Millionaire Challenge

lessonlearned

It will be interesting to see what’s in the budget today.

MKeynesMoneySaver

Hi all,

I'm finally all caught up. It seems a tumultuous few years for everyone involved.

Too many people to comment on but congrats to everyone working hard and pressing on with the journey despite the many setbacks. It is difficult to know what the future holds in the investment world but I am confident that none of you is taking on too much risk. You all seem to have the fortitude to roll with the punches. :rotfl::T

I had a rough tot up of our joint NW today and it stands around £430k which surprised me. If we keep tracking as we have been we will soon be halfway there! The one caveat is that almost half is a paper gain of the property value against what we paid which is subject to market forces. However, in the long-term, the value should rise overall. I will document the steps we have taken in a later post.

Over the years we have had some minor setbacks but fortunate not to face any major ones. Everything we have we have earned one way or another. I always had some form of life direction in mind and always wanted to be a millionaire. When I met my wife who is 8 years younger than me I told her I wanted to move to Oz and children are not something I am interested in. Fortunately, she was willing to come on my journey. As much as I like children, not having them has allowed us the time and money to continue moving towards millionairedom with less restriction.

I am a believer that setting goals, breaking them down into smaller chunks and regularly reviewing and tracking them can assist no end in focusing on moving forward and not getting side-tracked. Thinking back to your goals can help avoid slip-ups.

We all have varying attitudes to risk which is also important to understand and analyse when considering the paths to tread.

Another factor is time, which can influence the choices we have. I have many ideas but often hold back when evaluating how much time it would cost against the reward received. It can be important to spend time and money developing yourself to enable you to move forward quicker at a later time.

Finally, for the moment, thanks LL for regularly contributing keeping the thread and everyone's motivation alive. :beer::A

Kayalana99

Hey Everyone.

Just a quick update, been busy sorting out a pill of bills since we had to cancel everything and move it over. House insurance is turning into the worst as they promised to call us back then won't pick up the phone now...we've now sent an e-mail but we've been charged today for another month which appreciate it's pocket money but it's another month we shouldn't of had to pay if they had called us back.

Paid 25k to NS&I bonds so will update you if we get any winnings on that, I read the Martin Lewis page about it and his theory seems to be the more you have in it, the higher chance of winning and it making more profitable. I don't really understand this theory as if you have £1 or £25k, each £1 should have the same amount of chance of winning... there is a 1 in 25,000 chance anyway and min prize is £25 a month so in *theory* we should win £25 each prize draw lol...theory....but at least it has a home for a while till I figure out the best option for it - that said we are getting excited about buying so we'll see what happens.

Heard back from tax credits which was the scary one and we are *just* under the threshold so they owed us £300 this year, but took that off the £2.5k bill we owed them (likey to rise as haven't updated them fully for last years income due to self employment income too) and also more likely we will earn more then I said we had - only a small amount more, but enough to push us over the threshold meaning we would owe the full 2.5k.....but depending how you see it, good or bad news, we don't have to pay them anything till April as they will take the amount we owe off future payments...but come April we 100% won't be entitled to anything (as it would be a full year of us both working) so that's when they will start chasing us.

I'm going to take it on chin for now, it's not going to charge us interest (I believe haha) so we will pin it now till April, I've been as honest with them as I can but it's really hard to say exactly what we'd earn until the end of the tax year so it is what it is.

Also paid car insurance off for the year too, it was £300 compared to something like £550 last year so that's saved us £50 a month.

Just council tax to sort out mainly now as I updated them about being a student but it's been 8 weeks+ now and still no sign of them sorting out the discount we should have....

Also all our spare money this month has been put to one side for Xmas...I guess at least we don't have to touch savings in this case, but roll on December payday now as hopefully by that time everything will have come together and what spare money we have, will actually be spare money.

...and breath lol.

NeedToMove

Well that was a trek and a half. Have finally finished reading the whole thread after about 6 month (don't worry I have been doing other stuff in that time .

Can I first just say what a motivating and inspiring lot you all are, and I am excited to join you all on this journey.

A little about myself. I am 30 years old recently married with 2 kids 1 and 3 years old. All told my wife and I are in debt to a number with 5 figures probably starting with 3 or 4. Will have to take proper stock at some point. This debt is mainly due to being once young and stupid, and getting holidays and credit cards. Then paying for a to big wedding after buying a 4 bedroom house and having 2 kids. To end it all my wife has recently bought a franchise so she could finally quit the job she hates.

I am currently working part time in the civil service and and bored terribly with it. Can't ever see myself building a career and am determined to work for myself and achieve financial independence.

As I mentioned my wife has recently bought a franchise in the last few months so life has been crazy learning everything we need to know to run that while dealing with the christmas rush (its a very seasonal business with possibly half the business around this time). This franchise is pretty new in the area so we have had to establish most things ourselves.

I have also dabbled in matched betting for most this year which has helped us to get by when things are extra tight.

