Hello and welcome back to Mortgage Advisor on FIRE. This week I discuss safe withdrawal rates, DINK couples, and food.
Weekly Update
It’s been a cold week this week with temperatures in our apartment hovering around 12C-13C. We’ve been using tealights to warm our living room up, with the heater only used sparingly. The heater we have is 2KW, and it takes about two hours to warm the room up to a comfortable temperature. With our electric tariff that equates to £1.35 for two hours of warmth. A pack of 100 tealights from Tesco is £3.75 and they should burn for 3.5 hours. Using 25 tealights heats our living room to the same level as the heater, but costs £0.94 instead. Also, there’s something nice and relaxing about a candlelit room.
One thing I’ve been meaning to talk about for a few weeks is the food that Oana and I have been making. We’ve been experimenting with a few curries, including a chickpea and pepper one that we’ve been serving over homemade fries which is amazing. We’ve also been making a great chilli, which is our go-to meal in colder times. I’m sure our recipe isn’t exactly authentic Mexican style, but we love it. The recipe and ingredients, for those interested:
Ingredients
500g beef mince
500g pork mince
1 x can of red kidney beans in chilli sauce
1 x can of red kidney beans in water
500ml passata
2 x peppers
1 x white onion
Jalapenos
Paprika
Salt
Rice
Creme fraiche
Spring onion
Tortilla chips
Recipe
1. Dice the onion and add to a large saucepan over medium heat with a little vegetable oil. Once the onion has softened add some paprika and stir, then add the mince and cook until the meat is browned.
2. Add the chopped peppers and mix through.
3. Add the kidney beans in chilli sauce, and drain and rinse the beans in water before adding them to the pan as well.
4. Add the passata and some salt.
5. Bring to a simmer and let the mix reduce for 20-30 minutes.
6. Add chopped jalapenos and stir through with more paprika to taste..
7. Serve with rice, tortilla chips, creme fraiche, spring onion, and extra jalapenos.
Although money is a bit tight for us now that Oana is out of work, we treated ourselves to some tacos at Street Food Chef this week as well. Their tacos are great, but not as nice as the ones Pina used to do (their Al Pastor tacos are the best I’ve ever had).
Another meal we enjoy is a chorizo pasta. This is Oana’s recipe and it’s always a meal I look forward to. She chops up some chorizo, garlic, and fresh red chillis, and then cooks them in the frying pan. Once the chorizo has cooked down a bit, releasing all its oil, she adds some tomato and basil pasta sauce and lets it reduce. At the same time, she cooks some penne pasta, and then adds the pasta to the pan with the chorizo and mixes it. This is then served with salad with a balsamic vinegar dressing, as well as fresh mozzarella and spring onion. It’s amazing.
Continuing on the theme of food, we made a simple roast chicken dinner the other day but I bit down on something hard (an errant peppercorn, I think) and it appears to have chipped one of my teeth. This is particularly annoying as it was just a week or so ago that I had to drop £120 at the dentist for a check-up and polish. There are several things I hate doing not because of a phobia but simply because it’s a hassle; the dentist, haircuts, and eye exams.
Although I’m feeling better than I have for most of the last few months, I’ve had a bit of a wobble this week and have not felt great for the past couple of days. There are going to be ups and downs though, and I just need to keep going and keep doing things that bring me pleasure.
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What Am I Doing?
TV: Masterchef: The Professionals (BBC), Leave The World Behind (Netflix), Nine Days (Netflix).
Audiobook: Beyond Measure by James Vincent.
We watched Leave The World Behind after reading all the praise on social media it was getting. It was okay, but I’m not sure what all the hype was about. It felt like half a story, and like it ended halfway through. I don’t mind stories where plot threads are left hanging, but there still needs to be some sort of ending. This just felt like it had another act to go and just stopped.
Financial Update
Assets
Premium Bonds: £11,625.00.
Stocks and Shares ISA: £61,323.64.
Fuck It Fund: £10,444.74.
Pensions: £66,040.27.
Residential Property Value: £227,512.00.
BTL Property Value: £146,814.00.
Total Assets: £523,759.65.
Debts
Residential Mortgage: £174,247.55.
BTL Mortgage: £104,924.60.
Total Debts: £279,172.15.
Total Wealth: £244,587.50.
Investment Income in 2023: £7,769.04 (target £8,500).
Safe Withdrawal Rates
As I’ve been thinking about changing my FIRE approach I’ve come back to the idea of SWR. In the past, I’ve been sceptical about this concept because I didn’t feel comfortable eating into the assets I’ve accumulated. Now though, I’m starting to come around to the idea.
I’ve been looking at the process of hitting FIRE with the steps I talked about last week; Accumulation, Bridging, Private Pension, State Pension, and thinking about likely values for my different investment pots. The results are surprisingly positive.
Take my pension as an example. At the moment the fund value is approx £66,000, and I’m contributing roughly £750 per month to that pot. Assuming I continue with that level of investment for the next ten years with standard rates of return, I can expect that pot to be worth £283,500. Then, I can let it grow for a further eight years with no additional contributions and could realistically be left with a pension pot worth over £500,000 when I’m able to access it.
If, at that point, I want to proceed with a simple drawdown, then using the 4% SWR I could have an income of £20,000 just from that pot. I ran these figures through Firecalc and it seems this drawdown schedule would see my pot last for at least thirty years in 95% of the simulations it ran. I’ll copy/paste the results directly from their site here:
“Your spending in every year after the first year will be adjusted for inflation, so the spending power is preserved.
FIRECalc looked at the 123 possible 30-year periods in the available data, starting with a portfolio of $500,000 and spending your specified amounts each year thereafter.
Here is how your portfolio would have fared in each of the 123 cycles. The lowest and highest portfolio balance at the end of your retirement was $-200,493 to $2,839,737, with an average at the end of $947,965. (Note: this is looking at all the possible periods; values are in terms of the dollars as of the beginning of the retirement period for each cycle.)
For our purposes, failure means the portfolio was depleted before the end of the 30 years. FIRECalc found that 6 cycles failed, for a success rate of 95.1%.”
It all looks positive according to those simulations, but I also need to consider the period between now and when I can access my pension. If I work for a further ten years and then stop, I’ll need a bridging fund to last for eight years. If I want £24,000 per year to live on, then I’ll need a pot worth £192,000. Running the numbers, based on my current ISA balance, regular investing over the next ten years, and standard rates of return, I could end up with a pot worth over £220,000. Again, it looks positive, but it assumes I have to work for a further ten years.
There’s so much to think about, and changing just one of the variables changes all the others.
