Working My Way to Freedom – My Story
Let me just put it out there. At time of writing, it is December. Teenagers 1 & 2 and I have left winter behind for a couple of weeks and are soaking up the sun some place far away from the UK....
View ArticleThe Illusion of Wealth (Part 2)
Remember Sarah and Paul? Their curiosity got the better of them and one evening at the beach bar the subject of early retirement and the question of “how?” was raised. We talked for a while about...
View ArticleWhy Your Job May Be Better Than You Think
Despite living just over one mile from the gate, every day I drive Teenager Number 2 (TN2) to school. This is not as environmentally unfriendly as it sounds given that the school is on my way to work,...
View ArticleWhy Getting Rich is Boring
The more I talk to people about money, the more I realise – those of us who seek out knowledge to improve our financial lives are in the minority. Bizarre as it seems, the majority of the population...
View ArticleThe Quickest Route To Financial Independence
About this time two years ago it became apparent that my job would soon be redundant. This wasn’t the shock that maybe it would have been to many. Heading up the finance function of a small company...
View ArticleYou Have to Be In It to Win It
Financial Independence is rarely achieved by chance …. for most of us it is preceded by the habits of saving and investing combined with the passing of time. I am fortunate to never have been in debt...
View ArticleWhat (Not) to Hate About Your Job
Mother Nature is trying very hard to bring us Spring in the UK, so the clocks have changed, mornings are lighter and there is a general sense of relief in the air. We are thinking that the worst is...
View ArticleIntrovert on FIRE
Last night there was an argument in the Twitter personal finance community. I don’t suppose that is particularly unusual, but it’s the first time I’ve watched one play out. I wasn’t involved in this...
View ArticleFinancial Independence 101
If you are new to Financial Independence, this post is for you. If you are not new but you’ve ever found yourself in the situation where you try to explain what you’re doing to family and friends and...
View ArticleBe Your Own Insurance Company
The recent tax year-end prompted me to review all my spending. Somewhat arrogantly, I had thought I was in pretty good shape, but it seemed as good a time as any for a once-over just to be sure. Time...
View ArticleShow Me The Money – A.K.A. My Financial Plan
Early retirement is a big deal. For most people it is not going to happen by accident and needs to be based on a solid financial plan. I’ve talked about how I got to this point in my journey here. What...
View ArticleRethinking the FI Budget – What Do We Really Need to Include?
It may have taken its time to arrive, but the weather is finally Spring-like in the UK. Every morning, I take the dog for a walk around the the nearby lake before most of the city is awake. When the...
View ArticleSingle Parent Seeking FIRE
I spend many hours a week with my head in financial independence blogs. (Maybe that’s why I’m single 😉 ). What often jumps out at me is how the majority of writers are part of a couple. That...
View ArticleTax and the 4% Rule
How should we consider tax when using the 4% rule for early retirement calculations?
View ArticleFinancial Resilience – Being Bullet Proof
I have been thinking about financial resilience this week. I spend a lot of time considering ways to earn more money, or ways of saving money by reducing my spending, but is there a chance of losing...
View ArticleInvoking the F.U. Clause
It’s been a bad week. Every quarter the VP of the business holds an off-site management meeting and the sixteen or so leaders from various parts of Europe meet for a few days. I attend in my capacity...
View ArticleHalf Year Financial Update
As a FIRE enthusiast, the end of the month is eagerly anticipated. Spreadsheets at the ready, I update my numbers, track my progress and work out how much closer I am to reaching that Financial...
View ArticleHow I Saved My FIRE Fund
I still have some way to go – but it’s fair to say I have saved a good chunk of money into my Financial Independence fund. At the time of writing this I am 89% of the way there in terms of having...
View ArticleI’m Afraid I’m Going to Quit Before I’m Financially Independent
This is one of those weeks where I could so easily throw in the towel. (I make no apologies – there is some ranting in this post. Sometimes I just need to get things off my chest). I had a couple of...
View ArticleWho Have you Told About Your FIRE Plans?
Anybody else feel the same way that sometimes it feels really weird talking about either financial independence or early retirement (or both) out there in the real world? One of the reasons I started...
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