FISH | Financial Independence Seeking Happiness: Budget

FIRE Budget

Contender 1 Budget, financial independence, Happiness 08:50

<div style="text-align: left;"><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"> <br /></div><div><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwnaa4sbo5vCGDnkNAifi1vlVCL3F-mx9HiBH5oOxe-wPFJexUmVVjusK_BmkrQRGs6bXzAAECgSoXWmQTd6xwrSb0H7ZdnazUSnCO-JVLlVRWuyyUPBYEPxjlhiw0tq8jFDa0Mtw2NQemmXvwVR4GS36OOOmcIK1vlc_ilPpTTxBYidHkuRUqnRE-2pEJ/s201/Picture1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="201" data-original-width="158" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwnaa4sbo5vCGDnkNAifi1vlVCL3F-mx9HiBH5oOxe-wPFJexUmVVjusK_BmkrQRGs6bXzAAECgSoXWmQTd6xwrSb0H7ZdnazUSnCO-JVLlVRWuyyUPBYEPxjlhiw0tq8jFDa0Mtw2NQemmXvwVR4GS36OOOmcIK1vlc_ilPpTTxBYidHkuRUqnRE-2pEJ/s1600/Picture1.jpg" width="158" /></a></div><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><br /></div>This is a post asking the question what would a "balanced life" budget look like and a discussion <br />on that ultimate personal question of what makes someone happy.<br /><br />To give some context to this post I start with outlining our unique mindset and how it influenced the path we took - FIRE. Then how we have had to adapt.<br /><br />I finish with some questions anyone can ask themselves about their money psychology.<br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Our Money Psychology<br /></h2><div style="text-align: left;">My wife and I started living together we setup a joint account and 
split the bills 50:50. We knew what each other earned and neither of us 
were extravagant spenders. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div>I had modest car (bought new but used for 20 years) and student loans of 10K which I was just about to aggressively pay off even though the interest rates were low. I did not like debt. Both of us had avoided spending more than we earned and had no credit cards nor personal loans.<br /><br />What we did do is spend a lot of our income. We lived in London, went out a lot and enjoyed a holiday yet were disciplined to always pay for these activities in advance.<p>Our money psychology was aligned. What we did not know at the time was how fortunate we were to be this way.</p><p>Another trait was our approach to retirement. Both of us had maxed out our retirement contributions in work. </p><p>After a couple of years living together we started consider the dream of house ownership and started to understand how much of a commitment it would be. This pushed us into saving a proportion of our income towards a deposit. </p><p>At his point we started forming our values / vision and realising were we chasing the wrong goals. We valued time together and achievement over money not keeping up with our peer group which we believed had different values and associated costs. <br /></p><p>As we started to understand our combined income and growing wealth we created a joint income, spending, saving and investing budget.....then we stumbled upon FIRE. <a href="https://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/2012/07/FIRE7YEARS.html" target="_blank">The full story can be found here</a>.<br /></p><p></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Our Current FIRE Budget <br /></h2><p>I was inspired to write on this blog again by my last post of the Netflix Series "I will Make you Rich" and have another look at our budget allocations. The main ones being:<br /></p><p>
 </p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 308px;"><colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 8163; mso-width-source: userset; width: 172pt;" width="230"></col>
 <col style="mso-width-alt: 2787; mso-width-source: userset; width: 59pt;" width="78"></col>
 </colgroup><tbody><tr height="30" style="height: 22.8pt;">
  <td class="xl91" height="30" style="height: 22.8pt; width: 172pt;" width="230">Energy %
  (Heating, Elec & Transport)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></td>
  <td class="xl93" style="text-align: left; width: 59pt;" width="78">12.8%</td>
 </tr>
 <tr height="30" style="height: 22.8pt;">
  <td class="xl91" height="30" style="height: 22.8pt;">Food %<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></td>
  <td class="xl93" style="text-align: left;">27.2%</td>
 </tr>
 <tr height="30" style="height: 22.8pt;">
  <td class="xl91" height="30" style="height: 22.8pt;">Housing Costs %</td>
  <td class="xl93" style="text-align: left;">11.6%</td>
 </tr>
 <tr height="30" style="height: 22.8pt;">
  <td class="xl91" height="30" style="height: 22.8pt;">Fun (hols etc.)</td>
  <td class="xl93" style="text-align: left;">19.5%</td>
 </tr>
 <tr height="18" style="height: 13.2pt;">
  <td class="xl91" height="18" style="height: 13.2pt;">Savings</td>
  <td class="xl92" style="text-align: left;">7.7%</td>
 </tr>
 <tr height="18" style="height: 13.2pt;">
  <td class="xl91" height="18" style="height: 13.2pt;">Education</td>
  <td class="xl92" style="text-align: left;">11.7%</td>
 </tr>
</tbody></table><p>We are a family of 4 so Food is the largest cost we have - teenagers! As everyone is aware this cost has increased a lot in the last year due to "inflation". </p><p>We pay for "private" education which is funded very differently in France where the state still pays for the staffing hence the costs are considerably lower than the UK / US for example. </p><p>Our housing and energy costs are low as we own our property and have energy efficient solutions for our heating (wood boiler and solar panels) and transport (natural gas car). </p><p>We make sure we do spend on fun / holidays and have allocated 19.5% to these areas.</p><p>The saving is what is left over each month - we don't mind if we spend it on activities.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Income</h2><p>All of the percentages are based on our income which is CASH income, some earned income from a side gig and the majority passive income. </p><p>We do not base our spending on our total assets including future pensions. We do not apply the 4% rule. We are very conservative in this sense.</p><p>We could use the 4% rule by selling some of our liquid assets each year while we wait for access to our pensions.