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.
Continue reading “Monthly Spending – November 2019”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.
Continue reading “Frugal Tennis Improvement”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!
Continue reading “6 Steps to Financial Success as a Graduate”We started our month-long adventure in Nairobi, having completed the 2-leg flight from the UK, via Dubai.
First impressions weren’t great as we stood in the immigration queue for 90 minutes. It was a warm, stuffy place and the queue was a battle! Other passengers didn’t seem to have the same ‘personal space’ values as we do!
Continue reading “A Day in Nairobi, Kenya”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.
Continue reading “Misunderstanding the FIRE Movement”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.
Continue reading “Monthly Spending – October 2019”As you probably know by now, we spent most of the summer in East Africa! We were away for a month, with the vast majority of our time being spent on the Ultimate East Africa trip by G Adventures.
We wanted to provide a review of our trip in the hope that it helps others when choosing a similar escapade!
Continue reading “Review of Ultimate East Africa”In Frugal Fitness we mentioned that I play competitive tennis alongside my strength training. This is something I have increasingly taken more seriously, with a real desire to improve.
As I write this, the summer season has just finished and I’m aiming to use the winter months to address some fundamental weaknesses in my game. The aim is to take the step up to the next level and compete with a higher standard of player!
Throughout this process I’ve discovered some familiar themes. The core principles I need to follow in order to improve my tennis have similar relevance for life in general. The mental side of the game aligns with skills I had already learnt on my path to financial independence. I call this the tennis mindset!
Continue reading “Tennis Mindset”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.
Continue reading “Africa Trip – What We Spent!”Us girls have a lot to put up with once a month. For those lucky few, periods come and go without too much disruption to their lives. Unfortunately, I have never been that lucky. Ever since mine started they have been a monthly ordeal. Either very heavy, very painful, extremely emotional or often all three!! I am sure many women experience similar.
On top of this, being on your period can be expensive! There are definitely frugal ways of approaching this but often the cheaper sanitary options are a lot less comfortable or effective. Having tried lots of options through the years I have settled very happily on the ‘menstrual cup’.
Continue reading “My ‘Monthly’ Money Saver”