2024 Review

Hello and welcome back to Mortgage Advisor on FIRE’s 2024 review.

The first thing to discuss would be my 2024 goals and whether I met them.  In Part 218, which served as my 2023 review, I laid out several goals or targets for the upcoming year.  These were:

1 – Increase Fuck It Fund to £15,000.

2 – Increase Premium Bonds to £15,000.

3 – Max out my ISA allowance.

4 – Sell my BTL.

5 – Reduce mortgage on our apartment to £165,000.

6 – £10,000 investment income for 2024.

I had a 50% success rate, hitting goals 2, 3, and 4.  For goal 1 I came close, with my Fuck It Fund sitting at a little over £13k.  My mortgage balance increased, which left number 5 unmet, and I fell a little short of the final goal which I’m no longer actively tracking.  

Looking ahead to 2025 I have come up with a few goals relating to health, employment, and my finances.

2025 Goals

#1 – Reduce weight to 100kg by the time I go on my cruise.

#2 – Hit £300,000 wealth.

#3 – Complete 120 books.

#4 – Secure new employment.

#5 – Complete Duo Spanish course.

#6 – Finish Secret Project 1.

#7 – Finish Secret Project 2.

The obvious questions you have will be what the secret projects are, but for now, I feel more comfortable keeping those quiet.  Once I’ve made more progress on them, I will let you all know.  I just don’t want to put myself under too much public pressure.

The first goal is self-explanatory.  The holiday season has added an extra kilo to my weight and I want to turn the tide on that front as quickly as possible.  It’s not just about how I look, but about how I feel.  When I adopt a healthier diet, everything else follows.  Some of my health problems improve, and a good diet does wonders for mood, sleep, and concentration.

The second goal is also simple to understand and it’s more of a milestone than anything; a way to maintain focus on the finish line.

Bad year for reading and listening…

For some reason, 2024 has been a poor year for books, at least by my standards.  I think much of this is due to me listening to more music than before.  I still love books though, and I want to crack on and discover great new stories.  120 for the year is 10 per month; a challenging but achievable goal.

Securing new employment is also simple, but not easy.  It needs to be the right job.  I don’t want to stumble into something only to have to leave a few weeks or months into it.

I also want to step up my efforts in learning Spanish.  I’ve been using Duolingo for three years now and have made decent enough progress with my Spanish, but I need to dedicate more time and energy to it if I want to become semi-fluent.

Habits and Processes

The key to many of these goals is to form good habits.  I need to set aside time to work towards each goal, and to that end, I’m going to track my efforts each day.  This isn’t going to be in minute detail because that would be counterproductive.  Instead, it will be a simple daily check-in; did I work towards each goal each day?  If I did, then it gets a green mark next to it.  If not, I’ll leave a red mark next to it.  The idea is that on my spreadsheet (of course there’s a spreadsheet) I should have more green than red.  

Financial Review

Week 218 & (Now)

Assets

Premium Bonds: £12,050.00 (£30,000.00)

Stocks and Shares ISA: £62,723.40 (£89,694.40)

Fuck It Fund: £10,780.68 (£13,036.79)

Pensions: £69,308.09 (£90,662.71) 

Residential Property Value: £227,512.00 (£237,447.00)

BTL Property Value: £146,814.00 (£0.00)

Total Assets: £529,188.17 (£460,840.90)

Debts

Credit Card: £0.00 (£0.00) 

Loan: £0.00 (£0.00)

Residential Mortgage: £174,247.55 (£184,783.09)

BTL Mortgage: £104,924.60 (£0.00)

Total Debts: £279,172.15 (£184,783.09)

Total Wealth: £250,016.02 (£276,057.81)

The slow, steady growth every week can sometimes fly under the radar, but when you look back over a full year that growth can be astonishing.  2024 saw my BTL sale go through which took away the equity that both myself and my Dad had in the property.  However, despite this £40k reduction in my wealth calculation, over the year my wealth increased by over £25k.  When accounting for the £40k reduction this is more like a £65k increase.  

What do we want?

When the market goes up, our investments go up which brings FI forward.  However, when the market drops we can buy more units with our money which should also bring FI forward.  It’s impossible to time the market consistently, and attempting to do so will probably lead to losses.  But choosing when to FI involves some element of predicting what will happen with the market.  I doubt many people would choose to FI on the eve of a major market crash.  

So the question remains, what do we want?

