Millionaire Challenge

lessonlearned

Sounds like a plan, Kay. You are going to be busy enough with all your college work, plus your photography, plus your children etc.

Re your husbands spend thrift ways.....not quite sure what you can do about that....he just has to learn. He obviously has not had his lightbulb moment yet. Until then I doubt that there's much you can do to change his mindset.

Cx586. Welcome to the thread. Well maybe at 45 getting to that magic £1m is perhaps less likely, however never say never..:rotfl:

As the old saying goes - no point crying over spilt milk, what's done is done. We all make mistakes. Just look to the future. At the very least if you focus now you will be able to get yourself into a position where early retirement or opting out or downsizing will be an option for you.

This is where I am now. I havent made that £1m yet;) but over 25. Per cent on target.

However, I am happy now with how things are for me. I have sufficient passive income to meet my needs and wants. I live simply but well. I dont need to work now - although I still dabble a bit here and there and I do want to set up at least one sideline business.

I am currently managing to save around 50 per cent of my net income for future projects. - currently mainly travel and adventures..:rotfl: but also for longer term capital and income growth.

I'm still enjoying the journey and relishing the challenge.

I'm coming up to the 2nd anniversay of my husband's death (the day before I go to Belguim). I didn't just lose a husband, I lost my best friend, my mentor and business partner, my partner in crime......:rotfl:

It's been a long and difficult road to travel but I've made it and I am ready now to face the world alone. The car crash has been a set back but once I recover from my injuries I will be raring to go.

I have got lots of plans and ideas........I shall be ready to spring into action after Belguim.

Right time to get cracking. My first Physio treatment today and then my first "realignment treatment" on Friday. Gawd knows what that entails - sounds scary.:rotfl:

PoorGuyNextDoor

Slowly pulling a few things together to get extra income while cutting my expenses. Sky is going, takes 31 days to cancel so will be saving £75 a month ( £900 a year, eye watering considering never watch it now we have Netflix!!!) Food bills are coming down slowly - cant do it over night. Phone bill is cheaper now. Not sure where else i can make savings from my budget besides getting the loans and cards paid off.

Can only imagine a world where im paying £900 to joint account and £300 a month for fuel for my van and going out etc. As on the last 12 months average income at £4k net a month would be over £30k a year available to save. Im on the save £12k in a year thread even though im in debt as its pushing me to get there and join them in saving large amounts of income - seen someone saving 70% net wages while paying a mortgage, impressive. I know you need a life aswell but doing that sort of saving 10 months a year would still give you two months of 70% net wages to spend on hobbies and holidays as we know how important they are to mental health to keep you going/motivated so you dont burn out.

Off to tinker the budget again, see if iv missed anything. Well and truely addicted.

cc586

lessonlearned wrote: »

Cx586. Welcome to the thread. Well maybe at 45 getting to that magic £1m is perhaps less likely, however never say never..:rotfl:

As the old saying goes - no point crying over spilt milk, what's done is done. We all make mistakes. Just look to the future. At the very least if you focus now you will be able to get yourself into a position where early retirement or opting out or downsizing will be an option for you.

This is where I am now. I havent made that £1m yet;) but over 25. Per cent on target.

However, I am happy now with how things are for me. I have sufficient passive income to meet my needs and wants. I live simply but well. I dont need to work now - although I still dabble a bit here and there and I do want to set up at least one sideline business.

I am currently managing to save around 50 per cent of my net income for future projects. - currently mainly travel and adventures..:rotfl: but also for longer term capital and income growth.

I'm still enjoying the journey and relishing the challenge.

I'm coming up to the 2nd anniversay of my husband's death (the day before I go to Belguim). I didn't just lose a husband, I lost my best friend, my mentor and business partner, my partner in crime......:rotfl:

It's been a long and difficult road to travel but I've made it and I am ready now to face the world alone. The car crash has been a set back but once I recover from my injuries I will be raring to go.

I have got lots of plans and ideas........I shall be ready to spring into action after Belguim.

Right time to get cracking. My first Physio treatment today and then my first "realignment treatment" on Friday. Gawd knows what that entails - sounds scary.:rotfl:

Thanks Lessonlearned. I think 250k would probably be the first target for me to aim for. I've still got a lot of spreadsheet work to do before I know exactly where I am and how much I think I'd need at any given age. But, I have found over a hundred pounds a month that I waste at the moment and I've only really just started looking at everything.

