How long?

Wow, I have just seen that I haven’t posted anything since September. Shows how I have gone off-grid and just existed over the past few months.

It’s not that I have dropped my mojo for FI, it’s there and kicking. I have just reviewed my year and my net worth has increased by 6%. Not as good as some who managed to get a double-digit growth rate but I am pleased with my progress.

This year, I have re-balanced my portfolio and moved them into lower fee funds and tried to consolidate my finances and up the amount I save into my pension(s). It’s nice to see the graph plotting their growth upwards. I am trying to make my savings work harder for me.

I have scheduled the payment of my tax due, my HMRC SA form was submitted ages ago so my normal ‘xmas gift’ from the tax man was my statement letter landing on my doormat on the 20th December reminding me how much I need to pay by the end of Jan. It’s higher this year due to the changes in BTL rules and the taxation changes on savings.

I need to sort out my spreadsheets and publish my monthly results. This month my expenses have gone up (xmas gifts/spending) but I have still managed to save too. So I can feel pleased I have ended the month on a positive note and ended the year in a better financial state that I started it.

I am trying to remain in good spirits, ‘the Man’ I work for just gets worse by the day so I just hang in there and just laugh to take the pressure off and stop me going completely mad. I have started doing some yoga in the evenings to release the pressure value and feel better for this.

I should have been at work today but couldn’t get there due to the snow/weather. I am so glad I didn’t attempt to otherwise I would have sat on the A14 watching the snow and everyone else sitting there going nowhere for 5+ hours. I called my boss to tell him I wasn’t going to be in, he just said he wasn’t even attempting to go in and was working from home.

I can access my work email from home so found out that only 1 person for our department managed to get into work and that’s because his commute is a 10 minute walk! At least there isn’t a big expectation – well if there is – the company culture doesn’t seem to rub with the employees. I don’t think there were many in work and most of the senior boss are all on holiday this week anyway so whose there to complain!?

I don’t have any holiday left to use for this so I will just have to take it as unpaid leave. That’s fine, I can cope with that – my savings rates are doing well and at some point I will just pull the plug. There are plenty of days where I feel like saying “stuff the job, I’m off” because I have an FI buffer.

The day I step off the treadmill will be a great one – one to celebrate big time!