Fearing not

Charity | Giving away your money is key to true financial freedom | Warren Cole Smith

Scott Strazzante/Genesis Photos

Financial advisors are in the business of helping their clients make money. When they are successful, they stand to make a lot of money themselves.

And by almost any measure financial advisor Tim Mohns was successful. His practice was growing rapidly, his clients were making money, and two years ago the then 39-year-old was making more than a quarter of a million dollars a year.

That's when he and his wife heard something that changed their lives: "It's not how much you make that defines financial freedom," Mohns said. "It's how much you give away that defines financial freedom." So they decided to cap their income at $125,000 a year, and everything they made over that amount they would give away.