What’s new?
A dog. A bad financial decision whichever way you look at it, but worth it 😉
2019 has been quite good, albeit I would’ve quite liked the late 2018 mini-bear market to have lasted for a bit longer.
Savings rate: 50%
The actual year to date average is 53%. Pass…
… without flying colours.
I think I need to get on top of my spending again. I kind of broadly know what I’m doing, still, the savings rate is all over the place, and the spending rate is quite dreadful, for an aspiring FIRE’er that is 😉 .
Property wealth: reduce mortgage by £45k
Didn’t happen; I only managed £30k this year. I think I’ll still try to kill the mortgage ASAP, and I think it should be manageable over the next 3 to 4 years.
I recon a recession is coming, if not in 2020 then in 2021, and share prices are high at the moment. I know I’ve said no market timing, so I’ll still invest my ISA and pension allowance in tracker funds as and when these allowances roll over in the next tax year. However, any cash I have on top of that will go towards overpaying the mortgage as opposed to being invested in taxable stocks and shares accounts.
Even if I’m wrong and there’s no recession in the next couple of years, I think I’ll find it difficult to regret being mortgage free when it does eventually arrive.
Pension wealth: use up all available pension allowance
Pension is on track. Pass.
Financial wealth: Emergency Fund & Freedom Fund
The Emergency Fund is full. Pass.
Remaining ISA allowance for the current tax year £ nil. Pass.
Overall, I think my progress to financial independence is satisfactory. The freedom fund is a little light, but I don’t think I’ll manage to retire before the next bear market arrives, and so I might just as well fill my boots with cheap shares as and when it happens (see my ramblings in the Mortgage section above 😉 ).
Total net worth has increased quite a bit thanks to the financial markets. The poor returns in 2018 have reversed in 2019 … I did chuck what I could into VWRL in November and December 2018 though 🙂 .
Tax: pay no more than £47k of income tax in 2018/19 tax year
Pass.
