I'm extremely excited to be writing my very first post, on my very first blog site. It's an idea I've been toying with for some time and finally I've decided to take the plunge. I do hope that you'll forgive me for any mistakes I may make being a complete novice at this, I'm sure there'll be stumbles along the way, so I look forward to receiving feedback and tips on how I can improve - advice will always be gratefully received.
I've decided to take a three-pronged approach for my conversation topics:
1. Goals - primarily my journey to achieving Financial Independence before I'm 50
2. Organisation Tips and Tricks - shortcuts I've found to make life easier
3. Life's Simple Pleasures - in my opinion the route to happiness can often be found in appreciating the unassuming smaller things in our lives
These are 3 areas I'm really interested in delving deeper into with you. I also feel they will give me the depth of subject matter to ensure that I can provide interesting, engaging new content. I will categorise each post I write with labels so that it's easy to find just the topics you're interested in - if for example you just want to find out my organisation tips, or just follow my story for seeking financial independence.
I will be writing a minimum of one new post per week, hopefully more. Since I'm so new to this game, I'm still uncertain on how to get this site "out there" to find people who may be interested in reading, so I suspect at least for a while I may be writing more for myself than for anyone else. If you happen to stumble across me, please do say hello and let me know what you'd be interested to hear about from me. I'd also love to hear about you and your life goals, organisation tips and thoughts on life's simplest of pleasures.
I've already got quite a few ideas lined up for future posts. I'm looking forward to telling you about:
- Goals I currently have and how I go about setting these (they change and evolve over time)
- Where I am now and where I need to be to achieve Financial Independence (essentially getting to a point where I don't have to work anymore to survive)
- Monthly updates on my income, expenditure and savings/investing progress
- Introducing frugal concepts into my spending habits to cut costs
I know that this is going to be a very exciting, sometimes challenging, but nevertheless thrilling journey for me. I really do hope you join me for the ride and enjoy what I have to say!
What topics are you most interested in hearing about from me? Is there any one of my 3 subject areas of particular interest to you? Are you also starting your Financial Independence journey now?
Hi there
ReplyDeleteI saw your comment on Huw's FFB40 blog, hunted down your new blog and thought I'd post the first ever comment! :-) (note - you got your blog 'out there' when you posted a comment on someone else's blog! Not the only way, but it's one way!)
By the way, 40 is not too late to set foot on the FI path - I was 44 when I started around 2 years ago. I should have started at 40, which was when I finally paid off my debts but I didn't come across the likes of MMM before then! Would like to be FI when I turn 55 or 56 but definitely before I turn 60!
I'd be interested in reading about the 3 topics you've mentioned, as it's always good to read UK blogs as the FI/PF blogging community is chock full of US blogs (which are interesting, but I still want to read about Brits or people who live in the UK!)
Good luck with the blog and with your goals!
Hi Weenie!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your comment - it's really great to hear from you. I see from my reading of Huw's blog that you're a regular contributor on there and that you have your own blog quietlysaving.co.uk. Rest assured this is next on my reading list to check out and follow, I'm really looking forward to visiting!
Having a goal to reach FI before 60 is a great one, particularly if you didn't start out on that road until 44, so when you succeed it will be a real achievement. I think I've managed to calculate so far that the worst case scenario for me will be retiring at 57 - I should be easily on track for that if I continue my pension savings rate as it is now. However, that's really my plan B, my focus now is shifting to working out how I can get my personal monthly savings rate higher and importantly, where's best to invest that money so that I can achieve FI much sooner than 57. I'll be writing about this soon for sure.
I feel delighted I have my first comment! Thanks again, and no doubt I'll bump into you on your blog and/or Huw's blog soon...
I look forward to reading more about your plans for FI.
ReplyDeleteOh, another way of getting your blog 'out there' is to set up a Twitter account (even if you're not a Tweeter, maybe just tweet when you post on your blog), follow various people and people will follow you. @OrganisedRedhead seems to be available - grab it quick! :-)
I've met Huw a couple of times, will see him again in March for the FIRE Escape gathering he's organised. Perhaps you may feel like attending a gathering in the future to meet up with likeminded folk!
Hey good call on the Twitter account weenie - I'm now signed up as @OrganisedRed (I couldn't have OrganisedRedhead because it was 1 character too long!
DeleteJoining a future meet up sounds like a lot of fun, it would be nice to have the opportunity to talk about FIRE related topics among like minded people - I do worry sometimes that I'm boring my nearest and dearest with talk of money/ISAs/investments etc!!
Hello and welcome to the blogging world. I'm happy to have stumbled across your site through Twitter (thanks for the follow). My advice to get traffic and be discovered is to pay it forward. I spend a lot of time visiting similar blogs and commenting frequently. I also share other bloggers posts via Facebook and Twitter. I've found that the smart bloggers start repaying the favor and driving traffic my way.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question, I'm most interested in learning how you plan on reaching financial independence in 10 years. Time goes by fast, so it will take a dedicated plan to achieve this goal, but I know you can do it. I'm looking forward to joining you on this journey. Best of luck to you.
Hi Investment Hunting!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment and for following me on twitter, it's really nice to start having conversations with others who are interested in personal finances, investing and FIRE.
That's good advice about sharing other people's blog posts on social media. I've already started visiting other FI blogs and doing as much reading as I can, and fully intend to get involved with comments. I hadn't thought of sharing posts written by others on twitter and Facebook though and I love that idea - I'd definitely like to pay it forward and help spread awareness and interest in blog posts written by others, so thanks for the tip.
With regards to achieving financial independence in 10 years, I am still working on coming up with a definitive plan which I feel could be a realistic route - and no doubt it will evolve over time. But I'll be sure to document on here my latest thoughts on how I think I will be able to achieve it - then track my progress and realign where necessary to keep things on target.
I have added your blog to my reading list so will be sure to check out your posts too.
Good luck with the blog! :) Like others, I also stumbled across your blog via your comment as well. :) As for goals, well, even though I do not have a lofty goal of FIRE, I do read and enjoy the posts about them. There is something infectious of the optimism among the FIRE blogs. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Joe,
DeleteThanks for saying hello and your well wishes. I too love reading FIRE blogs, it's nice to feel the sense of enthusiasm and track the journeys of those attempting to retire early. It's a dream I think so many people hold that it makes it interesting to follow along and wonder whether it's something that we too can achieve!
Thanks again for stopping by.