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Welcome to theFIREstarter! If you are interested in themes such as Financial Independence, Retiring Early, Downshifting, or simply just working less and living more then please stick around, I think we’ll get on just fine 🙂
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If you want to get the full story you can start from the very first post here or for a more casual read, just see what catches your eye on the list of all posts page.
My thoughts and plans have slightly changed in the few years since I set up the blog, you can learn a little bit more about me and the main points on what those plans were and how they've changed here, here, here, here and finally here.
If you'd like to keep a track of new developments, money saving tips, money making tips, my adventures in attempting self sufficiency and simple living, free financial hacks and spreadsheets, and my general musings on Financial Independence, Personal Finance, investing, and the occasional humorous rant, then please consider following along. Those links again:
Ours was a bit of a struggle with the budgeting and savings rate this month, having achieved a whopping one last month we came crashing back down to Earth with a measly 16%.
However, this was entirely expected due to us starting to purchase items for the bathroom overhaul which I will be starting at the end of this month (if you can hear someone shouting “Finally!” in the background that will be Mrs T).
If you asked me around 5 years ago, I never thought I’d be saying this, but I actually think Jamie Oliver is a pretty decent bloke, with some good ideas, and his heart is most definitely in the right place. The recent Sugar Tax proposal seems to have been blown way out of proportion with many people outraged that the cheeky chappy is trying to tell us all how to live our lives. The thought of it, someone trying to improve the lives of thousands of children (and adults)!? What a complete tosser.
Anyway, it has to be said that there are plenty of people also in support of the argument, the Guardian reckons over half of people polled support some kind of taxes on unhealthy food, although I guess they would say that 🙂 – I reckon in the general public at large the support is much lower, but maybe I’m being pessimistic on my fellow human (jelly) beans.
Welcome again fellow renewable energy aficionados!
Following my post the other day on the performance of our Solar PV Panels over the last year there were a few questions and comments which highlighted the fact that there is still a lot of confusion out there about how they work and how the government schemes work that support them. I hereby present you with a solar panel FAQ:
I’ve been procrastinating over my business bank account for nearly a year now! Yes, we are at the end of October and I still haven’t ticked that particular goal off of my list yet.
I nearly managed to pull it off. I was soooo close! I got down to the local Natwest and filled in all the forms, they sent them off for me and I was expected to hear back in 2-4 weeks. About 8 weeks later I had heard nothing and kind of just forgotten about the whole thing!
I finally rang the business banking department last week and, after having been transferred 3 times to “different” business bank account departments (How many do you bloody need, I found myself asking?!?!) and I was told that there is no record of me on the system at all.
“Computer says no!”
I would have to start again and it would be nearly an hour on the phone while we filled out all the details again, and then no doubt some other red tape to cut and hoops to jump through after that as well. I said no thank you, I’d have another look around online and get back to them if necessary
I was also concerned about the charges that business bank accounts have and was wondering whether there was any way I could get free business banking. After all, I’m not going to be making hundreds of transactions, it will just be being paid for a contract every so often along with a few expenses paid out of it. This is surely no more work or overhead costs for the bank than a personal account!? It then occured to me to ask the simple question:
“Do I even need a proper business bank account to run my company from?”
It turns out that in many cases the answer is “No!”
It’s my first day back at “proper” work today so thought it would be a good way to summarise how the first two weeks of semi-employment, self-employment, mini-FI, a little taste of freedom, or whatever you want to call it went. Rather than bore you with a day to day diary I’ll just list out my thoughts on what the good and bad points were. When I say “bad” I think this term must be taken relatively in that they are only bad compared to the good points, but most are still way less bad compared to the bad points of working full time.
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Disclaimer
I am not a professional anything, and you should treat all the words you read on this site as ones that exist for your infotainment only. Even the ones in this disclaimer. I will not be held responsible for any kind of outcome from you following the advice or hint of a suggestion made on this blog, and will not be liable for any emotional damage inflicted by the stinkingly bad puns contained within. Read at your own risk. Some of the links on this website may be affiliate links, if you support me via these links I will be forever in your debt, not in any monetary sense of course. Like I'd actually put that in the disclaimer! Hah!
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