~~Welcome to the end of 2014~~
In this post I'm going to cover three things:
1. The year that was
2. December and End of Year Financial Report
3. The year that's starting
Please strap yourself in for what can only be described as a long, wordy, and (potentially) disinteresting post.
The Year That Was
At the start of the year (February), I had returned from a 3 week traveling holiday around the Orient, I was grudgingly back at work, and day dreaming of a certain girl, a few countries, escape and generally not being tied down. I had also decided to work on several areas of my life - namely being a better teacher, getting fit, doing new things, sorting out my finances, and doing less, but better.
As the year went on, I continued looking for ways to escape my, seemingly, dull life. I looked into living overseas, I looked into quitting and just fucking off for a year, I looked into working in remote Australia. Around 6 months into the year (July), I realised that I had lost touch with what motivated me at work, and outside of work, and that addressing these things would actually make me happy - that I didn't need escape, endless travel, complete disconnection, or an ideal lifestyle - all I needed was a sense of purpose, a sense of community and a more active social life. After realising this, I became a lot happier, and much better! My work was better, my choices were better, I did more, I made more friends, I learned a lot more - life was better.
I visited Indonesia, which taught me a bit more about travel. Previously, when I've traveled, I've kind of just chosen cheap destinations that speak to me, but Indonesia was just cheap - there wasn't really anything very special that I was after there. Consequently, I think I had a pretty dull time - while in other places I've sought stuff out, Indonesia I kept waiting for things to happen that never did. I came back to Australia resolved to spend more if needed (on flights, etc) to go see what really, actually, excites me.
I worked a lot at my hobbies - read 78 books, improved my photography a lot, got a lot more fit, and became a better cook.
Financially, things have probably worked out a lot better too - I invested money (finally), I tracked my expenses (very informative), I worked (sort of) on saving. I discovered that money, in of itself, doesn't motivate me, and since I haven't got any major plans for my stache, it's all a bit too abstract for me to start really pairing down my spending (impressive as it is when anyone does that).
I ended the year by getting a new job in Melbourne, relocating from country Australia to urban Australia and being a lot more social, booking a holiday to Iran, and unsuccessfully trying to ply LimeandPepper with dumpings. I'm excited to be back, am grateful for my 3 years of social, romantic and professional isolation (needed the space and time) and have already started making some small changes to my life.
All in all, 2014 was a great year - very many ups, very few downs. A lot of achievement.
December and End of Year Financial Report
Spent: $4075
Saved: $4492
Savings rate: 9.2%
Well, I assumed that I would have spent more than I earned this month: I bought plane tickets, a new camera (which account for 3/4 of this month's spending), presents for the family, etc, etc. Kind of pleased that I was in the black.
Networth
$70414
Increased by .29% - shit yes!
For the Year:
Spent: $24, 438
Saved: $49, 436
Savings Rate: 49%
So, my savings rate for the year was 49% which, given that I rarely said no to anything I wanted, is pretty good I think! About 50% works just fine for me.
Networth increased by 43%, and I'm pretty happy with that - some maths guru could probably work out that if my net worth increases by 40-50% each year than there's some interesting statistic I'm only vaguely aware of.
The Year that's Starting
There will be a few changes in 2015, some of them good, some of them bad.
Expenses in many areas (rent, transport) are definitely going up - and there's no getting around that - this is a more expensive part of the world to live in than the place I was living. I also still need to do some purchasing - a desk, a bike, etc - although I'll obviously buy second hand to make everything cheaper.
I don't know how much culling of expenses I will do - I certainly want to spend less, but I think I've got to the point where what I buy directly makes me happier (books, food, travel, etc) and I'm happy saving less to possess these things. There are always ways to reduce these expenses, so I'll be trying that.
I've found that FI isn't a motivator for me - FI has always been a method/mindset through which I make progressively more informed and appropriate choices about what I do, how I spend, who I try to be. Honestly, though, I think that I would be miserable if I were FI currently - my pursuits are often tied directly to work and while I'd love to travel and photograph the globe I've been too lonely for the past few years for that to be satisfying - maybe in the the future.
I want to continue to track my finances, and continue to reflect openly here - I think many people that have commented in this thread (and others) have helped me a lot with choices I've been wondering about, or struggling to make. I hope to see a few more of you at the Melbourne meetups, infrequent as they are.
So, what progress do I hope to make in 2015? Pretty easy:
1. Be an excellent teacher (there are several improvements that I want to make here)
2. Continue working on my hobbies (cooking, photography, writing and reading)
3. Take advantage of living in Melbourne (do more during the weekdays - which I find oddly energising)
4. Be happy
I'm also hoping to keep up many of my habits from 2014:
- Exercising
- Writing a journal most nights
- Eating well 5 days a week
- Doing something new each week
Thanks for reading my journal, I know I'm not the most exciting, influential, succinct or amazing writer on this board, and I recognise a lot of the stuff I write about isn't really that interesting, but I appreciate your views, time and effort.
Matt