To Boldly Go...
When I became serious about financial independence, I decided to see what I could do in order to speed things along. I decided I'd try five years of restraint on my spending, to help fund the investing project.
This "five year mission" began with opting to cut back on travel spending.
Travel had always been my spending vice, and I like to think that spending on experiences is more valuable than spending on stuff. So it formed a big part of my lifestyle inflation.
I didn't want to suddenly switch to zero travel, but I needed to cut down on the long-haul trips. I decided to step down my trips, from long-haul to short-haul, and from international to domestic. This coincided with getting an electric car, making UK trips very cheap. It was also a good fit with my environmental values - I wanted to fly less.
It also coincided with the Covid pandemic happening within a year, which among its many effects did at least make it a whole lot easier to cut out spending on travel.
It also coincided with the Covid pandemic happening within a year, which among its many effects did at least make it a whole lot easier to cut out spending on travel.
This led to some great trips in the British Isles. Cornwall, Inverness, the Isles of Scilly, the Isle of Man, Aberdeenshire, and various trips to the West Highlands. In particular we set about visiting the Hebrides, which we'd previously dabbled at, and so far I've been to Eigg, Rum, Canna, Muck, Mull, Staffa, Iona, Skye, Raasay, Coll, Tiree, Colonsay, Seil, Lismore, Kererra, and Easdale.
This plan was also helped by the fact that we had a holiday home on the edge of the Lake District. Well, to start with. It was great as an overnight stop for the Scottish trips, but as a destination the overhead of travel to get there began adding up, as I was still working at the time. Eventually I took stock, decided that the other members of my family were using it less than they had been, and opted to sell it and throw the proceeds at the FI fund.
I eventually "threw everything including the kitchen sink" at investing. Money left outside, uninvested, became an opportunity cost. This served me well - we had some good investing years and the time in the market sped me to FI.
This plan was also helped by the fact that we had a holiday home on the edge of the Lake District. Well, to start with. It was great as an overnight stop for the Scottish trips, but as a destination the overhead of travel to get there began adding up, as I was still working at the time. Eventually I took stock, decided that the other members of my family were using it less than they had been, and opted to sell it and throw the proceeds at the FI fund.
I eventually "threw everything including the kitchen sink" at investing. Money left outside, uninvested, became an opportunity cost. This served me well - we had some good investing years and the time in the market sped me to FI.
How Bad Was It?
It wasn't bad at all! I didn't miss flying. I enjoyed travelling on ferries. The destinations were every bit as rewarding as the places I used to visit.
My other economies, on things like eating out, are good habits that I'll continue. My preference is for keeping cars for longer, generally spending less as I have seen the value of leaving a pound invested where it can quietly compound.
Now that I've reached my goal, some of these frugal habits are ingrained and won't easily change. My environmental concerns are unchanged, so I will continue to try to fly less. If there's a train or bus option, I'll strongly consider it. If there's a choice between closer or more distant trips, I'll err toward the closer. And I am dead set against jetting around for brief visits - a journey needs to be defrayed across more days in the destination, which fits with retirement and a preference for slower travel.
Your Five Year Mission
You could choose your own similar mission. Decide "it's only five years" and slash your lifestyle spending in pursuit of the goal.
Don't be so severe that you make yourself miserable - but you may be surprised at what you don't miss. If you are in a pattern of endless hastily-grabbed European city-breaks to stave off the burnout, you may find that you enjoy switching things down a few gears and going walking in Wales instead.
A downshift may permanently change some of your habits, or it may be a sacrifice that you end after "time's up". That's perfectly fine. You will have done your portfolio a lot of good. Those savings will remain invested, compounding. Throttling back on the saving regime may eventually be the right thing to do, and by doing your heavy saving early on you will have maximised your time in the market.
Good luck whatever you choose to do.
It wasn't bad at all! I didn't miss flying. I enjoyed travelling on ferries. The destinations were every bit as rewarding as the places I used to visit.
My other economies, on things like eating out, are good habits that I'll continue. My preference is for keeping cars for longer, generally spending less as I have seen the value of leaving a pound invested where it can quietly compound.
Now that I've reached my goal, some of these frugal habits are ingrained and won't easily change. My environmental concerns are unchanged, so I will continue to try to fly less. If there's a train or bus option, I'll strongly consider it. If there's a choice between closer or more distant trips, I'll err toward the closer. And I am dead set against jetting around for brief visits - a journey needs to be defrayed across more days in the destination, which fits with retirement and a preference for slower travel.
Your Five Year Mission
You could choose your own similar mission. Decide "it's only five years" and slash your lifestyle spending in pursuit of the goal.
Don't be so severe that you make yourself miserable - but you may be surprised at what you don't miss. If you are in a pattern of endless hastily-grabbed European city-breaks to stave off the burnout, you may find that you enjoy switching things down a few gears and going walking in Wales instead.
A downshift may permanently change some of your habits, or it may be a sacrifice that you end after "time's up". That's perfectly fine. You will have done your portfolio a lot of good. Those savings will remain invested, compounding. Throttling back on the saving regime may eventually be the right thing to do, and by doing your heavy saving early on you will have maximised your time in the market.
Good luck whatever you choose to do.
Want to read more of my ideas? I have a new book out - The Teen Wealth Challenge. Or other books here.
Or you may prefer my FIRE series for beginners.
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