2014 Aspirations

Dec30
by TFS on December 30, 2013 at 5:36 pm
Posted In: Aspirations
2014 Aspirations

Aiming high in 2014!

In the spirit of a “Let’s get down to business 2014” – without further ado, here are my goals for the upcoming year.

Financial Goals

  • Increase Net Worth by £30,000 – I haven’t done any figures on this yet but I am hoping that this is acheivable when I…
  • Make a solid retirement plan – I need to get this done asap so it must be put in the macro goals section to cement its importance. I need to crunch the numbers and make some educated projections to see what is really possible.
  • Save over 50% of income, after tax and other deductions – This may sound low but I have set up a share save scheme with work which I am going to max out contributions to and count that plus my standard retirement contributions as “a deduction”. So it’s literally 50% or more of what Mrs TFS and I receive jointly in our paypackets that we want to save, even though there are other savings going on on top of this. Anything higher would be too harsh a target (unless we moved into an RV, of course 😉 )

Educational Goals

  • Internet learnings – I’ve read a lot of brilliant and free stuff on the internet this year and it has taught me an absolute shit load! I want to continue this next year and read more thoroughly into the following non-exhaustive list of subjects.
  • Financial – Touch up on Index Investing, asset allocation, read at least one investing book. Macro and Micro economic principles. Alternative economy ideas. History of the stock market. Taxes!
  • Philosphy – Epicureanism, Stoicism, Zen, Samurai.
  • Environmental – Peak Oil, Peak Water, Corporate Sustainability, Renewable Energy, Environmental and Political Activism, World Hunger, GM food, Large scale farming, Globalisation, Waste reducing techniques, Energy efficiency, Bio fuels, Reducing carbon footprint.
  • Health: Learn more on healthy eating, Cooking home made healthy meals, Cheap ways to keep fit and exercise
  • Read 6 books (TBC) – This sounds like an extremely wussyish target but as mentioned there is a wealth of free information out there on the internet and that is my primary reading vehicle of choice right now. I have got a few (at least 10) books on the wish list which I will try to get through at a rate of one every two months. Hopefully I can increase the rate as my educational and other goals start to be hit and time is freed back up again. There is unfortunately only so much free time in each day to read and learn, so once I feel like I am more “well read” on the above subjects I can devote more time to books over varying subjects, and a few fun reads as well no doubt.

Blog Goals

  • Grow the blog to 50,000 page views per month (!!! Go big or go home, right?)
  • Write an average of 3 blog posts per week – Time should be the only factor here. I’m still enjoying writing and have loads of ideas in the pipeline so burnout and motivation should not be an issue. I think 3 posts a week is a good amount to keep regular reading, and grow a blog.
  • Write enough articles to be able to send out and get one guest post published per month – I guess the big hurdle is going be getting someone to accept and publish the article, but all I can do is try.
  • Read and comment on 5 articles per day – Again this is all to do with growing the blog. I’ve been over doing it on this front in the last month so I actually want to pull myself back on it, but I keep finding great new blogs and articles to read and comment on! Hopefully I will reach saturation point in a month or two and can tone down the amount of stuff I am reading to get a bit of time back for other activities.

Other Goals

  • Do some more challenges – There are a few listed below but I will think of some more throughout the year.
  • Buy a new car (used obviously!) – I am looking at a model that will double our fuel efficiency
  • De-cluttering – We actually did a lot in October time but have not sold/donated it all yet. So need to get rid of it and also re-assess if any more clutter has appeared (I am certain it will have done!)

