Financial independence is generally used to describe the state of having sufficient personal wealth to live, without having to work actively for basic necessities. For financially independent people, their assets generate income that is greater than their expenses. For example, a person's quarterly expenses may total $4,000. They receive dividends from stocks they have previously purchased totaling $5,000 quarterly, while also having more money in other assets. Under these circumstances, a person is financially independent. A person's assets and liabilities are an important factor in determining if they have achieved financial independence. An asset is anything of value that can be liquidated if a person has debt, whereas a liability is related to debt, in that it is the responsibility of