There are many people that have a day job and think of getting online because they see Adsense checks with thousands of dollars per month, or they see how much a blog is making each and every month. They usually get the idea that working online is fun and doesn’t involve work. Mistake: it is fun, but almost all the time, involves lots and lots of work.

I’ve seen it many times on the DigitalPoint forums that people are ready to file their resignation and enter the world of online money. The decision should be taken after thorough analysis because, most likely, you will not earn from your site/s in the first 6 months, and you need money for monthly expenses. This is why I advise people to check their financial lifeline. What does it mean? See for how many months you have money to live. For example if you have $15,000 in your bank account, and your monthly expenses are $3,000 then your financial lifeline is 5 months. However as I said, do not expect money in the first semester, or at least not anything serious. A financial lifeline of 15 months is what you should have, before quiting your job and moving online.

Now that we have that one sorted out and you are on your way to making millions on the internet, let’s talk about financial freedom and what it means. I have a bachelor degree on finance and banks so I can tell you what I know. Being financial free means that no matter what will happen to your day job you will earn enough passive income to pay for what you spend each month. Sources can be : dividends, rents, bank deposits or anything like that, that will bring cash monthly. However, one that is financial free today, may not be tomorrow. Why? The bank goes bankrupt, the company you’re getting dividends files for bankruptcy or the house you’re renting collapses. This doesn’t mean you lose your money (insurance) but you no longer get a check every month for doing nothing. However these kind of activities are considered to bring you financial freedom.

Thinking that the internet is a source of becoming financial free is wrong, because no matter what website you start, you need to promote, optimize, update the content and so on. You’re active. In my opinion there is nothing that we can call 100% passive income, because no matter what, be it one time a year, you get interested and you act. Active again.

I like what John Chow said about getting truly rich by becoming financial free:

A job was never designed to make you rich. It was design to make you exist and make the business owner rich. This is not to say you should quit your job. Far from it – you still have to exist.

That’s true, but make sure you’re not missing opportunities, because you can be the next business owner to hire people and becoming rich. Put all the pros and cons in one bag, see what your financial lifeline is, and then if you think you can get it done, enter the online world.