My "Out of the Rat Race" adventure.

Knit_Witch · 1 October 2016 at 8:18PM

Indulge away! It sounds great

There_Is_a_Light · 3 October 2016 at 8:33AM

Back to the routine of a late start on a Monday and Friday off. I do love my lounge about Monday morning and it saves on fuel as I avoid rush hour. If I get my timings right I should only hit it on 2 mornings instead of 4 which makes a big difference to time/fuel/sanity.

I had quite a frugal weekend. At a car boot sale yesterday we spent the princely sum of £1.50 and bought a G. Forman grill and a pair of unworn slippers:rotfl: I didn't have to pay the £1 each entrance fee as I knew the owner who manned the gate so he gave us a free pass

So I guess I am actually 50p up! I also saw one of my FB friends giving away 3 lovely curtain poles as she is changing all of hers to silver (these are antique brass effect). I managed to grab them and one should fit the new bedroom I could always sell the other 2. It amazes me how much almost new stuff is either being given away or for sale, why must people constantly upgrade everything? My gain I guess.

My thoughts are constantly turning to life after FIRE and I am swinging from excitement to sheer terror at the thought that my calculations are way off. Mr Light is already mentioning that maybe we should do a few extra months just to be on the safe side:(

I think that we may need to purchase something a bit more sturdy than a trailer tent and have looked at the prices of motor homes. Blimey! those things cost a packet:eek:

Off to do more reading on ourtour.co.uk with Jay and Ju. They are inspirational.

TimmySaver · 3 October 2016 at 11:28AM

I know what you mean. The 21" TV we have is around 16 years old. Apart from a new fuse on the circuit board last year, it works fine. In the past couple of years we've been offered 2 flat screen LCD TVs - which were massive - as people were upgrading to LED TVs!

We declined as the energy required to use them is higher than the TV we currently have. Maybe if they offer us one of the LED TVs in a few years we'll say please and thank you! Apart from that, I really don't see the point - especially with a child under 2 who's constantly 'interacting' with the TV whether it's on or not!

I really hope you get to FIRE on time and don't need to do any extra jail time.

SuperSecretSquirrel · 3 October 2016 at 4:57PM

There_Is_a_Light wrote: »

Mr Light is already mentioning that maybe we should do a few extra months just to be on the safe side:(

Uh oh, that sounds like early onset one more year syndrome! :eek:

Pooky · 4 October 2016 at 7:45AM

It's a huge step so it's only fair that he's a bit worried - lots of gentle encouragement and number crunching and he'll come round.

gallygirl · 4 October 2016 at 9:51AM

There_Is_a_Light wrote: »

Sorry if this post seems totally self indulgent but I often come here and read back to see how far I have come and it really does spur me on.

Indulge away, it's inspiring and you deserve it for all your hard work :T.

There_Is_a_Light wrote: »

My thoughts are constantly turning to life after FIRE and I am swinging from excitement to sheer terror at the thought that my calculations are way off. Mr Light is already mentioning that maybe we should do a few extra months just to be on the safe side:(

18 months in and I'm still lurching between excitement and sheer terror :rotfl:. The money hasn't ran out yet though

. Don't know how to advise on Mr Light, except [STRIKE]a good slap around the head[/STRIKE] regular sessions sitting down and going over the figures. How involved has he been in working the money side out? Did he have the webchat etc? Can he make his own spreadsheet up to mirror yours? I didn't believe the figures on cfiresim and other sites until I built my own, much simpler, spreadsheet and really understood what was happening

.

There_Is_a_Light · 8 October 2016 at 8:54AM

gallygirl wrote: »

Indulge away, it's inspiring and you deserve it for all your hard work :T.

18 months in and I'm still lurching between excitement and sheer terror :rotfl:. The money hasn't ran out yet though . Don't know how to advise on Mr Light, except [STRIKE]a good slap around the head[/STRIKE] regular sessions sitting down and going over the figures. How involved has he been in working the money side out? Did he have the webchat etc? Can he make his own spreadsheet up to mirror yours? I didn't believe the figures on cfiresim and other sites until I built my own, much simpler, spreadsheet and really understood what was happening .

Thanks

Mr Light has been fully involved and has worked on the Spreadsheet with me. He is probably right about it being tight but I am optimistic that we will still be OK.

There_Is_a_Light · 8 October 2016 at 9:03AM

I have tentatively asked about a sabbatical from work and early feedback seems promising. My Director is fully supportive as is my direct line manager. Just waiting for a response from HR. I have made it quite clear that I am taking the time out one way or another. They both thought it was a fantastic plan and one that they both wish they could do. (both are on significantly higher salaries than me )

In an attempt to grab some free toiletries and makeup I have signed up to be an @von representative under their current offer and took delivery of my brochures yesterday, need to ensure that I keep my records well for tax purposes. Not expecting to make a huge amount of money but an extra £20-£30 a month plus all of the free sign up stuff will be gratefully received.

I had a long chat with DS2 and as he has now left Uni and is earning, the SO for £20 a week has been cancelled saving us £80 a month for the FIRE pot. He is also expecting his deposit on his last accommodation through any day which will be sent to us. It feels really strange not supporting at least one of my boys but it is how it should be and I am proud of them both.

After logging into my stocks and shares Isa account I was delighted to see my first quarterly dividend payment of £110. Stocks had a good day too with one holding up by 16%:eek: Dividend was immediately reinvested into the one that had done the least well:)

I hope everyone has a great weekend:A

beanielou · 8 October 2016 at 9:39AM

Wow. You are on fire:)

There_Is_a_Light · 8 October 2016 at 1:55PM

beanielou wrote: »

Wow. You are on fire:)

Thanks Beanie, on fire with the FIRE pot

My "Out of the Rat Race" adventure.

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