<br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">FIRE Trade off </h2><p>So we VALUE TIME and decided to forego EARNED income. This is the basic premise of FIRE owning your TIME. It is then up to you how you want to spend it instead of someone else deciding for you.<br /></p><p></p><blockquote>TIME / LABOUR is given up for INCOME versus FIRE is giving up LABOUR for TIME.</blockquote><p></p><p>TIME is one of those things money cannot buy. I cannot buy the TIME back with the kids yet FIRE has given us TIME with the kids. As a family we have VALUED this more over SPENDING OUR TIME FOR MONEY / STUFF.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">So what is a RICH LIFE?<br /></h2><p>This is such an interesting question raised by the NETFLIX show Living a rich life. Does consumption / spending versus being a cheapskate impact happiness? Does SPENDING = HAPPINESS. What is a cheapskate? does that = UNHAPPINESS? <br /></p><p>There have been numerous studies on what income is required to be comfortable / happy after which point the returns diminish. Say for arguments sake that is a number like 40K. Does this mean if you hit this passive income you can stop?</p><p>Does stopping / FIRE take away purpose from you life / lack of meaning = less happiness?</p><p>If you have money should you spend it our should you wait for a reason to spend it?</p><p>Does spending and accumulating stuff make your life happier or more complicated, cluttered, expensive, what defines good spending?  </p><p>These are all very personal questions that are unique to each individual.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">After reaching FIRE did we change habits?</h2><div style="text-align: left;">So have we changed our habits from the FIRE accumulation stage?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote>Quick Note: we did not miss out on life during the saving and investing years. We did not go full on save every penny, we just lived below our means and made what we consider smart choices with our spending and holidays... perhaps we sticked to that 40K spending happiness level.....</blockquote></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">To be fair we have had to make changes / force change in some way:<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>You cannot foresee what your future life will be and what is thrown in front of you - naturally our goals and habits evolved with our new FIRE lifestyle. Throughout our lives we were accustomed to change and have the natural tendency to embrace change.<br /></li><li>We make sure we allocate free money to happiness activities and spend it. </li><li>We have accumulated enough stuff to now repair and replace instead of add. </li><li>We now want to make sure we de-clutter / de-accumulate. </li><li>We still like to save a bit even though, based on the 4% rule, and our current budget we don't have to << FIRE hangover habit.</li><li>We still risk plan and keep a large emergency fund another FIRE hangover habit <br /></li></ol></div><p>Are we denying ourselves?</p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>We can spend more<br /></li><li>We are time sensitive to spending - what I mean by this is we have projects which we WANT to do but will wait until we have the liquid funds available and they do not risk our safety pot.<br /></li><li> We have responsibilities as parents to raise capable adults so we spend on education instead of nicer holidays.</li></ol><p>I can easily justify our lifestyle, I can easily lie to myself, I can easily change the way I see my life philosophy - all unique and there is no right answer. Yes we are denying ourselves in some ways and are fully aware of that fact. Yet.... we have priorities and goals, we fully understand you can never have everything you want and must be grateful for what we do have. You have to align with your goals and life philosophy to be content. If you are not happy you have to do something about it.  <br /></p><p></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Conclusions and Actions</h2><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>It is important to have goals and a vision of what you WANT<br /></li><li>It is important to know what your NEEDS are this allows you to differentiate NEEDS vs WANT and vice versa. We do not want basics to turn into luxurious goods where for example:<br /><br /> We overspend on fashion for fashions sake out of WANT. Too big a house for our NEEDS. We NEED to spend on personal development. We WANT a fancy car when we REALLY WANT a nice holiday and no debt.<br /><br /></li><li>Do not snap purchase, always take your time and have some criteria for a purchase - ask oneself is this a WANT or a NEED. e.g. Do I need the fancy expensive car?<br /></li><li>Avoid LIFESTYLE INFLATION - if you are honestly happy (have a discussion with yourself 😃)  with you current lifestyle why inflate it yourself? Keeping up with the NEIGHBORS / PEER GROUP shows a lack of confidence in yourself.</li><li>Always run a budget. Know your incoming and outgoings - allocate a percentage of your income to saving and investing and some to fun. Many fun things are almost free - play time with the family, visiting friends and local trips / being in nature. </li><li>Be very careful when shopping. Know what you want and stick to your allocated spending budget - it is easy to be lulled into an expensive purchase. Impulse purchases are often a short term dopamine rush providing little long term happiness. <br /></li><li>LIVE THE DAY with an EYE ON THE FUTURE - we OWN OUR TIME because we avoided LIFESTYLE INFLATION the insecurities of not fitting in with our peer group. <br /><br />TIME CANNOT BE RE-PURCHASED <br /></li></ul><p> Peace, prosperity and happiness</p>
<br />
<b>CoNTeNDeR</b><br />
<br />
<b>Welcome New Readers!</b> Please take a look around.<a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html" target="_blank">Click here</a><b> </b>to find out more about <b>THE.TriBe</b> and the blog is or perhaps browse the <a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/p/all-posts-get-in-ring.html" target="_blank"><u>all posts list</u></a>, Please feel free to play with the <a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/p/muff-tools-and-check-lists.html" target="_blank">planning tools and checklists</a>. If you liked this post can you please spare a few seconds to share it? <br /><br /></div></div>

