Category: Achieving the Dream

How to Fail Spectacularly and Still Retire Early

I have made mistakes in life – we all have. Some minor, some frankly catastrophic. But I’m still here, living a great life having retired at age 46. There were times I thought I would be working even beyond standard retirement age (67) so to be in this position now is something to be celebrated and never ever taken for granted.

But things haven’t always been plain sailing and with hindsight, I’m not sure I would want them to have been. Although I didn’t see it at the time, many of the qualities I needed to possess to end up in this position, I gained as a result of my failures or because of life experiences I went through. Continue reading “How to Fail Spectacularly and Still Retire Early”

The Dream vs Reality – What it Really Felt Like to Walk Away from Work

In the first few months of early retirement I met a lot of new people. With time on my hands I no longer had an excuse to turn down those invitations to things I would previously have avoided. And knowing how easy it would be for me to slip (very happily) into social isolation, I made a determined effort to say yes. Continue reading “The Dream vs Reality – What it Really Felt Like to Walk Away from Work”

One Year of FIRE – What a Difference a Year Makes

I am writing this on a beach in the early morning. The sun is just rising, small boats sway gently on the water; the air is still and already warm – it’s going to be a beautiful day.

So said the first lines of the first post to this blog, when I could only dream of financial independence. And here I am now in that exact spot, looking out at the same idyllic scene. A few years older and a few years wiser, reflecting on the years in between – barely able to conceive where the time has gone.
Continue reading “One Year of FIRE – What a Difference a Year Makes”

Things I Haven’t Done Since I Retired Early (and a few I have)

We all have ideas for what our life will be like post FIRE. I even wrote a couple of posts on things I planned to do and bad habits I wanted to break. Some of those things have come true and the rest I will say I just haven’t got to yet 😊. Hopefully I have many many years of retirement – would be a shame to peak too early!

Continue reading “Things I Haven’t Done Since I Retired Early (and a few I have)”

Early Retirement – Early Days – What I’ve Learned from the First 3 Months

I officially retired from corporate life in December 2018 and now enjoy the idyllic, stress-free existence that I had been dreaming of for so long. Conference calls are a thing of the past, as is the feeling of not being in control of my own time and being at the beck and call of of the machine.

But what has the first three months really been like and what have I learned?

Continue reading “Early Retirement – Early Days – What I’ve Learned from the First 3 Months”

It’s Official – I FIRED the 9 to 5!

Hello and long time no speak! Apologies for the break in posting – life got a bit too much there for a while and some things had to give. But the big news is – I actually did it! I resigned from my job in December and have left the Corporate world far behind.

I am still getting used to the idea and genuinely wake up smiling to myself every day, wondering whether this can be real 🙂 So how did it all play out? Continue reading “It’s Official – I FIRED the 9 to 5!”

Does Achieving Early Retirement Mean Failing A Career?

What did you want to be when you grew up? At various points for me it was a doctor, a librarian, an author, a bookseller. I never wanted to be an accountant that’s for sure.

Nevertheless, having fallen onto that path many years ago, ambition kicked in and I put my best foot forward, ever upwards on the career ladder. I always assumed I would keep going until I got to the very top. It didn’t occur to me that I would ever get vertigo and feel an almost irresistible urge to jump off.

The question is, when I look back in twenty years time, the misery of my current day to day will have faded to a long distant memory. Will I be disappointed that I didn’t make it to the top? I will never call myself CFO. Will I look back and wish I had achieved more in my career?  Continue reading “Does Achieving Early Retirement Mean Failing A Career?”

Life, Death and Getting Drunk on FIRE

A few years ago, a small piece of card dropped through my letterbox. I still have it – I’m holding it right now. This is what it says, misspelling and grammar uncorrected: Continue reading “Life, Death and Getting Drunk on FIRE”

The “Do I Have Enough?” Toolkit

Of those who are on the path to financial independence and early retirement, there seem to be two camps. The first is that group of people who believe “that sounds about right” is more than adequate in terms of preparation. For them a rough 4% rule is all the calculation they need to pull the plug and walk away from paid employment and they will deal with whatever happens when it happens.

