I’m a person on a campaign for financial independence who lives in the UK.
One thing you’ll note about this page is that I’m giving away very little information.
It doesn’t make sense to advertise myself on a blog about FIRE when I’m still in employment! Nothing says “good employee” like “writes a blog about not needing to work anymore“.
That said, you can probably know a bit about me. There’s little chance of a future employer stumbling upon this blog unless they approve of FIRE and are reading about it themselves.
I previously worked in a public sector job. I have since career changed to work in a legal job. Why? FIRE. Law potentially pays a lot more, which fits into my FIRE strategy by making my time more valuable. However, I’m still a trainee and it’s entirely possible that I might change my mind and do something else.
I wasn’t always into financial independence. The weird thing about me is that I didn’t start being interested in financial independence until my thirties.
I graduated from my first degree in 2009 straight into the economic slump of post-Lehman Brothers collapse Britain. Not a great time to be a graduate. I completely empathise with the generation Z problem of getting work: can’t get a job without experience, but can’t get experience without a job…
After a decade in a safe public-sector job, I realised that I had nothing to show for the work I’d put in:
- My partner and I had bought a house, sure, but it was run-down and sucked all our money into renovating it.
- Our savings, such as they were, made us a piddly 1% interest. They never seemed to grow.
- We each had a car that depreciated like crazy and that bled us dry on running costs. We eventually got rid of cars completely and I don’t miss them.
What were we doing? We both worked full-time jobs that demanded unpaid overtime commitments. Our money came in, got lost in the lifestyle we needed to sustain our jobs… which then meant we needed to maintain the jobs to maintain the lifestyle. A cyclical process that didn’t make us any happier for it.
When you say it out loud, it sounds stupid. That’s because it is.
I hate doing stupid things that aren’t fun. That’s when I started to research investments and passive income. The more I read, the more I learned that I wasn’t alone.
That’s why I’ve started this financial independence campaign.
I think financial independence is achievable. I’m going to give it a damn good go.
About my “skills”
Since I started this journey, I have gained a masters degree in commercial legal practice and a diploma in financial advising. The more I learn, the more tools I’ll have at my disposal during my financial independence campaign.
I’m going to stress that I’m not a financial advisor. Maybe after the DipFA I might career change again and become one, but I’m definitely not one right now.
The masters degree taught me about things like Earnings Per Share, the nature of equity and debt securities, corporate law, financial regulation and how to value companies. That said, I’m no expert, you should double-check everything I write with some other sources.
Don’t put all your faith in some random on the internet.
About me… after FIRE
It’s really common for other people to ask financial independence wannabes what they actually plan to do after achieving FIRE.
My partner and I currently plan to live on a boat and sail the world.
No, really.
When we’ve achieved financial independence, we plan to live as digital nomads and do whatever-we-do through 4G antennae off the coast somewhere warm.
Maybe we’ll change our minds, but it’s a cool dream, right?
I’m aiming to achieve financial independence in 10 years. Will I make it? Who knows! The great thing about FIRE is that if you miss your target, you’re at least well off. Sounds like there’s nothing to lose…