It’s only been a little over 2 months since I had my lightbulb moment and began my journey to financial independence. I’m a little bit obsessive so once I discovered it was possible to retire early, that became my goal. I’ve read hundreds of blog articles, explored many options and thought a lot about how awesome it would be to be free from the tyranny of the 9-5 job. In the last couple of weeks though, I’ve realised that I’m not necessarily trying to quit work. I’m just trying to “decouple pay from work” – a phrase that I picked up from an awesome article written by Jim Wang for the Our Next Life blog. Continue reading
Monthly Archives: October 2016
That awkward moment when you really want to say no it’s not OK but can’t!
I’m furious! Nothing fills me quite so much with dread these days as the large group meals. You know the kind I mean? Birthday dinners. Or hen do brunches. Work ones are the worst for me now. They weren’t so bad when I was a consultant and could generally expense most of the costs. Neither was I so bothered when I didn’t mind shelling out fifty quid for a meal. Now that I’m on a pretty tight budget it’s quite a different story. Continue reading
Is intentional spending the most important part of being thrifty?
I spent a lot of money last week although my Excel spreadsheet tells me that I was slightly under budget. It’s probably important to point out that last week’s budget was nearly twice my preferred weekly spend (since I started tracking expenditure ) – at around £290. It was my best friend’s 30th birthday party so for the first time in a long time I let my hair down at a restaurant and bought drinks at a bar and club subsequently. I also got her a fairly pricy gift. This week, I created a budget that’s supposed to redress that so that I can come in under budget for the whole month. Off the back of that, I have made some intentional changes to ensure I spend a lot less than normal this week. Continue reading
Weekly spending: W/C 26/09/16
Pay day was last Monday. A few months ago, the preceding weekend would have been super painful. I’d have been on edge about unplanned expenditure – and all expenditure was unplanned by this point because I’d be running on fumes, would have borrowed money from someone or have pawned something of mine just to get through those few days before pay day. The weekend before last, I was still worried about unplanned spending (e.g. tape for my dodgy ankle) but it was because I was trying to save even more money for the expensive month ahead. Continue reading
Why is instinct not enough?
I spend a lot of time thinking about my options. I think before I create the options. While I’m creating the options. After the options have opened themselves up. Even after I’ve made a gut-based decision I still umm and ahh for as long as I have to. I know I do this because generally once I have committed to a path, I’m immutable. I might decide that path is the wrong path eventually but usually I follow through on my decisions. A few weeks ago I got called by a member of the recruitment team at a publishing company. I don’t care much for their flagship product but I respect the brand so I googled the company to get a sense of their culture and thought there were far too many power suits for me to ever be comfortable. My initial instincts, this is not the job for me.
“Great comfort and extravagant living”
That’s Google’s definition of luxury. 6 months ago I would have associated a cost with that. Perhaps you had to be wealthy or you had to spend a lot, like I used to. I would have thought about restaurants like Locanda Locatelli for a luxurious special night (£100+ per head) or Hawksmoor for a budget special night (£50 per head). I might have thought about 5 star hotels with beautifully turned down beds, the fluffiest towels and £15 burgers. I would think chauffeur driven cars and free champagne in first / business class train and plane seats. Continue reading
Diary of a reforming spendthrift 