This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Capital One 360.

What Does It Mean to You to Be Financially Independent?

I often sit around and daydream about winning the lottery. Of course for this to happen I have to remember to play. 🙂 Winning the lottery is a means to instant financial freedom for only a small percentage of the population. For the rest of us, we have to work to support ourselves and maintain financial freedom.

As I read about the Capital One #my360Independance sweepstakes I thought a lot about what financial independence means for me. Of course as an entrepreneur I have a dream of being wealthy. Or at least living very, very well. For me this means having enough money in the bank at all times to pay my bills, buy the latest gadget, plan a last minute weekend trip, or go shopping without worry.

5 Tips to Being Financially Independent

Create a Budget: Make a detailed list of all of your monthly expenses. This includes mortgage or rent, utilities, car insurance, food, gas for the car, entertainment, and anything else that you love to spend money on (like shoes!)

Work Consistently: One of the hardest things about being an entrepreneur is that you have to wait to get paid! And it hurts. Some companies have a 30 day net payment policy, some have a 60 da, and one company I work with even has a 90 day payment policy!! This makes it VERY hard when trying to budget. I say that this is unfair to entrepreneurs. If we were working on a 9-5 job and sitting in a cubical we would likely be paid every 2 weeks or once a month, right? But as an entrepreneur sometimes you are at the mercy of the company that you work for. Every day I play the “check the mailbox” game. If there is a check I let out a “YAYYY!!” If there is not I walk back to the house with my head down. LOL! However, if you are working consistently you know that there will be money coming in at some point, and hopefully on a consistent basis.

Pitch, pitch, pitch: In order to work consistently you have to have work! Now there are some days when my inbox is overflowing with offers for sponsored posts, web design, photography, and other paying gigs. But then there are slow spells. If you want to make sure that you are always working you have to promote and pitch! Pitch companies that you have worked with before, and pitch new companies. Ask your current customers to recommend you to their friends.

Keep a to do list and calendar: This is a hard one for me! I need to get into the habit of putting important things on my calendar or a list as soon I get the email. Otherwise a deadline can easily get missed. One way that I try to prevent this is to star, or mark an email as important as soon as it arrives even if I am checking email from my phone. I then take some time later that night to reply, file, or add it to a list. Does this method always work? Nope. Not at all! But I try.

Take a Break: As entrepreneur it is VERY easy to get burned out. You will easily know when you are burned out because you will have no interest in working… AT ALL! This happens to me quite a bit these days. It comes from working way too hard. Entrepreuners are soemtines “On” from the time that they wake up until the time that they go to bed. Doing this a few days in a row can easily lead to emotional exhaustion. Take some time to relax, get away from home or the office, or just nap!

Using these simple tips you might just help you feel a little bit better about being an entrepreneur.

The Sweepstakes

Capital One 360 would like you to share your ideas for achieving financial independence by submitting a photo and entering the #my360independence Sweepstakes here: http://bank360.com/my360. The USA just celebrated our independence. And to celebrate you have a chance to win. Just for sharing your photo or post you’ll be entered to win one of sixty-one daily prizes worth $1,776 prizes. Enter now until July 14!

Good luck. 🙂

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Capital One 360. All opinions are my own.