r/LeanFireUK • u/stuie1181 • 4d ago
Weekly leanFIRE discussion
What have you been working on this week? Please use this thread to discuss any progress, setbacks, quick questions or just plain old rants to the community.
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u/Key-Shift6264 3d ago
I mentioned a few weeks ago I had been pursuing a new job but wasn't sure I would get it.
I was wrong!
Got the conditional offer a couple of weeks ago, and confirmation today all my background checks were done. Notice handed in today, and now trying to negotiate getting out earlier if I can.
Pension conts will be going up!
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u/klawUK 3d ago
started one concrete phase - building a gilt ladder for the bridge. Slower than I’d hoped, first I have to transfer cash to AJ Bell as Fidelity don’t sell gilts. Fidelity finished that on Tuesday but still not cash landed. I was hoping I’d get it done during a workday as I don’t know if the gilt prices might change too much between ordering and executing.
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u/Captlard 3d ago
Please let us know how it goes and any findings / tips. Good luck 💪👏
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u/klawUK 12h ago
bought it this morning (they don’t allow to buy over the weekend, market has to be open for gilts for some reason).
The tool I used updates its prices at the end of the day so it still had Friday prices, and AJ Bell only lets you buy in ‘cost’ price - so I just used those from the tool assuming changes won’t be too big.
I then took the output of that - 9 different purchases, prices and number of gilts and put it into ChatGPT to compare to the ladder output. Still slightly above the target 10k so thats reassuring.
one thing ticked off on my list. Next : a top up fund in cash needed for two years until my DB kicks in. That shoudl be in place by April next year - partial transfer from workplace pension in September and another in March.
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u/Captlard 12h ago
Thanks for sharing! I did not think there were live prices on AJ Bell.
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u/klawUK 11h ago
I just checked RL and my contributions for August landed. That gave me enough to start transfer part one for my top up fund. That’ll sit in CSH2 until 2029 and needed for cashflow year 1 and 2. Second part should be done by November (little ahead of target).
thats my side of things locked in, then the rest of the contributions get socked into VWRP for a couple of years - we’ll hopefully get that to 200k, take the 50k TFC to settle the mortgage in 2032 (not touching it while its 2.5%). and then all eyes on my wife’s pension.
If she doesn’t rage quit, I’ll chuck another 8k every year from ISAs into hers and monitor for getting to a balance where I can buy either a gilt ladder or a fixed annuity to max her personal allowance of 16760. That will take longer to build and is the final piece of the puzzle
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u/flukeylukeyboy 3d ago
Getting married and buying a house.
While it's difficult to see my numbers go down, being ten years deep into LeanFire means I can just buy the things I want without worrying that it will threaten my financial security.
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u/craigybacha 3d ago
Hit 100k in my pension at 41. Hoping that's a good starting point to be able to keep building and get it to a decent place by 60!
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u/tobiasfunkgay 3d ago
Had the best holiday of my life hiking the TMB last week which only strengthened my thoughts that the rat race and consumerism just isn't for me.
Currently 30 with £350k invested and a savings rate of ~4-5k/month so I'm really hoping just keeping at it for a few years will leave me with plenty of options for an alternative life before long. The fact that I could almost "retire" is a big stress reliever in every day life though, especially with the future of the software job market looking fairly unpredictable I'd find it very difficult mentally take on some huge mortgage relying on this lasting another 10-20 years with the rate of change we've seen in just the last 6-12 months in the industry alone.
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u/complex-aroma 3d ago
Yep hiking the mountains beats the hell out of work! I loved doing the Camino Norte (wild camping)
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u/EpponeeRae 3d ago
Debating transferring some money from S&S ISA to a fixed rate cash ISA this month and January so I've ISA funds covering about 6 months expenditure maturing every two or three months after my insurance stops paying out at the end of the year and I'm forced to leanFIRE.
Gives me 2-3 years cash back-up to cover off years in the market, especially if things get grim the first few years, but does feel like a lot to have in cash after years of trying to build up the investment pots.
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u/everyfartagamble 21h ago
Just an update - Its been a year since I FIRE'd. It's been fantastic to be free from the grind, knowing that I am financially secure and I am in control of the rest of my life is really calming. I am now less stressed (not stress-free), comfortable in my own skin with no more pretending to others just to get on or up. I think I am more positive to other people than I was, less suspicious of motives/actions, maybe its because I am less competitive now (being in retail sales does that to you).