Continue reading “The “Do I Have Enough?” Toolkit”

Finding the Fun in FIRE

Recently I wrote about finding fulfilment in life when you haven’t found it at work. I have been thinking a lot about how to put this missing piece back in my life and what I might do to feel better about myself and my place in the world.

But I’m not forgetting that life should be fun. The things I wrote about there were areas I lean towards and would choose to do but I’m a real, flawed human being and I am mostly pursuing FIRE so that I have lots of free time just for myself.

So in the name of balance, what’s high on my list for how I want to spend my time once that day arrives where I no longer work for money? Not a bucket list of the big life experiences, but the hobbies and pastimes that will be the new normal. Continue reading “Finding the Fun in FIRE”

Finding Fulfilment in Early Retirement

Confession time: I LOVE Grey’s Anatomy. I lose a week of my life every time a new series is available, binge-watching the entire thing start to finish. More than the characters (yes they are my friends!) and the drama of the show, for me it’s about people doing good in the world.

My family roll their eyes and sigh when Grey’s season comes around, knowing exactly what I’m going to say when the credits roll.

“I don’t save any lives. I don’t help anybody. I don’t make anybody’s life better”. Continue reading “Finding Fulfilment in Early Retirement”

The “Bad Habits Be-Gone In Early Retirement” List

A quick post today to give myself some accountability in the future. I spend a lot of time thinking about what life will be like once I no longer have to work. So many of my thoughts begin, “When I’m retired…..”

Time to put my money where my mouth is. These are some of the ways that my life will change for the better once I no longer have the stresses and strains of a full-time job. Continue reading “The “Bad Habits Be-Gone In Early Retirement” List”

Trimming the Fat – Preparing a Leaner FIRE Plan

Well – here I find myself in my mid-forties contemplating a ridiculously early, albeit leaner retirement than planned. The route from fat to lean has been surprisingly easy to find. (If only this were true in other areas of life (sigh)….imagine becoming leaner rather than fatter with the passing of time…) 

Time will tell whether it is as easy to execute. Continue reading “Trimming the Fat – Preparing a Leaner FIRE Plan”

Safety in Numbers – Refining the FIRE Plan

As I get ever closer to my FIRE date and am facing the possibility of a much earlier exit from my current job than planned, the geek in me has gone into overdrive and I have been spending some time (…..ok, A LOT of time) reviewing and refining the numbers. Continue reading “Safety in Numbers – Refining the FIRE Plan”

Rethinking the FI Budget – What Do We Really Need to Include?

It may have taken its time to arrive, but the weather is finally Spring-like in the UK. Every morning, I take the dog for a walk around the the nearby lake before most of the city is awake. When the weather is good, it’s my favourite time of day. No people around except for the occasional other dog walker or early morning runner. No traffic noise. The sky this morning was a beautiful pale blue; sunlight sparkled on the water and the sight of my dog galloping through the shallows chasing her ball was an advert for pure joy.

This. Just this.

If life was as simple as this, who would need an escape? Continue reading “Rethinking the FI Budget – What Do We Really Need to Include?”

The Illusion of Wealth (Part 1)

I am on holiday – I may have already mentioned this once or twice. We left England to all its December cold, windy rain, and fourteen hours later were sitting under a palm tree by the sea – the sunshine and warmth a tonic for our vitamin D deprived bodies.

This is not the traditional, hardcore FI way of doing things, but so what? We all find our unique path along this road less travelled and judgement is not a bus-stop along the way.

Yesterday, I met a couple – let’s call them Sarah and Paul. Late forties, they are here with their teenage daughter and son. They own their own business and wear their wealth well. Fit and healthy looking, well dressed, classy casual. A nicer family you could not wish to meet and we spent a fun evening in their company, working our way through the  cocktails menu. Continue reading “The Illusion of Wealth (Part 1)”

A Dream Of Financial Independence

I am writing this on a beach in the early morning. The sun is just rising, small boats sway gently on the water; the air is still and already warm – it’s going to be a beautiful day.

This would be many people’s dream. I know I should count my blessings, be grateful. And I am grateful. I know how lucky I am. But this is not my dream. My dream is that I didn’t feel the need to escape in the first place, because every day is mine by design. Continue reading “A Dream Of Financial Independence”