A 30-year-old entrepreneur who has already built a seven-figure net worth says most people approach financial freedom the wrong way. According to Michela Allocca, the journey doesn’t begin with budgeting hacks, aggressive investing, or extreme cost-cutting — it starts with something far simpler: knowing exactly where your money is, according to Business Insider.
Allocca, the founder of personal finance platform Break Your Budget and author of Own Your Money, says many people rush into wealth-building strategies without first understanding their current financial position. Before thinking about growth, she urges people to get clarity on what they already have — across retirement accounts, brokerage investments, and cash reserves.
“Looking at where your money is really is that first step,” Allocca said.
Why a financial ‘account audit’ matters
Allocca recommends setting aside dedicated time — a weekend morning or a quiet evening — to conduct what she calls an “account audit.” This means reviewing all financial accounts, checking balances, understanding contributions, and assessing whether cash holdings are too high or too low.
If you don’t know how much is in your retirement account, whether you have multiple accounts, or if you’re actively investing, she says that lack of awareness can stall long-term progress. Allocca knows this from experience. After leaving the corporate world to become a full-time content creator, she says she quadrupled her income — but only after getting clarity on her finances.
Once people know where they stand, Allocca says they can calculate how much they actually need to reach goals like early retirement or financial independence.
How milestones like Coast FIRE can change your life
Allocca suggests using a financial independence calculator to map out realistic targets. One popular goal is Coast FIRE — a variation of the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) movement — where retirement savings are already large enough to grow on their own without further contributions.
“You can just go onto Google and very simply search up a financial independence calculator, plug in your numbers, and it will tell you, OK, you need to have, let’s say, $250,000 invested in your retirement account by this age in order to reach Coast FIRE,” she told Business Insider.
Reaching — or even approaching — that milestone can dramatically change how people view work and money.
“You go to work to pay your bills in the present and to save for retirement in the future,” Allocca said. “So if you eliminate the need to keep saving for retirement, that opens up an entirely new financial reality for you.”
She added that many people never run these numbers and underestimate how close they may already be.
“They’re not seeing how close they are, or how close they could be with two or three years of diligence,” she said. Reflecting on her own journey, Allocca noted, “If I had calculated my numbers years ago, I probably could have either hit these numbers sooner or had a different relationship with my finances.”
For Allocca, awareness isn’t just a financial tool — it’s a way to unlock choices, flexibility, and peace of mind long before retirement arrives.