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My (Less) Shite FI so far

Where to begin…

Hi there,

Only a 2 and a half year sabbatical from my 2 post blog but we go again….. Hope you’re all well. 

A lot has happened since my last post in March 2022 and plenty to cover. When I did start this blog I had the hope that one day I’d be able to make this a success, but success isn’t a thing that comes without work and my work has been directed elsewhere in terms my profession and my social life.

I’ve realised I don’t really have great knowledge in terms of investing and FIRE to share, so I will do the thing that can’t be replicated by anyone else and share my story so far prior and during my hiatus from this vessel of waffle. Maybe you can learn from my past mistakes or make you question your situation of anything that can be different, or just to get you through your commute after you’ve forgotten your headphones. 

Me

I am a now 31 year old from the South East of England who has always been a bit of a late bloomer with that feeling of being slightly behind in life and an underachiever. I had a standard, no thrills upbringing as a shy, only child, with loving, blue collar upbringing  

After university gaining a first in accounting, I did one year working in London, then headed to Australia on a working holiday visa. I came back with £500 in my bank account and some old work shares at 25. 

 Career

Coming back from Oz I went back into the City doing the same line of work as before in accounts for an investment firm. Needing any sort of income, I went for the easiest job I could get for the most money possible  I turned down an assistant accountant due to being offered 8k more. However, in this job I came to the realisation I was going nowhere higher in this firm and was failing my accounting exams, pretty much giving up all hope of getting somewhere in this profession. 

After plenty of rejections, I found an assistant accountant role in my hometown and took a pay cut for the privilege. My last post was my final day in the city after 4 years. 

Now I had the job to gain the skills and experience I required, I needed I get my exams back on track. If I failed this it was over but somehow, I scraped this exam and was now an accounting finalist! 

This new work environment couldn’t have been better for me working for a blue collar firm and finished my exams 18 months later (continuing the trend of being a slow burner) and currently loving it.

Finances

I’ve always been a tightarse and with my money whilst sober, but have enjoyed my nights out, holidays and experiences where all my savings went towards.

I know I don’t want the 9-5/6 office life for the rest of my life and discovered the concept of Fire at 27 during the covid lockdown. With all I was earning and couldn’t spend I was able to save and eventually built the confidence to invest in the stock market in October 2020.

Since then I have just been able to get my Fire portfolio to £100K (although dipped since) in August 2024 and have built myself a platform to build upon and enjoy. 

I will go through how I did this and evaluate the decisions taken within this time (plenty of wrong ones) in my next post, as well as what my goals are going forward. 

I’m heading on holiday this weekend so I might be able to draft something up on the flight, or be another 2 and a half years lol! I will try to be more consistent (not hard) going forward. 

Ciao  


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