Only freedom will do

edinburgher

Some boring financial admin to bring me closer to FI goals...

• Increased my pension payments to 8% of salary (14% total)
• Increased monthly payment to SIPP by 5%
• Increased monthly payment to S&S ISA by 5%
• Paid £130 off my 0% CC
• £100 to P2P lending (12% secured)
• Referred 2 people to R@tesetter for £20 return

Plod plod.

hiddenshadow

Very nice, even if it is dull. Future you will thank you.

in_need_of_direction

Wish I could plod like that.

edinburgher

Another day, another dollar, I must have had a secret pay cut...

Not entirely pleased with the finances at the moment, I have gotten into the habit of paying for everything with the reward credit card and while there's a DD in place to pay it in full each month, the suck out is becoming more and more painful. Every payment is matched by a deduction from whatever budget line applies, but I have to accept the fact that we're losing money somewhere. I have become one of those people who dreads the silent thump as the statement hits the floor of my inbox!

I could blame it on Mrs E's maternity leave, but I think that's a red herring. It's Micawber plain and simple. The scary thing? I don't really know where to start. If it was someone else, I'd be jumping up and down with a thousand suggestions, but it's not so easy when it's yourself. I suppose it's just the steady drip drip of lifestyle creep, a more expensive house and reduced earnings? Funny how you can have a life that's exceptionally comfortable without being extravagent, but two perfectly average middle income salaries barely cover it :eek:

• Income - from what I can see, we'll have something like -£100/m when Mrs E goes back to work. No time to work more, MB less than rewarding these days and not much to flog
• Expenses - gawd, I think I'm going to have to post a SOA
• Expectations - these probably need an adjustment, but it is a bloody hard thing to do. We are the millennial generation writ large and why shouldn't we want an ok house in a decent area and a little fun? We've had 1/5 of the children of my parents and they managed that. On the other hand, I know it's a different world, our mortgage still makes me wince (6x my salary)

So where to start? All I know is that I have 11 months of damning data that shows how much we spend. In practical terms, I know things will change once Mrs E is earning again (1 week), but it will only be a plug in the dam. Trying to slam on the brakes, but momentum is a !!!!!!.

• £123.50 paid off 0% CC
• Hefty set of interest received from P2P

Goldiegirl

I think you're probably being a little hard on yourself, Ed.

I was just reading on an earlier post when you gave details of your increased payments to your pensions and ISA, which is impressive, when you consider the bigger mortgage and the reduction in household income.

If you compare yourself to other people your age and in a similar situation, I bet hardly any of them are thinking much about the future, and are just existing in the present.

You've got a lot of calls on your money...... Perhaps, for a while, you might need to scale back on the FI? It pains me to say that, as I always like hearing about your planning, but sometimes we have to cut out cloth to fit our income. I went from saving a lot of money each month, to living on a reduced income, when I retired. It was really strange, but I know that, when Mr Goldie gets his state pension in October we'll start saving again.

Maybe year or so away from FI might help?

edinburgher

I hear you Goldie, but 'FI' is still 19 years off. It's a sprint compared to pension age etc., but it's still a hell of a long time. When we get there, there will be no final salary pensions and what is there at basic contributions level will not replace a comfortable middle class lifestyle. If anything, I'd probably cut OPs before neglecting pensions or ISAs.

Karmacat

There's wisdom in what Goldie wrote!

More expensive house along with reduced earnings isn't going to help - and lifestyle creep can be a killer. Will an SOA tell you where the creep's going on?

I certainly had lifestyle creep in my late 30s/early 40s, but because I didn't know the term, and had never heard of FI either, it didn't concern me. I wish I *had* heard of them then, but that's how it goes.

Do you need to adjust your schedule for FI?
Do you need to pull back on expenses?
Do you need to give yourself a break from pushing?
Do you need more exercise and being outside more?

You have a lot of energy, which is fantastic, but you're also really hard on yourself. Can I ask you to do a thought experiment? What would your life be like if you were FI now, or within a year? How would you be spending your time? Is there any of that that you could be doing now? The stuff that doesn't cost, you know ... just an idea.

HTH.

Goldiegirl

Totally understand what you are saying, Ed.

I was just thinking that this has been an exceptional year, with a new addition, reduced income, a house move, and all the improvements that you are doing on the house.

The money has a long way to stretch, so I was thinking that a short break from future planning might give you the chance to regroup, and not stretch yourself too thinly

LadyGnome

Delurking - I have followed your diary for a while and I am impressed with what you have achieved so far.


One thing you may find now you have a child is that you do need to reassess your priorities more often. Mine are older but still school age and I am having to scale back some of my OP /ER plans because other demands arise. My eldest is about to go into Yr9 and suddenly university costs are becoming more of a focus even though its still 5 years away. Both children keep muttering about Florida and theme parks and XBox's although I do feign deafness:p. I probably wouldn't be prepared to work a year longer to take myself on a dream holiday but I would be prepared to work a year longer to take my children on one (if you see what I mean).


Maybe the feeling you have now is just a sign that you need to sit down and go through your life and financial priorities and check the balance is still what you want.

in_need_of_direction

Slow down. You're not that far in age from my children and while I sometimes wish they were more like you, I think you can be in too big a rush and can sometimes forget to enjoy the moment while trying to hard to focus on the future. I was very forcibly reminded recently that life can be too short. Look after your finances by all means but not at a cost of making life good for now.