How can one become financially independent ?

Easy, the first step to become financially independent is to generate enough income from investments that expenses can be met thus the need to earn wages is gone. 

But of course, it is not easy.  To get to that stage, if you are starting with zero assets and maybe even some debt as a fresh college or high school graduate, there are many things you have to get right.  And they are:

• Earn Money
  Try to earn some money every week/month.  Try to increase your earnings by upgrading your skills, acquiring new skills, taking on more responsibilities, starting your own enterprise, working longer hours, recognizing new opportunities, jumping companies etc

•  Save Money 
  
  Try to save some money every week/month.  Try to increase your savings by understanding what expenses you can eliminate or reduce etc. Tracking expense can help a lot in saving money.

• Financial Habits
  
  Avoid financially stupid habits ( paying late fees, carrying credit card balances, signing up for a recurring cost item that you rarely use, buying things in bulk that you end up throwing away,  not keeping track of your spends etc )

• Insurance
  
  Have health insurance that covers annual checkups, car insurance (if you have a car) and renters/ homeowners insurance to make sure some freak accident doesn't kill your savings.

• Marriage
  
  If you are the marrying kind, make sure your spouse is on the same page as you when it comes to money. This does NOT mean 100% identical views.

• Pay down debt
  
  In this day and age of low-interest rates, paying down debt may seem to be idiocy.  But remember, one day you would retire and you don't want to have any debt then.  It takes a really long time to chip away are large blocks of debt.

• Invest
  
  And the most critical piece of advice:  Invest your money in a well-diversified, low-cost and tax-advantaged portfolio to ensure your money grows in a balanced fashion (i.e. decent growth with limited volatility) so that you need to save less.

• Diversify your income.
  
  You should never rely on one source of income, you should try and diversify your income streams. I currently have 6/7 income streams a month, this is a key part of becoming financially independent. You can start making money online today if you want to. The more you earn the more you can save.