DINKS
If you are on social media you will have probably seen the recent post where a young couple promote the benefits of being a DINK couple. The post was received about as well as I expected with many people reacting angrily. I have my thoughts on this, especially as Oana and I are a DINK couple. So, what is a DINK couple? Double income, no kids. That’s it. It’s the term for a couple who choose not to have kids.
I’m not going to criticise anyone for having kids, if it’s something they really want, are in a position to offer that child their full support, and are in a good place in their relationship. Kids should never be used to try and save a relationship.
The thing is, so many people have kids because it’s seen as the expected thing, much like the Reverend and the Makers’ lyric;
“Get born, get schooled, get job, get car,
Pay tax and find a wife.”
The very next item on the list would generally be seen as “have kids”. But why? Why is this still seen as the expected way of doing things? If people want to have kids or don’t want to have kids, just let people live their lives in the way they see fit. The reproductive decisions of another couple have nothing to do with anyone else. My two points in this whole debate are that people should do things for the right reasons, and go into parenthood with the commitment it requires.
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:
In a world often driven by the pursuit of financial success, it’s easy to lose sight of what truly matters; happiness, time, and freedom. Many of us have been conditioned to believe that the accumulation of wealth is the ultimate key to a fulfilling life. However, what if the real currency of happiness isn’t the money in our account but the freedom to live life on our terms?
In the race to amass wealth, we often overlook the fact that money itself doesn’t equate to happiness. Studies consistently show that beyond a certain income threshold, the correlation between money and life satisfaction stalls. So, what’s the missing piece of the puzzle? Well, I’ve had a few conversations with different people in recent days that have all ended up with the same conclusion; time.
Imagine having all the money in the world but no time to enjoy it. The true essence of happiness lies in the luxury of time, to pursue passions, nurture relationships, and to simply be present. Time is the invaluable asset that allows us to savour life’s experiences and relish in the small, yet profound, moments. Time is the one resource we can’t get back, and this is why people who waste my time frustrate me the most. As a friend explained to me this evening; he would work every day for the next year for £100,000. However, he wouldn’t work every day for the next ten years for £1,000,000. There’s a balance to be struck and whether you consciously realise it or not, it comes back to time.
So what about money? Money is a tool, and its real power lies in the freedom it can provide. Financial independence opens the door to choices; choices about where to live, what work to pursue, and how to spend our time. It’s not about accumulating wealth for its own sake but leveraging it to carve out a life that aligns with our values and aspirations. We accumulate money so that we can spend our time as we see fit.
Consider this: Would you rather have a life filled with material possessions and a demanding job that leaves you with little time for yourself, or a life where you have fewer possessions but an abundance of time to enjoy them? The pursuit of happiness is about prioritizing the quality of our experiences over the quantity of our possessions. Having “stuff” is just a distraction from the fact that we want more time, more freedom, and more fulfilment.
The lightbulb moment for me, with finance and investing, was when I realised I needed to reevaluate my relationship with money. It was recognizing that the true purpose of wealth is to afford me the freedom to design a life that aligns with my core values; and something that will bring me satisfaction and fulfilment.
Happiness ultimately comes from within. It’s about fostering meaningful relationships, savouring the richness of new experiences, and appreciating the gift of time. Money is a means to an end, and that end is a life well-lived.
In the grand scheme of things, the pursuit of happiness isn’t synonymous with the accumulation of wealth. It’s about having the time and freedom to create a life of joy and fulfilment. So, we must remember the true currency of happiness; the moments we savour and the freedom to live authentically without the mask that many autistic people, like myself, have to wear in this neurotypical world.
Hello and welcome back to Mortgage Advisor on FIRE. This week I discuss what is meant by “life-changing money”. Also, a look at the concept of infinity, and some thoughts about a slight change in FIRE strategy.
Weekly Update
Things have generally been improving, I’m happy to say. I’m not great or good, but I’m better than I have been. I think a change in my medication, as well as a great therapist, and some time to decompress, has all helped.
The week started with an afternoon of chess and conversation about physics, and the nature of, well, everything. These conversations are always fascinating and always fry my brain to a degree. One part of the discussion focused on the concept of infinity. A recent book I finished, explained that when science uses the concept of infinity it is often not truly referring to something being infinite, but instead uses the term as a shorthand for a very big number. This helped reconcile something I’d wondered about for a long time; the idea of the multiverse.
Assuming that the universe has a finite amount of matter, an infinite number of parallel universes can’t be possible. After all, you can’t create infinity from a finite resource. The difference between all parallel universes may just be the position of a single atom, but it still can’t truly result in an infinite number of universes; just an incredibly large number of them.
This realisation helped me with one thought experiment I’ve considered over the years, which is based on the assumption that there are, in fact, an infinite number of universes with the idea that everything possible exists somewhere in the multiverse. Assuming this was the case, then it would mean that there would be a universe with a god, or a pantheon of gods, just like there would be universes with no gods. However, the terms universe and god are doing a lot of heavy lifting in these assumptions, as the exact definitions of them are still up for debate. With the realisation that there can’t be an infinite number of universes, the problem goes away.
In another universe I would have studied physics, or more likely astronomy or astrophysics. If only I could turn back time…
This weekend we went to the Victorian Christmas Market in Kelham Island, but it was a little underwhelming this year. Also, the crowds were a bit much to deal with. My capacity for dealing with large groups of people is much lower than it used to be. Another source of frustration was just how expensive everything seemed. I don’t know if it’s me being unrealistic in terms of what prices I would pay, or if it’s traders setting their prices too high. Either way, everything just seemed expensive.
Have you put your heating on yet? Saturday was the first time we’ve used our heating since last winter. It was getting pretty cold in our apartment though, to the extent we could see our breath. We had taken to just getting well wrapped up in the apartment, but it was getting ridiculous. We have a thermometer in our living room and decided we would not use the heating until it dropped to 14C. However, we were fairly comfortable at that temperature. It dipped to under 11C before we cracked. Poppy, our cat, has an electrically heated bed that she spends a lot of time sleeping on. We can be cold, but never our cat! The problem with being an all-electric property is that it’s expensive to heat up, and because we keep our doors open a crack so Poppy can freely wander, it makes it difficult to retain heat in each room. She’s worth it though.
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What Am I Doing?
TV: Masterchef: The Professionals.
Audiobook: The Disappearing Act by Florence de Changy.
Oana and I have been enjoying our MasterChef lately, watching both the current series as it airs, and previous seasons on iPlayer. The professional iteration of the show is our favourite, but we’ll watch any of them.
I’ve been smashing through audiobooks over the last few weeks, with a few incredible ones I want to mention. All The Lonely People by Mike Gayle was fantastic. I’ve finished a few of his books now, and they all pack an emotional punch. The Institute by Stephen King was grim but very entertaining. In terms of non-fiction, Ultra-Processed People by Chris van Tulleken was interesting and eye-opening. I want to get stuck into another sci-fi series though, so if you have any suggestions please let me know in the comments.
