To become awesome in your financial life, you have to take radical steps. No sitting around and waiting for luck to find you. We are going to explore how to make these radical changes and what is preventing people from reaching their goals.
Financial freedom is a popular topic, especially these days when debt is at its all-time high.
Sadly, a large majority of households today are deep in the bondage of debt, and can barely afford to pay for their current lifestyle.
How is one to improve their situation if their expenses are higher than their income?
Popular financial experts like Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman are great resources for those starting their path to improving their finances.
Although I don’t always agree with their ideas, they at least make that effort to improve financial literacy.
But have you heard of Radical Personal Finance? Joshua Sheats hosts a very popular podcast show called Radical Personal Finance.
His listeners are loyal, and followers are growing exponentially, and for a good reason. Here’s why…and what you need to know about achieving financial freedom through Radical Personal Finance.
Also here is some back and forth review about the show to see if it is for you.
Table of Contents
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Here is one of the podcasts for your enjoyment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kVbwWzq_d4
Financial Freedom Through Radical Personal Finance
When thinking of the phrase “Radical Personal Finance”, some might think of thrifty spenders or living on rice and beans, as Dave Ramsey says.
Others might think of simply taking finances to the extreme and making big changes to improve your financial future.
The truth is, Joshua Sheats teaches financial concepts by combining the above analogies and teaching the bold truth behind common questions found within personal finance.
The result is achieving a life of financial freedom where your finances are no longer a question in how you decide to live your life.
What Is Radical Personal Finance?
Rather than approaching finance in very basic beginner concepts and strategies, Joshua Sheats takes personal finance a step further and teaches not just the basics, but also the meat of finance as well.
After all, personal finance doesn’t end with creating a budget and sticking to it, it also includes daily choices we make and how we work to improve our finances on a daily basis.
Among the many popular financial concepts taught by Radical Personal Finance, here are 5 strategies in order of priority taught on the popular podcast.
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5 Personal finance tips to reach financial freedom
1. Increase your Income
Regardless of your financial scenario, increasing your income is always positive. Let’s face it, who wouldn’t be better off with some extra cash in their pocket?
By taking your unique talents and abilities, there are many ways one can increase their income whether that be through walking up the corporate ladder at work or advertising your unique talents outside of work for some extra cash.
Increasing your income will allow you to take the next financial steps with more confidence and ease.
2. Decrease Expenses
Although easier said than done, it’s almost guaranteed that we all have areas where we could save by avoiding unnecessary costs. Live below your means!!
By following some of Joshua Sheats useful advice and tools to shopping and budgeting for daily expenses, decreasing your expenses suddenly becomes a bit easier than you thought.
Imagine a financial scenario where you were able to bring in an extra few hundred bucks per week or month while lowering your expenses a few hundred bucks more.
Sound like a place you’d like to be? Things just get easier as you progress towards financial freedom. The many ways we found we could save money is listed in our epic post of over 8000 words on over 100 ways to save money that you wish you knew sooner.
3. Invest Wisely
Investing wisely does not mean you have to be an expert. It means investing within your means and keeping things simple.
Wise investing also means taking a long-term approach. Radical Personal Finance features many retirees on the podcast. It showcased people who “retired by accident” and credit their success to partially to investing wisely.
4. Avoid Catastrophe
Avoiding a catastrophe can be thought of in other words as planning for and expecting future events.
Among these are planning for the inevitable such as retirement, sickness, death, education, economic changes, etc.
With the proper financial planning strategies, avoiding an upcoming catastrophe will put you among the elite who thrive financially despite the current circumstances.
The best ways to do that is to insure yourself properly. Our post on personal finance pyramid touch base on how to make sure you build your foundation properly to avoid everything collapsing due to catastrophe.
To get started, you can get your disability insurance quote through our sponsor – set for life insurance.
5. Optimize Your Lifestyle
Following proven strategies that have taken millions of people from financial failure to financial freedom, will allow you to begin living a lifestyle you’ve always wanted.
The process of financial freedom is a tough one, but once achieved, you can live a lifestyle that others only dream of.
Benefits such as traveling, early retirement, and more luxurious living are only a few among many ways you will begin to have the ability to do as you work towards financial freedom.
Other benefits may include upgrading your current residence, purchasing recreational vehicles like an RV, ATV’s, boats, etc. are suddenly affordable after years of strict finance.
These are just a few of the popular teachings found within the Radical Personal Finance podcast.
Joshua teaches multiple stages to achieve financial freedom and answers questions to some of the most common financial struggles that even savvy financial minds currently face.
6 Benefits of achieving financial freedom through radical personal finance
Financial freedom isn’t just an idea that we all hope to achieve one day. It’s been achieved and is being achieved every day by those who are willing to follow a proven strategy.
These strategies often take living a radical life in order to be in a position to not worry anymore.
Among the nearly unlimited benefits that are suddenly accessible once financial freedom is achieved are:
1. More time to enjoy life doing what you love.
This could be spending time with family, friends, traveling or even just enjoying doing nothing!
2. Your overall stress is lowered
Your overall stress decreases because you figured out the majority of your former stresses were financially related in the first place.
3. Better decision making.
What does this mean? It means that your drive behind your daily decisions won’t be primarily made based on finances.
4. Better relationships
Your personal relationships with your friends, family, and spouse will dramatically improve.
