The idea of “financial independence” is an increasingly popular topic. The concept is simple enough: make and invest enough money that you can withdraw a modest amount of cash to live off of, while still getting reasonable returns on your investments. This allows you to continue building wealth while living within your means and avoiding unnecessary expenses that could set you back. While financial freedom may seem like a dream, especially if you’re in debt, there are a couple moves you can make to jumpstart your quest to achieving financial independence.

Make a budget and get out of debt

Before you can truly start building wealth, it’s important that you eliminate any debt you currently have. Debt holds you back, forcing you to spend money on past expenses. To make matters worse, consumer credit card debt and student loans often come with interest rates that can make it hard to really build momentum when paying down your debt. One way to create momentum is to create a budget. There are plenty of apps and tools to help you do this, but the best budgeting system is the one you’re most likely to follow. When you create your budget, make sure that you’re budgeting in a way that helps you spend less than you make each month. You can protect yourself from needing to lean on a credit card by making sure you’re also budgeting for annual expenses and are building up an emergency fund for any surprises that might sneak up on you. When you look at the extra money you have at the end of the month, apply that amount to your credit card, car loan, or student loans. You may want to consider using the snowball method or avalanche method. There are online debt calculators to help you see the advantages of both.

Leverage your house

If you have a minimal amount of debt other than your mortgage, there’s another strategy that’s worth considering too. You’ve probably seen businesses that advertise that "we buy houses for cash”, but have you ever considered what could happen if you sold your house? After all, you need to live somewhere, right? While it may seem a bit counterintuitive at first, however, selling your house for cash can be a major boon if you’re seeking financial independence. Take, for example, the fact that once you are debt free, you don’t need to have a traditional day job that requires you to work forty hours a week. Becoming a consultant or freelancer is often something you can do remotely to keep earning an income on top of your annual investment returns. And there are plenty of low cost-of-living cities that enable you to travel while still making the most out of your newfound financial freedom. Some people choose to spend their time in foreign countries, where it’s cheaper to retire early. Others choose to travel to a variety of cities every six to twelve months, choosing places like Florida (with its lack of an income tax) to keep maximizing their investments while enjoying activities like Jupiter boat tours in their downtime. When you consider that the average home in America sells for $360,000, it’s easy to see how leveraging your home’s equity can get you ahead if your ultimate goal is financial freedom. If you like the sound of financial independence and currently own a house, you may be able to achieve your dreams much faster than you think. By staying on a budget, investing wisely, and choosing low cost-of-living areas to stay, you’ll be able to enjoy life and financial peace of mind at the same time.