Another month over and I continue to prep for winter and enjoy what is left of the sunny weather.
I have been out for some trips on the back of a motorbike and also meeting up with friends. I have been trying to ignore the news as the doom and gloom continues and the media tries to invoke the bad times that they write in their stories and news articles. I am trying to avoid the worst of the news and also not look too closely at my net worth and my investment accounts as both equities and bonds are diving to depths I have not seen before. Where will this all end?
I have also started the process of trying to sell my BTL. Notice has been given to the tenant and they are currently trying to find out if they can buy the property. Given the current situation, mortgages have gone haywire and the whole market has blown up, they may not be able to afford to buy and things are not working out to plan. If I had tried to sell up last year then they would have been in a better position, but notice restrictions prevented this. The agent has valued the property and the tenant is trying to see if they can buy at that price or come back with an offer. I have not heard anything yet. They would save on stamp duty fees too but that is no gift when the mortgage rates make the monthly payments unaffordable. I think that the monthly payment would have been lower than the rent but that may not be the case now. I am just sitting on a waiting game and could really do with markets to calm down and the ability for the tenant to get a mortgage so that we both end up in a win-win situation. If not, then I will tackle the eviction process when the tenancy term runs out.
Income
I had a few small dividends this month and also some more Bond wins. I have been continuing to earn a little bit of pin money on online platforms and also spent a week house-sitting which included pets so out walking dogs for a week The weather was good and I managed to see new countryside and meet a few people while out and have a chat. Learnt some interesting facts about the area and saw some sites. This cash also helped to add to my income this month, otherwise a bit lean.
Expenses
Just my normal living costs and some costs for days out. I am trying to keep costs down and find free things to do and just spend on food and drink where necessary. I have a few large expenses to cover next month. It will also be interesting to see how this energy support is going to work and if I can save and reduce my energy bills any more than I already have. The standing charge is a killer and unfair when we don’t get any benefit from it, just paying for green levies and failed companies which I think is unfair. This has almost doubled my monthly cost before I even use any energy.
I balance my spending with my earnings to try and keep within passive income levels. I can do no more than that.
Month End Summary
My net worth is down, yet another month where my net worth has dropped in value and although dividends are being paid I am now -11% down from last year. I am not sure I will end the year breaking even. Pretty much every month has been in the red this year, worse that 2020! At the moment I am now level with 2019 and have lost all the growth from 2020 and 2021. Terrible situation to look at. If I look at the cumulative growth, I have +8% growth since I started my FIRE journey. So the average is still positive at the moment but seeing a double digit loss is not good fun or encouraging.
Sparkle Bee's Journey to FI 