FIRE Budget

Contender 1 Budget, financial independence, Happiness 08:50

This is a post asking the question what would a "balanced life" budget look like and a discussion on that ultimate personal question of what makes someone happy.To give some context to this post I start with outlining our unique mindset and how it i… Read more »

06Sep2023

Spendthrift Or Save Bore

Contender 2 Budget, Dividends, frugality, Habits, Happiness 20:47

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHW1ik1VToepZNUhh346kWqCJAPS8X169dvAG1xdBdQWgdFyzfCSIwiHtUXvQR0bfLwUzzmmGy5mgsWG7LVp4gQTYAuV5R4n24QZVmVCQ9QVyThkJPuWWXee9p64B3UMke65EOie61A94U/s1600/DSCF0387.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHW1ik1VToepZNUhh346kWqCJAPS8X169dvAG1xdBdQWgdFyzfCSIwiHtUXvQR0bfLwUzzmmGy5mgsWG7LVp4gQTYAuV5R4n24QZVmVCQ9QVyThkJPuWWXee9p64B3UMke65EOie61A94U/s1600/DSCF0387.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Corfe Castle - A bad investment?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
Bad advice on Spending, Saving and Investing</h2>
I have been reading a few posts recently going along the lines:<br />
<br />
1. If you have a dividend stock portfolio you need 3 years in cash to cover the ups and downs - why?<br />
2. The classic: draw down 4% a year of your portfolio and you will be fine - always?<br />
3. Index funds have always done the job (Warren Buffet has just said so) - aren't they fairly new in the scheme of things?<br />
4. Live in a trailer on the street next to your job (or work for Google and live in the car park) and save $$$$$$ - sounds cosy!<br />
5. Invest in non ethical ventures such as ATM machines, pay day loans etc. - "If I don't provide the service someone else will" - what is the real cost?<br />
<br />
Ideas and advice are easy to give out (yours included) however this practise can be either misplaced irresponsible or downright dangerous. Getting something that REALLY WORKS requires the individual to take control and responsibility for their decisions. Mindlessly following can be leading oneself straight off the cliff.<br />
<br />
<i>What if you follow the passive investing approach in a country with a collapsing financial system? <br />What if your money is tied up and you cant get hold of it when you really need it? <br />What if it is the wrong time to sell the investment? Have you REALLY diversified?</i><br />
<br />
Just because certain investments have worked out well over the last 60 years why should they continue to do so? Yes they have opened door to early retirement to more people than ever but is this just an aberration? I believe it is worthwhile asking these difficult questions in order not to mislead FI seekers.<br />
<br />
For instance just look at the financial repression we are under. Interest rates at 1% anyone? Who would have thought that and how much would you need in an annuity to live off at that rate of return? No wonder a record number of people are having to postpone retirement.<br />
<br />
To be sure of early retirement what is really needed is a rock solid diversification - more saved at a lower return. secondly it needs to provide you a lot more income than you spend so you can continue to save.*<br />
<h2>
Spend and Save </h2>
Today lets have a look at what really drives peoples ability to be FI - their self control over spending, saving, personal expectations and desires.. <br />
<br />
In particular what HAS to be spent and what NEEDS to be spent to be <u>HAPPY</u>. Why save everything to be FI and be miserable - absolutely pointless - have a re-think of your goals.<br />
<br />
Likewise if you have a desire to spend, spend, spend to be happy :) this is not the blog for you check out the Hiltons and Beckhams.<br />
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Saving has been portrayed as boring, missing out, repressive.<br />
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Saving is generally hard to do in large amounts - consider the challenge to save $100 per month compared to how easy it is to spend $1000 on a credit card.<br />
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It really is a mind game - small amounts snowball, over time <u>compound interest</u> generates wealth. Unfortunately saving too slowly that happy time for (rest, personal pursuits and personal work choice) will be a long way off.<br />
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Something has to give. <br />
<h2>
How much should I spend to not be a misery guts?</h2>
It is easy to really hack your spending. Several posts on this site have covered the steps our TRiBe <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvu2jN3nKq762EwDH49xJuCM6QgWug5kJX0uVb3mheEdEhCeKGd69pYxufoBruq1ea9ejG3xC98FyLHueAt-HGUNir0ZE0NZbrRON2In3EduQFD_HSaE2RMn8-XVNMsFX1sNLM9-6IthEY/s1600/DSCF0385-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvu2jN3nKq762EwDH49xJuCM6QgWug5kJX0uVb3mheEdEhCeKGd69pYxufoBruq1ea9ejG3xC98FyLHueAt-HGUNir0ZE0NZbrRON2In3EduQFD_HSaE2RMn8-XVNMsFX1sNLM9-6IthEY/s1600/DSCF0385-001.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Worth Visiting</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
has taken to annihilate our WASTEFUL spending in a way that did not detrimentally affect our comfort and happiness. <br />
<ol>
<li><b>Transport </b>- Simple - buying a car that is too big or too fuel in-efficient does not make sense. You just need to get from A-B. Why do it expensively? At the end of they day you might as well take the notes from your pocket and set fire to them - a massive waste of resources for you and the nation.</li>
<li><b>Heating </b>- going freezing cold is probably a bad idea and likewise being too hot is a waste (see transport). Spending loads of money on a fossil fuel means you are reliant on someone else providing it. Perhaps you should invest your hard-earned money in changing the fossil-fuel heating to wood (or a heat pump for instance) and insulating your home. Again what is too much? 10% of your income spent on heating/ cooling is probably fine so forget about it and move on. </li>
<li><b>Food </b>- going cheap probably = poor diet and = future health costs > buy fresh food and don't waste food. </li>
<li><b>Fun Pot</b> - Upgrading a gadget, a coffee, beer or cake or visit to the zoo- make sure there is a % of your income to LIVE in THE.PReSeNT - that is our happy time - NOW.</li>
</ol>
<h2>
How much should I save to gain my freedom?</h2>
<ol>
<li><b>Too much</b> - you will not have much of a life - scrimping and saving at a time when you are in the prime of your life. That proverbial bus with your name on it could be around the corner. What about finding that perfect partner, travelling and experiencing different cultures. Invest in expanding your knowledge and learning lots of new things who knows where it will take you (literally).</li>
<li><b>Do not forgo Ambition </b>- Don't be afraid to take financial risks when you are young. At a young age the amounts involved are likely to be trivial (put things in perspective what is $10K lost on a business compared to the opportunity of $$$$ when you are young and have nothing to really loose except face? Go on and take a risk on a better job, don't be afraid to move to a different country, have a go at starting your own business. Be fearless. Soon you will have a substantial income instead of a mediocre income to save substantial sums.</li>
<li><b>Start Cash Flow Investing</b> as soon as possible. Try starting with readily available assets such as rental / commercial property, REITS or dividend stocks where small amounts of money can be easily deployed. Alternatively invest in YOU perhaps some training or equipment that you can use to gain money e.g. an embossing machine, lawnmower for a gardening business, programming course etc.</li>
<li>Saving can mean <b>other things</b> as well such as</li>
<ol>
<li><b>Reductions</b>: always asking for a discounts and deals, surf the net for discount codes</li>
<li><b>Choose not to incur an expense</b>: can I walk,and have a meal and movie at home instead of cinema. Lots of little compromises really add up - think before you spend or sign up for any contract.</li>
</ol>
</ol>
<h3>
A reasonable budget for a FI enthusiast?</h3>
<ul>
<li>Food (10%)</li>
<li>Transport (5%)</li>
<li>Utilities (5%)</li>
<li>Mortgage (30%)</li>
<li>Other (5%) - fun stuff and unexpected costs</li>
<li>Savings (35%)</li>
</ul>
Why not pull together your spending and group them into categories and percentages. Do they seem reasonable to you? Are you missing out on something? If I moves some spending from A>B will i be happier or will i reach my goals earlier? <br />
<ul>
</ul>
<h2>
When have I saved enough?</h2>
In the TRiBeS experience what we thought we needed versus what we actually need are VERY difficult to reconcile. What will you new life look like and how much will it cost?<br />
<br />
I guess the question for us was how much can we continue to save once we have stopped working. <i><b>It would be idiotic to retire on just enough</b></i>. Shit happens all the time in the world. A safety buffer is always needed and is very sensible.<br />
<br />
For example we have seen some of our dividend income reduce due to the commodity crash. It will return in THE.FuTuRe but now we have less money coming in. Perhaps commodities could reverse and inflation will begin to outstrip our income for a while or taxes rise faster than our ability to pay them - who really knows? <br />
<br />
Our pre-financial independence saving rate was North of 50% (of a large corporate salary). Now we are aiming at saving 20% of a substantially smaller income.<br />
<br />
Additionally we are putting aside a further 20% of our income for "fun stuff". Our kids need experiences to grow, mindlessly penny pinching would be at the detriment to their futures. We need to arrange trips to interesting and fun places and plan challenging activities for them.<br />
<h2>
Making the right personal choices </h2>
<b>So there you have it the pursuit of financial independence and happiness on the opinion of this author is <i>REALLY</i> about gaining personal wisdom. </b><br />
<br />
<b>This mainly takes the form of financial (tracking your finances and making informed, thoughtful, good decisions) and emotional intelligence (growing up and learning to be being responsible, not panicking and jumping to conclusions). </b><br />
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<b>Wisdom is knowing, not being told or shown, what makes you happy - are we there yet?</b><br />
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Peace, prosperity and happiness<br />
<br />
<b>CoNTeNDeR</b><br />
<br />
*The alternative is becoming very good at following capital across the 
globe. You would need the ability to move capital from country to 
country and between asset classes - not easy to time or identify where 
it will go next and well beyond a person with average means.<br />
<br />
<b>Welcome New Readers!</b> Please take a look around.<a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html" target="_blank">Click here</a><b> </b>to find out more about <b>THE.TriBe</b> and the blog is or perhaps browse the <a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/p/all-posts-get-in-ring.html" target="_blank"><u>all posts list</u></a>, Please feel free to play with the <a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/p/muff-tools-and-check-lists.html" target="_blank">planning tools and checklists</a>. If you liked this post can you please spare a few seconds to share it?