I would love the market to stay fairly flat for a couple of years so that I can try and snap up as many units as possible, before leading into a sustained period of growth to boost my overall investment pot value.  The chances of this happening are very slim, so it’s all about sticking to the process; invest as much as possible, as often as possible, whilst minimising debt.

2025 will be an important year for debt as I’m hoping that our household debt, i.e. the mortgage debt, has peaked.  If we can have a sustained period where that debt reduces and our assets increase then it’s just a matter of time until FI.

Highlights of 2024

Normally my highlight reel for each year would include some foreign travel, but we did not go abroad once this year.  2023 was an expensive year for travel, and in 2025 we will be embarking on another cruise.  All this is not to say that there were no highlights in 2024 though.  Here is a list of some of the things I enjoyed this year.

Walking Challenge

This year, I took on the Million Step Challenge to raise funds for Diabetes UK, and I’m so happy to say I completed it. Walking a million steps over a few months was no small feat (or feet), but it was a rewarding experience. Not only did I improve my fitness and mental well-being, but I also contributed to a cause close to my heart. The sense of achievement when I hit that final step count was incredible, and I’ll always remember it.  Alongside my biking challenge from 2017, I will always look back on it with pride.

Lego Adventures

2024 was the year my Lego collection expanded massively.  Among the most exciting additions were the Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser, Barad-dúr, Rivendell, and the Titanic.  Lego is an escape for me, and many other autistic people it seems.  There’s something therapeutic about putting the bricks together and seeing something grow.  

Although I love all these sets in their own way, I think the Titanic and the Venator look the best.  In terms of the most fun building, I think Oana and I enjoyed Barad-dúr the most.  The Venator and Titanic were solo projects for me, and I also had a lot of fun with them.  Lego is amazing, but when you have four sets that come to about £4k total you’d be annoyed if they weren’t enjoyable to build. 

Memorable Walks

Oana and I enjoyed many long walks around the city this year, discovering new trails like the route into Rotherham past the Looping Boat sculpture, and revisiting old favourites like the Botanical Gardens, Norfolk Park, and Parkwood Springs. 

These walks became an essential part of our routine, allowing us to get some sun and fresh air.  We were able to engage with nature a bit more as we watched the birds, river life, squirrels, and more.  Just being in nature is so calming and relaxing.  We can’t wait for spring to come around.

Culinary Experiments

Having more free time and energy, we have thrown ourselves into learning new recipes and techniques in the kitchen.  Some of the main things I’ve learned are that stock, salt, and butter all add so much flavour to food.  The extra calories are sometimes worth it!

Oana’s Name Change

Oana took a massive step this year and changed both her names.  She’s always preferred “Oana” instead of Ioana, and she wanted to change her last name to further distance herself from her biological parents and siblings.  This was not a knee-jerk decision by Oana, but rather the culmination of years of behaviour on their part.  I’m not going to go into all the details, but I’m sure you can read between the lines as to why a young woman from a wealthy family would take such a drastic step as cutting them out of her life completely and adding the cherry on top by changing her name to that of her partner.

Five Years Gamble-Free

This year saw me hit five years since I last gambled.  When I was in the depths of my addiction, it felt as though climbing out of it would be impossible.  Overcoming this gambling addiction wasn’t easy; it required immense self-discipline, support from loved ones, and a willingness to confront difficult truths about myself. In the early days, I leaned heavily on the content of Jamie Salsburg; host of the After Gambling podcast.  Each year since has brought its own challenges, but with every passing day, I’ve grown more confident in my ability to maintain this positive path.

Staying gamble-free has had a major impact on my life. Financially, it allowed me to rebuild and work towards goals like achieving financial independence. Emotionally, it has lifted the weight of guilt and stress that gambling once brought into my life. Most importantly, it has given me the freedom to focus on what truly matters: my relationships, my health, and my future. To anyone struggling with similar issues, I want to emphasise that recovery is possible. Take it one day at a time, celebrate every small victory, and know that the journey is worth it.  

As 2025 approaches, I want to take a moment to thank each and every one of you who has followed Mortgage Advisor on FIRE this past year. Your support, comments, and messages mean the world to me.  

Whether you’ve been here since the beginning or just discovered the blog, I’m grateful for the time you’ve taken to join me on this journey. Whether you are a silent reader or one of the many people who message me publicly or privately, I hope you have a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year.

See you in 2025!