Six month “to do” list

The above list of “stuff” to do, learn, put into action, and then write about it to tell you guys what I’ve been up to, seems really rather daunting, and when I see a list like that I normally either:
A) Want to do it all at once and get frustrated that I can’t due to that annoying thing called “there’s only 24 hours in a day”
B) Get hideously overwhelmed by it all and go hide under a rock crying
So I thought it would be helpful for me to split some of the tasks over the first 6 months into some sort of shedule, so that I don’t attempt to do them all at once, which would clearly end in disaster and possibly an admission to the local asylum.
Also I’m pretty forgetful, so this is something I can handily refer back to and remember what I am supposed to be doing each month, hence: my “to do” list
January
  • Challenge: Complete the 30 day mega-detox challenge (TBA)
  • Financial Task: Make a solid retirement plan
  • Financial Task: Set up a SIPP account to save pre-tax £££’s into
  • Financial Task: Set up an ISA in Mrs TFS’s name and use it to invest in Vanguard funds
  • Task: Buy a new (used!) car to increase fuel efficiency (MPG), and sell the old one.
February
  • Challenge: Run 2 half marathons (already booked in so I have to do this really!)
  • Financial: Research alternative methods of investing available to UK investors, and invest if possible.
  • Environmental: Energy efficiency in the home. Test all devices, make necessary changes
  • Task: Sell rest of stuff from decluttering project, and have a re-assesment
March
  • Financial Eductation: Learn how to submit a tax form, for the purposes of having “side hustle” income*
  • Financial Task: Open some new credit cards to start “Travel hacking” – hopefully I can pay for a holiday in 2015 with airmiles
  • Education: Start reading a book!
  • Blog Milestone: 10,000 page views per month 🙂
April
  • Challenge: Complete a 30 day no meat challenge
  • Financial Task: Complete a self assesed tax form for end of year.
  • Environmental: How to reduce waste in the home
  • Environmental: Start a compost heap in the garden
May
  • Financial Goal: Start “Maxing out” both of our ISA allowances which equates to putting around £2000 a month into them jointly
  • Finanicial Task: As it will be the new tax year, set up a new ISA in my name which uses Vanguard funds only and work out an optimum asset allocation strategy.
  • Challenge: Complete a 30 day “no added sugar” food challenge
  • Other: Celebrate Mrs TFS’s 30th birthday in style, but on a budget (am I allowed to put that? Oh well too late!) 
June
  • Financial Education: Learn more about real estate investing – Research the local market intensively to see if a local rental property would be viable, and if not see if buying a property somewhere else in England would work.
  • Blog Milestone: 20,000 page views per month
  • Other: Celebrate my 33rd birthday. Eek!

Final notes

This has been a really eye opening, extremely useful, and satisfying exercise for me and I would heartily recommend you writing down some goals, challenges, and a plan whether you have a blog or not! One of the best things about this has been splitting some of the stuff out over the first six months. So anyway in a nutshell, I actually feel quite relieved, relaxed and looking forward to the year rather than stressed, daunted and overwhelmed with “the task(s) ahead”!
BRING IT ON! 🙂
_________
*This year will be minimum to none, but I’m hoping to grow this in future years. Plus I am guessing even if this is £5, the tax man needs to hear about it. Back ↑
└ Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
25 Comments

A Conscious Conscience

Dec23
by TFS on December 23, 2013 at 9:53 pm
Posted In: Philosophy

Conscious Conscience

Something is happening to me.