Financial Update
Assets
Premium Bonds: £11,625.00.
Stocks and Shares ISA: £60,013.58.
Fuck It Fund: £10,444.74.
Pensions: £65,156.89.
Residential Property Value: £227,512.00.
BTL Property Value: £146,814.00.
Total Assets: £521,566.21.
Debts
Residential Mortgage: £174,247.55.
BTL Mortgage: £104,924.60.
Total Debts: £279,172.15.
Total Wealth: £242,394.06.
Investment Income in 2023: £7,669.04 (target £8,500).
It feels as though I’m just waiting for the start of the new financial year so that I can start paying into my ISA again. I’m also finding myself reevaluating my investing direction, or philosophy, moving forward. Property just hasn’t worked out as I’d hoped. In the new year, we will be looking at selling our BTL. The plan had been to acquire properties to pay sufficient income to meet most day-to-day expenses, with dividends supplementing that income.
What I’m starting to realise is that my best chance of achieving FIRE is to continue building my pension pot, whilst also growing my ISA to act as a bridging fund to take me from the date I “retire” to the date I can draw upon my pension. To be eligible for the full UK state pension, I need to make NI contributions for a further thirteen years. That seems a long way off, but even if I don’t get the full state pension I will still be eligible for something.
I don’t count the last few years as a failure though, because I’m still much further along than I would have been had I not started my FIRE project.
So what do the numbers look like? Assuming that I want £24,000 annual income, and using the 4% safe withdrawal rate (SWR), I’ll need a pension pot of £600,000. It sounds like a lot, but it’s not totally unrealistic. To grow my pension pot from its current value to £600,000, with an assumed growth rate of 8%, I’ll need to pay £900 per month into my pension; a figure that is almost in line with my current rate of investment. It should be noted that this schedule assumes I’ll pay into my pension month in, and month out, for the next 17 years. This is the bit where the calculations get a bit messy.
The longer I work and contribute to a pension, the more money I’ll have in that pot and the less I’ll need as a bridging fund. However, I want to achieve FIRE as soon as possible. If I FIRE earlier, I’ll need a bigger bridging fund, which will make my pension pot smaller as I’ll no longer be paying into it.
To break this down, there are several stages I need to work through;
Stage 1: Accumulation
I need to continue accumulating investments and growing my retirement pots.
Stage 2: Bridging
Once I have enough money saved within my ISA and other non-pension investments, potentially supplemented by dividend income, to maintain my desired standard of living from that point until I can draw my private pension I will have entered the bridging stage. The idea is that the ISA bridges the gap until retirement. At this point working would, according to the plan, be optional. The reality is I’d probably still want to engage in some form of paid employment on a part-time basis. It would help keep me active and drastically reduce how much I’d need as a bridging fund.
Stage 3: Private Pension
I should, as things stand, be able to draw on my private pension in around 17 years. Things can change quickly though, and just because I can access it, it doesn’t mean I have to start drawing it down immediately. I could choose to let the pot (hopefully) grow for longer.
Stage 4: State Pension
The final stage is when I can draw my state pension. It’s still a long way off, but it will be something to supplement all the other income streams mentioned.
Life-Changing Money
I was talking about money and retirement with my Dad earlier this week, and a question came up; “what amount of money would you need to receive, as a minimum, for it to be life-changing?” I then asked several people the same question, and the results were interesting as they highlighted the differences we all have in what we term “life-changing”.
For me, the minimum amount that would be life-changing would be £50,000. This would allow me to max out my ISA for a year, pop a further £20,000 into my SIPP, and then have £10,000 to spend on studying something I love, like astronomy or astrophysics. The impact of adding £40,000 to my retirement pots (£20k into my ISA and SIPP) would also allow me to relax a little with my spending limits on a day-to-day basis as that lump sum injection of cash would then compound moving forward.
The range of answers I had from other people started at £10,000 and increased up to £5,000,000. As someone else asked, “Would they turn down £4,999,999 as it’s not life-changing?”
The thing about this question is that it can provoke lines of thought that you’d not have considered. It helps put a value on certain things, like studying in my case. I’d be happy to spend £10k of “winnings” on studying, but I wouldn’t want to spend £10k of my earned money on it. Other people, like a friend of mine who answered £250,000, don’t differentiate based on the source of the money.
Another angle to this question relates to something I read ages ago, in which someone in their 30s didn’t want to go to uni because they’d be 35 when they graduate (can’t remember the exact ages involved) but someone pointed out that whether they go to uni or not, they’ll still be the same age at that point in the future. So if you’re a person who thinks that £20,000 would be life-changing, and you have £500 per month spare that you normally spend on random stuff, then you could potentially redirect that money and change your life in 3-4 years. To put it simply, you don’t save huge amounts of cash in one go, you do it £1 at a time.
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:
Hello and welcome back to Mortgage Advisor on FIRE. An update on my BTL, and some thoughts on a possible increase in the ISA allowance.
Weekly Update
I had my first appointment with my new psychologist this week and it was largely positive. I had a much better vibe from this person than I did from my previous therapist. It was mostly just introductions and an overview of the sort of stuff we’ll be covering going forward. I’ve got my next few appointments in and I’m hopeful it will help me climb out of the dip I’ve been in for a few months.
On Friday evening Oana and I attended a talk at the University of Sheffield; In The Realm of The Dark Rabbit.
It was a lecture focusing on the role, and history, of tricksters, fraudsters, and pranksters. It was interesting and entertaining in equal measure, and if you get the opportunity to attend the talk on another date I would highly recommend it.
I was supposed to meet up with a friend this week, but that had to be postponed as I needed to wait at home for a parcel to be delivered. I was expecting the parcel on a different date, but one can never rely on delivery companies to be accurate; where would the fun and uncertainty be in that?
Much of the week has been spent either reading, listening to audiobooks or podcasts, and bingeing on MasterChef on the iPlayer with Oana. The latest series of MasterChef: The Professionals is on the BBC at the moment, and in between waiting for new episodes we’ve been smashing through previous seasons of Celebrity MasterChef that we missed during their original run. I’ve also been a sounding board for Oana as she looks for a new job now that she is unexpectedly out of work.
In recent weeks we’ve had a number of issues crop up with our BTL property. You may remember from previous years how we’ve had to spend thousands repairing damage from previous tenants, and now we’ve had two significant problems arise; the conservatory roof is leaking, and the boiler has packed in. Once more we are going to have to spend money on repairs and replacements.
