company more successful? When you decide to become financially free, you have an incentive to push yourself to your limits and beyond because you know it’s your life, your business, that will directly benefit.