When I started this blog, it was all about the money. Well, there was always the higher cause to think about of course which was one of the reasons I latched onto this whole idea in the first place, but the main benefit was clear, to save up enough money to get out of office block central, and into do-what-the-hell-I-likes-ville.
Over the last year I’ve been reading blogs, books and articles on a wide range of subjects all connected to achieving financial independence, and am finding myself gravitating strongly towards the ones with clear social and environmental morals at their root.
The funny thing is, not so long ago I was the type of person who might mock someone for being a vegetarian, yet the following week be up in arms about what I saw in the book slash docu-film Fast Food Nation. I think the same accusations could be made of a lot of people, and the only way I could carry on living without significantly changing was to simply forget about those things that made me feel uncomfortable and guilty, and push them as far to the back of my mind as possible. I wonder how many people who watched that film or read the book actually gave up eating meat for example?
The two huge drawbacks to this mindset are:
  • A life of self-imposed blissful ignorance is clearly no way to live. You are fooling yourself, and there is always that niggle at the back of your brain, eating away at your credibility and self-belief.
  • Living out a life that goes against your moral values is not conducive to long term and sustainable happiness. If there is a conflict between your conscience and your actions then the likelihood is that you will lead an unhappy and unfulfilling life.
I have always had a conscience, for as long as I can remember, just like the other 99% of the rest of the human population on Planet Earth. But I, like many of those others no doubt, seem to have misplaced it and treated it badly for many years, mainly during my late teens and twenties. I remember as a child being intensely distraught at seeing all the wrong that there was in the World, so maybe my reaction to this was to bury my head in the sand, knowing that there wasn’t really anything I could do about it. Now I’m all grown up (I like to think so at least) – that situation has changed somewhat. OK, so I still might not be able to solve World hunger in one wave of the magic wand, but there are many small actions I can do to make this world a better place, and the more people that are doing this (and I don’t know, say, blogging about it), the more will join in – you all know how going viral works, right?
I’ve also read a lot of articles this year about living life on your own terms, fulfilling your goals, and never giving up on your dreams, but that is all bullshit if your dream is simply to become rich enough to quit work and tool around on the internet for the rest of your life, or have amassed enough wealth to sit on your yacht every day. I’ve genuinely started to think people who are smart enough to reach financial freedom at a young age have got power that the average person hasn’t (the power of time!), and we all know the saying about power and responsibility. Whether you are blogging about something meaningful or just getting involved at a grass roots level and spreading the word on the ground, I really think we as a community should be doing more than just travelling about, tending our gardens, and generally hiding ourselves away from the big scary World. Luckily this has already started (years ago I might add) but we still need to make even more noise to get your average Joe / Joanne to sit up and take notice. And in my opinion there are still far too many blogs out there that are laser focused on the money side of things.
So anyway, the crux of all this is that I am going to work hard to make next year the year when I am acutely aware of what my conscience is telling me, and act accordingly. I’m currently working on my predictable blogger “2014 Goals” list. There will of course be some financial goals in there, otherwise this would be turning into a rather crappy personal finance and early retirement blog, and fast, but it might well end up being quite an unpredictable list compared to the average PF blogger, or even some of the FI bloggers out there!
This is not just a bunch of idealist, hippy bullshit: The internet is making radical and rapid change of popular opinion not just a possibility but almost an inevitability.
This is real, this is happening.
I can feel a wave of change happening around the World.
I can feel it in me.
Can you feel it too?
└ Tags: , ,
7 Comments

Random reads this week

Dec22
by TFS on December 22, 2013 at 9:54 pm
Posted In: Blogging
A random photo. Nice eh!

A random photo. Nice.

Like most folk (I assume), my interweb reading sessions are usually pretty wide ranging and occasionally very random. It’s great to keep up with your favourite blogs and read the new content they are producing, but when you find something from a source you don’t usually visit, or find something new worth following, it’s really great. I’ve stumbled across a few random things this week worth reading so I will pass them on, along with a couple of my favourite new blog posts as well.

I live in a van down by Duke University – A great story about alternative living, and how to live and be happy on next to nothing.

The ghost commune – Staying with the theme on alternative living, this is about a commune of “off the grid” houses, built by hand. It’s a really well written peice, and actually quite emotional at the end. Yea, I’m comfortable with admitting that, and what? 🙂

The New Escapologist Blog – What a great blog. The posts are quite short and written with quite a sparkling with, so good for a quick read and a chuckle. Obviously the main themes are on escaping the rat race.

Earth Day And Corporate Sustainability – An old post from Cash Rebel but a really good one. A thoughtful and informative article, and one that makes you feel positive that companies are really starting to think about sustainability.

How to Replace ALL of Your Household Cleaners with 5 Ingredients – I’ve been thinking of doing this for a while and this simple to follow guide seems to contain all the info you need in one handy blog post. Score!

If I Were the CEO of A Mega Corporation… – A humourous article from FI Fighter on how companies really should be run. I want to work there!

 

If I don’t get time to post tomorrow (very likely) then Happy Christmas to all of you!

the FIREstarter. x

8 Comments

Interview with a shamFIRE

Dec20
by TFS on December 20, 2013 at 2:07 pm
Posted In: Fun, Philosophy
Vampire

The only investment deposits he’ll be making are at the blood bank!