Spendthrift Or Save Bore

Contender 2 Budget, Dividends, frugality, Habits, Happiness 20:47

Corfe Castle - A bad investment? Bad advice on Spending, Saving and Investing I have been reading a few posts recently going along the lines: 1. If you have a dividend stock portfolio you need 3 years in cash to cover the ups and downs - why? 2. The… Read more »

04Mar2015

Madness of Housing

Contender 1 Budget, Compound Interest, Dividends, downshifting, Gold, Investing, Mortgage 21:41

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5zaf6Yvd60334ooDpU0DMdh_R6NUP35DNZV-wRpcmnv0YsmwQh4-I_izC2UwLYN3-YuebvlmVJCvgAjd8mrH1gukqPLBKeNsuk4wAT9p7tNs08TYvHPDgAWbeJ63uPHIAX8lAC_lNjmQP/s1600/Allocation.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Plan your finances over a lifetime" border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5zaf6Yvd60334ooDpU0DMdh_R6NUP35DNZV-wRpcmnv0YsmwQh4-I_izC2UwLYN3-YuebvlmVJCvgAjd8mrH1gukqPLBKeNsuk4wAT9p7tNs08TYvHPDgAWbeJ63uPHIAX8lAC_lNjmQP/s1600/Allocation.PNG" title="Financial Independence Timeline Planner" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How much should we allocate to housing? - Evaluation with the Financial Independence Timeline Planner</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ul>
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<ul>
<li>Buy or rent your way to financial independence - a tricky choice</li>
<li>Why we rented for so long and why we are now settling down</li>
<li>Creating an asset allocation plan</li>
<li>What does this mean to our asset allocation </li>
<li> What would we ultimately like our asset allocation to look like</li>
<li>What about your dream - have a play with the updated Financial Timeline Planner</li>
</ul>
<h2>
Why is housing so expensive?</h2>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjh-Pvb4wgal0sAjvjyP6SMDySd4wmQRHjVXgrzu5sG1gUGYDgs52SwVco0n6wo8VscKc5uMyhgpFJgpfKxyhzrdsukbB9iHEZb7CWK11qwb6cJssuHOb8l9521TcOQzw48F1wNYpQso0m/s1600/P1030980.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Will it cost the earth" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjh-Pvb4wgal0sAjvjyP6SMDySd4wmQRHjVXgrzu5sG1gUGYDgs52SwVco0n6wo8VscKc5uMyhgpFJgpfKxyhzrdsukbB9iHEZb7CWK11qwb6cJssuHOb8l9521TcOQzw48F1wNYpQso0m/s1600/P1030980.JPG" title="A Dream Home?" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Your Dream Home? - Maison de Graves, Podensac France</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Housing has been touched upon several times on this blog as it is a very emotive subject. Most likely it will be the biggest purchase and decision you will ever have. Just to make it difficult there is almost infinite choice combined with personal circumstances, desires and needs. <br />
<br />
<b><a class="titlex" href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.fr/2013/10/french-living-quelle-difference.html">French Living – Quelle Difference?</a></b><br />
<b><b><a class="titlex" href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.fr/2012/08/round-5-157s-mortgage-or-rent-and-save.html">Early Retirement with a Mortgage?</a></b></b><br />
<b><b><b><a class="titlex" href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.fr/2013/06/you-cant-take-it-with-you.html">You Can't Take It With You</a></b></b></b><br />
<b><b><b><b><a class="titlex" href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.fr/2013/12/maintaining-wealth-ii-we-are-all.html">Maintaining Wealth II - We are all Investors Now</a></b> </b> </b> </b><br />
<br />
As for the Tribe our choice has been sitting on the fence saving all these years. Or last rental property<br />
was a three bed terraced house in London paying £1,400 per month for the privilege.<br />
taking the 25 times rule for the value of the property we come to a value of £420,000 ($700,0000)<br />
<br />
This house is now selling for £650,000 a 50% premium to the rental income - go figure.<br />
<br />
Now a a normal mortgage of 3.5X combined salary £650,000/3.5 = £185,000 annual household income. You need to be in (at least) the top ten percent of earners to afford this in the UK: <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Money/Pix/gallery/2014/3/25/1395752138824/income-figures-treasury-009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="240" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Money/Pix/gallery/2014/3/25/1395752138824/income-figures-treasury-009.jpg" title="UK Income Deciles from HMRC" width="400" /></a></div>
Clearly a comfortable Financial Independence in a large city is a costly affair nowadays.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The rule, “thou shalt not spend more than 30% of thy after tax income on
 housing,” has become impossible for the average person. I think we are 
becoming a “mac n cheese” nation. If the squeeze continues on the middle
 and lower classes, I'm afraid we are going to see a revolt of the 
masses. I'm also afraid that we will see blood in the streets. As a 
result the safest place to be will be on a small farm away from large 
populations. - Richard Russel </blockquote>
Should we have spent more than 30% of our net worth on what we considered expensive property - NO<br />
<h2>
What are we doing?</h2>
Our TRiBe decided we needed to live somewhere cheaper (south of France) where we have been renting for the past year whilst we have looked to finally buy. After a lot of searching around we have purchased a renovation project. Here is why:<br />
<ol>
<li>In our early years we moved around with work so buying a home at that time was not appropriate. Stamp duty adds up with multiple purchases. <br /><br />The paying off of university and car debt whilst building of savings (for some reason that felt right at the time) were prioritised.<br /> </li>
<li>Renting allowed us to super charge our savings rate due to the following</li>
<ol>
<li>No renovation costs</li>
<li>Rent was lower than the interest ONLY payments on a similar mortgage </li>
<li>No buildings insurance</li>
<li>"Deposit" and "Stamp Duty" invested instead of "Spent"</li>
<li>Freedom to rightsize and right locate the property as our family grew in size and jobs changed<br /><div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b><br />High property prices in the city meant than an interest only mortgage on a property was more expensive than renting<br /> </b></i></div>
