Updated: June 5, 2022
Financial freedom is a long journey, and sometimes it can feel as though you’re not making any progress at all towards achieving this goal.
It’s normal to feel uncertain about your future and be doubtful of your financial progress.
That’s why it helps to remind yourself once in a while, of how much you’ve actually accomplished in the past.
You may not be a millionaire, and you’re still running in the rat race, but that doesn’t mean you haven’t changed for the better.
1. You have a steady source of income.
Always be thankful that you have work because it means you’re not some lazy person doing nothing but daydream all day. Having a source of income means someone believes that you have value, and it’s worth paying for.
2. You have no debts or at least, it’s slowly getting paid.
Financial debts have a way of spinning your life out of control. So if you’re still standing, and can properly manage your debts, then you’re already way ahead of most people who are stuck with bad spending habits.
3. You have a savings account that’s steadily growing.
It took me almost three years to build my emergency fund, so don’t fret if yours is just a fraction of what you need. What’s more important is you have some money saved, and you are constantly adding to it.
4. You know the difference between needs and wants.
Surprisingly, I’ve met a lot of people who don’t know what necessary and unnecessary expenses are. I thought it was common sense, but apparently, it’s not. That’s why you should pat yourself on the back for at least, knowing the difference.
5. You stopped trying to impress other people with material stuff.
You’ve learned that the only people worth spending time with are those who value your character, and not those who judge you by the phone you’re using and the type of coffee you’re drinking.
6. You’ve stopped comparing yourself with others.
Keeping up with your peers is no longer an issue. You don’t feel envious when they buy new stuff, and you don’t feel insecure about it either. You know what you want, and believe that you can achieve them in your own time.
7. You have a hunger for learning.
Personal finance, investing, and entrepreneurship are rarely taught in school. But instead of complaining about it and becoming defeated by this fact, you realized the need to empower yourself and learn about them.
8. You are not ashamed to talk about money with other people.
You cannot speak about a topic that you don’t know, so having the confidence to talk about personal finance to your friends and loved ones means that you are educating yourself about money matters. Not a lot of people take the initiative, but you do.
9. You have committed financial mistakes in the past.
It requires a good level of self-awareness and financial education to recognize such money mistakes. To realize the bad decisions you’ve made in the past means you’re wiser about your finances today than you were yesterday.
10. You are not afraid to fail.
The best financial rewards always carry a good amount of risk. You have accepted the fact that you will sometimes fail, and that’s okay. Because financial freedom is not a sprint, but a marathon.
11. You have long-term goals that inspire you.
The worst thing you can do in life is to drift through it, and live your days without purpose. Having long-term goals that inspire you to work, save, and invest is almost always, a self-fulfilling prophecy.
12. You love reading inspirational quotes in social media.
Optimism helps a lot in maintaining financial discipline. When inspirational quotes have become your source of daily motivation, then it won’t be long until your positive mindset creates positive changes in your life.
And speaking of positivity, if you don’t have these 12 signs, then just be happy with simply having a few. But continue to move forward and in time, the rest will come.
Until eventually, you’ll go upward and beyond financial stability, and finally achieve the financial freedom that you deserve.
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Photo credits: lorenabuena, carbonnyc, goldberg
Oh thanks for this! I realized that I’m actually doing a good job 😀
Another enlightening great article Sir Fitz!
You are empowering your readers.
Stay blessed!
It’s true that being financially okay doesn’t necessarily translate to having material things to show off to people for.
Thanks for this blog post! It made me realize why people seem to think I’m so rich when I think otherwise. Though my bank account doesn’t have that many zeroes, I guess I really am rich, but in other ways! 😀
Wowww, I feel so excited about this information.I now feel stronger n I believe I can do better.thanks a lot.ure d best
I have hopes that I will be financially free in 7 -10 yrs or even earlier! Hahaha!
Thank you for #3! 3 years! I’m freaking out cos I couldn’t start investing again after learning I need to save up for emergency fund first. Been saving for my EF for 1.5 years now, worried because I haven’t set aside a relatively huge amount for my investments lately because of it. Now I know that’s okay!
Thank you so much!:)
10% of my savings goes to EF while the other 10% goes to Investments. I’m also trying to payoff most of my card debts (hopefully in a few months time) and try to minimize spending as much as I can. I’ve been doing that for 6 months now to achieve my goal of buying a house and realize all because of this site. What I lack is a financial mentor. hehe Thanks to you Sir Fitz!
what a relief! am not a lazybug after all. sir fitz thank you very much for all the practical financial thoughts you are sharing to us. mabuhay ka!
Thank you for sharing your financial wisdom im really glad to know na marami rin palang enthusiasts about financial literacy because in the world im living there are only handfuls most of them evade the topic thankyou again I wish you can continue your work for a very long time..btw my fav is no. 7★★★
nakakaiyak naman toh habang binabasa… hay buhay!!!
tagos sa puso:)
but, it really tell us the truth about money. parehas na parehas tayo sir @vince- every pay day im dividing my money 10% for my savings (thats thru pag ibig MODIFIED II) where the maturity date is 5 years and you can withdraw it and then 10% or more for my equity fund (COL Financial too).
Im 2 years now in investing and lagi ako umaatend ng mga free seminars para matuto ako lalo. sana may makilala ako dito na mahihingan ko ng tips in investing. pls email me @ yuan_rebirth@yahoo.com or you can text me at 09175083422
thank you sir fitz. your one of my idol
[…] May 18th 2015 – Give yourself some credit! Working hard on your financial goals may be daunting, so it’s important to not get lost in the weeds. Check out these 12 check points that let you know that you’re moving in the right direction. So pat yourself on the pack and put a smile on that face. https://fitzvillafuerte.com/12-signs-that-youre-doing-good-financially-even-if-you-dont-feel-you-are.… […]
I’m like the way you write. Simple & straightforward.
I am 5,6,7, 9 and 10. 12 seems to be easy, but i just am not a fan of inspirational quotes.
anyone knows where can i attend free seminars regarding this kind of topics? i really wanted to learn more about investing. thanks a lot in advance.
Thank you sir Fitz for this, checked all of them so I must be doing well financially.
I’m doing some research on what kind of investment portfolio I could go into nowadays.
Learned a lot from you, thank you!
Not yet there but im on my way
Failed on #3 & #10,but working for it
[…] 6. 12 Signs That You’re Doing Good Financially Even If You Don’t Feel You Are […]
Thanks for I may not all have the 12 signs but at least I am getting there. Thanks for the reminder, Fitz!
I am really enjoying the comments on this one, I can see there are some folks out there who “GET IT.” We are about to start a new month (June 2020) and hopefully the COVID-19 quarantine / lock-down will be coming to end. Those who put sound personal finance into practice a few years ago, likely came through this rough time with relative ease compared to what they could have endured.
Our family lives far below our means, preferring to allow the earning from our local Philippine business to compound and grow the business. One new business we started did exactly ONE deal and BANG, we faced the quarantine. Our three local business ventures are idle and earning nothing right now. That is OK, we lived just fine before we started those projects and they will be there when things in the Philippines normalize.
We still feel that we have been very blessed every single day of the quarantine. We had three sources of income, my wife’s academic writing, my retirement check and the income from writing option contracts in my US IRA accounts if any extra was needed. We were able to help out close relatives including one brother-in-law who did not receive his government paychecks during the crisis. It was good to be able to share our surplus with some other folks that we learned were hurting badly.
SO, YES, I agree with the twelve signs that you are doing well financially!!!
May I also encourage everyone:
DO NOT be the problem, BE part of the solution.