UNCOMMON HOUSE

FIRE Update 8: January

January 7, 2021 No Comments

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is ian-dooley-dj7bwa-gwks-unsplash.jpg

We’re already well into January, and that means that the paycheck has rolled in, the investments are transferring and I have to look through my finances anyway. It is the perfect time to review my journey and just keep myself accountable. I am still keeping up, even if life is a bit overwhelming at the moment!

What happened this month?

Christmas happened! It was great seeing my family and I enjoyed the time there, but I also still have tons of studying and work to do, as the exams are just around the corner. So the grind is still on, but I am staying optimistic. Better to focus on my studies than worrying too much about my applications for further study. Lol.

Savings

My general/apartment savings are currently $6,270.
I have done some calculations concerning the next year of my life. My primary objective is to have a sufficient safety net that would cover living costs during a Master’s degree, and still have money leftover for a deposit and moving costs. My goal is, therefore, to have $8,250 in that account, and then I’ve decided to focus somewhere else. I want to build up a travel fund and my investments further, and then pay down debt a bit more aggressively. I’ve written some smaller goals along the way that I am working towards.

Investments

My current investments are $5,200 out of my $33,000 goal.
My net worth is $-48,000.

Debt repayment

My current tuition fee debt is $56,634.

Books I’ve read and texts I’ve written

All I am reading for now is just academic stuff. 🙁

Goals for next month

My goal is to survive exams and deadlines. I am also pulling out a bit more from my closet and shoes to sell (it is highly addictive once you get going), so I will not have as much of an overflow as before. Since I know I am moving in six months, I know I need to downsize as much as possible.

How is your January going, and how did December go? Do you have any goals?

Personal

The Great Closet Clean-up: Results

December 11, 2020 No Comments

So I did as promised: I emptied out my entire wardrobe and drawers and put all the clothes on my bed. Before I emptied everything, I thought this wouldn’t take super long. I thought that those people on the Marie Kondo tidying-up show were way more extreme than me. Granted, I don’t have several closets filled with clothes, I have quite limited space. But I have somehow still managed to accumulate way more items than I had imagined. It all got quite real when everything was lying on my bed. Here is how it looked:

Good thing that you are supposed to put it on your bed, because then I couldn’t go to sleep before I had finished, haha. Overwhelming as it was, it was also quite interesting to get a complete overview of my wardrobe. For the first time in years, I knew exactly what I owned.

How I sorted my clothes

Again, I have very limited space to work on, but I divided my clothes into four piles:

Keep: I love this item, I wear it a lot. My brain has to go “instant YES”.
Sell: I don’t wear this and I am happy to part with it. It is in a good condition and I think I absolutely can sell it.
Donate: I really can’t sell this, but it is too nice to be turned into rags.
Maybe: I need to try this own and see how it fits, I need some more time to think.

Once I had divided all my clothes into these piles, I hung the items I wanted to keep back in the closet, and then I started trying on the “maybe” pile. It was a lot, but having that option helped me get through the first rough categorisation quicker. Once I tried on most of these items, I either remember how well they fit me, or the exact opposite. Most of them went to the sell pile.

So how many items are getting sold or donated?

The total number of clothes I removed from my wardrobe was 73.
That is absolutely crazy to me because I am by no means a huge shopper. But when you aren’t aware of how much clothes you have, it is easy to forget about drawers, or keep items that don’t fit you perfectly “just because”. Now I know what I have left, and seeing the piles of clothes to sell or donate grow, was a nice wake-up call. It also effectively curbed my need for shopping – now I know what my wardrobe needs, and where I by no means should add anything else.

The total number of clothes I am donating is 22.
Still too many for my taste, but I am glad that I’ve taken good care of my clothes and steered clear of too much fast fashion, so that the majority of the 71 items are easier to sell. I also removed outworn socks, underwear, etc., but I didn’t count those in.

The total number of clothes I am selling is 51.
This was the biggest shock for me. I am quite good at selling items I don’t use and return things I’ve bought online, but the fact that I still had over fifty pieces of clothes to sell was mind-blowing to me. And an insane amount of money. If I sold all of these items for just $13 a piece, I’d have more than a month’s rent. I might not be able to sell all of them, and hopefully I’ll get more for some of the more expensive items, but it really was quite thought-provoking.

