We’re about half way through 2022 and felt it was about time to reflect on our manifesto from last year.

1. Live intentionally
Still relevant, still the most important to us. Not following the crowd, but thinking about our own intentions (with regards to spending money or time) before doing something has been on our minds recently. Shortbread decided that a lavish leaving party for a colleague was a ludicrous amount of money to spend and decided against attending. I noticed how frustrated my colleagues were at a restaurant visit that I decided not to drink with them. It has felt empowering to make decisions about what was important to us and to stick with it.

It hasn’t been all deprivation and avoidance. We have some very large private healthcare costs coming up in the next year or so, despite having the option to use the very cheap government hospital. However, the peace of mind we have knowing the service we will get out of it outweighs the price tag. We have no regrets committing to this – it’s a case of weighing up what actually matters and budgeting for it. Our decision will have absolutely no other impact on our savings rate or lifestyle.

2. Live as far below your means as you can; save and invest the rest.
Sometimes this can conflict with the first point in the manifesto and comes across as a little judge-y and tone deaf. The “as you can” part of the statement is something we have been considering. We have approached this by setting clear financial plans every quarter. This helps us to define “as you can,” and leaves some flexibility. This might be a part of the manifesto we edit in the future, but the wording allows some flexibility as it is. Perhaps adding “review this every so often” might help making this less of an aggressive imperative.

3. Buy it for life (but you are not what you own)
The movement of other expats has us thinking about this, and we might consider rewording this to “ensure you use what you own.” We are not particularly attached to possessions in our apartment and we accept that it is likely to be impractical in the future when we decide to emigrate somewhere else. We have been selling various things that have not been in use recently and having the money instead of the object taking up space has been liberating. That said, buying a quality item you don’t have to replace is still important and worth spending a little more on.

On reflection, We are going to change this item to “Focus on quality, not price, and ensure you use everything you own.”

4. Live lightly enough to be flexible
No change – and definitely helpful when we moved! We are still on a trajectory of reducing our possessions rather than increasing them. Also, with several colleagues looking to return to their home counties, we realise just how fortunate we are to be where we are. Having the elements of our manifesto guide our choices is made infinitely easier by having budgeting breathing room. Getting yourself into a position where you are paid as much as possible for whatever career you are involved in is a worthy goal and being flexible and light helps this.

5. Learn to do it yourself
This has been on our minds recently, particularly not outsourcing chores and paying for convenience. We have been good at meal planning recently and ensuring that there is always a prepped frozen meal on the off chance we are too tired or pushed for time to cook. We think that personal discipline is a great skill and habit to cultivate.

Overall
Our manifesto has largely held up, but we have tweaked one element to better represent our experiences. On reflection, some of the points can be contradictory sometimes. However, having “live intentionally” as the number one point somewhat overrules all the others and encourages reflection and good decision making.

The manifesto can be found on our ‘about’ page here.