My work as a Financial Literacy Advocate and Educator is an interactive one. I get random questions all the time. One of these questions was when I was engaged by a journalist after a press conference on one of my affirmative sayings, “Building A Strong Financial Foundation.”

The journalist asked me; What are some building blocks to building a strong financial foundation? What are the basics to financial security and freedom?

Today I’m writing on the response I gave to the journalist. In my response to the journalist I touched on various things one should do to help him/her build a strong financial foundation. Here we go;

Invest in yourself.
The best financial advice anybody should give you is to educate yourself, financially—invest in yourself. The more value you add to the world, the more money you will make, the more money you make the easier and greater your chances of saving and investing. And to add more value, you need to invest in yourself. Read and learn daily, develop new skills, focus on your physical and mental health, build your network, and so on. These investments will pay off tremendously. Start by reading 10 minutes per day. At that pace, you’ll read 20 books a year. Start today.

Create flexibility.
Having a flexible lifestyle enables you to more easily thrive through the inevitable financial circumstances of life. Learn to live with less. Have multiple sources of income. Create a lifestyle where you can move anywhere on demand. With this flexibility, you can comfortably navigate your unique and evolving financial landscape with greater ease.

Leverage compound interest.
Einstein once called compound interest one of the world’s most important inventions. Why? Because it’s super powerful. ¢1000 to ¢10,000 invested in a low-cost index fund in your early 20s will be worth hundreds of thousands by the time you retire. Begin a regular savings program as early as possible, save to invest and compounding will do the rest.

Relax.
“Don’t rush the process, trust the process.”
No matter your level of wealth, financial stress will always be there. Whether your concern is about making rent or contributing your capital to the best charitable organizations, everyone wants to allocate their money effectively. So do your best to do that, but also relax. Enjoy life while you have the opportunity to do so.

The truth is that good personal finance advice is not exciting or sexy. But that’s okay. So invest the time in understanding and practicing the core set of simple, but sound financial principles. You don’t need to rush the financial security, independence and freedom journey.

One step at a time, multiple moves does the magic!