So yeah. Even for a mindful spender that has gone on several shopping bans, I was able to dig out this much. It makes me think about how much money I’ve wasted, or not gotten enough use out of. I also realised that I had a lot of clothes from a job in retail, that I never used due to the bad memories tied to it. For the money I did spend, however, I could have invested more, travelled more, paid off more debt. It is easy to spiral into this sort of thinking, so I am trying to remember that there would be no use in keep holding on to these things. I can recoup some of the money, and now I can start fresh. It really does feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders, now that I don’t have to think any more about the piles of clothes hiding in drawers and in the back of the wardrobe. I know exactly how much I have and need – that is quite liberating, and it was worth the many hours of sorting.
Another side effect is also that I now assess my wardrobe much more critically. I have my eye on a few things that might be nearing the end of their life or that must be sold at some point. But at least I only own clothes now that I enjoy wearing.

Photo by James Hollingworth on Unsplash

financial freedom

FIRE Update 7: December

December 6, 2020 No Comments

We’re already well into December, and that means that the paycheck has rolled in, the investments are transferring and I have to look through my finances anyway. It is the perfect time to review my journey and just keep myself accountable.

What happened this month?

So, I almost skipped this update for two months straight. This has mainly been due to a combination of tons of deadlines, work and the fact that I’ve had to dip into my savings, which means that the number hasn’t looked all that impressive to me, to be honest. But we are still heading in the right direction, so I just have to keep my head held high.

As you already know, I’ve done a huge closet clean-out, so that meant extra money for me, but it has also taken a long time to upload all these things for sale. That’s just how it is. I am also really swamped with work, so I am honestly just looking forward to getting through with all the work and really enjoy my Christmas.

Savings

My general/apartment savings are currently $5,431.
Slow but steady increase. I had to dip into the savings account last month, so we’re rebuilding it and perhaps aiming for $9,800-10,000 instead of $6,000. I do want some extra cushion, since I am not sure what life will throw at me once I have to choose a place to study for my Master’s.

Investments

My current investments are $4,770 out of my $33,000 goal.
My net worth is $-45,689.
I’ve increased my investments the last two months, so we’re picking up speed, which is really nice. I’ve accumulated some more debt, but this is used to pay off my tuition fee loan, which is a more expensive loan – so it is a calculated risk. It will all be OK in the end.

Debt repayment

My current tuition fee debt is $54,634.

Books I’ve read and texts I’ve written

I’ve read “Cant Hurt Me” by David Goggins and I am currently reading “The Alter Ego Effect”. It will be a slow progress though, because I need to channel all my energy into my dissertation.

Goals for next month

My goal is to finish off those stupid deadlines and get on track with my dissertation. Meanwhile, thanks to the wake-up call from my closet clean-out, I am also in a mindset of saving money and squirrel as much away as possible. Hopefully that will translate into more savings and investment… and debt payoff as well.

How is your December going, and how did November go? Do you have any goals?

Personal

The Great Closet Clean-up

November 19, 2020 1 Comment

So I haven’t been that good with updates over the past month or two, and although I am mainly blogging for myself and my own accountability, then I’ve missed doing some sort writing that is not related to work or academia. It is still my plan to ramp it up some more, but for now, I’ll stick to my little, insignificant corner here.

What’s up with a closet clean-up?

I’ve been in quarantine for almost two weeks, which… Actually has not been that difficult. I mean, while I have wanted to go outside, then I’ve also just been absolutely swamped with work and catch-up with my studies. In a way, it was kind of a boot camp.

However, my room in London is almost embarrassingly small, which I have become even more aware of, now that I haven’t been able to use the living room. I have noticed how much stuff I have, and I have thought about the fact that I do have to move within the next 8-9 months. So what does one have to do? One has to downsize.

That will start with my closet. I am aware that I do own other things that I (probably) aren’t getting a ton of use out of these days, but my clothes are taking up quite a lot of space. We need to sort that out, and then I am going to prepare it to be sold. So not only will I (hopefully) free up more space, I am also going to earn a bit of extra money. And my savings account can use all the extra TLC it can possibly get.

So how am I going to do it?

It usually takes me ages to get through bigger piles, so I am trying to get this sorted over just one weekend, so I can upload all the listings and then take it from there. I am also going back to my home country for Christmas, so it adds to the urgency of getting the closet sorted out as soon as possible. I’ll do it over this coming weekend.

