MY DECLARATION OF FINANCIAL FREEDOM

by Silver Guzman

“Retirement has nothing to do with age but everything to do with money”. The first time I heard this declaration was like lighting from heaven stroke my brain all the way to the bottom of my feet. Since I was fifteen years of age I had worked hard for money but never understood how to make money work for me, now I was twenty eight years of age and all I had was debt. Two biblical principles bothered me greatly; 1. The debtor is a slave to the creditor, “The borrower becomes the lenders slave” Proverbs 22:7 2. The promises of God available to me, “I know the plans that I have for thee, plans of goodness and not of evil, to give you a future full of hope” Jeremiah 29:11. One thing I was sure of, I was a slave and had not been able to tap to God’s promises yet. However, since that day I made an important decision, the decision to learn as much as I could about money so that I could be a great steward for God. This declaration would be a good start for anybody that would like to begin a commitment to believe God’s promises and become financially independent.

1. To use my home ownership to build wealth and a strong family

2. To save and invest up to 15 percent of my after-taxes income

3. To commit to a plan of retirement planning and investment

4. To engage in tax, credit, and a sound budget management practices

5. To measure my personal wealth by net worth, not income

6. To be proactive and knowledgeable about investing, consumer issues, and money management

7. To participate and provide access to programs that will educate my relatives about business and finance

8. To support the creation and growth of profitable, competitive Latino-owned enterprises and organizations

9. To use a portion of my wealth to strengthen my community and those institutions that promote political and social empowerment

10. To ensure that my wealth is passed on to future generations

Remember that applied knowledge is power. When we don’t know that we don’t know, it makes us think that we know. Ask yourself this question, would you like to spend the next ten years the same way you spent the last ten? Remember that God has called us to be the head and not the tail. It doesn’t matter in what situation you are in today what matters is what are you going to do about it.

See you at the top!