Millionaire Challenge

usa1

I have upped my pension contribution to 45% through my employer as this is done through salary sacrifice. I have managed to lower my income tax per month to less than £100.00 yay ....

Kayalana99

Hey guys really quiet on here!!

Just a quick one I have a new job! It's the same salary but more hours (so I'm increasing my income by 5k essentially even though full-time salary is same) and better hours. Originally it was a full-time 9-5 job advertised but in end because of their own reasons they offered me 30 hours so I agreed as long as I could do 9-3pm..this means I don't even have to change my current childcare commitments because they was in breakfast club anyway etc 8-4.

It also means I have more time in the evening and full-time would have cost me another 250 in childcare...yes I get most of that paid back but it means once my business is up and running and I'm earning money to offset the UC that I'm 250 better off.

I don't really feel like the job has much development potential in an IT POV but it's a small growing company so I guess we'll see.... I think better to be in small companies personally as first in is more likely to get promotions etc...end day I do want to be self-employed eventually anyway. I was a bit worried about working on my own at home all day but I've since realised I can rent a desk in the centre along with other people in same boat so I can have the social aspect as well when it comes down to it.

Scary leaving my current role as I am happy, a few minor issues I guess (who doesn't) but overall I'm going to miss it but I feel like I'm doing the right thing.

I moved up about an hour away last year from my family and friends and I kinda wanna go back, so I think I'm just going to chill out a bit at this role as it's the same job title but it's going to be a lot easier then my current role on a technical level, stockpile some spare funds, and keep developing myself with view of going self-employed so I can perhaps move back down.

Feels like a pipe dream atm but it's more then doable if I can find the time and self-discipline to make it happen.

Muhren

I haven't had much to report recently, but I have had my dividends come through for my company shares, which cam to just over £2000, with them being automatically reinvested.


I have applied for a new job at work this week, hopefully I will at least get an interview. It would be mvoing up a pay grade and would mean I am based slightly closer to home. Will have to wait and see if anything comes of it.


Edit - had my student loan statement come through today, which has reduced by around £800, leaving £1,900 still to pay.

marcmc84

I would love any ideas on how to do this. Ive had a go in the past and buying and selling on. Mainly clothing from busted retails and buying up their stock. Profits were small and gave up on ebay and so gave up with that one as wasnt worth the time or effort. And thats another thing you need it time. So if anyone would like to join forces on some project i would be interested.

droopsnoot

^ There are plenty of threads on here discussing more specific methods of generating income, and it really all comes down to how much time you can put in, and what kind of skills you have.


I'm in a similar position - I have some time, but no useful ideas that I don't dismiss with "no-one will be interested in that". But when I see some of the things that *do* turn into successes, even short-lived ones, it amazes me that anyone will pay for them. Loom bands? Emoji key-rings? Two examples of things I've found dumped on a fire recently when a craze ended.

lessonlearned

Good morning everyone.

Welcome Marc. I've done some buying and selling in the past. I found it a bit hit and miss tbh. I don't bother with eBay anymore either.

Kay.....congratulations on the new job. Have you started yet. Sounds like it will work better for you around your family commitments and as you say more time too for other projects.Win-win.

Muhren, well done reducing your student loan. Good luck with the job Interview.

Well I think both droopsnout and Dielard raise interesting points.....about finding a niche. As some of you know my youngest son has been retraining as an electrician. He now has reached a point where he is being offered work right, left and centre.

Having worked in construction for most of my life I can see the value of having a marketable skill that cannot be outsourced.

For example....... being an architectural designer or technician is very nice but increasingly design work is now outsourced. However, you still need bricklayers, roofers, electricians, plasterers, groundworkers, landscapers. One day perhaps more people will build using prefabricated kit houses but even so they will still need to be assembled on site so I can't see the need for trades declining just yet. And of course there will always be a need for the big commercial projects.

My eldest son is typical of many 30 somethings, both he and his wife are engineers, and as new parents are extremely busy forging ahead in their careers whilst trying to raise their baby. Like many in their position, they are cash rich and time poor.

He has just paid £4K to have part of his garden landscaped. As he ruefully admitted, a job he is perfectly capable of doing but just didn't have the time. His toddler urgently needed somewhere to play and the garden was unsafe.

There must be loads of people in this position.