My steps to cleaning out my closet:

Put all my clothes on my bed. Marie Kondo-style.
Go through each item. How much do I wear it? Does it still make me happy? Does it need repair? It can be difficult to do this, but I am trying to practice a mindset of abundance. It is just a top, your image does not depend on that top.
If I decide I do not use and/or like it anymore, I either put it in a “sell” pile or in a “donate” pile. Or if it is completely destroyed, I usually cut it up and use as rags.
Now I have to prepare the clothes for selling. I make sure it has been washed, steamed and looks nice on the hanger. It is also important to have good light and a good camera.
Once I have the pictures, I have to create listings on e-Bay and other places where I sell things. This takes a lot of time, so this is why I want to do it in bulk.
I neatly fold the clothes and put it in a big bag, so it is ready to be taken out and prepared for shipping.

Once I have done my closet, I think I will move on to another category, e.g. books, handbags or similar. But one step of the time. To make this a little more fun, I have made a spreadsheet down here, where I will write down all the items I’ve sold, and how much I’ve earned in total. So let’s get started!

ROOM CLEAN-UP OVERVIEW:

Item	Type	Price
	Clothes
	Clothes

		Total:

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

financial freedom

FIRE Update 6: September

October 1, 2020 No Comments

We are at the end of September and that means that the paycheck has rolled in, the investments are transferring and I have to look through my finances anyway. It is the perfect time to review my journey and just keep myself accountable.

What happened this month?

While my blog activity is still put on a back-burner, then I am happy to stay consistent with my monthly updates. Just the fact that I am posting my finances online (albeit semi-anonymously), means that I am keeping myself more accountable and think twice before making movements that impacts my finances.

September has been intense, in the sense that I’ve been busy with my internship and then university also started. So I have more than enough to look into, and it will probably continue in October. I still have ideas for posts to write, and, more generally, the direction I want to take my own writing, but I have accepted that it is better to have it on the “not to-do list” for now and simply wait until I have some more breathing room. I am still doing things I enjoy and find important, after all.

Savings

My general/apartment savings are currently $4,874.
Slow but steady increase. I even had some unexpected expenses this month, so I am happy that I still came out with an increase. We’ll just carry on with this until we reach the $6,000 mark, and then I’ll see if I should lower the monthly payment for more investing/debt repayment instead.

Investments

My current investments are $4,088 out of my $33,000 goal.
My net worth is $-44,796.
I paid off a debt I “owed to myself” and added some extra debt repayment. My investments were kept on the same level though, but I figure that I will start increasing that from November and onwards, as I have a few big expenses this month I need to save up for. But the net worth is slowly moving the right way, which is nice.

Debt repayment

My current tuition fee debt is $52,664.
I owe myself $0!

Books I’ve read and texts I’ve written

I am currently reading Dostoyevsky. I’ve also read a number of nonfiction books related to studyinng, such as “Make it stick” and “How to take notes”, which have been very useful and inspired me to amp up my efforts. I also have a few books waiting on me for my dissertation, so I try to make sure I read at least 1 hour a day besides the standard studying.

Goals for next month

My goal is to amp up my activity level for October, as I want to focus more on strength training. Othewise, now that university has started, I figure that I will be busy and need to develop an even more co-dependent relationship with my calendar. To-do lists are awesome. Other than that, I am actually trying to use up a lot of skincare products so I can’t take them with me back to London, and then I am working to save up for big expenses and more investing.

How did your September go? Do you have any goals?

financial freedom

FIRE Update 5: August

September 1, 2020 No Comments

We are at the end of August and that means that the paycheck has rolled in, the investments are transferring and I have to look through my finances anyway. It is the perfect time to review my journey and just keep myself accountable.

What happened this month?

I managed to get my passport covered by my insurance and received it just in time before I had to leave for Brussels. I am super excited about this internship, but I can tell already now that it is going to be a tough few weeks ahead. On the bright side, I have set aside enough funds for it and have a good, reasonable budget. I had a large payout this month so I have put extra into my savings and debt repayment. I’ll start focusing on upping my investments even more from now on, as I hit a milestone with my savings.

I have tried to get my academic stuff sorted out, which proved to be more difficult than what I initially thought, but it is going in the right direction. I have to start thinking about my dissertation and what I’ll do after my degree, so I hope I will have sufficient time to come up with these things.

Savings

My general/apartment savings are currently $4,750.
My September trip got cancelled, so I technically also have a travel fund now, but I’ll keep it out of the equation – I figure I’ll need those funds later this year anyway so at least they are just sitting there now. My goal for my apartment savings is $6,350, to get it to pre-uni level, but I am very happy with the current sum, so I’ll the extra payments down and instead amp up investing and debt repayment.

