How Do You Save for ‘FIRE’ in the UK?

As somewhat of a personal finance geek, I (Mr Way) have learnt a fair amount over the last few years. As a result, I wanted to share my specific take on saving for FIRE in the UK with you. I am not a qualified financial advisor and nothing in this article should be considered financial advice! This is simply a log of my own findings/opinions in the hope they may help you to do your own research!

Most of the information in this article will be based on my own situation as a full time employed basic rate tax payer. The advice will differ depending on your circumstances so do your own research.

You may well have more efficient ways of saving than I mention below. If so, please let me know!

Mr Way

There are many resources out there on how to save for financial independence. In my experience, most of these are US centric with their own tax and savings implications (401k, Roth IRA, healthcare etc). The general principles are very similar and can be broadly followed. But what about the UK FIRE saving nuances?

Obviously saving for FIRE differs from ‘traditional’ savings techniques because you need to access your money much earlier than traditional retirement dates (55+). If you aren’t planning to retire early, the best course of action will be very different.

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The Importance of Having a Goal

In What is FIRE? we described the process of achieving financial independence and having the freedom to retire early from work. That’s great, but what are you going to do with all that spare time? You need to have a goal!

“One can find time for everything if one is never in a hurry.”

Mikhail Bulgakov, Heart of a Dog
There's a lot of spare time when work is optional. What will you do with it all?!

What Are You Retiring TO?

It’s vital that you understand what you’re retiring TO rather than focussing on what you’re retiring FROM. This is what we mean by ‘have a goal’!

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Monthly Spending – March 2019

While developing ‘our way’ and learning about financial independence, we found reviewing other people’s spending really helpful. We can all learn something from each other because there’s so many ways of doing things!

To this end, we aim to regularly summarise our spending for comparison. It will also act as an accountability test for us, meaning we have to justify every purchase! 

We will break our main expenses down into categories, starting with the big 3; housing, food and transport. Everything else falls broadly into the entertainment/miscellaneous category, with any large inclusions explained in detail.

So here it is – our March 2019 spending!

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A Way to Less……. Spending! (Frugality)

Our Thoughts on Frugality 

Frugality is a term that gets thrown around quite a lot. But in our experience it can mean very different things to different people! Typing the word into Google generates this definition and example: 

The quality of being economical with money or food; thriftiness.

“He scorned the finer things in life and valued frugality and simplicity” 

We actually think that’s a pretty good summary, especially the example!  

Essentially, frugality boils down to optimising every spending decision, so that you get maximum benefit from every pound spent.  

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A FIRE Trial Run

Africa Series – Part 1

The world is always open, waiting to be discovered

Dejan Stojanovic

For quite a while now we have been deciding what the next step in our lives looks like. After much discussion, including options such as working abroad, travel, starting a family etc (see Our Version of FIRE for more), we settled on the idea of a FIRE trial run!

OK we’re not actually retiring, or even leaving our jobs. Actual FIRE is still a distant dream. But we’re taking an extended break in summer 2019 to travel for a month!

But how does this fit with our frugal tendencies and our ambition to achieve FIRE? 

‘Be Present’

A concept which we have raised previously is to ‘be present’. What we mean by this is to enjoy the journey to FI as well as the retirement itself! It’s very easy when seeking financial independence to get bogged down in saving every last penny and forego experience until a later date. Delayed gratification is a core principle of FIRE after all! We have been trying to optimise our spending to increase our savings rate and this trip will have a huge impact on those numbers. But it’s important to strike a balance. It essentially boils down to this:  Continue reading “A FIRE Trial Run”

Sanity, Saving & Singing!

“A smile is a facelift in everyone’s price range” 

Tom Wilson

Music teaching can be such a rewarding job.  

The privilege of introducing music to young children and witnessing the joy it brings them never fails to make me smile. Nothing can compare to the power of an assembly hall full of children singing a song they love, as one. It does wonders for your mood on a rainy Monday morning and makes it all worthwhile!

Singing is good for your mental health!

I qualified as a secondary school music teacher in 2012. I now enjoy a portfolio career as a peripatetic music teacher. My current timetable looks like this: Continue reading “Sanity, Saving & Singing!”

Our Version of FIRE

In “What is FIRE?” we mentioned that the ‘end goal’ of FIRE differs for everyone. For us, it is important to understand the purpose of gaining our financial independence. This understanding gives us the desire and motivation to continue following the ‘unconventional path’ of frugal living.

The question posed by FIRE is a fascinating one, and we see it as a more ‘sensible’ version of the classic:

What would you do if you won the lottery?

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What is FIRE?

FIRE means different things to different people…..

FIRE, or Financial Independence, Retire Early, is a fast-growing movement of people looking for a different way in life.

Saving a high percentage of your earnings allows you to retire significantly earlier than traditionally possible. The percentage of your earnings which you save is known as your savings rate. A popular target is to aim for the 50-70% savings rate bracket, allowing you to retire after roughly 9-17 years of work.

This opens a whole world of opportunities for the rest of your life.

So how could you possibly save so much?

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