Let’s cut to the chase: forget what the BMW ads tell you – more money won’t make you happy (and if you take advantage of their interest-free terms, it can make you very unhappy).

All money can do is give you choice – and that’s one of the most powerful things you can give someone. You can choose where to spend the bulk of your time, and who to spend it with.

Welcome to Financial Freedom

The skills you’ve mastered in getting the banker off your back can now be transferred into building up your investment portfolio.

The trick is, don’t stop making your mortgage payments. But instead of sending them to the bank, send them to your superannuation fund in the form of extra contributions.

Superannuation is still the best (legal) tax dodge going around, so max out your superannuation contribution limits each year into a low-cost, broadly diversified fund.

While the bulk of your investing should be done in the cozy tax concessional confines of superannuation, it’s also good to have solid high-yielding investments. I’m talking Listed Investment Companies (LICs) such as Australian Foundation Investment Company (AFIC) and Argo Investments.

I’m not talking a few extra bucks. Master this last step and you’ll well on the way to becoming a multi-millionaire.

Your Path Is In Front Of You

So there you have it – my 6 steps to financial freedom, fully updated. These steps are based on solid, time-tested rules of wealth – and they’ll work for you.

I used to think that managing money came down to common sense. (And if you’ve read this far you probably think so too.) But if it’s so simple, why are so many people in financial difficulty? Why do so few of us ‘make it’ financially?

Well, it’s because managing money is less about maths and more about your mind – and behavioural change one of the hardest things to conquer (just ask Shane Warne).

It takes courage to drive an older car, to buy a home that’s within your means, to deck it out with second-hand furniture, and to have a plan for your money.

The real pay-off for following these 6 steps has nothing to do with the external symbols of success (although you’ll eventually be able to buy whatever you want).

The biggest return is the character you build, and the person you become – and no marketer, banker or neighbour can ever trump that.

Tread Your Own Path!