Will's journal
Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2016 5:58 am
Hi all,
I'm quite new to this forum, but have been living frugally since multiple years and have plans to get FI early since two. I have been tracking my expenses ever since.
The reason I am starting this journal is to motivate myself, and it's always good to get some feedback if I experience difficulty with following my plan. Also, it's part of my new year's resolution of 2017 to start and maintain an journal here, so let's start!
Who am I:
- I am a guy of 31 who lives in one of the bigger cities in the Netherlands
- I have a good job in a technology company (only a half year contract, but I hope it will get extended)
- I live together with my girlfriend and a cat about 45 minutes from work, I usually travel by train, sometimes by bike
- Cycling is my hobby, I am planning to do some big tours this year (I do try to keep the costs in check, which usually works relatively well)
What is my plan:
- Become FI before I turn 40
- I will do this by saving at least €1500 per month and investing a big part of it. I currently have a net worth of around €80k of which about 50k is invested in a buy and hold stock portfolio.
- Maybe continue working/working very part-time (one or two days per week), I don't know yet
What could derail or change my plan:
- My girlfriend is convinced she wants to become pregnant quite soon (I'm willing to get children too, though I have the feeling I'm not yet ready for it) Even though I know it is well possible to spend a limited amount of money on children, especially if they're still young, this is going to be a big factor. First of all, this will either require daycare or one of us staying home. I'm guessing the most likely situation is that we would both stay home one day per week (she has a good job as well). I might be able to work from home but for her this would be a bit more difficult. Three days of daycare is still a lot though. Another good option would be to find another couple which also have a baby with which we could take turns in staying at home. In this way it would be possible to reduce the number of daycare days to only one. Anyway, getting a child would certainly impact my plan in any case.
- We might want to buy a house. This should in theory not impact my plans, but it could since buying a house would likely increase our monthly costs (we're now paying a monthly rent of about €700, which is quite ok for a big city in the Netherlands)
- My girlfriend is relatively frugal. I have been trying to get her fully on board for FI, but she has been doubting. On the one hand, she is a natural saver and supportive. On the other hand, she thinks I'm too extreme, and sometimes spends money on shopping too much in my opinion. In discussions, she sometimes confuses me not wanting to spend money (especially on material things) with greed. I guess I need to work on the way I'm communicating with her on this topic. At the moment, we kept our finances completely separated, though we do have a shared bank account for rent/groceries.
My stats:
I have been tracking my net worth since februari this year.
For now, I'm considering to be FI as soon as I reach 250k. This number will mean that I have saved 20 times my yearly spending. I know those metrics are not considered very safe, but I am not planning on completely quitting work when I turn FI. Also, in the Netherlands there are some benefits for retired people, like a state pension after you turn 67, and very good and cheap healthcare insurance which will require less of a buffer than most people from the US need.
I will post some images of my net worth and income/spending of 2016 in a next post. For now I hope to keep myself motivated with my journal. I welcome any advice!
I'm quite new to this forum, but have been living frugally since multiple years and have plans to get FI early since two. I have been tracking my expenses ever since.
The reason I am starting this journal is to motivate myself, and it's always good to get some feedback if I experience difficulty with following my plan. Also, it's part of my new year's resolution of 2017 to start and maintain an journal here, so let's start!
Who am I:
- I am a guy of 31 who lives in one of the bigger cities in the Netherlands
- I have a good job in a technology company (only a half year contract, but I hope it will get extended)
- I live together with my girlfriend and a cat about 45 minutes from work, I usually travel by train, sometimes by bike
- Cycling is my hobby, I am planning to do some big tours this year (I do try to keep the costs in check, which usually works relatively well)
What is my plan:
- Become FI before I turn 40
- I will do this by saving at least €1500 per month and investing a big part of it. I currently have a net worth of around €80k of which about 50k is invested in a buy and hold stock portfolio.
- Maybe continue working/working very part-time (one or two days per week), I don't know yet
What could derail or change my plan:
- My girlfriend is convinced she wants to become pregnant quite soon (I'm willing to get children too, though I have the feeling I'm not yet ready for it) Even though I know it is well possible to spend a limited amount of money on children, especially if they're still young, this is going to be a big factor. First of all, this will either require daycare or one of us staying home. I'm guessing the most likely situation is that we would both stay home one day per week (she has a good job as well). I might be able to work from home but for her this would be a bit more difficult. Three days of daycare is still a lot though. Another good option would be to find another couple which also have a baby with which we could take turns in staying at home. In this way it would be possible to reduce the number of daycare days to only one. Anyway, getting a child would certainly impact my plan in any case.
- We might want to buy a house. This should in theory not impact my plans, but it could since buying a house would likely increase our monthly costs (we're now paying a monthly rent of about €700, which is quite ok for a big city in the Netherlands)
- My girlfriend is relatively frugal. I have been trying to get her fully on board for FI, but she has been doubting. On the one hand, she is a natural saver and supportive. On the other hand, she thinks I'm too extreme, and sometimes spends money on shopping too much in my opinion. In discussions, she sometimes confuses me not wanting to spend money (especially on material things) with greed. I guess I need to work on the way I'm communicating with her on this topic. At the moment, we kept our finances completely separated, though we do have a shared bank account for rent/groceries.
My stats:
I have been tracking my net worth since februari this year.
For now, I'm considering to be FI as soon as I reach 250k. This number will mean that I have saved 20 times my yearly spending. I know those metrics are not considered very safe, but I am not planning on completely quitting work when I turn FI. Also, in the Netherlands there are some benefits for retired people, like a state pension after you turn 67, and very good and cheap healthcare insurance which will require less of a buffer than most people from the US need.
I will post some images of my net worth and income/spending of 2016 in a next post. For now I hope to keep myself motivated with my journal. I welcome any advice!