Sorry to hear of your loss, and glad that you're ready again to battle life and all it throws at us. We've had various health issues this past year, but are trying to carry on as best we can. Lots of holidays help!

Had my first money from prolific earlier - only £6.30 but it's a start. I also saw 1p on the floor next to a pile of horse muck while I was walking the dog earlier. I nearly picked it up, but talked myself out of it. If it had been £1, I may have picked it up!

Muhren

That is some fantastic wealth accumulation over a short period of time Broken Biscuits. I thought I would comment on it as we are around the same age and same NW. It will be interesting to see how you progess towards the magical million, and possibly pinch some ideas along the way!

cazmanian_minx

LL - sorry to hear about your injuries, hope you've recovered enough to be able to fully enjoy your trip away.

Biscuits - that's some progress!!

Kaya - I do not miss my eBay business in the slightest

cc586 - that's a literally interpretation of 'where there's muck, there's brass'!

Renovations are still plodding along and I am crossing my fingers very hard for my first bit of crofting income soon - I got two of my three hay fields cut last week, but the day they were ready to turn the forecast changed to torrential rain, so it's still untouched on the ground. We should get enough of a weather gap tomorrow and Friday to get it turned three times and baled. I'm not fussed about it being lower-quality hay because it's been rained on a bit, as my horses retain weight very well, so what I get off these fields should easily see the horses and sheep through winter and then if I can get the third field cut and baled I'll be able to sell it all.

I also had a bit of luck yesterday - got talking to someone about an empty house in the village which I would really, really love to buy (its owner hasn't been near it in years, it's crammed with junk, you can barely see the front door due to overgrown garden and now there's a broken skylight at the back so water is getting in) and found out who owns it and roughly where he lives. It was an unusual surname - one quick Google later and I have his full address courtesy of Companies House and will be writing him a letter to see if he'd consider selling once we have sufficient cash available to make him a reasonable offer (I suspect it's not decrofted and therefore unmortgageable).

graphicdesign1

Kaya - Not sure how much money your ebay business brings you and how much work it requires, but if it's a decent amount maybe you could get someone to run it for you for a small wage - maybe even a student who needs some extra cash or something?

LL - Sorry to hear about the car, but glad they paid out more than you were expecting, wishing you a speedy recovery.

PoorGuyNextDoor - How come the change from the YoungBusinessman username, read a lot of your posts, back when you posted?



Hope everyone is enjoying the nice weather. I'm just working on a couple of new websites for ideas I have.

Broken_Biscuits

PoorGuyNextDoor wrote: »

Wow, a 67k gain in 3 years is some doing. Any advice??

A combination of luck, hard work, planning and sacrifice.

Sacrifice

Not made use of my passport in the last 3 years. Not a big spender on luxuries for myself outside food and drink. Did spend £35 on a pair of new trainers today after running my old pair into the ground though! Frugal 40% savings rate.

Hard work
Stuck a job I didn't care for much for some time that paid a ridiculous, at first 12% and then later 15% non contributory pension payment. Stuck that job for 15 years and have worked continuously since my teens. Left my old job the Thursday, started the new one the Monday.

Luck
I did luck into that pension deal. Its a completely unheard of amount and as a result I have a much larger pension pot than most my age. Once you have a few quid the money ball just starts rolling. I wasn't that into saving in my teens and early 20s but in the background I was saving 12% without any thought. Then around a time I was fed up with the job they decided this pension deal would cost them too much and made me redundant (it was due to go up to 18% at 41!!). A couple of weeks pay for each of the 15 years redundancy payment and a years notice.

Planning

With a years notice I had a lot of time to plan to stop this sort of decision to scrap me having such an impact if it happened again. So I read everything. Every recommended book, every finance blog. Built up the courage to self invest all the redundancy money by the time the year was up ... was just a current account holder before being made redundant. Now an investor that doesn't waste any percentage points on a IFA.