Sometimes the best way to guide us onto the right path in life is to look at people who are going about it completely the wrong way. This not only provides us with some light amusement but also a stern lesson on how not to live. So today I’ll share you a few recent conversations with a work colleage, who is most definitely not on the way to FIRE, yes his FIRE plans are what you could call a complete sham*. Unfortunately they’ll be unlikely to even get out of debt any time soon in the next 10 years from what it sounds like. For the sake of anonimity I’ll call this person SF.

What are you getting for christmas?

SF: Probably a new Nintendo Pii (not actually sure what it’s called?!)
TFS: Oh that sounds cool, how much are they?
SF: About £300.
TFS: Woah.
SF: What are you getting?
TFS: Nothing really, I mean I’ve asked for a book and a pair of trousers but as much as possible I’ve asked people not to bother this year or donate to charity in my name.
SF: So there isn’t anything you wanted?
TFS: Nah not really, everything I want I’ve already got, but I just don’t want many things.
SF: Oh I’m the complete opposite. I want loads of stuff! Don’t you want the new Nintendo!? It looks amazing!
TFS: Ermm… no not really. Generally if I really wanted something I just go out and buy it anyway.
SF: What… so you could just go out and buy something for £300!?
TFS: Well… yea.
SF: What about £500?!
TFS: Errr… I guess. Look the point I’m trying to make is not that I’m loaded or make a lot more money than you because I clearly don’t.
SF: Yea right.
TFS: I don’t! The point is that I can afford to go and drop 500 notes on something if I reallllly wanted to, precisely because of the fact that 99% of the time, I don’t want to do that.
SF: Yea well I can’t help it, I just want too much stuff!
TFS: Haha… yea I figured. Hopefully in a few years time you’ll get over it and start to save some cash.
SF: Nah it’s just the way I am.
TFS: Fair enough!
(Further info: This person has managed to buy a new iPad, has an iPhone 5 and a Nexus 7 tablet, all bought in the last 6 months)

So are you coming to the pub for lunch tomorrow?

SF: No I can’t afford it
TFS: Why don’t you eat here and just have a quick pint?
SF: Seriously, can’t afford it
TFS: You can’t afford £4 for a pint?!
SF: No mate, I only have like £300 to live on per month, things are really tight
TFS: Oh, (at this point I am wondering where all of his money goes as I know exactly how much he earns, and it’s not exactly a low salary). Are you paying a lot of debt of then?
SF: Mumbles something about a flat and some vague other debt. Oh and I’m still paying off my car.
TFS: Aha… How much is your car worth then?
SF: About £3,500
TFS: Why don’t you sell it off, buy a car for under a grand, and pocket the differece?
SF: I use my car to get to work (a five mile journey)
Another work colleague chips in: If I lived as close as you I’d be cycling to work! (I’ve tried this suggestion in a previous conversation, and it was met with a great wall of China sized block of negativity, otherwise I would have carried on with my colleagues line of thinking. So as it was I continued down what I thought would be a helpfully suggestive route with a low barrier of entry)
TFS: I’m not suggesting you ditch the car completely, just get a cheaper one?
SF: Yea but I also use it for other stuff like going to get food shopping…
TFS: Errr…OK. I’m aware of what people use a car for. I’m just saying if you bought a cheaper one you would still be able to do all those things, and have some extra money in your pocket now and each month?
SF: Yea but if I bought a cheaper car it would break and cost me even more money.
TFS: Ah but I’ve been buying cheap cars for years and it’s worked out surprisingly well, you just gotta do a bit of homework. Our current car cost about £1,000 and has been an absolute diamond for nearly 3 years now.
SF: Yea but I just don’t want to sell my car.
TFS: *Head explodes*
As you can probably tell already a lot of our conversations end up like this: A positive and logical suggestion is made, it is met with negativity and weak reasoning as to why this suggestion is just simply not possible, and when those weak arguments are dismantled it is met with the unarguable statement of “well that’s how I am and I can’t change it”. At that point there is no reasoning left so you have the choice of remaining calm and saying “fair enough”, or else you might end up screaming “You Idiot!” in their face whilst shaking them violently. Whilst the latter is sometimes tempting I still don’t think it would do any good anyway, so you may as well just end the conversation.

