2020++ - smiling and waving and looking so fine

mark55man

Sat here at home on 500+ steps (600-) about to take DD home (2 hours ew) so unlikely to get any more today, then a couple of friends and family catch ups which won't be excessive but will be not on plan.  Then can kick off the new year on Monday!! (as it should be OCD Style)  

mark55man

My day 1/post 1 goals were - personal/financial/environmental/community/retirement

Lose 1kg a month to end up at 100KG or under in 2021 and under 200lbs in 2024

Steps / Keep fit - at least 3 times a week over 10000 and always over 5000

2020 - clear CC debt (ambitious)

2020 - banish the overdraft and my louche attitude to it - overdrafts are evil not financial lubrication

2024 - clear Mortgage (current slightly aggressive trajectory)

reduce consumption and more recycling (frregle, ebay, whatever)

greener personal environment - car / garden / house

At least one day a month charity or community volunteering

Online and ongoing support for activity groups, especially food bank and homeless

declutter one trip a week

less procrastination - eat more frogs more often

Better use of existing utility and work related benefits/coverage

Restart an outdoor hobby

5 years is my target to be retired 

Lose 1kg a month to end up at 100KG or under in 2021 and under 200lbs in 2024
FAIL - well this has been a rollercoaster - I start 2024 back at 119kg - al lot of good work undone - but this is focus #1 this year

Steps / Keep fit - at least 3 times a week over 10000 and always over 5000 -
FAIL in 2nd half but did well in first half of year - A joint focus#1  this year, mainly as part of weight loss but also to keep healthy

clear CC debt (ambitious) -
DONE - such balances as there are are covered by savings a little stoozing - the goal is to not use CC at all for personal spends, and where possible not even for work spends - this has been a problem in 2023 but will focus on this focus #4

banish the overdraft and my louche attitude to it
- overdrafts are evil not financial lubrication - DONE - this will be my 4th year clear

clear Mortgage -
NOT QUITE - couple of months ad I will be mortgage neutral - ie with enough cash to pay off, but mostly earning rates well above my mortgage rate

reduce consumption and more recycling (frregle, ebay, whatever)
NEARLY - conspicuous consumption reduced but legacy consumption not recycled (see below)

greener personal environment - car / garden / house -
FAIL - literally not addressed this at all, except for the daily necessities and activities associated with young adults leaving the nest. This is priority #2 - probably in order home garden car

At least one day a month charity or community volunteering  -
YES - support OH and am more active in community events

Online and ongoing support for activity groups, especially food bank and homeless -
NO - moving to thinking about CAB but doing more political activism

declutter one trip a week -
FAIL (will be part of Prioirty #3) but I also said this for each of the last two years so will try and hold myself to account

less procrastination - eat more frogs more often -
KIND OF - I'll let you know later

Better use of existing utility and work related benefits/coverage -
YES - mainly pension and health related

Restart an outdoor hobby -
NOT REALLY (Walking as I do it not really counting here)

5 years is my target to be retired -
ON PLAN - just finalising the flight path (also more later)

mark55man

My 2023 Targets were

* Weight - From 115kg to 100kg by 31/12/23 - FAIL

* Steps - From 2m (just under) in 2022 to 2,5m in 2023 - average 6850 per day 48000 a week - FAIL

* Exercise - Back on the rowing machine - 2000m sprint in under 8 minutes (<2:00/500m) - FAIL

* Savings - £11K for mortgage repayments post R-Day - SUCCESS

* Gardening - Tidy enough to have a birthday party for my big birthday - SUCCESS but only just

* R-Day - Just keeping the daily countdown going - SUCCESS

I will replace these with the following focuses
Joint #1 - Weight and Fitness
#2 - Greener Environment
#3 - Declutter
#4 - No using the CC - its a path to weakness. So financial discipline

mark55man

Finally - a little bit about money and retirement

* I have been able to put an amount into my pension that maximised the company contribution and used a couple of medium sized (about month pay) bonuses to minimise tax and NI.  So that will carry on this year, using savings to cover the mortgage and allow me to maximise gross pension contributions from salary
* I Will look to close off all CC Stooze arrangements and work more on a debit/savings basis as I have gone a little wild in the last few months and have planned and paid ahead for all big events (holiday to my brother in a different time zone, OH big birthday and big anniversary) - my theory is that until I actually hand my notice in, my salary is a buffer - that looks like being 3 months away then will work my 3 months notice  but will save holiday so the last month is mostly on holiday.  So I want my first 12 months of retirement to be shock free from big events
* I still don't know how I will react to retirement, although my friends and colleagues who have done so highly recommend it - so I am going to try and leave a few options open (eg not burning any bridges or doing anything irreversible (mainly pension related))
* I am considering  a suggestion made by a colleague to take a sabbatical for the summer months then I can possibly leave a little earlier (eg March not June) and then go back to work for a few months over WInter with a view to maybe finally call it a day for Easter 2025.  This feels a little going back on my plans as a sabbatical is not the same as retirement, but does meet most of the objective above + balances salary over 2 tax years which is good).

So budget wise it will go something like this:
  - Jan 24 to March - business as usual but using savings to cover mortgage and using net income to cover day to day costs (no credit cards) to give a closer model of retirement spends
  - April to September - (Whether sabbatical or retired my income will be 0) release savings to match mortgage and spends - and OH to use her income for her spends and top up household with whats left
  - October - Dec 24 - if retired carry on as above, but start to draw on pension pot, but if back at work then as above
  - Jan 25 - <....> - Mortgage reverts to SVR in 2025 (from 2.09%) and the choice will be to pay off from savings/pension.  

I do have some fixed income (DB) pensions, but they don't kick in for a few years after and I will try my hardest not to take them early although colleagues have helped with some analysis and this suggests about August 2027 

mark55man

So finally just to say as I enter my 5th year of this 5 year diary I think the next 12 months will see all the decisions made, and hopefully all objectives met (especially weight and decluttering).

It will need focus on my targets, perhaps more so than this year when I really lost my way a little (driven by work and some success) but by and large an unhealthy balance which I will redress

FootyFanDan

Loving how planned out and organised you are Mark. Good luck over the next 12 months on the goals

mark55man

Thanks Dan - I wish it felt organised in real life, especially the non financial side of life - but as plans go it has a certain sense of progression - 2020 got the overdraft contained, 2021 mostly got the CC constrained, 2022 got the mortgage covered, 2023 got retirement planned - just leaves one year to lose clutter and plumpness which I am hoping to do in the first half of the year 

Less_Talk_and_More_Action

Really interesting to see your original goals and progress @mark55man.  I have set purely financial goals but I can see that it would be beneficial to have other goals (weight a big focus for me this year).  That could include those directly related to retirement - I talk about it but don’t consider the various aspects but your all round approach seems very beneficial. 

You have inspired me 😁. 

L x 

mark55man

I am pleased you find it helpful LTAMA, but at 160 pages its a long read, and mostly its the same lesson - you can achieve anything you try, but you can't achieve everything at once

Less_Talk_and_More_Action

To true @mark55man.  I think my errors have been trying to do too much in a short period of time and believing that to be the only way (but like the weight loss journey as well) whereas your 160 pages were a homily to steady progress with adjustments on the way.  

My all or nothing mindset has not served me well but I have recognised this and my plan is intentional and consistent progress.  

It seems for me that the same lesson bears  repeating so thank you very much for that and the effort you have put into your diary.  

L x