</li>
</ol>
<li>Our goal has been to gain financial independence through living frugally. We now live in an area where it makes sense to buy because of the following:<br /> </li>
<ol>
<li>Rents are higher than a mortgage</li>
<li>Owning the property outright eliminates interest rate issues and rental price increases</li>
<li>We do not need or want to be mobile - we are happy where we live and have a very good school for our children</li>
<li>We are able to buy some land (and water rights) with the property to grow some of our own food. We have the possibility to raise a small cash crop.</li>
<li>It is in a warm climate so heating costs can be brought down through solar installations and good insulation. </li>
<li>We are "giving up / diversifying assets" some income generating assets for a "family home" and "overall lower living costs". We believe this makes us more Anti-fragile (See book by Nicolas Taleb)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>We can currently reduce our current living costs through owing our property (at the expense of investment income). We are settling for less income but a more varied asset allocation.</b></i></div>
</li>
</ol>
</ol>
<h2>
How much should you allocate to housing or just rent?</h2>
My takeaway from 37 years without owning a property (admittedly some of those were in diapers) is that you need to really understand what will suit you and your family at that point in TIME.<br /><br /> Just search for asset allocation on the web and you will be told this way or that way is best such as:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.imoney.ph/articles/assets/s.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="176" src="http://www.imoney.ph/articles/assets/s.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Example from <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/a-portfolio-for-all-seasons-2013-07-19" target="_blank">MarketWatch</a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
What is REALLY best is being in the right asset at the right time whilst hedging risk.<br />
<br />
DIVERSIFY and PRIORITISE/GAMBLE. <br /><br />If only it was that easy and we knew what The.FuTuRe was up to! Unfortunately we cannot all be a Warren Buffet or a Geroge Soros but what we can do is make sure we are knowledgeable, why we are accumulating it and the associated risks.<br />
<br />
A well researched strategy, a good set of rules that you adhere to (such as stop losses and booking gains) and try at all times not to become attached or emotional about investment will go some way to being successful.  <br />
<h2>
Our asset allocation</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Before the purchase of the property</h3>
Income Portfolio (29%)   -  Dividend Value Growth Stocks to pay for living costs<br />
Growth Portfolio (9%)     -  High growth hence risky investments<br />
Protect Portfolio (26%)    -  Cash and Commodities<br />
Pensions - Final salary (36%) - Cannot touch until 55 years old (allocation too high)!!!<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
To put some perspective on this we are living frugally (with 2 kids!) Our current living costs are £1,500 per month (£540 of which is rent). Our estimated living costs after property purchase £1,050 per month (higher costs for insurance of the property and taxes etc.) and we want to reduce this further.<br />
<br />
On the flip side we would be better off income wise but worse off diversified by carrying on renting</div>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
 
After Home Sweet Home purchase</h3>
Income Portfolio (24%)   -  Dividend Value Growth Stocks to pay for living costs<br />
Growth Portfolio (2%)     -  High growth hence risky investments<br />
Protect Portfolio (6%)    -  Cash and Commodities<br />
Pensions - Final salary (36%) - Too high and cannot touch!<br />
Property / Miscellaneous stuff (32%) - All cost but significant possibility of capital appreciation<br />
<br />
...... The pensions are in the stock market and could be considered part growth and income with some fixed income bonds. Ultimately we are aiming for our investment portfolio to mimic the Permanent Portfolio outlined by Harry Browne - 25% Cash, 25% Bonds, 25% Stocks and 25% Commodities so will be focusing on re-building our cash position after the house is done.<br />
<h2>
Dream </h2>
What would you like to own and when, how do you see The.FuTuRe settled in one place or moving about. Do you want to own a house or your own business..... Will this give you a framework for a goal / challenge and perhaps a straw man plan. These dreams are your long term goal. The are the basis for your final and current personal asset allocation. Work backwards from your goal to work out how to get there.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/lifeplanltd/home/TimeLine_Financial_Permanent.xls?attredirects=0&d=1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Click Here To Download" border="0" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5zaf6Yvd60334ooDpU0DMdh_R6NUP35DNZV-wRpcmnv0YsmwQh4-I_izC2UwLYN3-YuebvlmVJCvgAjd8mrH1gukqPLBKeNsuk4wAT9p7tNs08TYvHPDgAWbeJ63uPHIAX8lAC_lNjmQP/s1600/Allocation.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/lifeplanltd/home/TimeLine_Financial_Permanent.xls?attredirects=0&d=1" target="_blank">Click Here to Download the Financial Independence Timeline Planner</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Peace, prosperity and happiness<br />
<br />
<b>CoNTeNDeR</b><br />
<br />
<b>Welcome New Readers!</b> Please take a look around.<a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html" target="_blank">Click here</a><b> </b>to find out more about <b>THE.TriBe</b> and the blog is or perhaps browse the <a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/p/all-posts-get-in-ring.html" target="_blank"><u>all posts list</u></a>, Please feel free to play with the <a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.com/p/muff-tools-and-check-lists.html" target="_blank">planning tools and checklists</a>. If you liked this post can you please spare a few seconds to share it?