I spoke with my investment partner about the property and I went back to a spreadsheet I’ve kept from day one of owning the BTL. In this spreadsheet, I’ve itemised all the cash we’ve had to spend on the property, as well as all the money we’ve made from the property. Including the cost of replacing the boiler, but not including the conservatory as we don’t have a quote at the time I’m writing this, we are down approximately £35k. Now, it’s not as disastrous as it first appears because we have equity in the property. If we use the lender’s estimate for the property valuation, we have around £40k equity. Sales history for properties in the same area suggests that £40k-£45k equity is about right. We now have a decision to make about the long-term viability of this property as an investment. We are of the view that if we can sell and walk away with £20k each after paying the relevant taxes, fees, and whatnot, then we’d be happy with that. We’re not going to make any immediate decisions, but in the new year it’s something we are going to have to seriously look at.
Landlords get a bad rep in the media, as there are many who believe you shouldn’t make profit out of housing. I understand that argument, to an extent. However, if we take that point and develop it to a logical conclusion, then surely it’s not right for someone to lose money on property due to tenants abusing that property. There is a place in society for private landlords who can offer housing to people who don’t want to own a property. It’s often a point that is overlooked; not everyone wants to own a property. Some people want the flexibility of an AST rather than ownership. Some people want to try a new living arrangement, such as living with a new partner, or a new area, without wanting to own a property. Then, there are those who only plan to live in an area for a few months to a few years, such as trainee doctors or military personnel who have to move around the country for work. There are many instances of people who need the flexibility of rental housing, and it’s not fair to just label all landlords as greedy or immoral. Yes, landlords want to make money, but if they’re paying their taxes and providing safe, quality housing at a fair price, then is that a bad thing?
How To Support Mortgage Advisor on FIRE
If you would like to show your support, please consider donating to my virtual tip jar at my page on Buy Me A Coffee. You can use the link below, or click on the picture to be taken to my supporter page.
Alternatively, please consider sharing this blog on your social media. Shares are the most valuable commodity for any blogger and the most difficult thing to earn.
Thanks, as always, for your interest and support.
What Am I Doing?
TV: Masterchef: The Professionals and Celebrity MasterChef.
Audiobook: The Institute by Stephen King.
Financial Update
Assets
Premium Bonds: £11,600.00.
Stocks and Shares ISA: £59,303.92.
Fuck It Fund: £11,772.50.
Pensions: £64,186.28.
Residential Property Value: £227,512.00.
BTL Property Value: £146,814.00.
Total Assets: £521,188.70.
Debts
Residential Mortgage: £174,663.01.
BTL Mortgage: £104,937.56.
Total Debts: £279,600.57.
Total Wealth: £241,588.13.
Investment Income in 2023: £7,393.55 (target £8,500).
My investment income continues to grow for this year, and there might be some signs of longer-term growth in the stock market with inflation starting to fall. One important point to remember, and it’s a simple point that I see people get wrong time and time again. Inflation coming down does not mean things get cheaper. It means that things are still getting more expensive, just at a slower rate than before.
If we do decide to sell our BTL, as is looking likely, in the new year it will have a massive impact on my investment income projections. The equity I walk away with will be reinvested, but the great thing about BTL is that you earn income on money leveraged from the bank.
My pension pot has hit a new all-time high and hitting these milestones always feels good. The next big milestone is getting my pension and ISA to £100k each. One thing that would really help would be an increase in the annual ISA allowance. Following on from the Autumn statement from the Chancellor, there have been rumours of an increase in the works with anything from a £5k increase to £10k mentioned. Although an increase of £10k would be amazing for some people, the true number of people it would benefit would probably be fairly small.
Roughly speaking there are approximately 12 million ISAs in the UK, of which the total balance is approximately £70 billion. Data from Gov.uk shows that the vast majority of people who subscribe to an ISA don’t get anywhere close to maxing out the existing £20,000 allowance, with figures from 2017/2018 suggesting almost half of those who invest in an ISA saved no more than £2,500. The main group that would benefit from increasing the ISA allowance are those who earn over £150,000; that’s why the Tory government will probably do it.
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:
Hello and welcome back to Mortgage Advisor on FIRE.
Updates since the last post…
It’s not been a great time, to be honest. I don’t want to dwell on it too much, but I feel it’s necessary to explain why I’ve been absent for a few weeks. I’ve started on a new post each week since the last one, but each time felt like it just wasn’t working. So, please accept my apologies for being absent for so long.
So, what have I been up to during this time? Honestly, not much. I’m not sure where all the time has gone, but there are a few things to discuss…
Millie the Cat
When I was much younger my Mom took in a tiny black kitten, just five weeks old. This little cat was given the name Millie. Her mother had died, I believe, and Millie was the smallest of the litter of kittens left behind. For 22 years Millie was loved and was a source of comfort, friendship, and love in return. Millie went to sleep on October 19th for the final time and crossed Rainbow Bridge.
Regular readers will know that I love cats, and Oana and I have adopted a number of older cats over the years. All cats are amazing, but older cats are often overlooked, despite the fact that they can be the most loving and affectionate companions.
Richard Armitage and Ian Dunt
The past few weeks in Sheffield have seen the annual Off The Shelf festival taking place. This year Oana and I bought tickets for interviews with actor Richard Armitage (Spooks, Robin Hood, The Hobbit), and political journalist and author Ian Dunt.
The Richard Armitage event kicked off the festival and it was a Q&A about his first novel, Geneva. I’ve been a big fan of Armitage’s voice work on different audiobooks, and he’s also starred in the Netflix adaptation of Harlen Coben’s The Stranger. It was a fun event with some questions from the audience, and I was able to sneak in the last question, asking Richard what his favourite book was; The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.
The Ian Dunt talk was more enjoyable though, as it was a packed audience and there just seemed to be more energy as a result. The interview focused on his latest book, How Westminster Works… And Why It Doesn’t, which I’m halfway through and enjoying. Anyone interested in politics and/or investigative journalism should enjoy it.
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What Am I Doing?
TV: Ragnarok (Netflix); MasterChef (BBC).
Audiobook: Unlawful Killings by Wendy Joseph K.C.
Remember how Game of Thrones was the biggest thing on the planet for a few years, and then everyone just kinda agreed never to talk about it again after the awful final season? Well, a new contender has entered the chat…
Ragnarok is a show set in the fictional Norwegian town of Edda, and tells the story of a young man who discovers he’s the god Thor reborn. It works as a great superhero-style origin story, and the first two seasons are brilliant. Season three was also shaping up to be good, until the final episode. I’ve read comments on Reddit about the finale, and I have to agree that the ending has retroactively made everything that came before worse, just like with Game of Thrones.
There is absolutely no chance that that ending was planned from the start of the show. It was lazy and insulting.
