I think it’s fair to say that for a majority of us this journey towards financial independence is going to be a long one. Even the gods of early retirement such as MMM still had to dedicate many years of their life towards the final goal. Unless you’re unlucky enough to win the lottery, taking a look over the percentage savings table will show many of us are working our way through at least a decade of income generation in…
Perception of others and their situations or lifestyles can have a huge impact in how we ourselves feel and act. The recent exposure of Facebook’s secret mood manipulation experiment demonstrated just how easy it is to become affected by the experiences of others. Unfortunately this can also have an affect on our personal finances and financial futures. There are however a number of things to bear in mind which you can use to help avoid letting perception affect your financial…
Big news from the life of EarlyRetirementGuy this week is that I’ve quit my job! No, this wasn’t some heat of the moment walkout during a particularly bad performance review, but a much thought out and pre-planned action as a result of the discussions around my post last month and future career aspirations. It took me a long time to come to this decision, and was one of the hardest I’ve had to make in a long time. Several lifestyle…
‘Hi, I’m Guy.. I’m a computer engineer from the UK..’ This week I’ve been thinking alot about how we define ourselves and the relationship many have with their occupation. It’s ironic, because the very first line of my About Me page describes my occupation even before my location or age. It sounds weird when you stop to think about it, however to many (and myself included it seems..) our occupations are the go-to choice for describing ourselves to others. When…
There are many reasons to focus on your financial journey with the aim towards financial independence. No-one’s journey is quite the same and their reasons for starting it are equally unique. However, most people tend to fall within a mixture of a few key reasons: Security – Security from unexpected events and unforeseen expenses. Security from being homeless if you lost your job or child became ill. Happiness – Happiness gained from knowing you’ll never need to be stuck in…
While focusing on maximising your savings rate and trying to live cheaply, there’s a risk that friends and family may perceive you as being cheap. I believe it’s important to understand the difference between being frugal and being cheap as it can have a big impact on social interactions and lead to resentment. Being frugal to achieve Financial Independence is a great cause and more should be encouraged to take the journey for themselves. However inevitably we will all have…
A common theme running through most personal finance and early retirement advice is the concept of Delayed Gratification. This is where we actively choose to make a sacrifice today in order to obtain the same or greater returns later on. Saving money for a rainy day is the most obvious example of this; choosing to purchase a few less pairs of shoes each month so that you have enough money to fix the boiler when it blows up on a…
Fast food; destroyer of both health and wealth for many decades… and yet recently I’ve started to notice the amount of waste generated by these diabetes producing establishments as well. This isn’t just waste in the form of over-excessive packaging (Why does everything need it’s own individual box when you’re eating inside?) but all the crappy plastic toys given out with Happy Meals. We recently babysat my partner’s 2-year old niece and she brought with her the remains of a…
At some stage in our lives, almost all of us will have to earn an income away from the confines of our home and so have to endure some form of commuting. Typically the costs associated with commuting have been restricted to purely financial with some arguing that an increased commute can actually be financially beneficial. This weekend, The Guardian ran an article on the costs of commuting relative to the difference in house prices. The results were pretty predictable…
There’s been a real buzz around the office recently fueled by the caffeine high as co-workers everywhere lead themselves towards 40 years of work in order to fund inflated lifestyles… and I think I may have found the culprit. A couple of weeks ago, I walked into the downstairs reception and was greeted by the horror that was this early retirement killer: That’s right; no longer will we be forced to endure sunlight and the general public in order to…