Some people just can’t be helped

I said at the start about gaining some light amusement from this sort of thing, but it’s actually quite sad that some people just don’t seem to want help or maybe even cannot be helped. This is one of the reasons that bringing up the often asked “What if everyone became frugal” seems a bit of a pointless question: It just ain’t gonna happen**.

Let’s end on a positive note

Let’s face it, if you are doing things differently to most people and let them know what you are doing (I haven’t really done this yet apart from on here and to Mrs TFS!) then you are going to face some adversity. Some people will think you are mad, some won’t understand what you are trying to do or how you are going to achieve a task of such magnitude, and some people will just be jealous.
However, despite all this, and despite not being totally open about my FI goals at work (which I think makes sense, for now!) I will continue to try to provide gentle advice and persuasion where I think it might be needed. I think it’s the least I can do, while trying to not come across as preachy, and then if people still don’t want to listen, well at least I tried!
Naturally if I talk the talk, I will back it up by walking the walk as well: setting an example is perhaps the best thing you can do to get others to follow suit.
How about you? Have you had negativity when trying to give people good sound financial, or other kinds of advice?
Are you completely open about your FI goals to friends, family, and work colleagues?
I’d be interested to hear some other stories and opinions in the comments!
___________
*Yea yea… a weak pun I’ll admit, but can you think of anything better that rhymes with “vampire”?! Back ↑
**My favourite response along this thought line is from Jacob who says simply: “Why isn’t everyone asking what if everyone became hairdressers?” Back ↑
└ Tags: , , , , ,
1 Comment

Get fit by being lazy

Dec18
by TFS on December 18, 2013 at 2:49 pm
Posted In: Health & Fitness

 

One of my lazy morning runs

One of my lazy morning runs

Are you fit or are you lazy? Or are you both? What the hell am I talking about?!

A brief history of lazy fitness

I guess you could say as a smaller child I was probably quite fit, in the sense that most kids were back then were. We’d always either be out on our bikes or running around, and we’d never stop bouncing around from the moment we woke up until our heads hit the pillow. Halcyon days indeed! Although probably not for our parents 🙂
For the rest of my life I think it’s fair to say that I have been a bit of lazy man – in the best possible sense of the word of course.
You see, while most people would attribute laziness to the sort that seem to have an aversion to moving the muscles in their arms and legs, and those that even take bizarre measures to avoid doing what they were clearly designed to do, the thing I really can’t stand is hassle.
  • Can I be bothered to make sure I always have correct change for the bus?
  • Can I be arsed to drive all the way to the petrol station to fill up the car just so I can drive to the big supermarket?
  • Can I endure having to get up 10 minutes earlier than necessary to make sure I am always on time for appointments?
  • Can I be fussed with ballache of getting changed, driving to the gym, showering and driving back home every time I want to work out?

The answer to all of the above is “No… I am a lazy, lazy man”:

  • Bus journeys of less than a mile? I’d rather walk thanks.
  • Stuff the hassle of driving and queuing in a huge superstore, I’ll just pick up small batches of shopping next time I’m walking past Lidl
  • I am far too lazy to get to almost any appointment on time, and invariably end up running to my destination or at least walking extremely quickly
  • There is no way I can be bothered with all that fuss just to get a work out, which I can do every day in my home by sneaking in a quick burst of press-ups, sit-ups and burpees, once or twice a day, or even quickly chucking on the running shoes and running hell for leather round the block a few times.

As you can probably see by now, my laziness with respect to what I see as hassle, is actually quite a good little motivator into actually getting up and moving about, occasionally running, and doing my fair share of walking. You aren’t going to reach fitness of Mo Farah proportions but if you are looking to shed a few of those Xmas pounds in January, you might want to change your perspective and become lazy, just like me.

 Comment 
%d bloggers like this: