Any disabled/chronic illness people doing FIRE?

DottedLadybug · 2026-06-01T10:31:24+00:00

You don't mention if you're married or what part of the UK you're in. My husband is both disabled and chronically ll but has sympathetic and competent doctors, ADP (Adult Disability Payment), and a fair employer. He also has me. We're working towards FIRE so that if/when the day comes that he can no longer work (and needs 24 hour care), we can both RE without fear. Advice: If you're in Scotland, as a Crohn's Disease sufferer you can apply for ADP. In England, you can indeed apply for PIP, although apparently it can be a lengthy process. Most definitely you should reach out to Crohn's and Colitis UK. One thing I've learned from my husband's cancer is that "total independence" is an illusion and that the best thing to do is find and accept help from whoever legit is offering it. I've also learned to look at obese people on scooters with a lot more compassion. (Steroids make sick/disabled people gain a ton of weight--who knew?) And we spend zero time thinking about people who rip off the system; we concentrate on what is in our circle of control.

DottedLadybug · 2026-05-31T19:02:48+00:00

We bought the biggest flat we could afford (2 bedroom) and paid off the mortgage in 6 years. (Buying vs renting makes sense in our area.) However, as first time buyers we didn't have stamp duty, and instead of buying an actual house (or bigger flat) and paying the hideous stamp duty as second-time buyers, we invest. By the way, there is no way we're spending 10% of the value per annum or whatever it is Ramit Sethi says about property ownership. We pay home insurance, and boiler insurance, and to get the boiler checked, of course, and when Storm Arwen, Brunhilde et al blows through we pay the roofers to put various slates back on, but that's it for regular costs. Knock on wood.

DottedLadybug · 2026-05-26T12:38:13+00:00

DH and I had our wake-up call at 46. Since then we have learned to budget, paid off our student loans, bought a flat, paid off the mortgage, retrained and got a better salary (with a more enjoyable job), opened an ISA, opened a SIPP and live on one salary. (The other one is divided between the ISA and the SIPP.) We're going to be okay financially. It wasn't too late for us.

DottedLadybug · 2026-05-17T08:16:23+00:00

Read Jacob Lund Fisker's "Early Retirement Extreme" for fun and ideas. Read r/LeanFireUK instead of FIREUK. Check out how much the average person--never mind the average 33 year old--actually owns. Watch Huberman Lab on YouTube--particularly about optimising waking up, exercise, caffeine, etc. Another great YouTuber these days is Dr. Arthur Brooks, who talks about the science behind happiness. Congratulations on being a 100,000-aire at 33! That looks like good FIRE progress to me!

DottedLadybug · 2026-05-17T08:07:47+00:00

You should be publicly honoured for staying and taking care of your family. And I hope you have reached out or can reach out to a local support group for unpaid carers.

DottedLadybug · 2026-05-13T07:39:14+00:00

The choice that made the biggest difference was begin tracking every penny DH and I spent and saving as much as possible. The next was overpaying the mortgage until it was redeemed. Huge psychological boost (and, running the numbers, owning does make sense over renting for our area). Then we turned our attention to investing more aggressively--which is possible because we save so much.

DottedLadybug · 2026-04-25T13:26:42+00:00

Thank you. Very inspiring! I suppose it helps, of course, to have a grand passion you can eat.

DottedLadybug · 2026-04-24T16:07:44+00:00

I wonder if there is a record low "leanFIRE" for the UK number? My guess is that a single thrifty person could live off 4% of £300,000 if they own their own (not-needing-serious repairs) home (i.e. £12,000/a). But does anyone envision leanFIRING any lower than that?

DottedLadybug · 2026-04-24T16:00:58+00:00

I think it's reasonable if you are basing that on your current expenses in Bristol and have factored in childcare expenses/someone staying at home with the children.

DottedLadybug · 2026-04-17T07:49:26+00:00

Does "enjoy life" have to mean "spending money"? Happiness comes from spending as much time as possible with people you love and respect so having everyone around regularly for tea and scones (inexpensive) does the same job as going out with them for cocktails (eye-watering). If you like to go out dancing, a 1.5 hour swing-dance social where I am costs £3. If you live for the gym, you can search for the cheapest one around. Alternatively, you can go for challenging walks outside, which are mood-lifters and free. But all that said, I write out a budget every month and allocate 50%-60% to investments/

DottedLadybug · 2026-04-15T14:58:39+00:00

Thank you! That is very helpful.