Madness of Housing

Contender 1 Budget, Compound Interest, Dividends, downshifting, Gold, Investing, Mortgage 21:41

How much should we allocate to housing? - Evaluation with the Financial Independence Timeline Planner Buy or rent your way to financial independence - a tricky choice Why we rented for so long and why we are now settling down Creating an asset alloc… Read more »

04Aug2014

Financial Independence Options

Contender 1 Budget, downshifting, Early Retirement, Finance, financial freedom, financial independence, frugality, Planning, Saving 18:30

<br>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd1syanQlk2GItLa_aUGHnkZXNH83nxU8ahTEr603DmyM4I0b7y00Sh4quRdifApXN6uRThdjLv9Fz7HCn_qPjuxjktxgX-C5IW1htIFSJCg4FwX8hdJN7jPlMmXygZPwyU9bF98-kMaRQ/s1600/TeddyFamily.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd1syanQlk2GItLa_aUGHnkZXNH83nxU8ahTEr603DmyM4I0b7y00Sh4quRdifApXN6uRThdjLv9Fz7HCn_qPjuxjktxgX-C5IW1htIFSJCg4FwX8hdJN7jPlMmXygZPwyU9bF98-kMaRQ/s1600/TeddyFamily.jpg" width="320"></a><i><b>Mr Teddy Bear</b>: "Time to review our family finances and consider where are we going. Let's get the facts and run the cold hard numbers.<b>"</b></i><br>
<br>
<i><b>Mummy Bear: </b>"Oh daddy bear you are so cuddly when you talk tough"</i><br>
<br>
<i><b>Baby Bear: </b>"I want a games station, mobile computer, princess bike and trust fund...Now!" </i><b></b><br>
<br>
<b><br></b>
<b></b><br>
<b><br><br><br><br>This post is about a few hypothetical scenarios entered into the NEWLY UPDATED financial time line planner.</b><br>
<br>
The financial time line planner has received a little bit of tender and loving care in the last week. The following has been changed / added:<br>
<ul>
<li>Mortgage calculations</li>
<li>Debt repayments</li>
<li>Improved graphics</li>
<li>Financial scenarios</li>
</ul>
Here<u><b></b></u> we are going to look at three different type of people and see how the timeline works for them:<br>
<ol>
<li>A fun loving/carpe diem 25-year old on a professional career who loves #selfies</li>
<li>A 35-year old looking to #downshift as fast a possible</li>
<li>A clued up 25-year old who is going for #ExtremeEarlyRetirement</li>
</ol>
<span style="font-size: large;">Party on! CEO, Playboy, Sports car, Mansion, Hawaii </span><br>
<br>
Our
first example is the one <b>THE.CoNTeNDeR</b> started out in life believing would make him happy...
 This was soon dashed by the property boom in the UK effectively resigning him to having to rent for teh rest of his life. This caused a huge
 shift in <b>THE.CoNTeNDeR's </b>financial mindset.<br>
<br>
So here is a representation of an ambitious 
life and fun loving 25 year old looking to climb the corporate ladder. He is going to enjoy the high life and 
all the consumer goods on offer. The result shows 
the need for an ever increasing income to pay for the increasingly high 
life living costs. Although cash flow rich and materially wealthy on the outside he needs to keep the hamster wheel turning to avoid a nasty shock. <br>
<br>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPpB7FSHuFFq8TAcVD_asBjBQM7RfN5sEv1nRMLb3J64muOSkLcGy8xKjM3PECY7aw67xshcKnH00X2mg5XNdz8M9zWiS0WhxNjQKx3X11porbBrw9AITggaolEfXRPMIxnx896jgfjt1Z/s1600/25yrPartyOn.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPpB7FSHuFFq8TAcVD_asBjBQM7RfN5sEv1nRMLb3J64muOSkLcGy8xKjM3PECY7aw67xshcKnH00X2mg5XNdz8M9zWiS0WhxNjQKx3X11porbBrw9AITggaolEfXRPMIxnx896jgfjt1Z/s1600/25yrPartyOn.JPG" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CLICK ON PICTURE !</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br>

Financial Independence Options

Contender 1 Budget, downshifting, Early Retirement, Finance, financial freedom, financial independence, frugality, Planning, Saving 18:30

Mr Teddy Bear: "Time to review our family finances and consider where are we going. Let's get the facts and run the cold hard numbers." Mummy Bear: "Oh daddy bear you are so cuddly when you talk tough" Baby Bear: "I want a games station, mobile comp… Read more »

26Jan2014

Living With Little

Contender 1 Budget, downshifting, frugality, Habits, Happiness, Life 16:56

Living With Little

Contender 1 Budget, downshifting, frugality, Habits, Happiness, Life 16:56

Living with less infographic from mnn While this site may not expose extreme very early financial independence by cutting expenses to nothing, bartering and being generally addicted to the end goal there are some really extreme examples of what you … Read more »

26Nov2013

Happiness in France

Contender 2 Budget, downshifting, Early Retirement, early-retirement, financial freedom, financial independence, frugality 21:00

