Hey everyone, hope you are all well. I just wanted to do a quick mini update on some good news this month!
£250,000 Base FI Target Hit!!!
I unexpectedly reached £250,000 in my portfolio whilst I was away in Ireland. I did this on Saturday 16th September, a date which will hopefully stay burnt in my mind now for a long time… well I added it to my calendar in case I did forget when it happened! I was sitting on my hotel bed whilst my partner was still getting ready to go out. There I was happily doing some of my finances where I still record what I spend and I thought I would go check my balances as I had heard there was a bit of a growth spurt in some markets recently. I logged on and to my utter shock, there it was – £250,854.13 was the new total!
I had an amazing feeling of excitement and joy for at least 15 minutes where I couldn’t stop smiling and I guess I was just in a bit of disbelief too that I had reached that milestone as I kept saying to myself ‘I can’t believe it…’. It was such a major symbolic target, it was after all my original Target FI amount which I have long since abandoned but it was still no doubt a major success to me personally. It kind of secured a base FI at 4% where all my bills were paid for, for the next 20 years or so, it felt pretty major to me as I had been aiming for it for 9 years – when I first started my pursuit of FI. It had come only 9 months later than hoped for after my Project 2235 but that wasn’t bad considering the bear market we have had for a while now.
On that night, I thought I would have an extra mini celebration but I didn’t want to make it all about that achievement as we were on holiday in Ireland after all and it wasn’t about my target being hit. I knew I would need to plan something separate to actually mark it properly but it did make the night that bit better! Walking to the hotel in the heavy rain getting soaked after coming back from Bad Bobs in Temple bar at 2am couldn’t take away my frequently occurring smile! I had done it, my god I had actually gone and done it!!!
Celebration plans
So when I got back from Ireland, I planned a lovely night stay in Liverpool at a hotel with a jacuzzi hot tub (was an amazing deal), some wine and and evening of partying to mark hitting £250,000. I had to say the number again, as it just sounds amazing still. It’s odd because that’s the amount most scratch card top winnings would be and that’s what I’ve essentially got…still makes me smile widely in gratitude for where I am, still pinching myself really. This will wear off I know…I am making the most of it for now while it lasts!
Covid 2 – The Reckoning
I started to feel rough not long after I returned from Ireland and I had a really bad sore throat and weakness on the second night back. The following day I was much worse and I did a Covid test just to check which of course was positive! I am not surprised with how much it’s going round at the moment and I had of course been close to hundreds of people whilst in Dublin so it was almost inevitable I guess, you were like sardines in some pubs.
It has affected me quite badly this time and I have even had delirium and confusion in the first couple of nights. The headaches, fatigue, cough and watery eyes have been very hard to deal with at the same time. This is real man Flu territory! I have had to take three days off work even though I can work from home and I haven’t been off work in years…
You probably guessed it, I have had to cancel my celebration plans as a result and I couldn’t get the same deal for alternative dates unfortunately so I’ve had to make some slight changes but it will still happen and I will report back in my next update how it all went! I have thrown crazy golf into the mix on the day we come back as well for a bit of fun.
So, How did you mark any major milestones along the FI path, did you just have a few beers and a takeaway? A trip to Paris? Do nothing and just carry on?
Love to hear your thoughts as always. Thanks for reading!
TFJ
Congratulations again and hope you’ve recovered from the C-bomb by now. I think 250k was my first goal as well but by the time I got there I realized it was way too low because of family to support, so there was no celebration to mark the occasion. Although I’m sure I mentioned it on the blog 🙂 It’s awesome to know that can generate 10k/year in totally passive income for you. I need to actually look at my pot as have not looked for 2 years or so. I might be pleasantly surprised at what kind of passive income… Read more »
Hey TFS, Thanks for the comment as always bud. Yeah your post from 2013 stands out to me in looking at where you could budget for £10,000 a year. It’s funny as this is more or less the same time I first looked at a similar goal to you and set that £250,000 as a target to be hit. I was reading a lot of ERE (Early retirement extreme) at the time and I hated my job so it was something I prized highly at the time – get there as quick as possible! Even though it’s long since been… Read more »
Congrats on your massive achievement and sorry to hear that you’ve had to temporarily postpone your celebrations due to Covid – hope you are better now. I didn’t celebrate when I hit my £250k milestone (in Aug 21) as I was about to take a chunk out (around 11%) to buy my house. The markets have conspired against everyone and I haven’t been able to build my fund back up in two years to cover this gap, which I was expecting by this time, so that’s a little disappointing. I’d like to think I’ll hit the milestone again next year,… Read more »
Thanks weenie. I am feeling a lot better but still Covid positive at the moment. Yeah I know what you mean about the markets over the last couple of years. We were certainly due a reality check and that’s what we have been given. It hasn’t shaken my confidence in the slightest though in the long term plan, I am genuinely enjoying investing as I know I am dollar cost averaging it in the right direction. I look forward very much to hearing your future blog post saying that you have hit it again! All the best. TFJ.