I’ve been smashing through audiobooks over the last few weeks. It’s been helping to take my mind off the mental health stuff I’ve been struggling with. I’ve reformatted the way I have my book lists on this site. Rather than a single page with the lists from each year, I’ve got separate pages for each year now listed as sub-menus. Unlawful Killings is book 92 of 2023.
We’ve also been smashing through Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals on BBC iPlayer. The seemingly infinite combinations of foods, flavours, and textures people can come up with is insane when you stop to consider what’s out there. Food is, at a basic level, just fuel for our bodies. It can be elevated to an art form in the right hands though.
Financial Update
Total Assets: £518,569.84.
Total Debts: £279,600.57.
Total Wealth: £238,969.27.
Investment Income in 2023: £7,036.24 (target £8,500).
Annual FIRE Update
Week 1 (November 1st 2019)
Assets: £188,119.96
Debts: £134,279.11
Total Wealth: £53,840.85
Week 53 (November 1st 2020)
Assets: £221,230.88
Debts: £142,590.19
Total Wealth: £78,640.69
Week 106 (November 7th 2021)
Assets: £462,259.05
Debts: £260,297.98
Total Wealth: £201,961.07
Week 158 (November 6th 2022)
Assets: £509,769.84
Debts: £285,660.42
Total Wealth: £224,109.42
Week 210 (November 5th 2023)
Assets: £518,569.84
Debts: £279,600.57
Total Wealth: £238,969.27
It’s now been four years since I started this blog and my FIRE journey. The goal was to be able to achieve FIRE in those four years. Although I’ve not hit that goal, I’ve given it a good go and made some solid progress. I’m on track to average approximately £700 per month in passive income for 2023, which is a great foundation to build on over the next few years.
What have I learned from these last four years?
Lesson 1 – Property is hard work.
Lesson 2 – Pensions are vital.
Lesson 3 – A bridging fund is a good idea.
When I started down this road I believed property would be key to early retirement. I still think property has a part to play in my future, but circumstances seem to be conspiring to make it more difficult to make money from property in an ethical way. Making money from property, if you don’t care about ripping people off or being an asshole in general, is easy. I just don’t want to do that. Our aim has always been to provide a quality property at a fair price. In return, the expectation is that the tenant maintains the property to a decent standard and pays the agreed rent. My approach has always been, it’s my house, but it’s their home.
Our first two tenants did not live up to their end of the bargain. The first tenant trashed the property and left most of the ground floor damaged as they ripped out the washing machine and did not turn off the water at the mains. The result was a partially submerged ground floor.
Our second tenant destroyed several of the appliances and caused significant damage to walls, windows, ceilings, and doors. I’m not talking about cosmetic things that could be addressed with a bit of cleaning; I’m talking about things that needed extensive repair. Fortunately, our third tenants seem to be better.
Another lesson learned is that you have to pay closer attention to what is going on in your pension fund. It’s not enough to just let the monthly contributions build up; you should also understand how and where your money is being invested. If you are based in the UK you can also get some cool tax benefits from investing in a SIPP, and many employers offer extra contributions when you invest in their own pension scheme. Anyone serious about FIRE needs to get serious about their pension. The UK State Pension is not enough to retire on.
A major part of my plan was to not eat into the capital, and instead use the income generated by my investments to retire. However, with the way the first four years have gone, it’s just not practical. As such, I’m going to rely partially on a bridging fund; a fund to bridge the gap between when I give up work and when I can start reaping the benefits of my pensions.
The advantage of a bridging fund is that it can speed up the journey in the short term, but the main drawback is you are actually using up the funds which means when it’s gone, it’s gone. When you break down the numbers, it’s clear why it works. If you need £1,000 per month to live off, you need £12k for a year. If you wanted to get that £12k from income on investments, assuming a 4% rate of return you would need an investment pot valued at £300,000. Granted, that pot would return that year-on-year (for the sake of this example, at least), but you still need to accumulate the £300k. With a bridging fund, you just need the £12k in this example.
The way the economy has been over the last year or two has been pushing my target FIRE date further and further back. With the cost of seemingly everything increasing, it’s felt as though FIRE is not actually getting any closer. It’s vital at times like this to stay the course and continue with the process. As long as you follow the process, the result will come eventually. The process doesn’t change; invest as much as possible whilst keeping spending as low as possible.
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:
Hello and welcome back to Mortgage Advisor on FIRE. Some thoughts on my mortgage, and some positive updates to my investment income.
Updates since the last post…
I’m not in a good place, mentally I mean. I’ve not woken up and found myself in Essex or something. It’s fair to say I’m feeling awful. I’m not going to talk too much about it in this post though. I only mention it because the frequency with which I post may be further reduced, as might be my interactions on social media.
In brief, I’m struggling with my mental health. There’s so many layers to this, and different moving parts, that’s it’s almost impossible to untangle. There’s the depression, anxiety, and stress that’s just a contstant presence in my life. This is in no small part down to being autistic in a non-autistic world. Trying to explain what it’s like to a non-autistic person is difficult, but here is my somewhat simplistic example. Imagine you are at some event, like a party. This party represents the world. There is a constant buzzing sound which no one else can hear, but which you can hear and it’s causing physical and mental discomfort. The other people at this event are aware there’s a buzz, and they are aware that it’s causing you discomfort. However, they’re not willing to turn a dial to turn the buzzing off, despite such an act causing them almost no hassle in the process. This is why “Autism Awareness” is a steaming pile of horseshit. The world is not designed for autistic people, and that’s why autistic people struggle. It’s like walking through life with a rock in your shoe.
Something else that’s been on my mind lately is my own mortality. Autistic people have, according to many reports and studies, much shorter life expectencies than non-autistic people. Depending on the report/study, the quoted average age of death is between 39 and 56. I’ve just turned 40, and to complicate matters I have *deep breath* issues with my heart, type-2 diabetes, thyroid issues, and a range of other long-term physical health problems.
For the last few months I’ve been putting a brave face out there to world as much as possible, but the reality is I’m struggling. It’s taking so much strength and stamina each day, to just get through that one day.
Last week I was out and about doing various things, and I took a route I don’t normally walk. I was going through an area with trees, and some secluded grassy areas. There was this one point at which I just stopped, and looked around. It was so peaceful. The sky was blue, and the sun was shining down in a warming, non-harsh way. There was a gentle breeze, and there were birds on the field to my side hopping around looking for food. It wasn’t anything special, and I’ve seen parts of the natural world that are more stunning and beautiful. There was just something in that one moment of time that seemed so peaceful, but it was like I was an observer of that peace rather than being part of it.
I’m just so tired of all this. I’m so very, very tired.
