Part 252: Exciting Times – TempFI

Hello and welcome back to Mortgage Advisor on FIRE.  This week I have exciting news, which you will find below.  Also, thoughts on the recent Kiefer Sutherland concert, and yet more frustrating interactions with the agent selling our BTL.  

Weekly Update

On Monday we went to see Kiefer Sutherland for the third time.  The previous times he has put on a cracking show but although this was still a good performance there seemed to be an issue with the sound.  It was not as sharp or crisp, almost slightly muffled.  

The gig was in danger of being ruined by the dipshittery of other people.  The location of the gig, The Leadmill, is a small venue that’s almost entirely standing room only on a single level.  Unless you are very tall, your view is going to be blocked to some degree. 

Many people were filming or taking photos on their phones; it’s what people do now.  Oana was filming a clip of a song she likes and I was standing by her side when a guy marched up behind her.  He grabbed her and shouted, “Excuse me, will you stop filming as you’re blocking my view.”

I didn’t react positively to this.

Oana was stunned and I started shouting at this guy to back the fuck up and shut his mouth.  I stared him down as he backed off and then went back to make sure Oana was ok.  I don’t generally like confrontation, but sometimes you have to stand your ground.  When I looked around there were a few dozen phones in the air being used to record.  I don’t think this guy realised I was with Oana, and he probably wouldn’t have said anything to another man.  

Edit: someone commented that it’s weird I don’t understand why people backed off after this. I do understand. It’s just annoying that I’m made out to be the bad guy for standing up for my girlfriend when another guy put hands on her. Bizarre that anyone would think I reacted inappropriately.

It took the shine off a great night…

It took a while for the adrenaline to wear off but the annoying thing was everyone gave us a wide berth following that interaction, almost as though they were scared of us.  For somewhere that was almost shoulder to shoulder, we had a good meter or so of space around us.

The thing about these types of events is that no one has a good view.  Everyone is standing at the same level with the stage raised.  I don’t know what the guy was expecting because he wasn’t the tallest guy in the crowd and he was quite far back.  

I’m not sure I would go back to see Kiefer again.  I’ve seen him three times now and it’s not as though the tickets are cheap.  These cost £35ish each and the venue isn’t the best.  If he comes back to a different venue I might consider it.  In December we will be going to see Kygo in London, which we are both excited for.  

On Saturday we went into the city centre to look at a new space that’s open for independent retailers and artists.  It was a nice atmosphere but quite busy, so we didn’t hang around too long.  We then went for food at a new(ish) place that does fried chicken.  This was my first little treat since I started my health kick, and we had a chicken burger each and a few chicken tenders.  It was nice but very messy.

Exciting News

I mentioned last week that I was waiting on some exciting news that could be life changing.  Well, I got the outcome I wanted.  From December I will be leaving my job as a mortgage advisor and taking a mini-retirement.  

It’s going to be strange leaving the job I’ve done for over thirteen years, and I’m going to miss the day-to-day interactions with my friends and colleagues.  It’s the right time though.  I’ve felt like I needed a new challenge for a long time, and the timing here is ideal.  I plan to take time off until the second half of 2025 and I’m going to use those free months to work on a few projects.  I’ll talk more about those ideas in the coming weeks and months, but for now I’m concentrating on seeing out my remaining time in this role as professionally as possible.

I am referring to this time as TempFI; a short break from work before I seek other employment.  It could be argued that I’m in the final stages of FI as I’m nearly at the point where I’ve got enough invested to see me through to when I can draw my private pensions.  I would rather work a little longer though, and build a bit more in my pension pot.

Although I plan to take several months off, the reality is I may end up taking on some temporary or part-time work if I get bored.  The great thing is I have options.

Upcoming Projects

I’ve been thinking for a while that I want to write a book.  I’ve made lots of notes and think I’ve got a decent concept for an entertaining read.  I’m not going to say much about the specifics until I’m much further into the project.  

I also want to develop some new skills that might help me when I look for a new job.  I had looked at doing some more studying but the cost of courses is just way too high.  I’d love to study astronomy or astrophysics but I don’t want to spend over £10k to do it.  Maybe if I was twenty years younger, but not now when I’m so close to FI.  

When I start to look for another job it’s going to be a strange experience, and I’m going to be stepping outside my comfort zone.  My main priority will be getting a job that does not involve customer contact.  I need a role where I can just get stuck into a project or task and be left to it.  I’ve only lasted so long in this job because I understand the script, as it were.  

I know the subject matter and I can mask to get through the working day.  The stress of entering another business combined with dealing with their customers might just be too much for me to cope with, especially when my mental defences are not what they used to be. 

