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

Progress on my goals

Boat plan

Heh.

So our fresh water pretty much gave up the ghost this weekend, which is why this post is so late.

We’ve retreated to the mother-in-law’s basement while the replacement parts are on order.

It sucks, but on the other hand my weekend plans are sorted! Yay..?

I debated simply using jerry cans/ portable water bladders, a la camping, but Lady SierraWhiskyMike decided that was a bridge too far while also working full-time in high pressure jobs.

So hiding it is.

Not every week goes well.

Taking my own lunches to work

I did really well last week and made it through all five lunches of packed meals!

OK, not the biggest thing in the world, but it’s a big thing when you don’t have to do it. Friction is a bitch.

This week has started badly, mind you. Something about spending your weekend bailing water and trying to find the source of a leak makes food shopping a secondary priority in the moment.

Hopefully will pick back up as the week progresses, because I’m saving a load of cash by doing it.

Distractions and detours

Consultancy?

So, last update I reported that there was a potential chance for me to set up as a consultant on my own.

It’s still ongoing. I’ve floated the idea a bit around potential sources of work, but not in a big way, and I’m not even close to having a refined business plan yet.

I’m going to keep chipping away at it, but if you don’t see much more of this then don’t think anything of it for now.

Bitcoin became a commodity

With the new US ETFs having now been approved for Bitcoin, it’s hard to know how I feel about it.

On the one hand: crypto has been by far the best performing asset class I’ve bought into.

On the other hand: this pretty much means that Bitcoin will die out as a currency, and there’s something sad about that. If you follow the Layered Money thesis, it could still be an underlying money in the same way that gilts and gold have both been in the past: they’re for banks, not necessarily for you the individual.

Still, something makes me think that this is something cool being ruined by the sheer amount of disposable capital available out there that can be brought to invest in bulk, like a big liquidity sponge.

Eh, it’s fun while it lasts, I appreciate the attempt at poking the financial system. I’ll keep going for a little longer.

Non-FIRE goals

My guitar rock god quest (AKA learning to play)

My guitar teacher told me that he wasn’t expecting me to get beyond first position arpeggios for now. I’m an idiot and a try-hard.

He did like Jesus of Suburbia though!

This week is major pentatonic, which I’ve learned is just minor pentatonic with different emphasis.

Yeah, I’m not really there on the music theory, I’m definitely a nerd who’s blagging it.

Fitness

Unsure how much fitness I’ll do this week now that my commute isn’t a jog to the office, but the last week went really well.

I’ll see how it goes.

Final thoughts

Well, that’s a backwards step.

On a micro level, this update is a downer. Things aren’t going well, progress seems to have stalled on all fronts.

But on a macro level: I spent two weeks running to work, proved that I can live on a boat over winter, and I now know two arpeggio shapes plus two scale positions. I’ve also learned a pretty cool song (well, mostly).

I guess the lesson here is to zoom out and accept that some things just don’t go the way you’d like. Eh, it happens.

My financial independence campaign continues!