Financial freedom is a term we hear repeatedly. So often, in fact, it’s almost lost its meaning. While everyone’s idea of freedom is unique, they all have one thing in common: the time, space and funding to pursue what brings them joy. So, what does freedom mean to you? 

In life, we must look back to move forward—it's no different in financial planning. Financial planning is deeply personal. It’s rooted in your first experiences with money and, whether you realize it, those experiences have likely shaped your entire financial mindset. Growing up, I watched my mother struggle with money, going through life just trying to make ends meet rather than planning for the future. So, for me, my financial mindset was rooted in trauma and scarcity. 

Identifying and understanding those first money memories is the key to unlocking our own personal money fingerprints. While they don’t fully define us, they do shape us, how we interact with money, and how intentional we are about pursuing our personal vision of freedom. 

Think of your financial plan as the defined path to your idea of freedom. Throughout this journey, our goals are mile markers and serve as a way to measure our progress towards our ultimate aspiration—financial freedom. While the path to finding that vision of freedom may take time and evolve throughout the years, there are concrete steps you can take today to create a blueprint for your financial plan: 

• Take the time to reflect on what freedom means to you. Is it the ability to travel or being able to leave a legacy for your children? One reflection to help you get started is to finish the statement, “If I wasn’t so afraid, I would ...”

• Consider your current financial situation. What is the biggest obstacle to reaching financial freedom? What can you do about that obstacle right now to get closer to financial freedom? Answering that question with “nothing” or I don’t know isn’t acceptable—challenge yourself to move forward. 

• Identify and prioritize your short- and long-term goals to ensure you’re able to live in the moment while also saving for the future. This should be an ongoing process because life happens and there might be new goals that pop up along the way. 

• Find a trusted advisor who truly understands who you are and what your ultimate life aspirations are. With that foundation, your financial advisor can partner with you to create a financial plan that puts you on the path to reach financial freedom. 

I’m not saying your financial plan will simply fall into place once you define what your vision of freedom means or begin to take a few steps towards a goal. Finances are complicated and with that will come challenges. But the greatest mistake would be assuming you can’t make a financial plan or set goals. 

Remember that while financial planning is extremely personal, you are not expected to do this alone. That’s part of what prevented my parents from planning their futures. Their lack of trust in the industry and confusion about how to get started were the ultimate barriers—not the amount of money we had.  

In the end, regardless of who does the planning, those decisions will define whether you reach your personal vision of freedom. And contrary to popular belief, a real financial plan is about much more than just investing. Taking ownership of your financial life by understanding your goals and aspirations is the key to achieving your definition of freedom.  

Jamie Hopkins is a managing partner of Wealth Solutions at Carson Group and author of Find your Freedom: Financial Planning for a Life on Purpose.