While reading all your suggestions and and ideas have recently read 4hww and absolutely loved it. Think it may become my bible now and is certainly how I want things to be for me and the family. So while technically I am not aiming for a million I still feel like this is where I belong, so if you will have me I will be looking if I can get a more accurate net worth calculated and will get working on putting my plans down in writing!

LuxuryWoman

Morning all millionaires in waiting,
Hi NeedToMove - I've been in your shoes with the mortgage, children and debt. You have time on your side if you are 30. It's a wonderful age, young enough to start anything, old enough to have accumulated some wisdom and be take seriously. Good luck with all ahead of you, is 2018 the year you tackle that debt and begin a new journey to stability?

I managed to get on a research project yesterday and got £100 for 2 hours and it was loads of fun, so that will cover my daughters birthday party nicely. Christmas is pretty much done, had a delivery of the booze last night and paid just over £30 for 6 bottles including champagne, plus Baileys and soft drinks - coupon and offer stacking (love the luxuries in life for free or very cheap)

Had a couple of sales but we need to up our game, it's a tough nut to crack and while I'm certain I can make a go of this business the hours of work and learning are like nothing before, I love it but need some money coming in. It's nerve-wracking but I guess the founders of the companies we all know felt just the same. Must keep positive.

I'll be interested to know what I shall be posting this time next year, hopefully I'll be too busy counting my profits to spend much time on forums as much as I enjoy reading your stories!

LuxuryWoman

One more thing - I just wanted to post this to record it and look back on in the future.
2015 was a year of sadness and worry - illness, redundancy, bereavements, and stress.
2016 was a year of fire-fighting, stress, keeping on, worry and a generally unsettling year what with the number of high profile celebrity deaths, what I mean is for me it felt like a lot of change too quickly and everything shifted - the landscape changed if that makes sense.
2017 - a year of huge change, mainly positive, house move, money in the bank, debt's paid, single again (hooray) optimism and plans for better things.

I wonder what I will be saying for 2018?

That was a bit indulgent but I wrote it as an almost diary entry for my own records, but I am interested in what others hope for the year ahead.

lessonlearned

Luxury woman.......I know this sounds bonkers but I choose a word for my theme for the year. This year I chose “Vitality”. It was to keep me on track to get healthy again. My trials and tribulations took their toll, I felt I was burnt out.

I have had a bit of a “senior gap year” and I feel I am ending the year stronger, healthier and definitely with more vitality.

Next years word is “Radiant”. I want to radiate joy, happiness, abundance. I want to “light up a room” :rotfl:

Well today I had Part 1 of my vaccinations for the Amazon trip. Feeling a bit tired and lightheaded now so just going to chill, maybe watch a nice film. I think tomorrow will be when it all kicks in and I really feel the side effects so I will probably need a duvet day. No problem, I’m prepared, all stocked up with nice eats, a bottle of something if needs be, books and Netflix. I’ll be happy enough. I have deliberately kept my diary ckear so can take the time to ride it out. Part 2 next week.

I too have more or less finished my Christmas shopping so I can spend my recovery time wrapping presents, writing cards etc.

lessonlearned

Welcome NTM. I think you have found your spiritual home here. The £1m isn’t written in stone......just set your own goals and go at your own space. As Luxury Woman says......you are 30 - a fabulous age - time is your friend.

Kay I had £30k in premium bonds and usually won at least one £25 wIn each month, usually 2, ocassionally 3 so a good steady return.

I transferred it to my stocks and shares ISA because I don’t “need” It as such at the moment so hopefully it will provide good medium to long term growth. Currently around 12 per cent so not too shabby. :rotfl:

No real news here, still just coasting for now, preparing for Christmas and planning my trip. We sail on 7th January. Not long now.

PoorGuyNextDoor

How are we all doing this week? Weathers been terrible so far, surely it can only get better. Cant remember the last day it didnt rain!!

Whos got time off at Christmas? As iv recently started up on my own i can take time off whenever i want now really(although thats not stirctly true as im skint!!) Il probably have a week off and keep it as frugal as possible with lots of exercise and netflix! Im drafting up a small business plan, not to show anyone or anything just so i can track my goals as keep progress on the company next year. Who knows where il be this time next year!

MKeynesMoneySaver

Hey PGND,

A week off over Xmas sounds like a great idea, but I don't like the sound of Netflix. I always picture marathon TV series catch-up. :rotfl:

My wife loves to watch TV, and pre-Netflix I always wondered if it would come to a point where she had nothing to watch as we never had Sky. Now with Netflix and all the other video content, I have no hope.

Have you ever thought about meditation, it may be a good use of your time and a valuable habit to get into while you have a solid week or so to commit wholeheartedly and spend 15 minutes a day.

I haven't done it for a while but felt it grounded me and led to me focusing better.

Systems and schedules are other habits I would like to get back in to. Where I commit to spending particular slots of the week focusing on different areas of my life. There are lots of things you can do to streamline your life, e.g with food - writing a daily menu for the week, shopping for that menu, prepping food for the week and cooking extra for the freezer.