A Frugal Engagement

On July 27, 2019January 10, 2020 By Mr WayIn Finances1 Comment

As we keep saying on this blog, our general approach in life is to CHALLENGE EVERYTHING!

Because of this, the topic of engagements (and more widely, marriage) is one that immediately makes me feel unwell. The whole process is drowning in so many ‘customs’ and expected behaviours . Many of these come with a large financial impact which really challenge my frugal tendencies!

Something that should be a celebration of your love for each other can easily become an incredibly stressful time. You can find yourself constantly trying to please anyone who might be offended!

That is why I wanted to write about my experience proposing to Miss Way. Hopefully this helps others in a similar situation.

I was determined to make our engagement a special occasion, while still meeting our frugal habits. By following a few simple steps, I think I managed that!

Continue reading →

Monthly Spending – June 2019

On July 6, 2019January 10, 2020 By A Way to LessIn Finances, FIRE, Monthly Spending3 Comments

Summary

This month was slightly over our ‘normal’ spending of ~£2,000. We had an annual membership fee to pay, as well as a couple of big outlays for our Africa trip added to the total. See below for more detail!

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.

Continue reading →

Monthly Spending – May 2019

On June 8, 2019June 8, 2019 By A Way to LessIn Finances, FIRE, Monthly Spending3 Comments

Summary

This month’s spending is a little different because the balance for our Africa trip was due. As you can see, this meant we shelled out over £6,000 on this alone! We’ll go into more detail on this below.

Continue reading →

Why We Keep Our Finances Separate

On May 11, 2019May 11, 2019 By A Way to LessIn Finances, Optimisation2 Comments

Society Expects

This is another one of those aspects of life where we have challenged the ‘norms’ of society. We decided to forge our own way of doing things by keeping our finances separate.

The accepted norm for couples is to merge finances, particularly when you own a house together as we do. In our opinion this would have led to unnecessary conflicts between us. We are both naturally frugal and would have resented any spending by the other which we felt wasn’t necessary!

Continue reading →

Monthly Spending – April 2019

On May 7, 2019January 10, 2020 By A Way to LessIn Finances, FIRE, Monthly Spending2 Comments

In March we produced our first ever monthly spending report. Here is our second!

Despite going away this month we have managed to stay very close to our March spending amount. We’re really happy with this and hope we can keep up the £2000 per month average!

Continue reading →

In Defence of the 4% Rule

On April 20, 2019April 17, 2019 By Mr WayIn Finances, FIRE3 Comments

What is the 4% Rule?

The 4% rule was created based on historical market returns data. Simply put, it showed that a typical retiree could withdraw 4% of their portfolio while keeping the initial pot intact. The withdrawn amount would increase by inflation each year.

The rule came about from work by Bengen and later, the Trinity study. Both were based on the same data.

This rule of thumb has been widely adopted in the FIRE movement as a way of calculating the required pot to fund early retirement. It is the basis of Mr Money Mustache’s famous article The Shockingly Simple Math Behind Early Retirement

Negativity

There have recently been a lot of articles criticising the 4% rule. I still think this rule provides a great initial estimate for anyone considering FIRE. That’s why I wanted to create an article giving the other side of the argument.

Continue reading →

Thought Experiment 5

On April 15, 2019January 10, 2020 By Mr WayIn FIRE, Thought Experiment10 Comments

What Will I Do When I Retire?

This is the first time we’ve participated in one of SavingNinja‘s Thought Experiment posts so we’ll add a little explanation.

This is an idea to get bloggers to immediately respond to a question and all post their answers on their blogs. You have to write the first thing you think of and can’t pre-plan or do any major editing.

We’re joining in at Thought Experiment 5 because we only recently started our blog! If you want to see previous versions see SavingNinja’s archives.

Continue reading →

My Money Journey

On April 9, 2019January 10, 2020 By Mr WayIn Finances, FIRE2 Comments

The Beginning

It all started normally enough.

I grew up in a comfortable lower middle-class household. We never really discussed money. My parents weren’t flashy by any means, but they saw it as a matter of personal pride that we never went without.

Looking back, it’s fairly clear that there wasn’t any significant money being put into savings (other than for holidays and new cars!). I now know that any savings my parents did have was all held in cash. My Dad has a fear of the stock market – he has a very conservative approach to money!

The conservative version of a money journey - a wallet clamped shut!

The mindset I had been encouraged to adopt was that of the majority of people in my scenario; work hard at school, get a good job, settle down and have a family in a nice big house with a shiny car. After all, it’s not surprising when that’s exactly what my parents have achieved. These examples were the start of my money journey.

Continue reading →

How Do You Save for ‘FIRE’ in the UK?

On April 6, 2019April 9, 2019 By Mr WayIn Finances, FIRE, Optimisation9 Comments

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.

Continue reading →

The Importance of Having a Goal

On April 2, 2019April 5, 2019 By A Way to LessIn FIRE, Optimisation, Travel1 Comment

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!