Investments

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is screenshot-2020-08-03-at-21.29.34.png

My current investments are $3,950 out of my $33,000 goal.
My net worth is $-45,721.
Due to the summer holiday, I had extra hours waiting for me this month, which meant I paid off more debt and put more into savings. However, my investments were kept at the same level and I would like to ‘supercharge’ it a bit more, so I will work more towards that from now on.

Debt repayment

My current tuition fee debt is $52,664.
I owe myself $158.

Books I’ve read and texts I’ve written

I read “Women Don’t Owe You Pretty” by Florence Given, which was a super interesting read. I have only written opinion pieces for my work this month (which I also appreciate the opportunity to do!), but I am working on launching a more EU-focused blog. And an author blog, to keep my other pieces aside, but I am not prioritising that right now.

Goals for next month

My goal is to “survive” September, which means sleep, eat, work, study, repeat. I won’t be trying out new wild recipes, I cannot sell anything and I should not buy shit I have to drag with me back from Brussels. I will make an effort to eat healthy food, take good care of my skin and make sure I stay active throughout my crazy schedule.

How did your August go? Do you have any goals?

financial freedom

FIRE Update 4: July

August 3, 2020 No Comments

We are at the beginning of August and that means that the paycheck has rolled in, the investments are transferring and I have to look through my finances anyway. It is the perfect time to review my journey and just keep myself accountable.

What happened this month?

What a month. I came back to London, and while I am happy to be back and seeing friends and loved ones, then I also got my passport stolen in a robbery. Not only is that a huge hassle, but it is also very expensive to get a new passport (£121 for my country).

Besides that, then I’ve had a busy month with a lot of work and family commitments. I actually felt terribly stressed out at the end of July, which I why I decided to put my freelance status as “out of office”. I need to scale down those activities, especially once I start my internship in Brussels – but I decided to do it now so I can both stay on top of work, review material for university, and have more time to have fun and get other things done before September comes. I have turned in the last few freelance assignments and it will be nice with a commitment less to worry about.

Savings

My general/apartment savings are currently $4,251.
I am also starting to save up for a trip in September with my partner. It will only be a weekend getaway, so it will not be too expensive, but I like to be prepared, so I have already put aside $150 and would like to have around $500 for it. Otherwise I am just working towards my savings goal for the apartment savings.

Investments

My current investments are $3,824 out of my $33,000 goal.
My net worth is $-47,152.
I did a massive recalculation of my tuition fee, mainly because my home government had offered extra loans, which are far cheaper than the UK tuition fee loan I have. That meant my networth went even more down. Since I haven’t subtracted this loan from the more expensive loan, they are currently on top of each other, so I know it will readjust in the future, when I have a final number on how much money that should be repaid. The numbers are just quite painful right now, but I think I need exactly that. The more I can pay off early, the better. Sigh. I may do updated numbers for my loan at the end of the year, just to end the year on a more positive note.

Debt repayment

My current tuition fee debt is $52,664.
I owe myself $629.

Books I’ve read and texts I’ve written

I did not get a lot of writing done this month because I was too stressed out, but I have read some books. I am starting on Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky (or however you English-speaking people spell it), which is a big whale to get going with, but I am quite optimistic.

Goals for next month

For August, I will mainly be sorting out academic stuff, work at my part time job, and focus on my health. I do have a couple of planned purchases, but nothing too frivolous. I don’t have a huge urge to spend anymore, which is wonderful, so I will just be mindful and appreciate whatever extra funds that come my way. I will also start up my eBay selling again, so I have a smaller closet before my internship starts. I am quite excited!

How did your July go? Do you have any goals?

financial freedom

FIRE Update 3: June

July 1, 2020 No Comments

We are at the beginning of July and that means that the paycheck has rolled in, the investments are transferring and I have to look through my finances anyway. It is the perfect time to review my journey and just keep myself accountable.

What happened this month?

I’ve been vacationing in my home country for a little over two weeks now, but I am still working on the side – with plenty to do, which has been super nice. Overall, things are progressing, albeit quite slowly. Since I am staying home, my only real expenses are related to entertainment and eating out with friends – so as long as I keep it at a reasonable level, I reckon it will be a low-spend month.

The extra loan scheme has been extended once again by my home country so I am taking out the maximum amount to pay off the more expensive tuition fee loan. However, my net worth has gone in the right direction this month, which is super great and hopefully it will continue.