As many of you know I am currently renovating my house. I have a good team of tradespeople I can call in although I still like to do as much as I can myself. I am constantly being asked for recommendations by friends and acquaintances for good tradespeople. They are in high demand.

A friend of mine decided to take a course in dry stone walling, just for fun because he wanted to build a dry stone wall in his garden. Now that is definitely a niche and something of a dying art. Whilst he was working on it he was constantly offered work by passers by.

My advice to anyone who is remotely good with your hands is to learn some practical skills that can be monetised. You don't have to remain a one man band you can upscale most businesses or you can diversify. My son has every intention of upscaling once he has a bit more experience and built up some contacts and already has ideas of how he will be able to diversify his business.

I'm a bit long in the tooth now and am unlikely to make that magic £1m. I knew from the outset that that was a big ask so when I started this challenge I set myself a target of £300k. I am happy to say that I achieved that although I did give £100k to my sons to set them up with deposits on their houses.

So what am I up to now......

Well I'm still up for the challenge but I have scaled back a bit. I'm still happily retired but not really iyswim. I am as busy as ever.

I was offered a job recently, working back on site selling new builds but tbh I value my time too much. I simply don't want to work for anyone else ever again. I am financially independent and have sufficient income. I do enjoy working, I am really not one to twiddle my thumbs but I like to work on my own terms. I like to call the shots and be my own boss. I like the flexibility of being able to take time off whenever I want to. I still dabble in antiques from time to time and I am still beavering away on the renovation project, still enjoying it.

I do enjoy rolling up my sleeves and getting stuck in. Not only saving shedloads of money on labour costs but it is a labour of love for me. Yes I could pay someone but I'm happy to carry on working on the house. It keeps me fit and helps me keep the weight off. I've lost almost 3 stones now and feel great. And of course, more profit when I sell. :rotfl:

Still living simply and frugally, still salting any spare money away. Not travelled much this year, I can't be bothered......:rotfl: My next big trip is Iceland next year.

Keep going everyone. Remember the mantra.......

Persistence Pays Off.

Good luck.

PoorGuyNextDoor

Hi guys, quiet on here!!
Iv just about paid off all my debt, £200 a month for the next 3 years and that's me done.
Im not going to pay it off early as this and my phone contract are the only two things I have that keep my credit rating ticking over.


Looking to take on more work/projects to provide passive income.
I cant really up my hours in my main business as it is weather/daylight dependant, winter really hits hard if theres snow/frost/rain(in Scotland, yes there is plenty!!)
Main business income has varied Turnover/Profit from month to month.
Im a sole trader. Iv seen months where its £1,200 net profit(my wages basically) upto my best month of £7,985 profit. I have low overheads so i always have a profit/wage there at the end of every month.

My plan for 2020 is to save ALL of my business income.

Onto my new projects/passive income...
My magic number to make for my outgoings is £1,480 PCM so will round it off to £1,500 PCM.
£18,000 a year sounds pretty daunting but its "only" £50 a day/£350 a week!!

So...any ideas how to go about achieving this? Im reasearching daily different options i can explore. If i had the funds avaiable to hand i would look to flip property. Unfortunatly i dont so im restricted to what i can do.

I can put 3 hours a day Mon-Fri and the whole weekend into whatever i decide to do. I can also put in rainy days where its not possible to work on my main business.

Long term, beyond 2020 I just want a steady flow of income, get the projects/small businesses earning enough to cover my personal expenses. Allows me to save all my business income and use that capital after a year £24k+ estimated to invest into even more projects/buy a ready established one.




Its all just a dream at the moment. So im starting now with the idea that come January il be in full flow, know exactly what im doing aswel to make my £50 a day/£1,500 pcm.

I know it wont be easy but im looking for any ideas, even a £10 a day idea will go a long way as thats 20% of the overall goal!! Thanks for reading.

droopsnoot

PoorGuyNextDoor wrote: »

So...any ideas how to go about achieving this? Im reasearching daily different options i can explore.

Have a browse down this area of the forum for a few pages, there are loads of different income-generating things that people talk about. It's difficult for anyone to advise without knowing what your skills are.

Kayalana99

Hi guys.

Really quiet on here for sure.

Just to update the new job didn't go to plan. I found out once the handbook came through and after I gave my notice in that you only get 20 days holiday (which I knew) but out of those 20 days they took about 8 days for Xmas holidays...then with the odd day off I need for sports days etc it pretty much left me with 1 week free a year to go away.

