How to put out a FIRE? Use Liquidity

Recently our plans for FIRE took a slight turn for the worse.  It’s a reminder that paper profits can flatter your balance sheet but when the SHTF it’s all smoke and mirrors. The importance of liquidity is hard to ignore.

Anything which has a value which depends on the whims of individual buyers is a risk.  Think fine wines, classic cars, private shares, property, antiques, stamps.

You could have just invested in a FIRE extinguisher!

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Fire & Ice: the cost of family holidays

Last weekend, the Lady and I were sitting at home enjoying a quiet Saturday morning after the busy Christmas and New Year holidays.  It’s one of the favourite times for me, when there’s a bit of peace and quiet and no need to rush off somewhere.

I hear the postman drop off the mail and in the bundle of bills and letters was a lovely glossy brochure for family ski holidays for 2020.  And like a fool I opened it and proceeded to have a look with the Lady.  We can’t ski this year with the Little Lady being so young, but we can always go in 2020 and before that we can dream…

Overdraft Sad Face: the embarrassment of riches

I read this article on the BBC which is all about the how spending money you don’t own is a recipe for disaster or to put it another way “Overdraft woes: ‘We were one bill away from disaster'”.  Since the general consensus in the UK is that you are not responsible for your own financial decisions, the nasty banks are making money out of hard working debt slaves families.

GFF sees this as a symptom of a much greater problem and one that deserves a bit of discussion

Graphs I like: Income vs. Outgoings

One thing that the Gentleman loves and always has is a good graph!  
If a picture says a thousand words, then a graph says a thousand data points!  A good graph can summarise a lot of thought and allow you to understand something that is truly complex with just a few lines.

Stocks and Shares – more like Shocks and Scares?

This week has seen some pretty volatile movements in the stock markets.  I’ve not been paying much attention to the news but I’m sure it’s a combination of US sanctions, problems in the Middle East, blood letting FAANGs and new next financial crisis beginning.  It almost makes you take you eye off the Brexit shenanigans!

Month End: November ’18 – assets and spending

Where has the year gone???  It’s almost bloody Christmas and there’s nothing but Christmas tunes in the shops – I’ve not seen the sun in week and it’s getting very very cold!!!

Well, at the end of the month it’s time to set some time aside and go over the Gentleman’s Family Finances and this November has been quite good, and after October it’s a welcome relief!

Places I hide my money: Abundance Investment

This is a post about one place where I put my money – Abundance Investment – it’s a good combination of renewable energy projects which means investing in a more ethical manner,  good returns on your investment and a hedge away from the ups and downs of the equity markets.  As Abundance put it “That’s people who want to invest for a rainy day, and would like to build a better world at the same time.”

Ready, Aim, Fire: double my take-home pay

As part of my READY, AIM, FIRE thinking towards FIRE, I’ve now cut my excess pension payments as part of my salary

Putting things in Perspective

This week I was down in London for work, my first business trip since a the start of September.  It was an action packed two days and it really put me in a position to reflect on what life is about, what I’m doing and how important a good night sleep can be when you have a 6 week old at home who cries all night.

I also met Alvar from Financial Independence Europe which was a hoot!

If you don’t work, what would get you up in the morning?

In my 4 weeks off work, I began to realise that by having a “normal” 9-5 job, I was forcing myself to get up much earlier than I would naturally want to and go spend the best hours of the day in the office, before coming home exhausted and going to bed early to make the process the next day less miserable!

But for 4 weeks, I had the freedom to (more or less) wake up when I liked and to go to bed when I liked.  And it’s clear that I am a night owl!

My question is this: If you didn’t have to get up for work tomorrow, what would you do with the time?