Dad on FIRE

In this update we have: On the cusp of £1m net worth! Pension news and the affect on my drawdown strategy ISA and Pension platform switch incentives Half term activities and holiday plans Overview Net worth increased +£28k in February to  £990.9k , big movers include: Bitcoin +£14k +£15k +£16k (market has changed 3 times since I started this post!) S&S ISA +£7k Pension +£5k Long term net worth trend, cumulative: Long term net worth trend, broken down: Monthly net worth difference: Pension news: Some of you know that I moved jobs recently, this spurred me on to take a closer look at my old workplace pension with the aim of moving it away from Aviva and onto a lower cost platform. I was extremely surprised to find that my Aviva pension has a protected pension age (PPA) of 55!  This effectively means it is immune to any planned increases in the coming years. It is looking likely that this age will be increased to 57 from 2028 and could well hit 60+ in the future. For s...

Delayed gratification. Boiled down, that's what us FIREites are all about right? We're not spending money today so 'future us' can enjoy more of it. The ability to practice effective and regular delayed gratification will not only lead to financial success but is a huge determining factor in forecasting overall success in life. As James Clear - author of the fantastic 'Atomic Habits' - articulates in his blog ( here ): "If you delay the gratification of watching television and get your homework done now, then you’ll learn more and get better grades. If you delay the gratification of buying desserts and chips at the store, then you’ll eat healthier when you get home. If you delay the gratification of finishing your workout early and put in a few more reps, then you’ll be stronger." Problem Given its links to being healthier and richer, you'd think that the majority of society would be pursuing how to master delayed gratification right? Wrong? A rece...

It's been a long time since I've done a new blog, and my word a lot has changed in the past 2 years! This update will aim to bring you up to speed with what my circumstances look like, what has worked, what hasn't, what my current strategy is and how it has altered from 2 years ago. Strap in, there's a fair amount of Excel charts going on! Summary: My Net worth in Q1 2022 was £699k, it now stands at £961k! Staring down the barrel of becoming an actual millionaire in a few months time! In my last post I still had a mortgage. This got paid off in Q2 2022 and we've been mortgage free for a couple of years now I've changed job. Similar role and sector as well as wage, but very different working dynamic. Still as flexible as ever regarding working hours and location which is my priority with 2 young kids and wanting to be a present Dad. Pension has gone from £143k to £242k Family / holidays: I've been intentionally spending more on holidays and experiences in the...