Miss Minted : Financial Independence Retire Early FIRE

31/07/2021

Interesting article re making sure you don’t run out of FIRE funds from sticking to the 4% rule in this week.

The article explains a study which shows the potential F.I.R.E. failure rates if people stick to the 4% withdrawal rate over a prolonged period of time, up to 50 years.

The article states the importance of using a ‘dynamic’ approach to safe withdrawal rates, e.g. in a year where interest rates are high you can withdraw safely, but where interest rates are lower you’d need to adapt your withdrawal rate to match those lower rates to make sure you don’t run out of funds in your FIRE pot (imagine!!!).

I’ve always been cautious of the 4% SWR rule, and personally my FIRE fund target is based on 3% withdrawal rates, meaning I will need more in my FIRE pot to FIRE, but I will feel safer doing so, in case of any market crashes etc, just to give me a buffer. I’ve also projected for lower interest rates on investments going forward (as touched on in the article). A lot more of the FI community calculate returns on 8% (especially for index funds) but I’m more cautious with my calculations and predict a return of 5% maximum.

I also know I can defer to Lean FI if my SWR is not going to work out.

🔥What SWR are you aiming for?
🔥How long are you planning to be FIRE for?
🔥How will you make sure your FIRE funds don’t run dry?

💸💸

30/06/2021

NEW F.I.R.E QUIZ!
CAN I BECOME FINANCIALLY INDEPENDENT AND RETIRE EARLY?

Do you dream of taking early retirement?
Or achieving financial freedom?

Take this insightful quiz to find out whether your current:

- money mindset
- attitudes + behaviours around money
- wealth creation and money management techniques
will allow you to F.I.R.E.

TAKE THE QUIZ HERE:
https://www.riddle.com/view/325489

Personality Test -    

30/06/2021

NEW QUIZ:
Will I become Financially Independent and Retire Early (F.I.R.E.)

Try the quiz here:
https://www.riddle.com/view/325489

24/05/2021

THE SUNDAY TIMES GIVING LIST reaction

How heartwarming to see all the people out there raising significant donations to charities and donating what they don’t require from their personal wealth.
I think this list should be celebrated WAY MORE than the Rich List!

Some observations from the giving list:
• (MBE for services to vulnerable children during the pandemic) tops the list with a comparatively modest personal fortune thanks to his work on raising funds to combat child food poverty during the Covid lockdowns

• Only 1 of the UK’s richest 171 billionaire families made the top 10 of the giving list

• The royal family - where are they on the list supporting their people during the pandemic?

• This year, due to the pandemic, donations reached an all time high of over £4billion

• It is unclear whether all of the donations went to charities which support the needy, for example there are questions around whether the £230m donated by Lord Sainsbury include donations to political parties and causes (e.g. Boris Johnson’s flat redecoration costs).

Personally, I believe that if the levels of tax avoidance by the rich were reduced and if we had a less corrupt government who didn’t line their cronies’ pockets with public funding, there wouldn’t be much need for all of these charitable donations. Billionaire has launched a campaign around a wealth tax and also encourages the wealthy to pledge to donate up to half their wealth. Perhaps this giving list will shine a spotlight on this kind of philanthropy and more of those multibillionaires will start to feature more highly on the list.

❓What do you think about this giving list?
❓Are you able to donate to charity while pursuing FIRE?
❓Have you factored donations to charity into your FIRE target/planning?

23/05/2021

SUNDAY TIMES RICH LIST 2021 observations...

There are now 171 billionaire families in the U.K. (24 more than last year) hoarding a vast fortune between them - according to The Sunday Times:

The combined fortunes of the billionaires in this year’s Rich List grew by nearly 22% to £597.269 billion.
👀👀👀👀👀
That’s an eye popping amount of money. Meanwhile it means the disparity of wealth has increased further.

I wonder what impact this will have on the F.I.R.E. movement...

18/05/2021

04/05/2021

Quadratic equations are less valuable than compound interest in achieving financial success, and that's one example of the financial literacy gap in the U.S.

14/04/2021

CRYTO FANS ❗️

FOUR QUESTIONS for you:
1️⃣
What are we thinking re the listing today? Are we going in or waiting and watching?
I checked on and it still says ‘coming soon’...

