Dad on FIRE

  In this update we have: Reached Millionaire status on my net worth Harvesting gains from Crypto Platform Incentives Holiday plans Overview: (click to enlarge) (click to enlarge) Net worth update:  Current net worth: £1,030,167 Up £28k from last month, and up a massive £70k from 2 months ago!!  My last blog post was probably a bit premature as a couple of days after it, I breached the millionaire net worth figure!  When I started out on this journey less than 10 years ago with a rough net worth of just over £100k I didn't think I'd be saying that as a 37 year old with two small kids that I'd be a millionaire! Also I'm not sure whether it is mainly due to "millionaire" status not being the same as it was when I was young (thanks inflation/money printing! #BitcoinSolvesThis ), or whether it is testament to our concerted saving and investing over the past few years, probably a mix of both. Either way I'm extremely proud of what me and wife have achieved, and...

In this update we have: On the cusp of £1m net worth! Pension news and the affect on my drawdown strategy ISA and Pension platform switch incentives Half term activities and holiday plans Overview Net worth increased +£28k in February to  £990.9k , big movers include: Bitcoin +£14k +£15k +£16k (market has changed 3 times since I started this post!) S&S ISA +£7k Pension +£5k Long term net worth trend, cumulative: Long term net worth trend, broken down: Monthly net worth difference: Pension news: Some of you know that I moved jobs recently, this spurred me on to take a closer look at my old workplace pension with the aim of moving it away from Aviva and onto a lower cost platform. I was extremely surprised to find that my Aviva pension has a protected pension age (PPA) of 55!  This effectively means it is immune to any planned increases in the coming years. It is looking likely that this age will be increased to 57 from 2028 and could well hit 60+ in the future. For s...

It's been a long time since I've done a new blog, and my word a lot has changed in the past 2 years! This update will aim to bring you up to speed with what my circumstances look like, what has worked, what hasn't, what my current strategy is and how it has altered from 2 years ago. Strap in, there's a fair amount of Excel charts going on! Summary: My Net worth in Q1 2022 was £699k, it now stands at £961k! Staring down the barrel of becoming an actual millionaire in a few months time! In my last post I still had a mortgage. This got paid off in Q2 2022 and we've been mortgage free for a couple of years now I've changed job. Similar role and sector as well as wage, but very different working dynamic. Still as flexible as ever regarding working hours and location which is my priority with 2 young kids and wanting to be a present Dad. Pension has gone from £143k to £242k Family / holidays: I've been intentionally spending more on holidays and experiences in the...

Here I will be posting my stats for the last quarter, developments that have occurred in the past 3 months, my current net worth and how this impacts my earliest FIRE age. FIRE Q4 2019: Current Net Worth: £360,038 Change from last Quarter: +£10,348 Earliest Age I can FIRE: 49 My S&S ISA pots (including the 2 JISAs) and pension have performed extremely well for the year, roughly up about 25% (on growth not contributions). I have switched my Student Loan payment to Direct Debit, this will run until November 2020 when it will be paid off! The only outstanding debt I have is my mortgage, just under £55k. This is in a fix until 2022 although only costing me £300 a month. I have made the maximum 10% over payments already this year. Major changes at work mean I expect to receive a sizable lump sum in Q2 2020, consisting of the following: Considerable retention payment due to TUPE transfer Tax free share payout on my SIP scheme Bonus Free shares Share divid...

Like most FIRE people, I'm a bit of an Excel geek. I work extensively with the platform and I also track my finances every month on it. I've designed a spreadsheet which lets you understand when you can FIRE. As you will not be able to take a private pension until aged 57, if you decide to retire before this date you will need a "bridge" account. I recommend a S&S ISA on a platform like Vanguard, but obviously do your own research on what works for you. You can access it on GoogleSheets here How to use: The only cells you need to alter are in bright yellow, you can then play around with the fire date to see how much more you need in your "bridge" account. 1. En ter you year of birth in cell G1 2. Enter the expected growth in cell G2 (rule of thumb historically is 7% 3. Enter how much money you will need to live off during your "bridge" period in cell G6. This is between when you FIRE and when you ca...