Today I come to write about a topic that for me is of vital importance and that sometimes it is hard for us to learn in life, at least for me it has been very hard to learn it. The topic is related to financial freedom and financial intelligence, and what I am writing is based on my experience.

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Financial freedom

According to what I have read, it can be defined as the possibility of having economic stability to be able to carry out many of our goals and dreams in life, without having to be constantly worried about money, since we have economic mechanisms in our favor that allow us to have passive income. In this way, we do not have to be enslaved in a job of 8 hours or more, which takes away time to enjoy.

And what is financial intelligence?

Simply put, financial intelligence is considered to be the ability we can have to be able to efficiently manage our currencies and multiply our money. When we have this we are able to analyze our household economy, organize our accounts, save money for an investment fund and see investment opportunities where others do not. We find a way to generate extra income along with a job or profession we may have. It is important to avoid wasting money because if we want to grow economically we have to plan everything to the millimeter.

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All this said, it seems and looks very good, but it takes preparation and effort, and above all, a change in our mentality and the way we see life. I am still beginning to realize these aspects, together my wife.

Throughout our lives, in the educational system we are taught a series of subjects such as Spanish, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, in other words, the basic sciences. We continue studying, we get to the University, we finish a career and we start working, but nobody teaches us along the way how to manage our finances, nobody explains to us what financial freedom is and how to achieve it, nor what financial intelligence is and how to develop it. Although this is not something generalized, surely a person who studies economics or a career related to the world of finance learns these important concepts that allow them to better plan their economy.

In my case, I am the son of parents with university degrees. My mother is a doctor and my father is an automation engineer. For those who do not know, I was born and live in Cuba, a country that is currently going through a brutal economic crisis. I am currently 40 years old and work as an engineer in the only telecommunications company in the country. In my life I have only worked for a salary. I share all this so that you have an idea of my reality, as I consider it is important that it is known.

My parents belong to a generation that has faced many difficulties in this country, due to the social and economic situation we have always lived, being a country economically blocked and victim of constant aggression. They have lived through a difficult time in which they did not have the opportunity to learn these financial concepts that I consider vital. They have always worked for a fixed salary throughout their lives.

Therefore, from their experience, my parents transmitted to me the idea that the important thing was to be a professional and that's it. And the reality is that when you become an engineer, doctor or whatever profession you study, you end up being a specialized employee in an area of society who lives by collecting a salary. This salary is a paper with which you are paid, in my case it is the Cuban peso (CUP), of course this paper has a value, but when there is a huge inflation and a crisis like the one we have now then you can buy much less things and pay less services or you can pay almost nothing. Cubans who are part of the Hive ecosystem know what I am talking about and maybe they have similar experiences to mine.

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Throughout my life I have been able to identify two types of people, so to speak. There is the one who studies a career and then works in what he studied, and the one who invests his time to prepare himself and try to start a business to grow economically. That is why we see people who have not sacrificed time studying a university degree and live better than professionals like me, and this is very common in my country.

I am not saying that being professionals, having studied university degrees is bad, in fact, it is very good and important. What I want to convey is that we must also improve ourselves and complete our preparation in learning how to manage our currencies and be able to multiply our money, that the time we invest in studying we can later get a positive result in money and be able to live better and have more comfort.

My wife and I had been thinking for some time about what we could do to improve economically. It was then that we discovered the Hive ecosystem, which has allowed us to breathe a little in the midst of the crisis that our country is going through. Thanks to Hive, my wife was able to quit the IT job that had her working full time for a salary that was not enough for her. At the moment, she devotes more time to Hive and to learning about other topics that interest her and that could benefit her in the future. Now she feels more fulfilled and happy with what she does. Thanks to this, she was able to buy a new cell phone with her earnings as a content creator.

For our Hive family it has meant a lot, it has transformed our lives and we are happier now because we enjoy what we do. And very important too, the talented people we have met here who have given us their friendship and good advice, and have contributed their knowledge.

I believe and hope that I am taking the first steps towards financial independence with my family. Although I know the road is a long one, I hope I am on the right one.