There are 3 key points to emphasize here:

1. Increase your income.  This is a no-brainer.  The fastest way to fill-up your financial bucket is to boost your earnings.  If you only have one source of income, you can do this by aiming for higher salary (a promotion perhaps).  But a better way is to have other sources, and this depends on your skill set and interests.  Some tips include professional services such as tutorial, article writing and programming.  You can also buy and sell some goods and properties.  There are a lot of possible sources of income out there.  You just have to stop being lazy, and have a positive mentality towards financial independence.
2. Lessen the ‘holes’ in your bucket.  Of course, all your income doesn’t mean anything if most of them is spent on worthless items.  There’s no use of having more income if your expenses increase at the same degree.  We had this situation before when our income grew for about 40% because of salary increase and some sideline works.  However, we felt oftentimes that there’s not enough money left at the end of each month.  We started to keep track of our expenses found the culprit – dining on restaurants REGULARLY and shopping REGULARLY.  We had to change some habits for us to save more money.  I suggest you keep a listing of your daily expenses and summarize it at the end of each month.  For sure, you’ll find areas where you can save.  Remember, even big companies have cost-cutting or cost-saving initiatives to make the company in a better financial position.  We, as individuals, should do the same.
3. Put your money in investments that will provide more income.  I define an investment as anything that requires a capital and provides returns over a period of time.  These include mutual funds, time deposits, real estate and stocks.  I consider a business under this category since generally speaking, you have to shell out some capital in order to have gains in the future.  To be financially independent, this is where you should focus your energy on.  The goal is to have our income from your investments be able to sustain your living, such that you don’t have to be dependent on your salary.

What I learned from all the books and articles that I’ve read is that there is no perfect way to achieve financial independence.  Most authors will relay high level ideas and suggestions, but won’t provide exact details.  You will notice that people suggests different ways to manage your money.  This is because the financial situation of a person is unique, and each person’s attitudes and way of thinking are not the same.  You should find a way that best works for you, and you can do this through some research and actual experience.  Once you have that process that you believe will work, then execute your actions.  Remember, don’t just work hard.  Work smart.

I am not totally in favour of life insurance ever since I started working. I got numerous calls from agents representing different companies trying to set appointments to explain their products. The moment they tell me their company, I always say ‘no’. My mindset is fixed. I do not need insurance. It’s morbid to talk about my own death at this early stage of my life. I will just buy when I grow older. My girlfriend has the same outlook. She even asks why get an insurance when you’ve already got an insurance in your company?

All of these changed when we attended a Financial Wellness Talk in our company. The speaker mentioned that before you even invest, life insurance should come first. This is what most of financially independent people do. They value the concept of protection, both for their lives and their wealth. Life insurance can be considered a need for those who have dependents, or at least for those who plan to have a family in the future. The earlier you start the better since the price tends to be cheaper when you are younger. But then again, the needs differ based on a person’s situation – financially, physically etc.

Reference: www.lincolninvestment.com

Having the ideas we got from the seminar, we explored some investment vehicles. We tried stocks, mutual funds, time deposits and even 5-6! But somewhat, we felt something was missing. What if something happens to us in the future, especially when we have kids? Just thinking of that situation made us restless. We did further research and came across a product generally called a Variable Universal Life Insurance (VUL). It’s an insurance + investment type of life insurance. The investment portion could generate funds for us at a later stage in our lives. This can be used as a retirement package, an educational plan, or a business capital in the long-term future since we plan to grow the funds for 15 or more years. This perfectly fits our requirements! The amount may not be enough, but definitely, it is better than not saving at all. The best part, we are started at an early age.

Days after the seminar, we called up the Sun Life Agents who happens to be the parents of our officemate in our previous company. We were presented different options. So we decided to limit our coverage to what we believe is adequate. We got a plan called Sun Flexilink, the VUL product of Sun Life and decided to go for a Balanced Fund (med-high risk).

The biggest factor in our decision on how much coverage to take is our budget. We do not want to fuse all of our investment in one basket, and we do not want to spend so much on insurance. We just thought of what we think is sufficient for future use, and how much we can allocate for that. In addition, we included benefits that can provide financial assistance in case we have serious illness. This is a great add-on benefit since you’ll be covered when you’re faced with a critical illness listed in the policy. We just felt the need to be prepared because after all, who knows when and who the unwelcome diseases like cancer wants to strike on. A year’s savings won’t be enough to cover the hospital bills. Even your healthcare coverage in the company is limited.

In summary, our needs for protection, funds for critical illness and other needs for future funds are addressed. These are the benefits of having the product we chose.

I am now a Sun Life agent, with the goal of helping people realize the need for financial wellness. If you want further explanation, feel free to drop your comments. I’ll try my best to assist you.