All in PocketSmith
In a recent blog post, I rebalanced our investment portfolio; this time, I’m rebalancing my life. I resigned from my PAYE job. I’m another step closer to early retirement, and I’m VERY excited about it! I always looked forward to working on Wednesday and Thursday each week, and deciding to leave a job I enjoy, plus giving up $20,000 a year, has been challenging.
My latest bright idea was for our whānau of three to spend the month of July earning more money while spending less of it. Call it a Financial Reset. Why? When the general societal vibe is that we are all in a rough state economically, it is easy for an individual to feel powerless. Although optimistic by nature, I’m not immune to this feeling of gloom. But instead of accepting that we are in a financial crisis, I’d prefer to take the bull by the horns and own our situation.
I'm hosting a giveaway to celebrate The Happy Saver’s 8th Anniversary. This isn't just any ordinary giveaway. With her creative flair, my daughter made a paper mache piggy bank way back in 2021. It’s taken three long years of her diligently filling it up, and now it’s time to break it open and see just how much she’s saved. To enter to win one of the prizes, take a wild guess at the total amount inside the piggy bank.
It’s standard for me to get at least one blunt email saying I’m wrong about a financial decision or purchase I’ve made on behalf of my whānau. Generally, the reasoning given will be based on one aspect, often a technical math issue, ignoring all the other points I mentioned. I used to panic that they might be right and that I might have this money stuff entirely and utterly wrong. But I no longer do. Instead, I take their comments with a grain of salt and consider that it’s probably them who are wrong. Although it takes time, often I’ll research their argument and find that they are.
This year, we are excited to give away a bunch of goodies to the fabulous people who subscribe to The Happy Saver. Thank you so much for your support throughout 2023. Nothing says CHRISTMAS like a book on good money management, some budgeting software or buying shares; am I right? Indeed, I am!
I was recently writing about Mr. Money Mustache (MMM) for a future blog article on PocketSmith’s blog. One of their customers said they liked the ethos of MMM, but they were still determining if they could get on board with the frugal lengths he goes to save money. They got the point that the more you invest, the greater your future opportunities are, but they were not yet prepared to sacrifice now to make it happen. No sooner had I finished my article than the perfect example of frugality in action landed on my doorstep. That’s what I want to share today.
One of the critical behaviours that financially independent Kiwis have in common is that they track their net worth monthly. I’ve “properly” tracked the net worth of my whānau since 2015. I’ve watched it grow from $650,000 to $1,400,000. Tracking my family's net worth has been the most helpful tool in determining whether all the mahi I’m putting into my family's finances is paying off. I want you to track your net worth each month, and this blog post intends to show you how. Like all of my financial behaviours, I keep things relatively basic.
In my last blog post, where I was giving away a bunch of books on personal finance, I gave you two ways to enter. You could either just click enter and get on with your day, or you could take a moment to answer my wide-open question, “Tell me in 100 words or less how you have improved your financial situation”. I honestly thought most people would just enter to win the books without taking the time to write a response. Gosh, was I wrong! My inbox quickly filled up with over 260 fantastic responses, and I’m sharing all of them below. Yep, all of them.
I wanted to share the exact costs of a holiday we took in January of this year when we went to Australia and took our first-ever cruise. I went in hugely sceptical of cruising, but I absolutely loved it. We holiday differently from some: Our holiday is fully paid for before we leave. Paying in advance is a far more relaxing way to travel, indeed, the ONLY way to travel, in my opinion.