<br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyftYrWPcYnRT0DTE12zRkS9mw-jWrRFVOm8pF1kyEl9zdKENJGFIPRLAWw31g8qHdEFxTolh0OUnR8RuyRCgvqdiZ1r4D1g5ITfSGSnaQc6wDA5jaBkAQwFLCwWTMcR1KDsTKt0g_wsev/s1600/FranceTown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyftYrWPcYnRT0DTE12zRkS9mw-jWrRFVOm8pF1kyEl9zdKENJGFIPRLAWw31g8qHdEFxTolh0OUnR8RuyRCgvqdiZ1r4D1g5ITfSGSnaQc6wDA5jaBkAQwFLCwWTMcR1KDsTKt0g_wsev/s320/FranceTown.jpg" width="320"></a></div>
<b>THE.PReSeNT</b>: <i>"CoNTeNDeR what are you up to? You have been all talk about this move to France THE.FuTuRe says you haven't got it in you besides FRA?NCE are you MAD? </i><br>
<br>
<i>Aren't they all socialists that take all your money and tell you how to live your life? </i><br>
<br>
<i>Come to your senses man. </i><br>
<br>
<i>It may rain in Blighty a lot and the government may be a bit socialist and spend most of our money, badly.... but we have the pub! let's get down The Dog and Bone pub, have a few pints<span style="color: red;">*</span> and get p*****"</i><br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.camra.org.uk/beertax" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: red;">* Effective tax on a UK pint costing £2.50 is £0.97 - 38%!</span></span></a><br>
<br>
<b>Here is an update and some reflections on our downshifting move to France NEXT MONTH:</b><br>
<br>
<b>- Was Renting in the UK a good Choice?</b><br>
<b>- How the move is going?</b><br>
<b>- What is on the cards for the TRIBE in the next 4 years?</b><br>
<b>-  Is it going to work for us?</b><br>
<br>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;">Exiting the Rental Property in London</span></span> <br>
<br>
Right now we are finalising our move to France. Mrs C resigned from her job one month ago. We have arranged to hand back the keys on our London rental property.<br>
<br>
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cols="1" style="height: 144px; width: 547px;">
 <colgroup width="85"></colgroup>
 <tbody>
<tr>
  <td align="LEFT" bgcolor="#C0C0C0" height="17" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; border-left: 1px solid #000000; border-right: 1px solid #000000; border-top: 1px solid #000000;">To buy the London 3 bedroom terraced Victorian house it it would have cost $700,000.  With 20% down payment of $141,000 the mortgage would
 have been $560,000 and we would have to have paid stamp duty on the 
property $21,000.<br>
<br>
The typical cost of a repayment mortgage over 25 years is (4.6%) = $3192<br>
The typical cost of an interest only mortgage is $2147<br>
The rent is $2080 per month</td>
 </tr>
</tbody></table>
<br>
Was renting a good choice? We may have missed out on capital appreciation of the house. This would have been completely dependent on the timing of the purchase. Or we could be in negative equity. <br>
<br>
By renting we abdicated the risk of owning the property. We did not have to pay for re-decoration, a new roof, new boiler and the mortgage arrangement fee, estate agent fee and the stamp duty to the government.<br>
<br>
The "fees" and the deposit instead have been invested for capital gains via the stock market. This has allowed us to save in more diverse assets instead of the majority being tied to the property. <br>
<br>
Some people have become very rich via property over the last decade and perhaps we did not understand the opportunities that were there at the time. Perhaps we were always intimidated by the large amount of money and the commitment involved.   <br>
<br>

Happiness in France

Contender 2 Budget, downshifting, Early Retirement, early-retirement, financial freedom, financial independence, frugality 21:00

THE.PReSeNT: "CoNTeNDeR what are you up to? You have been all talk about this move to France THE.FuTuRe says you haven't got it in you besides FRA?NCE are you MAD? Aren't they all socialists that take all your money and tell you how to live your li… Read more »

25Aug2013

Downshifting One Year On

Contender 2 Budget, downshifting, early-retirement, financial independence, Happiness, health, Mid Life Crisis, Writing 20:34

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRWZalPXaa0Ashs7T827f9-DhwLfL_uHCEmPoIdP4ojLMVyzI3ikoAbK74dbAxcSGtjG37fHocwi1IWlIgKQ9VK4gxxg8Zf-3hHLU8UC46eI2Ypt0ffAwBmJNaL3TfGAZJQ61ge6zoe3Ya/s1600/OneYearOn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRWZalPXaa0Ashs7T827f9-DhwLfL_uHCEmPoIdP4ojLMVyzI3ikoAbK74dbAxcSGtjG37fHocwi1IWlIgKQ9VK4gxxg8Zf-3hHLU8UC46eI2Ypt0ffAwBmJNaL3TfGAZJQ61ge6zoe3Ya/s400/OneYearOn.jpg" width="520"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying Downshifting - Walking on thin ice in the park and life?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>THE.PAST</b>: <i>"CONTENDER why are you boxing so infrequently and why stop for a couple of years in your prime? What about the perks, the stature of it all?</i><br>
<br>
<i><b>CONTENDER: </b>"I want to spend some time with the children while they are young, life is no longer chasing the next fight to prove my credentials. I need some time out to look after the family, reflect, relax and keep in shape.</i><br>
<br>
<b>THE.FUTURE:</b><i> "I'm here! I'm here you yellow bellied son of a *****!"</i><br>
<i><br></i>
<b>THE.CONTENDER follows the blog A Good Day To Live and his latest post <span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://gooddaytolive.wordpress.com/2013/02/24/downshifters-in-australia-interesting-case-study/" rel="bookmark" title="Permalink to Downshifters in Australia – Interesting Case Study">Downshifters in Australia – Interesting Case Study</a></span> has inspired him to have a look at his own downshifting in the last year and all of the <u>joys and calamities along the way</u>. What did THE.CONTENDER learn and could these new skills benefit work in the future. All is revealed below:</b><br>
<br>
For newcomers to the blog try here is a post on our Financial Independence journey - <a href="http://www.getintheringwithme.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/round-5-15-secs-muff-family-financial.html">Family Financial Freedom in 7 Years!</a> and benefits and budgeting to downshift - <span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.getintheringwithme.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/father-muff-financial-frugality-case.html">Daddy CONTENDER a Financial Frugality Case Study of Bringing Up Baby</a> </span><br>
<br>
THE CONTENDER is a 36 year old professional dad of 2 children (1 and 4 years old) having downshifted from the corporate world one year ago. This was not because of ill health or any major dislike for the job (there are always going to be some gripes) but because our well laid plans to move to France and exorbitant cost of childcare where we live and which are covered here on this blog. <br>
<br>
After working solidly for 13 years and having a strict savings routine for the past 7 years it was time to become very frugal. Could we as a family be better off financially and happier with THE.CONTENDER at home taking over the childcare duties at the end of Mrs CONTENDER's maternity leave? So what has happened in the last year, has downshifting worked for us?<br>
<br>
<span style="font-size: large;">Downshiftin<span style="font-size: large;">g the tribe</span> </span><br>
<br>
THE.CONTENDER had at least taken an active role in the upbringing of our eldest child making sure he was around at evenings and weekends while Mrs CONTENDER was on a full year of maternity leave.<br>
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When Mrs CONTENDER had to go back to work our child started full time nursery. She did the morning drop off and the contender rushed home before the creche closing time at 6 pm.<br>
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With the arrival of the second putting both in nursery was too expensive. We decided to downshift. THE.CONTENDER stepped out of the ring to become the children's full time carer whilst Mrs contender went back to work. <br>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Looking after the Kids</span><br>
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With the perhaps limited experience of looking after the eldest, now both were  the contenders responsibility. A corporate conditioned bloke now full time carer for two young children. What is all that about! Could he hack it?<br>
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To ease the transition we had a couple of plans in place. THE.CONTENDER took parental leave so if it was not going well at least the old job was there. Alternatives were a new higher paying job or part time. We had lists of nannies, child minders and nurseries should we need them.<br>
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The first few months went smoothly, it was heading into spring, the 6-month old baby slept and rolled around. Our eldest still had a couple of days a week in creche. So good, so far, right? THE.CONTENDER on the other hand was wiped out with....<br>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Work Withdrawal Syndrome!</span><b> </b><br>
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<i></i>
No more hour long commute to work in the morning in the car on the motorway through lots of traffic.<br>
No more predefined routine<br>
No more boring business conversations<br>
No more work stress<br>
No more kissing a*** <br>
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THE.CONTENDER knew it it would be coming and it happened - he became sick. A cold and chest infection that lasted for two months. Sometimes he got a cold whilst on holidays after hard stressful work, so this was nothing new. <b>Work withdrawal syndrome</b> - his body was expelling the stress of work and detoxifying his body.<br>
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<b>THE.FUTURE</b>: <i>"Got ya! You can<b>'</b>t survive without the buzz of the ring"</i><br>
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With the concerns on workload, appraisals and not letting anyone down were lifted from the shoulders he could relax. Actually do something he wanted to do in a weekday afternoon with the little angels in bed for their nap. Result!<br>
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After a couple of months we were in spring. THE.CONTENDERS office was now a park instead of a cubicle. Meetings were in the playground instead of a corporate, white, bland boardroom. AND continuous exercise for all!<br>
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The need to have a snack or a coffee was gone. Food for the family is now my responsibility to take time to make. It needs to be healthy for the kids - time to get out the kiddie recipe book and beat some eggs with one kid bouncing on my knee with the other wondering what the plug socket is.<br>
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Did THE CONTENDER miss <strike>the ring </strike>work? Of course he did (a bit) in those early months. How could he keep the brain ticking over? All those years of hard work and education. Must use it! A strong psychological war was raging in his mind. <i><b> </b></i><br>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>THE.FUTURE</b>: <i>"CONTENDER! what a waste, what are you doing, what about financial security, shiny status symbols? You will loose all of your friends!"</i></div>
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<b>So what did THE.CONTENDER experience and learn from </b><b><b>with the kids </b>during the year? - please read on:</b><br>

