Debating about financial freedom

Chinese from different walks of life talk about their definitions of financial freedom and whether it is important to achieve it

To some people, freedom and being rich are mutually exclusive things. Others would argue that in a world where almost everything comes with a price tag, one needs to earn enough before he or she can achieve freedom, or more specifically, financial freedom.

Financial freedom is defined as being in a state where one has enough personal wealth to live the rest of his or her life without having to actively work.

According to the latest Hurun Report, a regular magazine by a Shanghai-based research house, one would need to have 290 million yuan ($42 million) in China's first tier cities, or 170 million yuan in second tier cities, to achieve financial freedom.

The report added that the bar for economic freedom rose 50 percent year-on-year in first tier cities to offset rising house prices and the changing exchange rate between the Chinese yuan and US dollars.

To He Jing, financial freedom is not about how much money one has but whether one can comfortably afford to purchase whatever he or she needs.

The 39-year-old and her husband, both of whom are from Shenyang of Liaoning province, made their fortune through a clothing business which they started in 2000. The business has done so well that He decided to become a housewife in 2006 so that she could focus on taking care of their two boys, aged 9 and 5.

"We were lucky enough to grab the right opportunity to get rich, but the ever-changing business environment requires every businessman to continue working hard and be vigilant of any challenges," said He.

Qin Hao, a 31-year-old Jiangsu native who runs a pharmaceutical research and development company in Shanghai, does not agree with Hurun's definition either, saying that financial freedom is a highly subjective matter.

He first started his chemical products trading business in 2010 after borrowing 30,000 yuan from his friends. While his net worth has since snowballed into tens of millions of yuan, Qin insists that freedom does not necessarily have to do with how much one has in the bank or how one spends it.

When Qin realized that he had made his first million yuan, he celebrated not by indulging in luxury products, but with simple pleasures such as feasting on Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Qin said that he hopes to be financially independent within the next five years so that he can pursue his spiritual goals, which include helping children in poor areas getting proper education and raising awareness about the importance of love through a movie or a book.

"As long as one picks the right industry and works for the right company, financial freedom is achievable," said Qin.

"But freedom should not be associated with only material wealth - spiritual wealth is equally important."