Getting FIREd up 😀

South_coast

First of the month round-up…. 

• Daily interest on cash: £7.50 (DOWN 70P) 

• Owed on 0% credit: £31,970.67 (DOWN £9,334.45) 

• 0% payoff fund: -£465.74 (DOWN £8,699.88) 

• Need to raise: £32,436.41 (DOWN £634.57) 

• Savings for retirement: £129,781.52 (UP £7,142.94 😱😱😱) 

10.22 years to go… 

Well, I promised wild swings 🤣! But it's the figures in italics which are the focus for 2025, which wasn't very spectacular at all!

So, a couple of explanations 🤣! The fixed-rate ISA matured and I paid that and the interest off the cards (balance down, 0% payoff fund down). I finished putting aside the money for this year's LISA (savings for retirement up, though there was also some stonking growth, ie +£600-ish on my very modest £13k S&S). Putting money away for the LISA meant no new money to the cards this month, hence 0% payoff fund currently in minus figures due to minimum payments (borrowed against other pots, I'm not actually overdrawn - good job, since my overdraft was taken away!) Everyone keeping up with this? Next month will be more straightforward!

Made it to payday with £3.77 left! VERY pleased with this, as I went into the month carrying a £159.23 deficit (plus had quite an expensive meal on NYE that I'd failed to allow for 🙄). Lots of pricey (yet unexciting) things to spend out on during February though, so the vigilance will need to continue!

Oh, and have actually done some Prolific!

themadvix

Maybe they’ve been making flavoured vodka? Or hadn’t put anything out since Christmas?

South_coast

I'm not sure my neighbours are adventurous enough to make flavoured vodka 🤣!

themadvix

Fair enough!

South_coast

Sit-rep on the other Happy/Healthy/(Financially) Free plans:

UPF = 3 pot noodles (blaming Farm Foods for this, I went in for frozen fruit and they had a 4-pack for the bargain price of £1.89*), quite a few mushy peas and gravy granules, plus one or two small bits at BF's. The free pack of biscuits from Lidl Plus went straight into the food bank collection 😀

Running = Lots

Dry January = Yes 😅!

Car finance = Change of tack on this, as the cards are now the sole focus for the year. I have also received a statement and learned that the interest was applied in full at the start of the agreement, so no immediate gains to be made from OP'ing (though I have since been in touch with the finance company and they have confirmed that if I were to OP/settle early I will receive a partial rebate). This will be a 2026 project, as nothing is going into the car pot this year now (but there will be a LOT going in next year to make up for it 😬)

Excess bread and butter/cheese binges = None! Have not had any boiled eggs, so I've not been tempted 

Pretty happy with that as a starting point 😀

* I subsequently discovered that they were BBE Jan 25 - but not really sure how something freeze-dried is going to deteriorate 🤷‍♀️ Can confirm I ate one 01/02 and not dead yet 😀

South_coast

South_coast said:

10.22 years to go… 

BTW, I should probably say now that this number will fall substantially during the course of the year (should be about 8.93 by 01/01 if all goes to plan). However, it will be a bit of a false reading, due to 2025's money being focused on spreadsheet items (as opposed to those that are off the books). So, while I'm expecting it to lurch forward during 2025, 2026 (and a large part of 2027 😬) are set to absolutely crawl while I catch back up with everything else. 

So don't anyone go getting over-excited. Getting FIREd up currently set to commence in earnest November 2027 (although I will be doing my very best to improve on that!!!)

julicorn

South_coast said:

South_coast said:

10.22 years to go… 

BTW, I should probably say now that this number will fall substantially during the course of the year (should be about 8.93 by 01/01 if all goes to plan). However, it will be a bit of a false reading, due to 2025's money being focused on spreadsheet items (as opposed to those that are off the books). So, while I'm expecting it to lurch forward during 2025, 2026 (and a large part of 2027 😬) are set to absolutely crawl while I catch back up with everything else. 

So don't anyone go getting over-excited. Getting FIREd up currently set to commence in earnest November 2027 (although I will be doing my very best to improve on that!!!)

How are you working out that time btw? I could use some sort of countdown, I used to have one when we were actually overpaying our mortgage, but I haven't quite worked it out for the early retirement thing. 

edinburgher

I can't speak for SC, but I calculate remaining time by subtracting our net worth from our target and then divide this figure by our rolling average NW increase for 6? Months.

South_coast

I have my total I want to accrue, divided by

(the amount I save each month, inc pension contributions x 12 - the "everyday" things the savings have to cover each year)

Everything related to holidays, service charge on the flat, car costs (including finance payments) etc come out of the "savings" total, as well as sensible things like LISA and S&S, so the actual figure the savings produce is largely irrelevant to the amount which is going towards The Future once the deductions are taken off. 

I haven't given any consideration to either growth or inflation, so it is extremely basic, but my thinking is that my money "getting ahead of me" by growing or earning interest will keep me enthused 👍

South_coast

edinburgher said:

I can't speak for SC, but I calculate remaining time by subtracting our net worth from our target and then divide this figure by our rolling average NW increase for 6? Months.

Should have known Ed would have a more techie solution than me 🤣! 

I am one of these Luddites that doesn't calculate NW, as I don't want to include my home in the calculation. Yes, I have spent an absolute fortune on it in 2024, but I labour under no illusions that it will have added an equal amount to the value. I have no issue with that, as the improvements I have made were only ever to make it better for me, not improve its value. But NW-worth-wise, I don't see it as a realisable asset, as I don't intend to realise it, so it is off the books. Fully accept that for others that's not the case though, but not much I personally can do in the future to cash in by downsizing from a 1-bed flat, so happy to discount it 😀😀😀!