Health and Diabetes

I’ve been making decent progress on my Diabetes step challenge.  I’ve still got the rest of August and the whole of September, of which I’m on holiday for most of the month, to build up my steps.  I should get to 1,000,000 well before the deadline.

In the last couple of weeks I’ve been monitoring my blood sugar levels more closely.  After my scare a couple of weeks back when I was told I was at increased risk of stroke or heart attack, I realised I needed to do something. 

Calorie counting never really works for me so I just figured I’d keep an eye on my blood sugar and only eat when it’s low enough.  If it’s too high I do something to help bring it back down, like drinking plenty of water and trying to do a little exercise.

The result of my efforts is that I’ve lost 2.6kg in the last couple of weeks.  I still have a way to go though.

Diabetes UK Step Challenge

From July 1st until September 30th Diabetes UK is running a step challenge to raise money for their cause.  There are three step targets to choose from; 500k, 1m, or 1.7m.  I originally went for the 1.7m steps, but it’s become clear I’ve bitten off more than I can chew.  I’m now aiming for the 1m target.  

If you’d like to follow my progress or make a donation, it can be done here.

Letters to Oana

If you missed it, Part 2 of the series Letters to Oana is now live.

Looking Back

Part 15 of the Looking Back series is also live.

What I’m Doing

Listening: The Dark Spring by Brandon Q. Morris.

Watching: Celebrity MasterChef.

The series I’m listening to by Brandon Q. Morris has been of mixed quality.  I’m just wanting to finish the book I’m on, and the following one which will finish the story.  After this I’m not sure what I’m going to listen to, so if anyone has any recommendations please let me know.

We’re a couple of weeks into Celebrity MasterChef and we’ve only recognised two of the contestants.  I think they are stretching the definition of the term celebrity somewhat as many of them appear to be from reality television shows.  I need a good show to get stuck into but there doesn’t seem to be much about.

Website Stuff

It’s getting to that time of year when I need to pay to renew my domain and plan with my site host.  I will probably never make money from this blog but I would like to reduce what it costs me to run.  There are a couple of ways you can help and it will not cost you anything.

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Financial Update

Assets

Premium Bonds: £14,050.00.

Stocks and Shares ISA: £79,255.66.

Fuck It Fund: £846.75.

Pensions: £81,857.77.

Residential Property Value: £234,044.00. 

BTL Property Value: £151,029.00.

Total Assets: £561,083.18.

Debts

Residential Mortgage: £185,958.33. 

BTL Mortgage: £104,787.85.

Total Debts: £290,746.18.

Total Wealth: £270,337.00.

BTL Update

This sale has been dragging on for ages.  We accepted the offer months ago, and it’s felt like we are the only people eager to push the deal through.  At the start of the week, we had made it clear that if there was no significant progress by this coming Friday we would pull out of the deal.  We followed that up with a couple of emails to the agent on the 20th and 21st, for which we received no reply.

On the 23rd I emailed the owner of the agency and received her out-of-office alert.  So, I called the agent to see what was going on.  The person I had been dealing with was on holiday, and my emails to her on the 20th and 21st had not been picked up by anyone else.  I can only assume that those emails would have remained unread until this person was back in the office.  

I was asked if my queries could wait until she was back on holiday, to which I explained we had set a deadline for this deal to complete and we really needed to know what was going on.  The person on the phone again explained that her colleague was on holiday and added that she has children.

How is that relevant?

From that nugget of information, I can only assume the holiday was booked in advance and the business should have put in place measures to make sure their work was being looked after.  It’s not like property transactions go on hold because an agent is on holiday.

To be clear, I’m not complaining about someone having time off work, but I’m frustrated and annoyed that the business had no process in place to deal with issues that arise when one of their staff is off work.  

We eventually got an update that the buyer has sent the outstanding documents to their solicitor which means the legal work should (hopefully) be coming to an end.  

Funding TempFI

I’ve been thinking about how best to organise my funds for TempFI.  I don’t want to draw money out of my investments by selling units, so it’s probably going to be using cash from savings pots in combination with 0% credit cards.  I will use income that my investments generate, such as dividends, interest, and winnings from Premium Bonds.  

Assuming I don’t invest during my TempFI period, I should only need about £1k per month to get by.  I’m expecting to net £16k(ish) from the sale of the BTL, so if I take six or seven months off work, it’s not going to clean me out.  

I can’t wait to have a sustained period to work on myself.  I feel as though it will help me find a direction in life, and to discover what I can do that makes me feel like I’m making a difference.

That’s all for this week.  Thank you for reading, and I hope you have a great week ahead.

Disclaimer

The views and opinions in this blog are my own, and do not represent the views or opinions of my employer, nor should they be considered advice.  

If you want personalised financial advice, seek an appropriate professional.  If you are in financial difficulty, seek advice via the resources below:

StepChange

MoneyHelper

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