While children tend to dream of exploring outer space or of owning their own horse, adults dreams are more concrete and practical - though no less difficult to achieve. One of the most common dreams among adults is to achieve the kind of financial freedom that means they won't be held hostage by a variable mortgage in Canada. To learn more about what constitutes financial freedom and how you can take steps toward making your dream come true, consult out guide.

When we say "financial freedom" we usually mean being rich or wealthy, but the fact of the matter is that even most people we would consider wealthy are not free financially. A lot of their money is tied up in fixed income ETFs or stocks or in property investments. Even if they're worth millions of dollars, they can't spend it all in one go. What financial freedom means is freedom from debt, freedom to do what you please with your money whenever you please, and most of all - freedom from worrying about money. It's this last part that's hardest to achieve, because even when we have money we worry about losing it.

In reality, you don't actually have to be wealthy to attain financial freedom. For some people it can be as simple as not having to rely on an EI refund to feed the kids anymore, or paying all their bills in the same month to constitute a drastic enough change in their financial situation. The most we can ever realistically hope to achieve is a balance between our income and our financial obligations, with a bit left over to put into savings, perhaps for a vacation or for a new home. That's real life financial freedom.

So how can you get there? Probably not the way you're thinking. Most people think it would take them winning millions of dollars in the lottery or inheriting a large estate from a previously unknown relative for them to afford Puerto Vallarta condo rentals on their vacations. But it's much simpler than that - you have to balance spending with income. You can do this by cutting your spending or increasing your income or both, but usually something has to change in your life.

Most people cannot achieve this on their own. They've become too accustomed to their lifestyles or are having trouble finding ways to earn enough money to cover their Toronto mortgage. If that's the case with you, you're not doomed to live a lifetime of financial slavery. There are options. You can have a serious sit down with your banker, hire a financial advisor, or, if you haven't got money left over to buy help, you can a approach a non-profit financial counseling company.