Financial freedom is often achieved with the aid and support of those closest to you, thus when achieved, it will be a mutually exciting moment.
5. You have the ability to take larger and more rewarding risks in life.
Risks often mean there is larger opportunity involved. When finances are at stake, its difficult to choose a potentially good opportunity if the risk is too high. Achieving financial freedom removes this obstacle and allows you to reap the benefits behind healthy risk-taking.
6. You can Live like no one else
You ultimately have the freedom to live and/or work on your own rules and terms. In the words of Dave Ramsey, you can “…live like no one else” when you become financially free.
4 Common obstacles encountered when seeking financial freedom
There are perhaps just as many, if not more obstacles in the path of achieving financial freedom as there are rewards and benefits of actually achieving financial freedom.
If you’re smart, you will learn from the mistakes of others and make better decisions when presented with inevitable obstacles. Among them are:
1. Returning to old financial habits.
Many have gotten to the point of complete financial freedom, to think that they can literally do anything they want.
What they didn’t realize is that financial freedom doesn’t mean you’re wealthy enough to buy anything you want.
Part of the reason that people continue to grow wealthier, is because they continue applying the same principles, they followed that took them to their current financial status.
2. Start accruing debt again
After getting out of debt, usually, temptation comes in the form of credit card companies now giving you preapproved credits. Why? because your credit has now improved to the awesome level they wanted.
Once debt is paid off, it is easy to think that it’s ok to start spending and using credit cards while keeping a small balance on them. The problem with this is that balance will just continue to increase, and hopefully, you will have learned that by this point.
3. Go the bankruptcy route
A major mistake people take when seeking financial freedom is deciding whether to go bankrupt or not.
Bankruptcy isn’t just a way to start a new path because it’s the easiest way out (which it may be perceived like that, but certainly isn’t the easiest option you’ll soon find), it has its major consequences that will follow you for years to come.
There is a time and a place for bankruptcy and whipping your little credit card debt clean just so you can start again fresh isn’t one of them.
4. Thinking debt going to collections is ok
Allowing your credit cards to go to collections and have an agency negotiate their debt for you has its long-term consequences like bankruptcy.
Many often perceive this option as another quick way to get out of debt without going bankrupt, but they don’t perceive the aftermath and common fees associated with these services.
In most cases, by adjusting your budget and income, you can slowly dig your way back out of your debt and get back on top financially.
Financial Freedom Takes A “Radical” Approach
To be successful and take your finance to the next level, you cant just relax and hope for the best. You have to take a radical approach to be successful. Like the richest man in Babylon book said,
MEN OF ACTION ARE FAVORED BY THE GODDESS OF GOOD LUCK Share on XRadical Personal Finance discusses many of these common financial scenarios, tips, and tricks, and their strategies are proven to work. It certainly takes a “radical” approach to your finances if you really want to achieve financial freedom and live a life that others only dream of.
Joshua Sheats discusses multiple other popular financial strategies like the ones listed here that will drastically improve your finances in a short amount of time.
By following these tips and tricks mentioned here and staying financially literate, there is no doubt that financial freedom is just around the corner in the near future.
For more readings related to this that is worth your while, check out our leading post on why Dave Ramsey is outdated and old school. Check out our 12 toddler steps to financial freedom.
Please comment and let us know what you think of the podcast and our post.
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I am a pulmonary and critical care doctor by day and personal finance blogger/debt slaying ninja by night.
After paying off close to $300,000 in student loan debt in less than 6 months into my real job, I started on a mission to help others achieve the same. There is no magic to this than to strap up and get it done. Some of the ways we achieved this include side hustle, budgeting, great negotiation skills, and geographical arbitrage.
When I was growing up, common knowledge in Nigeria is that there is one thing you cannot trust anyone else with, and you guessed it – your money.
Being frugal came easily to me based on my background. However, the concept of building wealth did not solidify in my mind until when I finished medical school. I wish I knew what I know now when I was 14. Still, I don’t know enough and I am constantly learning to improve my knowledge.
My goal is to reduce financial illiteracy among young professionals. I am catering to the beginners – babies and toddlers in financial literacy.
wealthydocmd says
I have been listening to Joshua Sheats since he began this podcast. I admire how he has the courage to go out on his own and be authentic. Lot’s of great out-of-the-box ideas on his episoded.
Let’s get radical!
Xrayvsn says
For some reason I have never really gotten into podcasts. I am a visual person (go figure being a radiologist) and much rather read information so that it sticks in my head.
But yeah podcasts are certainly gaining popularity so I am probably in the minority now.
Bob at The Frugal Fellow says
I always like to say that increasing your income isn’t focused on enough in the PF world. I’m similar to Grant Sabatier. Ironically, I tend to favor increasing income over reducing expenses. Both are important, but so much personal finance advice centers around pinching pennies, but that can only do so much for you. Kind of gets at this post I wrote that blew up on Rockstar Finance:
https://www.thefrugalfellow.com/frugal-isnt-everything-heres-why/
Ashley Sugimoto says
Very thorough! Thanks for these tips <3
Rajesh Sharma says
Nice blog! Very thoroughly explained. Very well mentioned and very informative. I really enjoyed reading tyhis blog, it contains all the important aspects about personal finance. Also some of the great tips for financial freedom. Really enjoyed a lot reading this blog. Thank you so much for sharing. Keep Posting.