Category: Finances

Happy New Year!

On By Mr WayIn Finances, FIRE, Optimisation2 Comments

2019 

2019 has been a year to remember for us, with highlights including: 

Clearly, 2019 has been more expensive than we would have liked!  

Despite this we have still managed to achieve all of the above, as well as an unwelcome new car purchase, while saving in the region of 35% of our income. We much prefer to see a figure above 50%, but considering what has happened this year we are happy to still make significant contributions to our ‘FI funds’.  

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Baby Way

On By A Way to LessIn Baby Way, Finances, FIRE, Frugality12 Comments

We’re Having a Baby!

You’ve met Mr Way. You’ve met Miss Way. Say hello to Baby Way! Well, not just yet….

If the incredibly expensive Africa trip followed by a new car weren’t expensive enough, we’re now expecting our first child!

We recently found out that Miss Way is pregnant, with the baby due in July 2020.

Obviously, we’re absolutely delighted with this news. But at the same time, there are some severe doubts about whether we’re doing the right thing.

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How to Buy a Car – The Frugal Way!

On By A Way to LessIn Finances, Frugality, Optimisation3 Comments

Intro – Miss Way 

I had been avoiding the fact that my car was on its last legs for far too long.  It had done a respectable 165,000 miles!  

A couple of weeks ago I accepted it was no longer safe to drive and the repair costs far outweighed the value of the vehicle (£1,000 on repairs for a car only worth £200!) – I needed to buy a new one – and quick!  

I begrudgingly rely on my car for my work. Due to the peripatetic nature of my job, it unfortunately isn’t always possible to cycle to all my work destinations. Over the last month I’ve used the train where possible, but it can be an expensive alternative. Ideally, we would love to be entirely car free, but this is not an option right now. 

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Monthly Spending – November 2019

On By A Way to LessIn Finances, Monthly Spending2 Comments

Summary 

Not a good month for the savings rate!! In fact we’ve spent much more than we earnt this month.  

This was almost entirely caused by having to buy a new car – see the Transport section below for more detail.  

Ignoring the car for a second, we spent £2,040 which is very close to our target of £2,000 per month.  

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Frugal Tennis Improvement

On By Mr WayIn Finances, Fitness, Frugality, Optimisation4 Comments

As you probably know by now, we’re always looking to optimise in every area of our lives. 

My latest obsession in this regard is with my tennis, as discussed in Tennis Mindset. I’ve decided to push myself to develop to the next level. I really want to compete with players who currently thrash me! I’m determined to be the best I can be.

“Make the most of yourself….for that is all there is of you.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

In order to make such a large improvement, my game needs some fairly fundamental changes. This won’t simply happen by playing more regularly – I need to go back to basics and change my technique.

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6 Steps to Financial Success as a Graduate

On By Mr WayIn FinancesLeave a comment

Top Financial Tips for New Graduates 

In my place of work I come across a lot of new graduates joining our company, fresh from University. 

This is such an exciting time in their life, as they finally start to earn their own money and create their own lifestyle. It can really be a make or break time in their financial journey. 

I’m writing this post in the hope that it helps people in this position. I wish I’d had some guidance at that stage in my life. I would have been much further ahead by now! Seeing some of the decisions made by our current graduates, I wish I could give them a helping hand with their finances!  

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Misunderstanding the FIRE Movement

On By Mr WayIn Finances, FIRE12 Comments

There has been a steady increase in the mainstream media coverage for Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE), especially here in the UK.  

While it’s a really good thing that our message is being spread to more people, this also brings a lot of frustration with it. Almost every time I have seen FIRE covered in the press, there appear to be severe misunderstandings about the principles by which us ‘followers’ live. 

The most recent example of this was an episode of Money Box Live, aired on 6th November 2019. Money Box Live is a radio programme on BBC Radio 4, covering all areas of money.

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Monthly Spending – October 2019

On By A Way to LessIn Finances, Monthly Spending2 Comments

Summary 

Our spending was almost spot on our target monthly amount in October! We aim for around £2,000 so this was a good result for us. A very low month in the transport category helped us balance out some big items elsewhere. 

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

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Africa Trip – What We Spent!

On By A Way to LessIn Africa, Finances, TravelLeave a comment

Africa Series – Part 3

We gave a rough estimate before we left that the trip would cost us in the region of £5,500 each. Was our estimate right?!

A lot of the costs were already known before we left. We had paid for the flights, the tour with G Adventures and some extra hotel nights at either end of the trip. The tour costs also included a lot of food and transport etc.

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Monthly Spending – September 2019

On By A Way to LessIn Finances, Monthly Spending3 Comments

Summary 

Back to reality this month as we tried to settle back into our routine. If you didn’t know, we went to East Africa for all of August and got engaged in July, so it has been all change!!

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

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