So what do I do now? I keep going. That’s all I can do. I keep going and I hope that things get better over time.
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TV: Waiting for Ahsoka to finish so I can binge it all in one go.
Audiobook: The Great Post Office Scandal by Nick Wallis.
Financial Update
Total Assets: £520,896.92.
Total Debts: £280,440.89.
Total Wealth: £240,456.03.
Investment Income in 2023: £6,495.65 (target £8,500).
I had a nice boost to the finances this week, as I received four (almost) identical letters. Each letter was regarding an old loan I’ve had dating back several years. It turns out I was overcharged interest, and so I’m getting that interest back along with some compensation.
Regular readers may remember the problems I had with Barclaycard earlier this year. The Financial Ombudsman has confirmed that they have all the call recordings from Barclays, and so I’m just waiting for a decision from FOS. I’d be amazed if I didn’t get something from this, and Barclays have already offered, via FOS, to pay me £75 to resolve the complaint. I told them to jog on. For those who don’t know what happened, I’ll briefly explain…
There was an offer earlier this year where Barclays offered 50,000 Avios (airmiles) if you signed up to their card and spent £3k in three months. I was accepted for the card, and from that point on every single thing Barclays did was wrong. They even tried to deny the offer ever existed, despite a friend of mine signing up to the exact same offer, and receiving a similar experience to me. There’s also evidence online of this offer, including on Barclays own website.
My Mortgage
In the next couple of weeks the index valuations of my properties should update. This is a quarterly update, and I’m expecting a slight drop. Once I know what I’m working with, the focus is then switching our residential mortgage to interest-only. To do this, we need the LTV to be 75% or less. This means we’ll have to hammer the balance down a bit, as the current LTV is approx 76.4%. Once we have the LTV below the required amount, we can then put roughly £125,000 of the debt on interest-only.
Our mortgage is not particularly simple. We have a dozen or so parts to our mortgage, each with differing rates of interest and repayment terms. The plan is to put the parts of the mortgage on interest-only that have the lowest rates of interest, so we can focus more of the repayment of capital on the parts with the higher rates of interest.
Looking further ahead, renting out our apartment is a fundamental part of our FIRE plans. Apartments of our size and type, in our part of the country, can typically rent for at least £1,100pcm. We also have a secured parking space which will boost that. Our service charges and ground rent total up to around £150pcm, and then there’s tax to pay on any rent received. I’ve been trying to work out what we’d need to reduce our mortgage payments to, in order to actually make some money off the apartment. Assuming an interest-only mortgage with a rate of 5%, we’d need to drop the balance down to around £120,000 for it be viable. If rates are lower, we can go with a higher debt. However, higher rates of interest mean we’d have to reduce the debt further. It’s a balancing act.
2023 and 2024 Investment Income
I need to generate a further £2k in the final three months of the year to hit my 2023 investment income goal. It’s going to be difficult, and I’m probably relying on a Premium Bonds win to push me over the line. A typical month will see me receive around £575 of investment income. This figure is made up of the various investments that pay out monthly, but not the investments that pay out once or twice a year, like stock dividends. £575 x 3 = £1,725, so I’m not that far away from hitting my goal in reality.
Taking that £575 monthly figure into 2024, it would produce an annual amount of £6,900. Then, there are the various dividends received annually or six-monthly, which based on the last year’s payments, could potentially set me up for generating £10,000 investment income in 2024.
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:
Hello and welcome back to Mortgage Advisor on FIRE. It’s been a while. I hope you are well, and thank you for checking back in. I’m sorry this post is later than planned. We’ve had a guest fly into the UK to stay with us on Saturday, and much of my time has been spent entertaining with Oana.
The last few weeks have been eventful. I had my 40th birthday, and a holiday to Malta. I felt it was the right time to return to this blog, but I don’t think it will be a weekly thing. I’ll see how I feel, but I think I’ll probably do a couple of posts a month and take it from there.
Malta
I love Malta. It has a rich history, and it’s a small island republic in the Mediterranean Sea. Over the years Oana and I have become increasingly attached to the place, and on our latest trip, we travelled with my Dad who has never been to Malta before. So it was a great experience seeing it through someone else’s eyes. We also took a special guest along for the trip, and you will see them making appearances in several of the photos included in this post.
Our trip started early; 02:20 in the morning early. We were picked up by a Spanish driver who took a relaxed approach to road signs and markings as he drove us to Manchester Airport. Somehow we arrived at the airport in one piece and were heartened to find it not as busy as we’d feared. Our last journey to Malta in 2022, on the same flight, was chaotic. The airport was rammed with people and it took an age to get through security. This time we were through with plenty of time to spare, so we had breakfast at Giraffe. I used to love their take on huevos rancheros, and it was something of a tradition that if I was in an airport for a morning flight, I’d try and track down this classic Mexican breakfast. A short while ago Giraffe changed their menu, and instead of huevos rancheros, they have a Mexican breakfast tostada. It’s the same thing, more or less, and I smashed through my food quickly, before moving to what was left on Oana’s plate (she had ordered the same).
When Oana and I travel for a week we can normally get by with one large suitcase, and a smaller carry-on case, and a backpack each. We’ve travelled this way for years with no problem. This time we had an agent who was quite militant and insisted our carry-on was too big, and as a result, we left that interaction £48 lighter. It’s blatant profiteering. The carry-on easily fits in the overhead cabins and requires absolutely no adjustments or extra work. It’s just charging people for the sake of it; but that’s what you get with budget airlines.
The flight was fairly smooth and uneventful. We were concerned about bad weather as we approached Malta as all the forecasts were predicting storms for our first day. However, the forecast was updated every few minutes so that, by the time we boarded the plane, we were expecting sun and clear skies.
I like Luqa airport; it’s small, clean, and easy to navigate. We were through security quickly and had our luggage within twenty minutes of leaving the plane. There’s a taxi desk in arrivals where you pay a set fee depending on which part of the island you are going to. We had a few hours until we could check in to the hotel, so the plan was to drop our cases at the hotel and then head to Valletta for lunch.
Steak, with asparagus, roasted onion, and jus, at La Pira in Valletta.
Our hotel was in Sliema, a city across the harbour from the capital, Valletta. Normally you can get a ferry across the harbour for a nominal fare, but the seas were extremely rough and the ferry service had been suspended. In all the times I’ve been to Malta, this is the first time I’d known the ferry to be stopped due to the weather. Our backup plan was to get the bus.
The buses were absolutely heaving due to a combination of factors. The weather was the obvious one. With the ferry having been suspended, it put more pressure on the buses to get people from Sliema to Valletta. Also, we had landed right at the start of a Pride event in Malta, meaning there were probably more tourists than normal. Whilst we waited for a bus, there was some middle-aged woman standing behind us who, I’m convinced was either drunk, drugged up, or in some other way mentally compromised. She opened up a bottle of coke which exploded all over me; my leg, and my new trainers, were soaked.
