FIRE

 Fire financial independence retire early 

It was an accident but during my 20s I worked two jobs; a daytime job and an evening job. from 8 am until 5 pm I would work in a laboratory, from 6 pm till 10 pm I will work at the truckstop. I had a small flat that cost £260 a month to rent and I never used any heating or light. I’d have a light on in one room, the room I was using or go to bed. So I lived a more natural day night cycle with longer days in the summer and shorter days in the winter. I use the bicycle to cycle down to the nearest shop and I’d walk to work so I’d maybe use the car once a week to get to the supermarket, until they were such things as deliveries which was cheaper than driving to the supermarket  - so I started having my food delivered. On the coldest days I would use the heating for one hour for heating and hot water to take the edge off the cold in the house, to stop it freezing, to avoid an expensive problem like damaged pipes for example and I take a bath and wrap up in pyjamas and a dressing gown, and often the towel too, Then wash up and finally run the washing machine which does not heat water that takes hot water from the hot water tank so it used the dregs of the water for the washing. Economy washing powder no tumble dryer and so on.

With regards to that dressing gown I’d wear out of the bath that has made me feel less numb and one through before washing up drying the washing machine and retiring to bed to remain warm my mother bought me the dressing gown when I was about 17 years old when I first started only my own house and running in my life cheaply I was about 24 so it’s only six years old then but my next dressing gown came also from another when I was 38 years old and just before she died With regards to that dressing gown I’d wear out of the bath that had made me feel less numb and warm with me through before washing up drying the washing machine and retiring to bed to remain warm my mother bought me the dressing gown when I was about 17 years old when I first started only my own house and running in my life cheaply I was about 24 so it’s only six years old then but my next dressing gown came also from another when I was 38 years old and just before she died By which time the old one was threadbare I’m over 20 years old.

I keep my close for years and years I’m fine with this I suppose it’s good that they still fit and it’s quite fun to see myself on Facebook in 10 years ago today where in the clothes I’m wearing while looking at Facebook today.

These are the habits that have led to me having enough money to take some time off work when my child grows and it’s not just that I have enough money to take time off work when my child grows many people will not find it enough money it’s that my expenses are very small and so a small amount of money can be enough money.

I used to live of about a pound a week for food. I’d go to the supermarket on a Monday evening at about seven or 8 pm and buy the reduced to clear things for 5p or 10p and get a French stick for 10p and make it last three days so salad stuff would be sold off cheap bread would be sold off cheap cheese will be sold off cheap anything perishable and I would eat it for several days later. carrots good last a few months.

Being vegetarian is also cheap I’d make stuffing sandwiches so you make up the stuff in for a box of staffing which cost around 20p and make sandwiches from slices the stuffing is the feeling is it actually extremely similar to vegetarian slice if you can buy expensive they sold in the deli part.Being vegetarian is also cheap I’d make stuffing sandwiches so you make up the stuff in for a box of stuffing which cost around 20p and make sandwiches from slices the stuffing is the feeling is it actually extremely similar to vegetarian slice if you can buy expensive we sold in the deli part

I  paid off my mortgage. every single month I overpaid with everything I had left over after my wages and my very cheap expenses. I needed £10 a month for gas and electricity and my total bills every year was £1000 including my council tax, so the mortgage was paid off in just a few years and of course that frees up a lot of money to make savings or in my case to buy a yacht and do a PHD. They have a house is fully paid for which give you a great sense of security and also that means you can go down to working just one job. 

I didn’t have a mobile phone or broadband Internet and once I have the yacht I didn’t need to take a holiday. with your boat paid for you can  simply holiday on that . Doesn’t exactly sound like a hardship does it ? and it did give me foreign holidays because of course I could sail abroad. As a friend of mine once said ‘the wind is free’, if you’ve paid for the yacht , not paying the payments on it then effectively the rich get richer - but you do have to get rich first rich .

On getting rich first which is actually a relative term it’s not an absolute term there is not a specific amount of money that makes you rich it’s about having low living expenses as much as it is about having a lot of money if you have high living expenses then you’re not rich until you have a large amount of money we have low living expenses I don’t need much money to be rich and really that’s where I am and where I was and that I believe is the trick. 

And all of these things gave me the resources I need to weather the storm that came and give me the greatest riches in life which is my son.