Hello and welcome back to Mortgage Advisor on FIRE.
FIFA
FIFA announced plans to create a new commercial company, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), and sell a minority stake to outside investors. The stated aim was to unlock billions of dollars that could then be invested back into football around the world through increased development funding.
On paper, that sounds like a noble objective. More grassroots facilities, more coaching, more opportunities for developing nations to grow the game.
The proposal lasted only a matter of days before football’s governing bodies pushed back so hard that FIFA withdrew it. UEFA, CONCACAF and others criticised not only the proposal itself but the way it had been developed, arguing there had been insufficient consultation and transparency over what was, potentially, one of the biggest changes to the governance of world football in decades.
In short, FIFA put forward a crazy idea and the footballing world responded as one by stating, abso-fucking-lutely not.
My first question is a simple one. Why?
The 2026 World Cup has just been described by FIFA itself as a huge commercial success, with revenues expected to exceed US$15 billion during the current cycle. If the organisation is already generating record amounts of money, why is outside investment suddenly necessary?
Whenever someone says they need billions more, it’s reasonable to ask what problem they’re trying to solve. I might be missing something, but I can’t see an immediate funding problem with the World Cup.
The second issue is transparency.
FIFA insisted that investors would not influence the rules of football, the Laws of the Game or sporting governance. That’s reassuring as far as it goes. But large institutional investors don’t part with billions of dollars simply because they enjoy watching football. They expect a return on their investment.
That’s where I become uncomfortable. Football should not be held to account by investors or shareholders.
The thing is, investors don’t need to interfere with referees or decide who wins matches to change the direction of the sport. Influence can be far more subtle.
Should the international calendar become even more crowded?
Should more tournaments be created?
Should kick-off times prioritise television audiences over supporters attending the match?
Should commercial considerations begin to outweigh sporting ones?
None of those decisions directly alter the outcome of a game, but every one of them changes what football becomes.
Then there’s another uncomfortable question. Not every football match has the same commercial value.
A World Cup quarter-final between Brazil and Germany will attract vastly larger audiences than Denmark against Andorra in a qualifier.
If investors are looking for growth and maximising returns, there will inevitably be pressure to create more of the fixtures that generate the biggest audiences, the biggest sponsorship deals and the biggest television rights.
Football has always had commercial pressures, of course. But there’s a difference between football making money and football existing primarily to make money.
The beauty of international football has always been that, at least in principle, every nation starts the qualification campaign with the same dream. Once financial returns become another stakeholder in the room, you begin to wonder whether some competitions become more valuable than others, not because of their sporting significance, but because of the revenue they generate.
Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of this entire episode was the response.
For once, organisations that often disagree with one another were remarkably united. The proposal was challenged, difficult questions were asked, and within days FIFA withdrew it.
That suggests football still has people willing to defend the game’s long-term interests, even when billions of dollars are being discussed.
I’m not opposed to investment. Investment builds businesses, infrastructure and innovation.
However, some things shouldn’t be viewed primarily through the lens of shareholder returns.
The World Cup isn’t just another financial asset. It’s part of football’s heritage and is worth protecting.
Zip Line Fun
Back in 2008, when Oana and I were still a fairly new couple, I bought her a little gift from The Deep in Hull. It’s a stuffed rabbit toy which, creative people that we are, we named Bunny.
Over the years we’ve accumulated a number of other stuffed toys, and it’s just part of who we are. Anyway, a few weeks back we saw an advert for an event at Sheffield Cathedral; a zip line for toys.
Obviously, we had to go. It was £5 to book, and it ended up being one of the best £5 we’ve spent. It was hilarious, and great fun. Also, we were not the only adults who brought a toy to the event.
The first stop for Bunny was to get his passport photo taken. Once this was done, we had to fill out his passport and stick his photo inside.
The second stop was to have his medical, or “fit to fly” exam. The nurse examined his ears, and his heartbeat (it was a little fast apparently). She also gave him some vaccinations and sun screen. He also received a little paw massage. Fortunately, he was deemed fit to fly.
We then placed him in the box which raised him to the Cathedral roof. He did a little dance on the ledge, and was hooked up to the zip line. He came racing down the cable and was presented with his bravery certificate.
I was in pieces throughout the whole event. It was absolutely hilarious, and the staff all properly committed to their roles.