I wasn’t too bothered by this because things happen. It was the fact that this woman kept trying to talk to us and apologise. The first time she apologised, I said it was fine and not to worry. I turned away to wait in the queue with Oana and my Dad, but she kept trying to get our attention for the next ten minutes, and at one point was tapping us on the shoulder. I think we were all about to lose our temper and tell her to just leave us alone, as a bus finally arrived that would allow us to board.
Valletta is an impressive city. As you get off the bus at the city gates you can see the large Triton fountain, and the bridge through the huge stone walls into the city itself. We enjoyed our walk around the city, despite all running on almost no sleep. We stopped for lunch at one of our favourite local restaurants, La Pira Maltese Kitchen. We spent a bit more time walking around the city before getting a cab back to Sliema to check in to the hotel.
I’ve talked before about the awful service with Virgin Money for the credit card I use when travelling. I’d closed that card down and opened one with a different bank. The card was active and should have worked fine. However, seeing as though no company can seemingly do simple things correctly, I should not have been surprised when the card was declined at the hotel as we attempted to pay for our rooms. I called the bank and entered all my details into the automated menu, and shouldn’t have been surprised when the agent asked me for all those details again. I mean, seriously, what is the fucking point in having automated menus asking customers for information if that information goes nowhere?
Eventually, they were able to resolve the issue with the card and I paid for the rooms. Once the bill is cleared for this holiday, the card will be closed.
I left Oana to unpack whilst I went out to the supermarket for water and other bits. When I got back, Oana was not happy. The shower in our room was small. Extremely small. It was a shower cubicle, with two sliding doors that join in a corner. Now, I’m a big guy, but not unusually so. I could not fit inside the shower without scraping my body on the door edges. Inside the shower, I couldn’t stand without some part of my body touching a wall or door. There was not a chance I would have been able to shower and not a chance we’d be able to stay in that room for a week. Fortunately, once we explained the issue to the hotel, they upgraded us to a bigger room with a much bigger bathroom. Not better, just bigger.
For dinner, we stayed in Sliema and ate at Impasta, a restaurant serving fresh pasta. Then, we walked along the seafront to go and see the cats. Somewhere about halfway between Sliema and St Julian’s there is a park in which a number of stray cats live. The local people make sure they are fed, and there are many cat beds, little cat houses, toys, scratching posts, and whatnot all supplied by the locals and visitors. Some of these cats we recognised from previous trips, and many of them are friendly.
The following day, after breakfast, we tried to get the ferry across to Valletta again, but this time we were stopped because the card payment system wasn’t working properly and they were only accepting cash. As we had no cash on us, we took another cab into the city. From the Upper Barrakka Gardens we saw a huge cruise ship in the Grand Harbour, and we couldn’t resist the opportunity to go and have a look. The ship was the Norwegian Breakaway on a cruise around Italy and Greece, with a brief stop in Malta. After having a look around the harbour we took the lift back up to the Barrakka Gardens. I may have been something of an asshole on the journey, but I’ll let you decide:
We watched the firing of the cannon at midday and then paid a visit to the Lascaris War Rooms under the Barrakka Gardens. I’d visited the museum in 2018 when I travelled to Malta alone, but I thought Oana and my Dad would find it interesting, and they did. The Lascaris War Rooms were an important part of Malta’s WWII history. It was from this base that the Allied invasion of Sicily was planned, and the War Rooms played an important role in coordinating the defence of Malta as the island was relentlessly bombed by the Germans and Italians. At one point in the war, Malta was the most heavily bombed place on Earth. The islands took an absolute beating but held out under immense pressure.
We decided to have a relaxed evening, as we watched the sunset from the rocks on the seafront in Sliema. We had a kebab from a Turkish place we like and just enjoyed the sea air.
Maltese Sunset (no filters).
The following day was Sunday, and not much was open, we planned to have a chilled day. We’d spotted a new restaurant on the seafront that looked decent, so we gave it a try. I had a burger and it was not good. Generally, I prefer my burgers well done, but I don’t mind them cooked medium so long as they’ve had time to rest. As soon as I picked up this burger, all sorts of bloody juices fell out of the burger onto my plate, leaving my salad and fries in a puddle of unpleasant liquid. There were issues with the other meals brought out, and overall it was a disappointing meal.
The food that evening was the complete opposite though. I took Oana and my Dad to Hammet’s, a restaurant I’d visited alone in 2018. The menu has changed, and was now an Asian fusion style. I know this food is right up my street, but I was worried I’d be the only one who enjoyed it. I needn’t have worried as we all very much enjoyed our meal.
Monday 11th September
My 40th birthday. How am I 40? It doesn’t feel right. I don’t feel 40. According to Google, I’m middle-aged. Well, Google can fuck off. I’m not middle-aged.
Oana outdid herself in arranging my 40th birthday celebrations. She organised a birthday brunch before we went to Malta, which saw both my parents join us. Since Oana and I got together in 2007, this is the first time the four of us have done something together.
In Malta, Oana had organised a birthday cake to be delivered to the hotel on the morning of my birthday. The cake was fantastic; designed and decorated with skill, and the lemon and poppy seed filling was great.
The three of us then took a trip to Malta’s old capital, Mdina; also known as the Silent City, and famously used as a stand-in for King’s Landing in the first season of Game of Thrones. Mdina is a spectacular walled city. It is so well preserved and is like stepping back in time. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant atop the city walls and it was a complete clusterfuck. The service was poor, flies everywhere, we were given the wrong drinks, and the food was inedible. I ordered a pizza that tasted like a frozen pizza warmed up. The entire pizza, except for one bite, was uneaten and untouched. The caprese salads Oana and my Dad ordered were an insult to food. We called a waiter over and explained that we were not happy with the food. He reacted badly. He started shouting that the food was fresh and that we were wrong, and kept interrupting any attempt we made to explain what was wrong. He simply kept shouting and shouting. If you listen carefully, you may still hear him now, like a fell voice in the air.
We stood up and went to pay at the counter, and he followed us still shouting. Even now, I half expect to wake up with him shouting at me from the bottom of my bed. Eventually, I’d had enough. I told Oana and my Dad to wait outside. I turned to the waiter and told him I did not want to speak to him, and that he should leave me alone. As I was getting my card out to pay the bill, he shouted that he would call the police if we didn’t pay. I told him to fuck off. At this point, he seemed to get the concept.