On top of this, my current role I get 27 days + BHs off. I was also having some personal issues at work which resolved themselves the same week I was due to leave....work was really intensely busy so I sat down with my manager and said look...I love my job but I just need the increase in hours....he really did try...bless him...but I basically got told they couldn't do it....yet if I had left..they really would have been screwed.

Following this, I decided to withdraw my notice anyway because of work/life balance and it seemed silly to be leaving for money when for one I would not have built up the holidays for the Xmas leave with new company so straight away I would be down around 500 quid that month, plus I save loads having those extra weeks off in the school holidays and saving childcare...so it just seemed like the benefit didn't outweigh the cost.

Then the following week, we were just so busy...and the week after...they just were not coping (god knows if I'd left as well I don't understand why they did not increase my hours just purely to keep me) and I got asked....if I wanted more hours....so now I'm pretty much doing the same hours that I wanted in the first place...go figure!!! Everything worked out.

Then also around the same time this all kicked off, after I withdrew my notice...I made some joke about joining my mates team in London but they also have a small team in where I am based....so.... one thing lead to another and now there is a 95%+ chance I have a job coming up. Everything has already been put in motion but it's not going to start till new year. (Same company just to add) It might not be an increase in pay to start with as I'll be new to everything and no prior experience in this area but the guy I will be working with who does the same job as me is on 15k more then me, and my job title in Indeed.com produces 60k + wages....so once I have done this for a year or two I could be laughing...really got everything crossed this goes through. My manager to be has put a budget request in with my name on it instead of just a head count...pretty much unheard of so it's just all about getting everything together now.

Thing is I love the company, I love the job...I was really sad to go..but because of money and this personal issue I just felt like I had to..but yea it's all worked out...I might start looking again if this job doesn't come to fruition purely because I want a new challenge and I don't feel like there is many promotional opportunities with my situation of not being able to work full-time due to childcare (at least not here due to the travel aspect, if I worked closer to home..maybe I could push it)

Also my Dad had a heart attack, and has been told he isn't allowed to deal with too much stress so he's getting me to help out more with the properties with the view of taking it over and getting a monthly figure paid for this. I'm not sure how it will go though as I think he will struggle to let the reins go, but he's been abroad for 3 weeks so I have been driving up and down doing house inspections and various bits.

Financially as I stand now, things are finally coming together as well. From when I spilt with my OH last year I have more then doubled my excess income just generally due to cost cutting and the increase in income. Honestly think I'm better off month to month now then I was with him living here.....for a single parent with 2 kids I can't complain...still can't go on spending sprees and what have you but I'm earning more then a full-time wage doing part-time hours. I have also been off enjoying myself on my free weekends and been to London and Wales in November alone.

It sounds all gravy, but I have to admit I have had some issues this year overall and stuff I am still working on, but overall I think my quality of life has improved immensely.

For now I'm just enjoying life for what it is....and I shouldn't be so hard on myself as I have improved myself immensely financially this last year so I'm sort of thinking just focus on the new job role (pending) and trying to force myself to relax a bit.

Ray_Singh-Blue

Hey all. have been waiting for the day when I could post on this thread.

At school, two friends and I once had a discussion about how old we would be when we became millionaires. We were all quite sure we would make it by 30. I don't think any of us had a particular road map in mind.

Well, life appears to have finally taken me there- albeit by the scenic route. I was out by 15 years, there's the optimism of youth for you. But just got there, according to a spreadsheet which I update monthly. It shows that the value of all the stuff I have, less all the stuff i owe, is £1,027,332 to be exact.

This includes value of house, savings and investments but not pension. Also, I'm married so technically I guess only half of that is mine.

No lottery wins, no entrepreneurism, nothing exciting. It had been a slow, steady drive. 45mph on a dual carriageway in a Skoda.

University, career, got married, ladder of houses, kept working, moved into management, lived below means, saved, invested. One house, one spouse. No coke, no hookers. Pay my taxes, help old ladies cross.

And now there are seven digits on the bottom line not six. So I celebrated with a nice tuna sandwich, then did a bit of winter gardening, then we went for a mooch into town, then watched some TV.

Not sure why I'm posting here. You can ask me a question if you want.

Otherwise... good luck on your journeys. May the road rise before you. And please remember, money is just a marker at the side of the road- it's not a destination.

Cheers, Ray




.