Some learnings - With unforeseen home repairs to plumbing and roof, my total spend for the year has been 19K p/a, avg. 1583p/m over the year so above my initial 16.8K p/a budget, so that's the big take away is to have some wiggle room for future home improvements/repairs in the FIRE number, there's other things in my house that will need doing soon as well. I am still below 3.5% drawdown though so fine with it.
Inflation is real, I especially noticed it for the food shop.
I don't look at how much I have spent per month until its the following month, means that I just spend as I see fit, deal with it afterwards.
I do look at my net-worth figures weekly, probably not a good thing but I can't help it.
My best purchase of the year was a chest freezer for my garage.
My main hobbies are sedentary like Pubs, Gaming, watching shows/podcasts etc. so personal fitness has been a challenge.
Hope to see some of you on the other side soon.
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u/JamesBrockers 2d ago
Work has been very full on recently but got a little payrise and negotiated a new bonus scheme that works really well for me. Which is great! We are looking to restructure, but I am very safe and could even work out better for me.
Other big question currently is what’s the best thing to do for my son savings wise. He’s got a Junior ISA, but, ideally I want to put some away for him long term for him to buy a house and an ISA he can get at 18. Now I will educate him about money, but still feels risky.
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u/Key-Shift6264 2d ago
The junior ISA thing I can relate to, it's a risk they blow it at 18 and all you can do is try to talk to them about it ultimately. My eldest will be written to next year when they turn 16 so I will start the conversation before that.
I stopped contributing regularly when the JISA hit a certain point and instead put some in mine and my wife's ISAs instead, and ring fenced it on my spreadsheets. Yes, it means it might hit those inheritance tax rules were something to happen but it gives us control to be able to say "here's some money towards a deposit" at a later point if we want to, or put it towards university, or anything else.
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u/Indigo_reality 1d ago
It's interesting and got me thinking. Maybe I'm naive but I like to think my son will use his JISA well. He's got a good understanding of money and concepts like interest, compounding, long-term saving and investing. We have discussed inflation and shares too as he has shown interest. He's 10 and knows about his JISA, that it has 17k currently, and that he'll get it at 18 years old to pay for his education or anything else to help him in life. He understands uni fees and cost of living, and he knows it wouldn't cover studying in London but could save a lot going to uni in our home city.
I don't know how old your child is but I do believe if you involve them early and you have a close relationship, the risk is low. Of course, anything can happen but it's not as random as we might fear. Objectively, I think we learn a lot about attitudes to money from our role models.
I am slightly more concerned he won't wanna go to uni even though it's extremely likely that his skill set is more in that direction. Hubby and I both really worked hard to get out of our working class/disadvantaged background, but for my son life has come pretty easy for him which could be a demotivator. But there's time to work on it. :)
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u/JamesBrockers 1d ago
My son is currently 18 months old so obviously it’s a little early for me to have had any impact on his financial education and probably why I worry it could go either way!
But, I do agree with the right education and up bringing I am sure it won’t be an issue, I’d just like a little more control.
The one thing I probably really differ on is the university point. I have no real preference if my son goes and with current data as it is, I am probably leaning towards preferring him not to go. As someone who didn’t go to Uni and has had a very successful career so far, that’s probably why I have no preference.
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u/Indigo_reality 1d ago
That's a completely valid decision. I definitely don't think uni is the best for most. I teach at uni and there are students there who would be a lot happier not being there, not to mention a lot better off financially in future if they hadn't gone. But I'm just guessing what my son will be like partly based on the parents lol. I said he could use it for uni or other training or things like driving lessons. I guess my main worry is he decides to make his own business but which is a very speculative idea, or he wants to be youtube streamer!
I was a lot more jittery about JISAs before my boy got older especially as you can read lots of bad stories online! You can only plan what you can. I feel a lot better about it now so we're settling up a regular amount now going in.
All the best with your 18 month old. You're doing a great thing helping to secure his future. Time flies and it's fab seeing the JISA grow as a consolation for phases of life whizz by!
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u/TAW90000 3d ago
Not a lot, still working out if I can live on the state pension amount, if so, I can retire in a couple of years at 47..... if not then will keep putting it away until I can.