Downshifting One Year On

Contender 2 Budget, downshifting, early-retirement, financial independence, Happiness, health, Mid Life Crisis, Writing 20:34

Enjoying Downshifting - Walking on thin ice in the park and life? THE.PAST: "CONTENDER why are you boxing so infrequently and why stop for a couple of years in your prime? What about the perks, the stature of it all? CONTENDER: "I want to spend some… Read more »

01Mar2013

Infographic | Achieve Very Early Financial Independence - Part I

Contender 0 Budget, Education, Finance, financial independence, Infographic, Investing, Planning, Saving 09:50

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<a href="http://infogr.am/Achieve-Very-Early-Financial-Independence---Part-I" style="color: #acacac; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Achieve Very Early Financial Independence - Part I</a> | <a href="http://infogr.am/" style="color: #acacac; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Create infographics</a></div>
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<<< Click here for a spreadsheet planning tool that includes goal setting (how to work out your FI numbers), Portfolio management tool with automatic updates from Yahoo!<br />
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Peace and prosperity<br />
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THE.CONTENDER<br />
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<b>Welcome New Contender Readers!</b> Take a look around. <a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.co.uk/p/about-me.html">Find out who THE.CONTENDER is</a> or <a href="http://www.getintheringwithme.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/why-why-why.html"><u>Start at the first article</u></a>, browse the <a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.co.uk/p/all-posts-get-in-ring.html" target="_blank"><u>all posts</u></a> or just go for a <u><a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.co.uk/p/about-me.html#random" rel="13">Random Post</a></u>. Please feel free to play with the FREE <a href="http://getintheringwithme.blogspot.co.uk/p/muff-tools-and-check-lists.html" target="_blank">planning tools and checklists</a>.<br />
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Infographic | Achieve Very Early Financial Independence - Part I

Contender 0 Budget, Education, Finance, financial independence, Infographic, Investing, Planning, Saving 09:50

Achieve Very Early Financial Independence - Part I | Create infographics Peace and prosperity THE.CONTENDER Welcome New Contender Readers! Take a look around. Find out who THE.CONTENDER is or Start at the first article, browse the all posts or just … Read more »

29Jan2013

Welcome to FISH !
You have come here looking for answers. How to get out of debt? How to save and invest? How to retire early and how you want to live in retirement.

Well this is the right place for you as out tribe has been through all of these steps. We no longer work for a corporate employer and have saved enough to retire early. How we did this is shared here on this site for you.

Our little tribe found out these secrets to financial independence in our late 20’s. Since then we have taken early retirement, in our late 30's, in just 7 years. We now live in the South West of France with our two young children.

Along the way I decided to share everything I learnt. My articles and tips on aggressive saving and compound investing are there to help you meet your financial goals fast. I discuss ways to help you decide what you want by building a life plan. This helps to work out how to get where you want to be whilst avoiding the pitfalls along the way.

My expertise was built up working in blue chip corporate jobs, extensive reading and putting it into practice. I have condensed this knowledge into simple strategies to help you meet your goals and not those of the bank or the place you work.

There are free planning tools on this site that help you make a life plan. A plan for your future. The tools calculate how to reach your financial goals in a timeline that suits you. The tools help set out your life goals, make them happen and how to exceed them.

There are tips on how to simplifying your life to remove day to day headaches. These include ways to pay off debt fast buy eliminating wasteful spending habits. How to reduce your monthly bills through choices that actually improve your health and wellbeing. Identifying things you don’t need that sap your time and wallet.

There are little sustainability projects to reduce your dependence on shops and utilities whilst saving money to spend on things you want.

All of these little steps will show you how save 50%+ of your salary so you can meet your goal whatever it is. This huge saving rate can be compounded for very early retirement. I am sure you will find something here for you.

Darren Lee (A.K.A the Contender as in my blog)

FISH | Financial Independence Seeking Happiness