The event was for a good cause, to raise money for Sheffield Children’s Hospital.
When Fun Stops Being Fun
Friday evening should have been one of the highlights of the week. Oana and I joined one of the big city bike rides that takes place every so often. Around fifty riders roll through Sheffield together with music pumping from portable speakers, lights flashing, and generally spreading a bit of joy.
It’s difficult to explain just how much the public gets into it if you’ve never seen one. People stop to wave, cheer, dance, film us on their phones, and children absolutely love it. For a couple of hours the city feels just that little bit more alive. It’s impossible not to smile when an entire tram stop starts dancing as you ride past. Normally, I come home buzzing.
This Friday was different. I wasn’t feeling 100% before we even set off, but one rider managed to turn what is normally a fantastic evening into something I honestly couldn’t wait to escape.
He’d fitted his bike with multiple air horns and various squeakers. I’ve ridden with him before and, while I’ve always found the occasional blast a little irritating, it had never really crossed the line.
This time it absolutely did. Imagine standing next to a car alarm going off continuously for an hour and a half. Not every now and then. Not as a joke at a junction. Literally almost non-stop for around ninety minutes. One hand on the handlebars. One hand permanently hammering the air horn.
You couldn’t hear the music that everyone else had brought along. You couldn’t chat with the people riding beside you. You couldn’t simply enjoy cycling through the city because every few seconds another deafening blast would cut through everything else.
By the end of the ride I had a pounding headache.
The frustrating thing is that I don’t think I’m alone. I’ve seen and heard other riders mention it after previous rides, so it clearly isn’t just me being a grumpy old man shouting at clouds.
There’s a difference between adding to an atmosphere and dominating it.
The music creates an atmosphere. The lights create an atmosphere. Hundreds of people smiling, dancing and cheering create an atmosphere. One person repeatedly blasting an air horn for ninety minutes doesn’t create atmosphere. It simply drowns everything else out.
Being the loudest person isn’t the same as making something more enjoyable.
As someone who’s autistic, I know I’m probably more sensitive to sensory overload than many people. Loud, unpredictable noises become mentally exhausting far quicker than they might for someone else. But even putting autism to one side, I struggle to see how anyone could enjoy ninety minutes of relentless air horn blasts just a few feet away.
Sometimes consideration for other people is simply recognising when your own fun is starting to come at everyone else’s expense.
Fortunately, Saturday provided the perfect antidote.
After getting home late on Friday, eating dinner at around 11pm and finally collapsing into bed, we somehow managed to drag ourselves up for another ride the following morning. This one couldn’t have been more different.
A much smaller group. No constant noise. Just good conversation, plenty of hill climbing to remind us our legs still existed, and a much more relaxed pace.
Afterwards, Oana and I grabbed a little lunch before returning home for what felt like one of the most well-earned afternoon naps we’ve had in a long time.
What I’m Doing
Listening: The Artist by Lucy Steeds.
Watching: nothing currently.
Reading: Caliban’s War (Expanse Book 2) by James S. A. Corey
Financial Update
Assets
Premium Bonds: £250.00.
Stocks and Shares ISA: £150,349.88.
Fuck It Fund: £0.00.
Pensions: £124,925.61.
Residential Property Value: £245,790.00.
Total Assets: £521,315.49.
Debts
Residential Mortgage: £173,447.84.
Total Debts: £173,447.84.
Total Wealth
Total Wealth: £347,867.65.
Top Ten Countdown – The Best Financial Advice
10. Know Where Your Money Actually Goes (Part 345)
9. Avoid Lifestyle Inflation (Part 346)
8. Don’t Try to Look Rich (Part 347)
6. Invest Early and Let Time Do the Heavy Lifting (Part 349)
5. Avoid High-Interest Debt (Part 350)
4. Build an Emergency Fund (Part 351)
3. Spend Intentionally (Part 352)
2. Live Below Your Means
If I could only give one piece of financial advice to someone starting their journey, this would be it: Spend less than you earn.
That’s it. No complicated formulas or detailed fund allocations. Just spend less than you earn.
This one simple principle has created more financial security than almost any other.
The reason it’s so powerful is because almost every other piece of financial advice depends on it.
You can’t build an emergency fund if every pound you earn is already spoken for.
