April 2017 | Enough Time To...

Begin To Invest 3 – Your Risk Profile

Posted on April 28, 2017April 14, 2017 by Mrs. ETT

In 2015, I happened across the Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) movement. I wasn’t actively looking for direction in our financial life, but I had been living with a vague discomfort that we could be doing more. FIRE galvanised me to once again take control of our money. In 2016 we tracked spending, and saved an emergency fund. The next step was beginning to invest – but how? The idea of investing was scary. There are so many options, traps and pitfalls for the unwary that I wanted to be fully prepared before we started. This series of posts is about the resources we used, and the steps we took

A Tale of Two Retirements – My Perfect Retirement

Posted on April 20, 2017April 12, 2017 by Mrs. ETT

Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) usually has a focus on the financial aspect. After all, it’s unlikely you can retire early if you don’t have your finances under control. However, there is a subset of the movement that highlights the emotional aspect of retirement; ensuring you have a plan for your days when those days are no longer controlled by someone else. I recently came cross two examples of retirement that crystallised what I do, and don’t, want. I’m formulating my perfect retirement. The Retirement I Want To Avoid This came from a totally unexpected source. Mr. ETT and I were both browsing the web in front of the TV (yes, we

Begin to Invest 2 – Risk, Volatility and Timescale

Posted on April 12, 2017April 12, 2017 by Mrs. ETT

In 2015, I happened across the Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) movement. I wasn’t actively looking for direction in our financial life, but I had been living with a vague discomfort that we could be doing more. FIRE galvanised me to once again take control of our money. In 2016 we tracked spending, and saved an emergency fund. The next step was beginning to invest – but how? The idea of investing was scary. There are so many options, traps and pitfalls for the unwary that I wanted to be fully prepared before we started. This series of posts is about the resources we used, and the steps we took

March 2017 Spending and New Habits Update

Posted on April 4, 2017May 31, 2017 by Mrs. ETT

After our expensive year in 2016, we set ourselves a goal to reduce our spending by 10% in 2017. We want to do this because it has a double effect. Firstly, it frees up more money to invest for our future. Secondly, if we can live on less, then it brings that future much closer. In 2016, we spent $80,000. To generate that using passive income and the 4% rule, we would need $2,000,000 invested! Last month I got the feeling that March would be spendy… and it has been. We paid our health insurance to put off the price rise for 12 months (but they always get you in