2️⃣
How do you expect Coinbase’s listing to impact on the price of cryptos generally?

3️⃣
Yesterday Bitcoin tipped over the £46,000 mark(!). Do you think cryptos can maintain these high prices?

4️⃣
Dogecoin price increased by 108% this week with Ripple not far behind. Which cryptos are you backing?

PS any spam messages or comments from crypto traders will be deleted and reported!

12/04/2021

Just scored £312 of tax-free income 💸💸💸

At this time of year I like to sort out a few financial affairs to make sure I’m set up for the year correctly.

So, last week at the beginning of the new tax year, I logged into my government tax account and updated my records.

Today I received the news I was hoping for: my tax code has been amended, by £312, meaning I can now earn another £312 this year which will NOT be taxed! My income tax rate is 20%, which means this year I’ll have an extra £62 in my pocket, rather than the tax man’s !

🧾Have to sorted out your tax code for this year?
🧾Do you know how to do it?
🧾Hit me up and I can tell you how I did it, in case your circumstances might be the same as mine!

12/04/2021

❄️🌨This snowy weather has really got me down today🥶
Just when outdoor restaurants and pub beer gardens reopen in England, a snow storm and cold blast hits us so, unless you can brave the cold or can find somewhere to sit with an outdoor heater, lockdown is unofficial extended😱

At times like this I often feel like indulging in a little retail therapy - after all, we all deserve the occasional treat and decent quality of life!

So instead of spending £30 or so on a pub lunch I’m toying between spending that on a luxury toiletry I’ve had my eye on for a while ( Almond shower oil 🛁) or whether I should just save the money to put towards the first hairdresser appointment I have booked in over a year next week?!!!?!

Either way, the £30 is getting spent on treating myself, as it has been far too long since we’ve been able to indulge, or holiday, and I’ve been SO diligent with my finances and FIRE plan, it is time to balance that out with a TREAT!

21/03/2021

I have a new FIRE outlook on buying items for my home!

When we first moved to this house I was TOTALLY AGAINST buying anything new for it, and would only buying items which were ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL (washing machine, fridge etc).

Now, my attitude has changed and I am willing to buy things ONLY if they meet the following TWO CONDITIONS:

1. The item will improve my life/make areas of the house more useable and will make a helpful addition for when our baby arrives

2. The purchase will ADD VALUE to my home, for when I come to sell it, so any purchase therefore becomes AN INVESTMENT

Take for example these bamboo plants we have installed in the back garden. They weren’t cheap BUT:
1. They create a natural fence to provide added privacy (which I will need to feel comfortable breast feeding or with a naked child in the garden)

2. They add value to the house by ensuring a more useable garden in a chic and classy WOW factor way

Other items I’ve bought based on these conditions are:
- A shed
- A summer house
- A front garden fence

They make the house more useable and potential buyers will see the added value too!

🏡What do you consider when making purchases for your home?
🏡How have you increased the value of your home?
🏡Do you lean more towards frugality or making purchases as investments?
Let me know in the comments ⬇️✏️

08/02/2021

SWIPE RIGHT FOR AFTER PIC➡️
Been busy this weekend properly unpacking the house. It has taken us a while to decide the layout we want to go for, and to find the time and energy to bring it to fruition!

I’m pleased with the results so far - the space is a lot more liveable now.

And really pleased that to date, all we have bought for the house so far is;
• a washing machine
• a fridge freezer
• some paper blinds
• a welly stand (an essential for any self-respecting country bumpkin!)
• some home fragrances to make the place smell like a spa

Everything else was stuff we already had and brought with us or repurposed. It was really tempting to go out and buy all brand new furniture especially to fit the new house, but I convinced my partner to make do with the items we already had, which has saved us ££££s in unnecessary expenses. Even if it is a bit tricky to make everything fit with the layout of the house, I’m much happier saving the money and playing Tetris with the furniture and even happier when it starts to shape more into a home.

Do you think we made the right choice to reuse our old stuff?

Do you have any tips to make a homely home on a FIRE budget?