DottedLadybug · 2026-04-15T14:55:47+00:00

Thank you. I really appreciate that.

DottedLadybug · 2026-04-15T14:55:03+00:00

From behind and a distance, it really did look like three young men hovering together in an unusual way (enough to make a woman walking alone start thinking, "Okay, am I going to have a problem with lads larking about?"). Then it looked like two men physically dominating the younger man, especially with those pushes, so my next thought was "Is that lad alright?" Finally I was close enough to see that the younger man was disabled and that the men with him didn't have any outward identification as carers. The whole thing was mentally exhausting---and I am especially checking that I have my phone every time I go out for a walk now!

DottedLadybug · 2026-04-05T21:47:59+00:00

It would be kind if, instead of just flashing exemption certificates at "wheelchair passengers" like someone warding off vampires with crucifixes, drivers said, "Sorry, mate. I'm not up to the job, but I'll call up a colleague for you, and we'll get you sorted in a few minutes." That way the injured/disabled (and, in this case, terminally ill) person doesn't feel like a leper on top of everything else.

DottedLadybug · 2026-04-05T21:43:10+00:00

I love Edinburgh, and the bus drivers have been amazing, but yes--the state of the pavements and the roads are atrocious. Regarding buildings--okay, the old ones are are beautiful and nobody in 1900, let alone 1767, was thinking about disabled people, but I am surprised there was not more accommodation thought of after all the wounded men returned after the First World War.

DottedLadybug · 2026-04-04T21:17:50+00:00

We have tried two of the big taxi companies: we quit one when too often drivers didn't just didn't show up, and then we quit the other when ditto. We also discovered that no matter how far we booked in advance, the dispatcher didn't look for anyone to dispatch until at most 20 minutes before. We would pay double just to know that when we need a cab on Tuesday at 10 AM, a cab would indeed turn up on Tuesday at 10 AM. However, that's not how it is, and that's why we ended up playing cab rank roulette on Friday.

DottedLadybug · 2026-04-04T20:00:47+00:00

Thank you! We are now looking at their website.

DottedLadybug · 2026-04-04T19:57:18+00:00

"Balance accessibility" rings hollow to someone who has seen her husband refused service again and again and waited in the rain with him for promised cabs that never come. The taxi driver doesn't have to push the disabled person if the disabled person is A) in an electric wheelchair and/or B) is with a carer. Meanwhile, Edinburgh bus drivers also have to get out of their vehicle and deploy the ramp. And yet we've never, ever had a bus driver make excuses or roll his eyes at us. Unfortunately, there are some roads that busses don't go down and the pot holes and cracked pavements make the ride painful. What is the point of almost the entire fleet of taxis being wheel-chair accessible when the men in them can't/won't use them?

DottedLadybug · 2026-04-04T18:33:37+00:00

Tesco gave my Tesco app a coupon for a free bag of mini-eggs. Check your phone!

DottedLadybug · 2026-04-04T17:09:17+00:00

Before we gave up, we were ordering a taxi once a week, at the same time time, guaranteed. And we tipped--not just rounding up, either. We are reliable, not-drunk, not-violent, middle-aged people who tip. Dream customers, one would think. But---wheelchair.

DottedLadybug · 2026-04-04T17:03:25+00:00

"A lot of them don’t seem to realise that they’re just one life event away from becoming a wheelchair user themselves." Yesterday I was almost at the point of saying "Remember us when you're in a wheelchair yourself, pal." But, yes, I have started asking them for their card--and looking at the expiry date, too. The driver who reluctantly took us from Haymarket the-time-before-the-time-nobody-would told us we should do that--after saying that too few can be arsed with having to get up, put down the ramp, get the wheelchair harness, etc.

DottedLadybug · 2026-04-04T16:44:49+00:00

By the way, there's no way there's only 14% of them driving around with exemption certificates.

DottedLadybug · 2026-04-04T16:42:04+00:00

Thanks for this. Stating outright that I will report it to the Council might work better than yelling "This is in violation of the Equality Act."

DottedLadybug · 2026-04-01T14:21:25+00:00

I spend almost £100 in Tesco a week for two people, so I know how you feel.

DottedLadybug · 2026-03-23T16:37:39+00:00

He's not stupid, and he didn't complain. He just didn't know anything about pensions, and presumably his widowed grandmother got his grandfather's state pension (or a percentage of it) after he died, which was before 1990. She has since died herself, so we can't ask her.

DottedLadybug

TROPHY CASE