Savings

My general/apartment savings are currently $3,913.
I am saving up for my internship in Brussels in September. My goal is $1,500 and I have finally reached my savings goal. It was a crazy increase, thanks to extra work on the side and keeping costs down. Now I will focus on paying down debt and save up for some travelling in autumn – I’ll still need a goal for that, but I will probably just pad the same account with some extra $$.

Investments

My current investments are $3,432 out of my $33,000 goal.
My net worth is $-40,179.

Debt repayment

My current tuition fee debt is $45,700.
I owe myself $752.

Books I’ve read and texts I’ve written

I have written two blog posts here, and then I actually got an opinion piece posted in a Danish national newspaper, which isn’t really related to anything on this space, but I am very happy about getting my texts published.
I’ve read a Danish book written by an investor that shares the same mindset about investing as me. While I stick to my index funds, I still find it interesting to learn more about investing in general.

Goals for next month

For July, I am just enjoying my holiday and trying to be budget-friendly. It would be awesome to pay off extra debt and save up for a weekend getaway in autumn, but I am honestly not stressing it too much. Especially now that I have reached my savings goal for my internship in Brussels.

How did your June go? Do you have any goals? Enjoy your holidays!

Uncategorized

Visiting my home country for cheap

June 19, 2020 No Comments

My half-month update is a bit delayed. I went back to my home country and had bought a new phone (secondhand, to get that sweet discount), which meant I had to reinstall my apps. However, it logged me out of my bank and it took me a couple of days to get back in, but it seems like things are sorted out just fine now.

The rest of June is going to be quite low-spend, as I am mercilessly living off my parents’ food. I have really missed some of the local dishes, so I am having a great time planning meals. I am also helping out with cooking and chores to give my parents some relief, so I figure that I do earn my keep just a little bit. While I miss my partner and friends, it was much needed to see my family again after so long (but I have also booked a ticket back home already).

What has gone well in my finances?

I haven’t spent a lot so far, not even before I left.
I have added extra funds into my Brussels fund, which is awesome. Especially now that I have my internship.
I may get some extra money due to some financial packages from the government.
I have worked quite a lot of extra hours.
I only ordered takeout once and don’t plan to do it for the rest of the month.

What has not gone so well in my finances?

I took advantage of some summer sales and secondhand scoops. It was by no means needed, but my spending has still decreased by a lot overall so I try not to be too hard on myself.
Flights get cancelled a lot these times so I had to spend more money on flights than I anticipated.
I am still reading, but not as much as I’d like.

I hope to amp up some more reading and workout during the next couple of weeks, but I still have some courses to finish on Coursera plus freelance work. I am quite optimistic about the project though!

Photo by Sandro Kradolfer on Unsplash

Personal

A female investment: Laser treatment

June 7, 2020 No Comments

It seems like the FIRE community is dominated by male voices. I have never really given it much thought until now, but I have long been aware of the financial differences between genders – everything from the pink tax to how maternity leave affects female earning potential. But most of all, I have always been a little jealous of my male friends whenever we were travelling or just getting ready to go out somewhere. They never have to spend a long time on grooming, while I feel like I am fighting a constant uphill battle.

I have decided to tackle one of these battles now, in a small, expensive but hopefully also efficient way. You see, I am one of the people that prefers to shave my legs. I may be brainwashed by society, gender norms and my dear mum, but it is honest to god just a simple preference. However, I have to use more water in the shower to shave, I have to spend money on shaving products and aftercare to avoid irritated skin, and it takes time. Those precious minutes add up, not to mention having to bring shaving gear for trips.

So I bought a laser treatment.

It was expensive as heck, I’ll admit that straight away. I have been delaying the purchase, because it is just cheaper to keep buying razors – but even razor blades add up significantly over time, and I finally got frustrated enough to take the plunge.

You have to be patient with laser, as the skin has to be treated several times over many weeks before the effects start to appear – but I find that to be a worthy investment:

I will save time in the shower, making it quicker to get ready
I will save water (and money)
I can stop buying razors
I can stop buying shaving cream (… Okay, olive oil, but still!)
I can stop buying aftercare products
I can stop worrying about my skin getting rashes
I can stop bringing shaving gear for holidays

That means more time, money and peace of mind for me. I am quite sure that my handy laser treatment will pay for itself, since constantly buying razor blades and shaving products do add up over time. It may not be a very finance-focused type of investment, but it is also important to invest in yourself.

Photo by Uby Yanes on Unsplash

« Previous 1 2 3 Next »