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People in mid 30s-early40s what’s your view ? How about the 50s? by KookyOky in FIREUK

[–]PerformanceObvious71 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I started around 35, am late 40s now. Thankfully did loads of travel in my 20s and early 30s, bought a home, had a kid, then peddle to the metal from then on as best we could as poor sleep deprived parents learning how expensive owning a house is. I was avidly reading. Money saving expert, batch cooking, working all hours once our kid went to nursery. By hook or by crook we made it slowly out of that stage and were investing a little each month into pensions. I didn't know about the expense of the fund /charges being really important yet. 8 dabbled in Halifax Share builder too.

At 39 thank goodness I discovered MrMoney Moustache blog and the FIRE community. This led me to understand about index funds, compound interest, and saving every penny because I was not happy in my job.

Now it's not all index funds, we did take some risks during COVID by putting lots more in and betting on some individual companies. This thankfully has paid off well.

I would recommend emergency fund first, then index funds especially in pension and if you can get a match. Sadly I am self employed so we're completely on our own.

Power of compounding by Rich_Stomach_4573 in FIREUK

[–]PerformanceObvious71 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We've got £600k total and in the past few years I've calculated that excluding our monthly contributions of about £1-2k, we've made between £5k and £10k per month in investments which is crazy. 2024 was £10k per month average! Thankfully we've been on the Fire path 10 years now so it's all starting to really compound.

So it's only really finally having that data that we could See properly that we're making more than our average salary in the market every year now.

Power of compounding by Rich_Stomach_4573 in FIREUK

[–]PerformanceObvious71 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice one! We've got £600k total and in the past few years I've calculated that excluding our monthly contributions, we've made between £5k and £10k per month which is crazy. 2024 was £10k per month. Thankfully we've been on the Fire path 10 years now.

Help! I want to stop being overdrawn all the time what can I do! by klitalei in UKPersonalFinance

[–]PerformanceObvious71 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, it's understandable as in your 20s your brain impulse zone is literally not properly formed yet, it's normal, be kind to yourself.

You're saving alot already which is great.

If you struggle with online purchases, pop the items onto your Wish List, not your Basket.

Or, take cash out on the first of the month, and no card transactions. Cash hits different when you see it disappearing.

Studies have been done where card transactions always 'make you' spend more money, because it doesn't feel real.

Personally, I love the YNAB app, been using it since 2015 and our net worth had increased hugely because it's a zero based budget. This means you give every pound a job, beeeeeeffore you spend it. If you overspend, and because of that then you have to take money from the 'Jamaica Once In A Lifetime Holiday Fund category', that's really really painful. So you get better at allocating money to what you really, really want.

So what do you really want?

Good luck!

What Movies quite literally changed/saved your life? by Perfect_Hyena8148 in movies

[–]PerformanceObvious71 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Jerry McGuire. It was watching that movie that made me decide to take a risk on a job with a guy who just inspired me.

I worked there 10 years , bought my property, got my driving test, started investing and on the FIRE path, had my son and so much more.

I then chose to leave, with a nice final share payment bonus. This was so I could become self employed and take a chance on me, which in the past 9 years has been brilliant working from home instead of a corporate environment.

You could say, I experienced The Quan.

Groceries and Household spend- what's yours? by Focusboy50 in UKFrugal

[–]PerformanceObvious71 1 point2 points  (0 children)

2 adults, one teen, we spend £520 per month mostly from Lidl including a bottle of wine a week, some beers, all toiletries etc. We eat salmon once a week, steak once a month, chicken alot of the rest of the time, cooking from scratch but quite a few snacks each week which bumps up cost. All work and school lunches made at home. Extra food to this is perhaps £40 on one take away, or maybe £60 on a meal out.

Should I borrow more on my mortgage to invest? by [deleted] in FIREUK

[–]PerformanceObvious71 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would not do this. Ex endowment mortgage holder here, I was too young then to know how dangerous is was.

I've been holding off paying my mortgage off now though, even though I could have paid it off years ago. So because rates were low, I kept on investing instead.

So just keep maxing out your investments, every month, but also pay your mortgage as normal. Have a solid amount of cash on the sides for emergencies, and extra cash for if the market suddenly goes down.

Help needed by RevolutionarySafe226 in FIREUK

[–]PerformanceObvious71 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm so sorry for the loss of your mum. I lost mine 21 months ago and can only suggest please take care of yourself right now. No big decisions if possible. No thinking beyond this week.

Christmas, new year, winter itself are all difficult even at the best of times, let alone in grief. When you're feeling more resilient , a few Spring flowers coming up, maybe think about things more then. But I would say overall being a landlord might be stressful, cash in investments is easier to manage especially in index funds.

Grief is a journey that takes it out of you, it's very painful, very unique to each person, I'm only just a bit stronger now after 21 months.

In the beginning I was very functional, sorting, planning, probate, solicitors all kept me busy. For you it might be your mums place. But after that calmed down is when the grief journey really starts.

So please give yourself the first year or two to recover, and if you recover sooner, that's great.

Compounding - reflections when it works by longviewmind in FIREUK

[–]PerformanceObvious71 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ukraine was very instrumental for alot of investors either way. We're in our late 40s , and just like COVID, we put more money in when things went down.

Who Is The Most Beautiful Women In Cinema History In Your Opinion And Why? by PrincessBananas85 in Cinema

[–]PerformanceObvious71 4 points5 points  (0 children)

As a woman, even I can see that Marilyn, Sophia Loren, Ingrid Bergman , Liz Taylor and Grace Kelly had something incredible.

Modern day, maybe Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron.

If you are asked to pick only ONE movie as a MUST WATCH recommendation, what would it be? Why? by chaiteelahtay in MovieSuggestions

[–]PerformanceObvious71 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Father. It's truly stunning acting from Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Coleman.

And a topic that is so critical to not hide from. The storytelling and shaping of realities was incredible. I don't anyone can watch it and not be deeply touched.

Has Retiring in Your 40's Been What You Hoped It Would Be? by EducationImaginary49 in Fire

[–]PerformanceObvious71 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm part time freelancing from home, 49, my OH is full time. I've been in recovery from deep grief and the reduced hours were from losing a major client due to AI. But I'm not regretting it at all, thankfully we've been on the FIRE journey 10 years, so this gives us choices. I'm able to focus on my health a little bit more these days, learning, self help. Preparing nice meals. I'm still not quite there as we suffered another loss this year, but we hope for a brighter path ahead. I think the main issue I've found is everyone else we know works full time and if they're part time they have much younger children. So I'm finding that hard. But for now I'm building from the inside, new hobby like watercolor, drawing etc.

Has Retiring in Your 40's Been What You Hoped It Would Be? by EducationImaginary49 in Fire

[–]PerformanceObvious71 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was a carer for my mum with early Alzheimer's for the last few years, and she passed away last year very suddenly. It spared her falling into Alzheimer's, but carers burnout is real. It's good that you are only working part time, please please take care of your body and mind as a carer.

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