Thoughts and reflections from the past week or so from my own financial independence campaign.

Progress on my goals

Boat plan – we bought a car

Despite having been car free for a long time now, moving on board the boat while trying to maintain a double life as regular desk jockeys means we needed a car.

Bugger.

We tried looking at public transport options, cargo bikes and taxis, but nothing in the Channel Islands is close enough to reliable for us to make it work. The cargo bike option was close, but ironically there are so many cars on the road in such a small space that cycling with decreased manoeuvrability just isn’t safe here.

This isn’t just my assessment. Last year, we had an e-bike hire scheme (like the Boris bike scheme) that ran as a pilot. The company pulled out at the end of last year because the infrastructure was so poor that it was dangerous for cyclists.

The e-bikes were astonishingly popular, so it’s unlikely that this was a cover-up for the scheme being generally unprofitable.

However, a few legal claims later, the company decided – like I have now – that the Channel Islands are just too dangerous for all but the most aggressive cyclists. Not a place for a cargo bike.

So yeah, we sucked it up and bought a car.

A reasonably priced car for a reasonable FI campaign

As we’re going to leave the vehicle to the open air in a parking spot near our floating home, we had a few criteria for any purchase:

  • Cheap to buy: we set a budget of £4,000
  • Cheap to insure – but we’re mainly concerned with third parties rather than the vehicle
  • Cheap to repair, since the salty sea air isn’t healthy for metal machines
  • Able to carry us and our dog.

In the end, we bought a 2008 Ford Focus hatchback, at the princely sum of £2,995. She’d been regularly serviced, the cam belt has recently been changed, everything seems to have been repaired or maintained and all systems work. Not bad for a 15-year-old car.

The Ford Focus was a remarkably popular car and in that age bracket was one of the bestsellers in the UK, so getting parts is generally quite easy and affordable.

An inspiring drive? No. Obviously not. But she fits the criteria, and she’ll do for a couple of years until she completely dies. We intend to run her until she’s irreparable, and have pretty much decided that this is £3,000 we’ll never recover.

Having the vehicle will also help us square away the final tasks that our outstanding so that we can move aboard, which is quite important. I want to be living aboard by December.

Payday!

I got paid again!

As with every month, my investments have automatically been filtered off from my chequing/ current account. It’s a simple and effective solution.

Distractions and detours

Bought the guitar amp…

Last week I mentioned that I was looking at a Positive Grid Spark Mini guitar amp (that’s an affiliate link). Well, after wrestling with the FI Guilt, I used my discretionary/ slush fund pot to buy it.

Not going to lie: it sounds amazing, miles and miles beyond my Blackstar Fly 3, which is now on Facebook Marketplace.

On the one hand, I don’t want to encourage over-the-top spending on this blog. At £190, this was quite a chunky purchase. However, importantly, it was an intentional purchase and I’m quite happy with it.

This week on Netflix…

Lady SierraWhiskyMike and I watched One Piece, which is an adaptation from a manga or anime (I don’t actually know which) with the same name about a wannabe pirate captain on the search for an executed “King of the Pirates’” treasure. It’s a light-hearted, easy watch, but there are lots of nods to the anime/manga style and that can be a little jarring to start with.

Verdict: worth a try, but you’ll know straight away if the style is too weird for you. We enjoyed it as an easy bit of downtime viewing.

Non-FIRE goals

My guitar rock god quest (AKA learning to play)

We didn’t press on with Don’t Look Back in Anger. My teacher has decided that Cigarettes and Alcohol might be better instead. Oasis isn’t really my thing, but I don’t want to be trapped playing only metal music, so I’ll go along with it.

I’m missing my next lesson as I need to attend a work seminar back in the UK next week, but that gives me a bit more practice time.

Fitness

My swimming membership at the local leisure centre has come to an end, so I’ve signed up for a full centre membership and this week went back to barbell training.

Desk life really does a number of the lower body! My upper body seems fine, but the squats and deadlifts have made my hamstrings particularly tender. I can only associate this with spending too much time sat down at a desk with my legs at right angles.

Ouch!

Hopefully my legs will re-condition now that I’m returning to lifting.

Final thoughts

I’ve been paid and paid straight into my FIRE pot, but it has been an expensive week: car purchase and guitar amp purchases aren’t exactly cheap!

However, I don’t feel too bad. Well, not too guilty. These were planned purchases in line with my goals, so I’m fairly content.

My fitness costs have increased, but I don’t often begrudge fitness expenses, and the overall cost comes to something like 1% of my take-home pay, which is a worthwhile investment.

My financial independence campaign continues!