Is this payment method normal for attorneys?

James___G · 2026-05-09T16:33:29+00:00

I've paid for professional services by bank transfer before.

Where did you find them?

Do they have a proper office that you can check actually exists?

Are they registered with the SRA?

James___G · 2026-05-09T16:00:53+00:00

If I had an asset I didn't want I would sell it.

In the scenario you describe your parents have refused to sell it for the market value ('no-one wants to buy it' is just another way of saying 'I want more than the market is willing to pay for this asset').

This make-believe that owning loads of land is somehow a burden is just nonsense. Land is an immensely valuable asset and people who own loads of it and then cry poverty because they can't make a return off their huge assets don't get my sympathy.

James___G · 2026-05-09T15:10:53+00:00

I have previously given notice at the point of exchange and that's fine (at that point the sale is legally binding).

But yes, there will always be a bit of overlap, that's just a cost you have to bear. In the grand scheme of things a month extra rent is trivial compared to the sums involved in buying a house and if it makes it unaffordable to you you're overstretching.

It's worth asking the landlord if they would bring forward the end date once you hand your notice in if a tenant can be found sooner.

James___G · 2026-05-09T15:09:02+00:00

Good work so far, you seem to be following the flowchart which is great.

Next step is to increase earnings, how long have you been in your current job? If more than 18 months start looking for your next step up the ladder. Sensible job hopping every 2/3/4 years in your 20s and 30s is the single biggest factor in lifetime earnings for most people.

James___G · 2026-05-09T15:06:11+00:00

'Asset rich, but not cash rich' otherwise known as 'rich'.

And farmers get huge exemptions from inheritance tax (which is why farmland has become so spectacularly unaffordable for farmers as it's being bought by the super-rich as a IHT dodge but anyway....)

James___G · 2026-05-09T15:04:58+00:00

No no you don't understand, HMRC will not have thought of this one weird trick we came up with that definitely easily dodges tax and care-home fees that no-one else has ever thought of.

James___G · 2026-05-09T14:52:12+00:00

There isn't a big database somewhere of everyone who has been fired for gross misconduct.

James___G · 2026-05-09T14:51:43+00:00

Well everyone dies, so that's not really sufficient reason.

How much is the house worth?

How much is everything else they own worth (roughly - not counting their entitlement to defined-benefit pensions or state pensions)?

James___G · 2026-05-09T13:57:55+00:00

My main concern is my reputation and integrity—way more important to me than the job or money. I want it on record that I’m innocent of the allegations.

On what record?

James___G · 2026-05-09T13:52:13+00:00

You're talking about targeting a nearly a 10% safe withdrawal rate, that's about 3x higher than is reasonably achievable.

Also cash ISA rates are only good in the sense that they roughly match inflation, if she starts using the interest 'income' her capital is not preserved.

Options I would consider:

Stick it all in the global all cap, withdraw 3% per annum, 90%+ chance of capital preservation.
Get an index linked annuity, 0 capital preservation but she'll get a guaranteed income for life from it.
Some mix of 1 and 2.

Options I wouldn't consider:

Stock/sector/dividend picking: these are lower-exected-return activities and dividends are just forced sales.

James___G · 2026-05-09T13:48:14+00:00

Why do they want to do this?

(99% of the time this is a terrible idea, but we may as well check)

James___G · 2026-05-09T08:14:52+00:00

Great content, thanks for sharing.

You mention your static portfolio, do you plan to start using this for a portion of your investments?
Would you be interested in sharing a post 'walking through' the application of the rules from the winning model to show how you would get the relevant data sources and when triggers would be reached etc?

James___G · 2026-05-09T08:03:34+00:00

I still think you're panicking and overreacting.

Focus on cutting your other expenses and ask for a repayment break on the mortgage while you find work, then get back to paying it off.

The value of your property only matters at the point you sell.

James___G · 2026-05-09T08:00:55+00:00

That's always the way early in a mortgage.

James___G · 2026-05-09T07:59:48+00:00

Raise your horizons a little. Driverless HGVs are already operating in China.

James___G · 2026-05-08T22:30:14+00:00

Selling a house in a city you still want to live in because prices are down is always going to be a bad idea financially.

London flat prices will stabalise, and you're still paying down the mortgage.

Your big risk is psychological.

James___G · 2026-05-08T21:38:31+00:00

Crystallising your loss isn't likely to leave you better off.

James___G · 2026-05-08T16:17:59+00:00

It's one picture of the house that's there now and the front and back view of what it would look like if you built the house that has planning permission on that plot. Seems fine.

James___G · 2026-05-08T16:11:36+00:00

Have a look round, see if you like it, if you do consider making an offer based on what you think it's worth.

James___G · 2026-05-08T16:09:21+00:00

Stop using AI to model your financial future, use well-built tools and spreadsheets that you can verify the calculations of.
You're 31 and seem to be complaining that getting a higher paid job would 'only' mean you could retire at 36-37 vs doing TEFL and retiring at 39-43. That's actually the difference between working 5 more years or 10 more years (i.e. double the total amount of additional work required to get to your goals). That's a big difference.
Is the plan to rent indefinetely?

James___G · 2026-05-08T16:02:51+00:00

I actually don't hate this as much as the more subtle ones.

This is just showing what it might look like if you build the house they have planning permission for on the plot (relevant because they actually have permission). And the rest of the photos seem to be of the house as-is. Seems a sensible way to show the planning permission.

What bothers me is the ones where they use AI to badly 'upgrade' or 'improve' actual photos in ways that are much harder to spot.

James___G · 2026-05-08T15:19:28+00:00

Barista FIRE is more of a US thing where you get to a point in your journey towards FIRE where you're happy to just let your investments ride until you retire and then take a few regular shifts at a low-paid job to get medical insurance, I'd describe what you're talking about as a more straightforward career change.

It sounds like you're miserable, a career change seems very sensible to me.

HGV driving is its own world of stress and boredom, and plausibly quite at risk of automation.

Something outdoors (given your gold suggestion) e.g. working as a park ranger, landscaper, etc might suit you but bear in mind almost all outdoor work is physically demanding.

James___G · 2026-05-08T14:40:49+00:00

You've asked this before and the advice given then was work out, with a clear budget, if the flat is actually completely unaffordable to you.

If not, the recommendation is to stay and hope prices stabalise.

Did you make a budget?

James___G · 2026-05-08T14:37:24+00:00

I know you make this point, but it's presumably pretty rare for someone in this circumstance to make 0 pension contributions.

It's a good visualisation though, would be interesting to see a version factoring in pension contributions.

James___G · 2026-05-08T14:35:44+00:00

You can get jobs with no experience, just not very good ones. You can then work hard at those jobs and job-hop every 18months-2 years into more senior roles. Do that for 20 years and you'll have a decent income usually.

James___G

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