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Category: Lifestyle

The Problem With Good Personal Finance? It’s Boring As Hell

The Problem With Good Personal Finance? It’s Boring As Hell

I first started reading about personal finance and early retirement just over 5 years ago. At the time, my partner and I were living in a tiny 1-bedroomed house, desperately trying to save up for a house deposit while seeing a large chunk of our earnings disappear each month on rent, food and transport. During this time I begun researching online for others who had been in similar situations and how they had adapted themselves in order to increase their…

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Winter Work Woes

Winter Work Woes

It’s December! Christmas lights are on, the shops are heaving and people start getting excited about eating far too much. Now I’m obviously not one for giving in to the mass commercialisation that Christmas is in this country, nor do I act the scourge, however this year I’ve noticed an even worse dampening of mood as the days get shorter and very much colder. You see, I’ve had the misfortune of being assigned to cover a colleague’s project for the…

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Guest Post – How to keep fit and stay healthy while saving money

Guest Post – How to keep fit and stay healthy while saving money

I don’t normally post most of the guest articles I receive however the one below really struck a chord with me. Every time there’s an obesity craze sweeping through the media, the comments sections will begin filling up with people making excuses about how expensive is it is stay fit and eat healthily. Yes; if you insist on paying the insane all-included gym costs and eating out at vegan restaurants all the time then the costs will rack up! However…

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You don’t get rich by spending

You don’t get rich by spending

Last night I finally got round to watching the 2nd part of Britain’s Spending Secrets. I’ve previously spoke about some of the themes of the 1st part of this insightful documentary which went into details on how people prioritised their spending and the infamous ‘middle class’ family who almost starved to death just so their 2 children could go to private school. The 2nd part however focused much more on the amounts people spent rather than specifically what they spent…

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I don’t want to be rich, I want to be free

I don’t want to be rich, I want to be free

The poor weather this week caught me slightly off-guard and put a stop to my original plans of tidying up the back garden. Instead; I felt it had been an adequate time since having read The Millionaire Next Door and so with the rain lashing outside and the knowledge that my garage was slowly flooding.. I settled down on the sofa for a re-read of this absolute classic. Although almost 2 decades old now; the research, stories and information given…

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My Top 10 things people waste money on

My Top 10 things people waste money on

The battle between personal wants and needs is a hard one, made even harder by the constant bombardment of media advertising we receive each day. Not-so-special offers, visions of the perfect lifestyle and the infamous ‘Keeping with the Jones’ all contribute towards some ill-advised purchasing decisions. Here is a list of My Top 10 things people waste money on:   1. Gym Membership You see them through the windows every January, working hard with the bright lights blazing and high…

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Reasons to retire #2 – There’s a whole other world out there

Reasons to retire #2 – There’s a whole other world out there

Following on from last time’s Reasons to retire #1 – Appraisals and targets and the excellent discussion it generated, I thought we could continue with producing a list full of reasons to retire. Many of us take for granted our belief that early retirement is something good to work towards, indeed most of the personal finance information and blogs I come across go into great lengths about how to save money and retire earlier.. without giving too much consideration into…

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Ways to save money by NOT doing something

Ways to save money by NOT doing something

Any time I talk with people who speak about their money problems I keep hearing the same old excuse repeated: It’s too difficult to save money, I cant be bothered to save money, It’s too much effort to save money And really; who could blame them? In a modern world where we are constantly bombarded with advertisements and marketing aimed at getting us to spring into action and spend our hard earned money. Companies who make it as difficult as…

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Common replies to the Financial Independence closet exit

Common replies to the Financial Independence closet exit

I was recently reading though an interview conducted by TheFireStarter who was speaking with the often hillarious Financial Zombie when he mentioned a term which really stuck in my head: Are you in or out of the FI closet with friends and family? I think it’s a great term for the situation we find ourselves in as from what I’ve read on fellow blogs; many really do think of themselves firmly trapped in a financial independence plan closet. It’s odd…

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When is the best time to start saving for retirement?

When is the best time to start saving for retirement?

One of the most common questions I see asked online through out many financial based forums is at what age and how much someone should start saving for their retirement. Typically such threads will attract a wide range of responses which go from the prudent “half your age as a percentage” rule right up to the inevitable “don’t bother because the government will steal it all away” type responses. Although I especially enjoy reading many of the conspiracy theories around…

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