by: Augustine Wu



Study hard, get good grades and you will have a bright future! I am pretty sure many of you have been brainwashed by your teachers with this statement when you were students. And your perception of a bright future is most likely to become a lawyer, doctor, engineer, businessman. whatever that promises a high salary.

Your school helped you to achieve your goal. It equipped you with the necessary set of skills to thrive in your trade. But does your school train you how to manage your finances once your money starts rolling in. Does your school tell you that you will stop earning that kind of money once you stop working? Do your teachers give lectures on the importance of earning residual income and managing personal debts? Does your school teach you how to achieve financial freedom?

Your high salary profession enables you to live in big houses, drive fast cars, own countless country club memberships, go on yearly travels, buy the stuff you longed for But wait! Have the thought of you losing your job ever creeps into your mind?

The economic bubble burst. Businesses plummet. Your employment company cash flow statement goes into the red. The directors of the company want to cut cost. They decide to layoff employees who take home fat paychecks. You are one of them. Your world collapses when you were retrenched.

You suddenly realized that you could not maintain your lavish lifestyle anymore. Your posh house is on mortgage with the local bank. You took a loan for your fast cars. You havent clear your credit card debts. You dig into your savings to appease your creditors for the first few months. But pretty soon, your creditors came knocking on your house door every few days and flood your voice mail with reminders to pay your debts.

As important as it is to earn lots of money, managing your finances is paramount to you being able to achieve financial freedom. Once you obtain financial freedom, you would be able to escape the rat race, have more free time to do what you really love, go on vacation as long as you wish and live the lifestyle you wish!

Educate yourself to achieve financial freedom. Teach your children on the importance of managing their finances since their school most probably would not do so. There are no shortages of resources around for you to learn and teach. Money is a double edge sword. It could make or break you. But if you could master the skill of managing it, money would be on your side.

Embark on a journey to achieve financial freedom. Educate yourself. Be financially free.

About The Author Augustine is a electrical and computer engineering undergraduate who has learned the importance of achieving financial freedom and pinpoint a missing link in the education system for not teaching students this crucial survial skill.