A couple of months before the redundancy was announced i bought my first house. I knew the area I live in well but did scouting missions around a lot of the cheaper areas and found a perfect house, needed a bit of work, older, and managed to haggle them down 15k on the asking price due to some pretty negative comments on the home buyers report. The issues turned out to be fixable for about a grand and not the planned 15 grand! And as the area is probably the most desirable to first time buyers in my area, it's values are shooting up faster than averages. I think they call it up and coming. (I have a joint mortgage so only add half the value when working out my net worth)

Now I throw my money into a combination of current accounts, p2p and stocks and shares.
Have some high risk investments and some more solid , but slower safer ones. Looking to save more outside a pension so that retirement may be a possibility before retirement age.

At the moment everything is falling into place but I'm not foolish enough to think it will always be this easy!

Kayalana99

It's funny how life turns out isn't it? Luck. My Dad applied for a job as a shelf assistant in a library and the woman said she wanted a young woman but her friend was looking for an assistant...this is how he got in the print trade.

Sort of does make you wonder where you would be right now though if X and Y didn't happen, but no point dwelling on it.

Thanks Gdesign but it would be to much hassle and I'm not sure if the pay per hour would cover it. The profit margins were a lot higher this year (once you took the equipment spending off) which I believe is down to by buy one get next one half price deal meaning I make more money when people buy 2 instead of one, but it's still perhaps only pushing min wage and then having to look over someones shoulder...

This degree is getting closer and it's getting quite scary. It's actually not the degree that scares me, it's getting the job after. So I have a piece of paper that says I can do something? I don't have that much experience in work really, 5 years in retail doing the same thing...I feel like even if I complete this degree is it enough? I think I've been out of work to long, I could really do with finding a job even if it's just one day a week but I want something 9-5 sort of hours if I did, and who wants someone for just one day? I've actually been checking job sites daily ATM not sure what has got into me - I think since I know my eBay is going to be closing I'm trying to sink my teeth into something else....I'm hopeless .

I'm just having some anxiety ATM I guess, hoping I'm making the right decision also in my degree choice - I've committed to it now but want to see it through but wondering if a degree in Business Management Economics will get me a decent job, if I did something like engineering it's sort of a skill / trade...maybe I'm over thinking it. I've always been told a degree is a degree, just worried I'm making the right choice.

Actually been thinking lately I'd love to get into an Estate Agents, have an interest in property, and they have a lot of bonus potential + some have company cars...looks like a decent career but just getting my foot through the door, also 9-5 sort of hours. I did want to do this degree over 3 years but my youngest will be in full-time school in 2 years this Sept, so could potentially 'give' myself these next 2 years and then take another 2 years to do the final year whilst working.

I suppose Economics would be sort of useful in property? And also could be combined with photography...photographing houses isn't my idea of fun but would look nice on my CV and an extra bonus to employ me.

SO SO lovely to hear from you all, sorry I never really reply to everyone individually very often I find it quite hard to quote and go back to what people have said when I'm posting, but I'm always reading and will try and give advice when I can.

Floxxie

I would just enjoy studying for your degree Kayalana and not put pressure on yourself about getting a well paid job afterwards

And as for becoming an estate agent, just walk in and ask if they have any jobs. I got mine when the valuer came around and apologised for being late as she had been interviewing. I asked her what she was interviewing for and asked whether I could apply. I was there 12 years. I started off as a weekend negotiator. I loved it but you don't need any qualifications.

graphicdesign1

Broken_Biscuits wrote: »

Now I throw my money into a combination of current accounts, p2p and stocks and shares.
Have some high risk investments and some more solid , but slower safer ones. Looking to save more outside a pension so that retirement may be a possibility before retirement age.

Well done on the savings, great amount.
I'm looking at better investing my savings at the moment and aside from things such as ISA/Santander 123 account etc p2p was something I was looking into, if you don't mind me asking which do you use?

Been a bit snowed under this week with work. Am doing some free projects on the side to diversify my portfolio a little before launching my website/s so not much money made but been productive.

Kaya - As above, just enjoy your degree and I'm sure you will be able to fit it into a career afterwards, business and economics will always be around As for being an estate agent, you just have to be good at blagging from my experience In all seriousness though, estate agents I know aren't qualified in it, they have just worked their way up and are well spoken and well turned out (nice suits etc)