3 Financial Moves That Help Me Work From Anywhere, Anytime
They’re not all investments
Photo by Samson Katt on Pexels
Louise introduced me to online courses. We made one together. This course was my first taste of making money online.
Three years later, I’m now a full-time writer.
My current clients are based in the US and Australia, and I get to work from anywhere, anytime.
Earlier this year, I spent two months in Budapest, two months in Southeast Asia, and two weeks in Paris and NYC.
To do this, I made three deliberate financial moves.
These moves can help you, too:
Build digital assets
Automate investments
Spend consciously
Let’s break them down.
BUILD DIGITAL ASSETS
“Run the f*cking marathon. Keep it humble. Put out good content.”
— Gary Vee
Digital assets put money in your pocket without lifting a finger.
Last month, I received this payout:
Screenshot from my Semrush affiliate dashboard
It’s a result of my affiliate partnership with Semrush. I’ve been using their tools since 2018, and I regularly promote them in my articles and online courses.
My average monthly payout from affiliate partnerships is $200 — $300.
The same goes for my online courses. I published my first in November 2020, and they average $500 a month in passive income. All I have to do is:
Update my products once a year (about 20 hours of work)
Respond to student questions (< 1 hour a week)
Write on Medium (which isn’t really work)
These aren’t the only assets I’ve been building.
Content — I’ve written over 250 articles since September 2020. It’s a digital library that makes me money.
Email list — By adding CTAs at the end of articles, I’ve been able to grow my list to just under 1,000 subscribers. So it’s on the small side, but it creates opportunities.
Podcast — Although I’ve taken a break, I’ve published 150 episodes of Entrepreneurs Can Party. This has led to coaching and other paid opportunities.
None of this happens overnight.
I’ve been creating content — week in, week out — since September 2018. Nothing happened in year one. My first £1.86 came nearly two years later.
With time and practice, your content can become an asset.
AUTOMATE INVESTMENTS
“People’s lives are forever controlled by two emotions: fear and greed.” — Robert T. Kiyosaki
I’ve read countless finance books. Without fail, they all say you should pay yourself first.
What does this mean?
Think of it as a self-imposed tax. You deduct money from your earnings and pay your future self before anyone else — companies included.
First, decide how much you want to pay yourself. I recently bumped my savings rate up to ~60% of my monthly earnings.
Next, automatically transfer this money into your investments with a standing order. Where you invest is up to you.
I split my 60% into four categories:
Pension
Wedding Savings
UK LISA to buy my first property
Personal R&D
I set up my pension with Vanguard and put money into one of their Target Retirement funds. Ramit Sethi recommended it in a conversation with Tim Ferriss. Warren Buffett likes them too.
These guys know more about finance than me.
“I recommend the S&P 500 index fund and have for a long, long time to people.” — Warren Buffett
I pay into my pension straight from my business bank account. Doing so reduces my end-of-year tax bill. I recommend speaking to an accountant to get this set up, like I did.
My Personal R&D is for investing in courses, books, and learning materials. I like to think of it as an MBA.
If I want to buy a book, I buy it.
All these investments happen automatically.
SPEND CONSCIOUSLY
“Conscious spending isn’t about cutting your spending on everything […] It’s about choosing the things you love enough to spend extravagantly on — and then cutting costs mercilessly on the things you don’t love.”
— Ramit Sethi, Author of I Will Teach You To Be Rich
There are two things I splurge on:
My friends & family
My health (eating healthily, a fancy gym)
For clothing, I follow Mark Manson’s advice in Models. A few good shirts, two pairs of jeans, and a pair of nice boots can form 80% of your wardrobe (if you’re a guy).
Quality lasts and rarely goes out of style.
If something doesn’t improve my happiness, I’ll go for the cheapest option. Take tinned tomatoes. I can’t taste the difference between cheap and expensive ones.
Takeaways
Working from anywhere, anytime, isn’t about making loads of money.
It’s about making your money work harder.
Here’s a summary of the three financial moves that have helped me do this:
#1: Build Digital Assets — They won’t put money in your pocket straight away. They’re seeds you’ve got to plant and water. Once they’re ready, they’ll grow like bamboo.
#2: Automate Investments — Pay yourself first and take emotional decision-making away from your investments.
#3: Spend Consciously — Splurge on the stuff that’s important. Cut back on the things that don’t matter.
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