Josh Hoskin Smart Money jhoskin@goldridge.co.nz

One of my favourite quotes from Jim Morrison in the American Prayer album is: 'Did you know freedom exists in a school book?”

What Morrison is referring to is that freedom can have many guises depending on who you are and what situation you find yourself in. For me and many others, freedom in a financial sense is a lot about understanding the true power of saving.

I think the trick here is financial freedom is not about spending all your money every week. Spending all your money on whatever you want without a plan is, in reality, you being controlled by clever marketing which has created warped social expectations.

Being controlled is not freedom. Ben Franklin found freedom from his older brother's negative attention by saving enough to leave his apprenticeship to start a new life in a different city. In this example the change in Ben Franklin's life created by his ability to save helped change American history. That is the power of saving – it gives you real choices not just perceived ones. Being able to start your life again through saving is a lot more powerful than choosing which pair of shoes you are buying this week.

So when you are thinking about saving versus spending remember it's about the power of real choices over perceived ones. I know which one I prefer.