I’m not generally one for confrontation in this way, but this guy was deliberately trying to cause a scene. I can’t think of any other explanation for why he acted the way he did. We showed a huge amount of patience, despite the waiter becoming increasingly aggressive throughout the whole interaction. We were all feeling angry and frustrated but we tried not to let it ruin the rest of the day. We bought tickets to see the Mdina Cathedral and the Cathedral Museum, and after some more time spent in and around the city, we got a cab back to Sliema.
For my birthday dinner we had booked a table at Sciacca in Valletta; my favourite restaurant on the island. It’s a steak restaurant where you are brought to the meat counter and talked through the various options available. You then choose the cut you want, and how you want it cooked. It ended up being a fantastic meal which my Dad kindly paid for. Afterwards, we went back to the Upper Barrakka Gardens to see the Grand Harbour at night, and then a cab back to Sliema.
On Tuesday we went to Gozo, the second largest of the Maltese islands. We took the fast ferry from Valletta and arrived in Gozo mid-morning. We bought tickets for the hop-on, hop-off bus, which is our favourite thing to do in Gozo. Sitting on the open top deck, with the sun shining down, the breeze blowing over you, and the stunning views of the sea… there’s nothing else like it.
We would have liked to stop at more places in Gozo, but the bus schedule meant we had to be very picky about where to stop. We decided to stop briefly at Ta’Pinu which is just a stunning building even to an atheist like me.
Whilst in Gozo we also visited the Citadel, where our esteemed special guest took in the stunning views:
We enjoyed the open-top bus ride so much that we did the same thing the following day in Malta. We toured the southern half of Malta which took us back to a small fishing village called Marsaxlokk, which Oana and I visited a few years ago, finding an amazing restaurant in the process that was run by an older married couple. We were determined to find the restaurant again despite not remembering what it was called. Our efforts were successful and we had another incredible meal. I had a carpaccio of tuna, salmon, and swordfish to start, with a lobster ravioli for main. Oana had a pasta with a rich beef and mushroom ragu. My Dad had a great chicken dish, and all three of us were extremely happy with the meal.
Once we’d eaten we tracked down a local man with a small boat who agreed to take us on a ride around the coast to see some of the bays and coves. It was so peaceful and relaxing sitting in the boat with our hands in the sea. Marsaxlokk is a small place but it has the second biggest port on the island. As we were on our little boat ride we passed some huge cargo ships, which had anchors bigger than the whole boat we were on. I love being on the water and in another life I would have loved to have worked at sea.
As we approached our final day in Malta we decided to have as relaxing a day as possible. Oana and my Dad wanted to go into the sea a little. I wanted to have a walk, and I was trying to track down some gifts for people. I wanted to get some coffee from a local coffee roaster in Malta for a friend who’d had some good news. I also wanted to track down some mugs or fridge magnets for a couple of other people. So, I stuck my headphones in and started walking to St Julian’s. I got to the coffee place, and they didn’t have what I needed. The wind was well and truly taken from my sails.
By the time I got back to Sliema, the only other place I could try was closed, and so I returned home without the gifts I wanted.
On our last evening, we had dinner at Sciacca again, and the food was amazing once again. We had spotted in a shop window a Monopoly Malta set, and we were eager to buy it. Having been years since I last bought a board game I had no idea how much it would cost. Before we went in, I asked Oana how much she was willing to pay. We both thought about the same; 25ish Euros. It cost over 50. We didn’t buy it.
Our flight home was early, but not unreasonably so. We met in the hotel lobby at 8am and got a cab to the airport. Fortunately, our flight was on time, and it was a relatively simple process of going through security and boarding. The flight was a little bumpier than normal, but I’m a fairly relaxed flyer. Oana, is not. There were a couple of things that concerned me on the flight though.
My first concern was that there were significant periods of time when there was only one person in the cockpit. I thought it was a law that there had to be two people in the cockpit at all times, following the incident a few years back where a pilot crashed his plane into a mountain. I’ve done some reading on this, and it appears that it’s not a law. It was guidance that some airlines no longer follow in Europe. I think it’s a different situation in the US though.
My second concern related to a medical emergency on board. The cabin crew were having to dash up and down the aircraft with various bits of equipment. I don’t know what happened, but it was a worry that someone on board was having difficulty. I don’t know how they are now, or if they survived, or even if it was life-threatening. When we landed in Manchester the paramedics boarded the plane shortly after we arrived at the gate. I did wonder, during the flight, if we’d be forced to land somewhere en-route. The fact we didn’t suggest one of two things; either the incident was not so serious as to require a diversion, or the passenger passed away. Whoever it was, I hope it was nothing serious and they’re ok.
All in all it was a great holiday, and it was so nice to be able to show my Dad Malta for the first time, and see it through his eyes. Oana and I didn’t have the best first trip to Malta when we went back in 2015, I think it was, so to have a second chance to see it from a fresh perspective was great.
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Investment Income in 2023: £6,260.26 (target £8,500).
The financial side of things is going quite well, with my investments increasing in value. Also, there have been some bits of investment income dropping in over the last few weeks.
It’s going to be an interesting year or so ahead of the next general election. I can see both Labour and the Tory party making promises regarding income tax, CGT, possibly the ISA allowance, and maybe even IHT. With the general election needing to take place no later than January 2025 (I think?) it’s as good a time as any to take stock and start planning your financial affairs for 2024.
It seems like every year I have the same mental battle; max out my ISA allowance as soon as it opens in April, or drip feed money into my ISA throughout the year. For the last few years I’ve maxed out my ISA as soon as the year opens (this year I had to draw funds back out of my ISA which was pretty annoying). This year I genuinely think I’ll just drip feed money in each month and keep my Fuck It Fund and Premium Bonds until I’m (hopefully) able to secure another BTL property.
I had a nice boost when I checked this month’s income from an investment fund I hold, which had produced an almost 50% increase in income. In combination with my rental income, I might, might, just sneak over the £8,500 line for investment income by the end of 2023. On the subject of investment income, my total for 2022 was £5,685.20, and I’ve now passed that figure in 2023 with three full months still to go. So, I’m still moving in the right direction.
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.
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I’d intended to have a post go live at the normal time of 09:00 GMT on Sunday. However, a few things came up, and there’s going to be a slight delay. Apologies – I know it’s frustrating but I’ll explain all when the new post goes live, which should only be a day or so later than planned.
Hello and welcome back to Mortgage Advisor on FIRE. I had a post that I was working on but it just didn’t feel right. To be honest, I’ve been feeling stretched thin for a while now and I think I need a break from writing. I’ve been posting weekly since late 2019, and in that time missed only two weeks completely, and been late only a couple of times also.
Thank you to you all for your continued interest and support. This isn’t the end of the blog; it’s just a break for now, but the blog will continue.
