Pursuing FIRE is a fine balancing act. On the face of it, delaying your FIRE journey would seem like a bad idea. Who wants to spend longer tied to a job when they could be doing anything else?! But there are other factors at play here!
Continue reading “Delaying FIRE to Enjoy Today”Category: Finances
Frugal Four – Episode 2
We’re back with our second episode of Frugal Four!
We wanted a way to share the frugal tips and tricks we’ve picked up over the years. The aim is to provide a brief summary of a few little hacks we’ve enjoyed using in the hope it inspires you to save some money yourselves!
Continue reading “Frugal Four – Episode 2”Reusable Nappies
We recently made our first large baby purchase, buying a bedside cot from Aldi! Shortly after that, the opportunity arose to buy some second hand reusable nappies. In this article we’ll explain why we decided to go down the frugal reusable nappies route and the potential benefits it can bring.
Preparations
As we continue to prepare for the arrival of Baby Way, we’re thinking about what we will need to buy. Our intention is to continue to live as minimalist a life as possible.
As new parents, there is severe pressure from advertisers to buy all sorts of gadgets for your baby, playing on your vulnerability and willingness to provide the best start for them.
We’re convinced most of the conventional baby purchases are unnecessary and we’ll continue to question these decisions at every stage.
Continue reading “Reusable Nappies”Monthly Spending – January 2020
Summary
Welcome to our first 2020 spending post! Our January spending was quite good, totalling £1,789. We’re aiming to stay below £2,000 on average throughout 2020 which should be achievable if we carry on like this!
Continue reading “Monthly Spending – January 2020”Baby Impact Assessment
As you probably know by now, we’re expecting a baby in July! As money is our favourite topic, we wanted to understand the financial impact of having a baby!
Aside from the obvious emotional impact of expecting a baby, there are some very significant financial aspects to think about.
Continue reading “Baby Impact Assessment”How to Kill off Ambition and De-Motivate Your Staff
A tale of how a recent experience has strongly reinforced my will to achieve FIRE and have more flexibility in the way I spend my time.
Background
Since starting at my company 7.5 years ago, I’ve been one of the stand-out performers in most areas. I don’t like saying that type of thing because it sounds big headed. But I’ve genuinely put my head above the parapet and done everything I can to succeed.
Continue reading “How to Kill off Ambition and De-Motivate Your Staff”Monthly Spending – December 2019
Summary
December was yet another expensive month for us. Our kitchen was the last room in our house left to overhaul, having moved in nearly 5 years ago. The update was much needed and we’re really happy with the result. It doesn’t make the spending any easier to stomach though!
As we head into 2020 we’re looking to get back to normal and settle around our desired £2,000 per month spending level. See this post for more detail.
Continue reading “Monthly Spending – December 2019”Happy New Year!
2019
2019 has been a year to remember for us, with highlights including:
- Starting a blog in March!!!
- Getting engaged in July
- An incredible month-long trip to East Africa
- Finding out we are expecting our first child, Baby Way , in July 2020
- Booking a wedding venue for 2021
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’.
Continue reading “Happy New Year!”Baby Way
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.
Continue reading “Baby Way”How to Buy a Car – The Frugal Way!
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.
Continue reading “How to Buy a Car – The Frugal Way!”