You can’t invest consistently if you’re spending everything that comes into your account.
You can’t become financially independent if your lifestyle expands to match every increase in income.
Living below your means is the engine that powers everything else.
Without it, the rest of the advice in this countdown becomes incredibly difficult to follow.
One of the biggest misconceptions is that living below your means means living a miserable life. People imagine surviving on instant noodles, refusing to turn the heating on, and wearing shoes until the soles give out.
That’s not what it means at all. It simply means creating a gap between what comes in and what goes out.
That gap is where your future is built. Every pound that isn’t immediately spent gives you options. It can:
- become part of your emergency fund.
- be invested.
- overpay your mortgage.
- pay for a holiday.
- allow you to reduce your working hours.
- buy you freedom.
The size of that gap matters far more than the size of your salary. This is something that often surprises people.
A person earning £35,000 and saving £500 a month is usually in a much stronger financial position than someone earning £80,000 who spends virtually all of it.
Income is important, but your savings rate is often even more important.
I’ve met people with excellent salaries who were permanently stressed because they had built a lifestyle that required every penny they earned. I’m talking about people with six-figure salaries, with no savings and lots of unsecured debt.
I’ve talked about the difference between being wealthy and appearing wealthy before. Expensive car finance for a specific brand of car, over something much cheaper that does the same job. Or, spending thousands on an expensive watch that they are then too scared to wear. If you can afford these things without any concern; you’re very fortunate. For most people, they will get into debt to buy these things.
It’s not just the big, expensive, purchases that bite. The regular monthly payments for things that are no longer used all add up. Things like a monthly gym subscription you don’t use, or an enhanced TV package which you ignore in favour of Netflix.
From the outside, people can look wealthy. Behind closed doors they couldn’t afford for a single payslip to arrive late.
That’s not wealth. The more accurate term is dependency. You can’t have freedom if you depend on a payday coming around every month.
On the other hand, I’ve also met people with fairly ordinary incomes who quietly saved and invested year after year.
They weren’t trying to impress anyone; they simply spent less than they earned.
Fast forward twenty years, and they often found themselves with something far more valuable than an Audi or a Breitling:
Freedom.
That’s what living below your means really buys. Not deprivation. I’ll say it again;
Freedom.
There’s another reason I love this advice. It works regardless of your income.
Whether you earn £25,000 or £250,000, the principle remains exactly the same.
Of course, someone on a lower income faces greater challenges, and it would be naïve to pretend otherwise. Rising housing costs, energy bills and food prices have squeezed many household budgets to breaking point.
But whenever your circumstances improve, whether through a pay rise, a new job, or paying off an existing commitment, you have a choice.
You can allow every extra pound to disappear into a bigger lifestyle. Or you can allow at least some of it to improve your future.
Those small decisions, repeated over years, become life-changing. In many ways, living below your means is an act of delayed gratification.
You’re choosing a little less today in exchange for considerably more tomorrow. That might not sound particularly exciting and it certainly won’t go viral on TikTok.
Nobody is posting videos titled “I quietly maintained the same standard of living after my pay rise and increased my ISA contributions.” But it’s exactly the sort of behaviour that quietly creates financial independence.
Let’s just bottom line this for the avoidance of any doubt:
You will almost certainly never become wealthy because you found the perfect investment or created an amazing business.
You are far more likely to become wealthy because, for years or even decades, you consistently spent less than you earned.
Everything else is just detail.
DISCLAIMER
The views and opinions in this blog are my own, and do not represent the views or opinions of my former, current, or future employers, 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:
Biolink
You can now find all my social media pages by checking out my Biolink:
bio.link/davidscothern.
Another enjoyable read as always.
I completely agree with the point about spending less than you earn. It really is the foundation that everything else is built on. Investing, building wealth and eventually reaching financial independence all become so much easier when you consistently leave yourself with a surplus each month. It sounds simple, but it’s probably the most powerful financial habit there is.
I’m intrigued to see what number 1 is next week.
And fair play to the bunny too! I bet there’s a lot of adults who wouldn’t fancy it but bunny did it and got a well deserved certificate.
Spending less than you have coming in seems so dazzlingly obvious, that it’s almost impossible to believe some people choose not to do so. But it happens. It’s remarkable. Often the best advice, which is usually the simplest advice, is the one people ignore.