What does it mean to afford something? How do you know what you can afford. Until examining my financial habits when I started FIRE, I didn’t give much thought to how differently the concept of ‘affording’ can be understood. I had a conversation recently with a friend about buying a luxury item. It’s something I […]
I didn’t experience lifestyle creep; I experienced lifestyle acceleration. I recently found an old pay cheque from seven years ago. It was my last pay cheque from working in the UK before I moved to Asia. I put it next to the following month’s pay cheque I received when I started my new job. I […]
One of the key components of adopting a FIRE lifestyle for my has been finding ways to spend my time which result in high enjoyment but low spending. I’d go as far to say FIRE is unrealistic and unsustainable without this key component. Although I don’t know any other FI’ers personally, I’ve seen friends and […]
I have a colleague at work who has a reputation for being cheap. Their cheapness is a bit of a running joke. People dread having this person as their ‘secret Santa’ because they will typically find some old bit of rubbish lying around the office, wrap it (often in newspaper, or cooking foil or whatever […]
The Frequency Illusion is when a particular word, idea or number seems to keep recurring in your life. I’m sure it’s happened to you before. Imagine you make a new acquaintance with an obscure name (Marmaduke for example) and despite never having met a Marmaduke before, in the following week you come across three or […]
If you look at lists of films to watch for people who want to quit their jobs I guarantee Office Space will be on almost every list. It’s the late 90’s comedy classic about men rebelling against a mindless corporate career existence. In many ways, when you begin watching, this film feels like it has […]
The summer holidays have been a mixed blessing for expat teachers the last two years. The summers are (as so many in corporate jobs have long suspected) a huge perk for teachers. It really is as great as you think it is! Getting paid a substantial amount of money to spend the summer doing very […]
There was a time when the ‘work hard, play hard’ mentality seem to be this exciting, alluring concept which spoke to me of big pay cheques, exhilarating extra-curricular pursuits and a wide social circle. Those days are firmly gone. Now, when I hear someone utter the phrase ‘work hard, play hard’ I inwardly (and sometimes […]
The basic premise of achieving FIRE always comes down to spending less than you earn. The bigger gap you can put between your income and your outgoings and the quicker you can achieve FIRE. There are two ways of making the gap bigger – earn more or spend less. Ideally, do both! The importance of […]
Less Plastic Packaging We avoid shopping in supermarkets and shop in markets instead. In Asia, supermarkets are almost always more expensive than the local wet market. If you haven’t spent much time in Asia, you might not have heard of wet markets, or if you have, you might be thinking of the infamous Wuhan market; […]