Getting FIREd up 😀

SuperSecretSquirrel

Sorry SC I may have used the wrong term, Barista FI is probably a closer fit to what I had in mind. In my old job I used to dream up escape plans in case one might have been needed. One of those escape plans involved working out how much we spent, working out how much we'd earn in minimum wage jobs, then working out what amount we'd need to have in savings to cover any shortfall. Since our outgoings were relatively low two full time minimum wage jobs (or two full state pensions) would have been more than enough to cover everything, so without any savings we were already "Minimum Wage FI"... Next step would be to work out how many hours at minimum wage we'd actually need to work to break even. As your savings increase the amount you need to earn reduces, so the amount of your life you are "forced" to spend at work drops. It's just a case of playing with the numbers really. For me being 5% FI could have felt disheartening, whereas knowing I only had to work a 30 hour NMW job to get by was cheering. A target of hitting 10% FI could feel a bit of a drudge and drop in the ocean-like, whereas a target of getting down to 20 hours a week NMW would feel more like tangible progress.

I guess what I'm saying is you could think about what drives you and set your targets based on that. What would enthuse you rather than leave you feeling like you're chipping away and barely getting anywhere. You are progressing. A lot. You're doing great. It's just sometimes the big picture is too big. With the mortgage gone I reckon you'll definitely be some measure of FI already 👍

Of course if you want a year of no goals, just stop measuring 😁 I know it sounds flippant, but that's pretty much where I find myself now. I track day to day spends, check my balances every quarter, and summarise overall progress once a year. A tight focus on the day to day and an annual check on the big picture works for me. Once I knew I was a decent amount of the way down the road in terms of security, and Ichanged jobs and started to enjoy my work a lot more, it all pretty much became an irrelevance day to day...

Baileys_Babe

Thanks @SuperSecretSquirrel I have just used your idea to work out how many hours at NMW we would need to work if my OH lost his job (highly unlikely but it is a worry of his) to maintain our income, I was pleasantly surprised.

QueenJess

I have to admit that although I check spending, I don’t update pension/ISA information very often and have stopped tracking how far I have to go as it is happening whether I track it or not and it’s very slow and boring! I do have a mortgage to pay down that I’m tracking though.. I’m not that far ahead!

South_coast

Thanks all 😀 Some excellent thoughts, as always, which I will reflect on and answer properly tomorrow. But in the meantime, I've just done a £7-for-7-mins Prolific survey which was approved instantly - now that does enthuse me 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣!!!

themadvix

Thanks SC - this made me check Prolific very early this morning and I did a survey for £4.50 Not quite as lucrative or quick as yours, but still a nice chunk of money to start a Sunday!

South_coast

Excellent work, Vix! And the plus point of not having a 7 anywhere in it is not finding yourself pondering "brides", "brothers" or "St Ives" afterwards....🤦‍♀️

South_coast

Thanks again all for all your helpful and thoughtful comments, which I have read and reflected on again today. 

There is something in the background that I haven't posted about, but which may end up costing me quite a bit of money. Being a good MSEr, I'm already setting cash aside towards it should that eventuality happen, which is what's hampering my ability at the moment to save for The Future (I'm still saving a lot - more than ever before - but not all of it is for "me", which is probably why I’ve been so jaded about it). On the bright side, there is a fixed end date for this, so I should probably focus on what I can achieve in that timescale, rather than wistfully focusing on Plan A while at the same time being conscious that I may well not achieve it. 

Thanks for the "Minimum Wage-FI" idea, SSS. It looks like I could be pretty happy at about 35 hours/week of NMW right now (barring "the other thing"), so that's quite cheering. In the meantime, I’m not in a terrible place, and as much as work can be tough-going sometimes, I must actually appreciate it, because whenever I get approached about other roles that would be more money, less commute and better pension, I always say no thanks (so I guess that means I'm "FU-FI" 🤔?). However, it doesn't light me up, and there are aspects which can be quite petty sometimes, which can get tiresome. At some point along the way, I seem to have picked up a desire to be helpful to people, so the idea of a back-office admin role in a charity or at the council feels like it would be quite appealing. 

Anyway, that is all musing for the future, once “the other thing” is out of the way, so let’s set some non-pension/ISA targets for right now….(of course, if I can save what I need for “the other thing” ahead of time, or I don’t end up needing to do it, I can then focus on bringing The Future forward - which sounds pretty exciting and a good overall ideal to aim for)

Any money needed for “the other thing” is likely to not be required all at once, so I’ll call the first focus “Tranche 1”. I am currently at 20.4% of what I would like saved for this, and would like Tranche 1 filled roughly towards the first part of 2025. 

I would also like to save £315.72 towards next year’s LISA payment. It’s way too complicated to explain why this is such a random number (I’ve tried to phrase it several different ways, but it kept becoming too long-winded 🤣), so please just accept this figure at face value! This is a bit of a cheat, as I know there is already some money coming in which will go towards it, but I feel like it will be more of a “win” to celebrate if I achieve a bigger number!

Beyond that, I think I’ll focus on just “the next £50” and then “the next £50 after that” and break it down into smaller chunks to be directed wherever feels important at the time. There’s money going into the pension and ISA every month, and you’re all correct that they will do whatever they will do regardless of me tracking them, so I think a focus on the micro rather than the macro will probably be good for me right now 👍

South_coast

P.S. I'm quite excited by this £50-at-a-time idea now! I've pressed one of my unused savings accounts back into service and named it "The next £50" and am looking forward to starting to fill it now 😀

kaycastle

Always good to catch up on your diary @South_coast - I'm very intrigued about what the "other thing" is!

I think the barista FI is really intriguing and I love the idea of calculating a minimum wage FI @SuperSecretSquirrel ..... I'm going to go work out that out right now

Jessy103

How mysterious about this "other thing"! I'm now imagining you going round the country buying DVDs and props of all the detective dramas and then having a room at home full of Midsomar Murders and Murder She Wrote etc memorabilia! 😂😂😂

I do like the £50 thing too and that's what I will be doing with premium bonds.