So near and yet so FI – a Life Update10 min read

So near and yet so FI - Cashflow Cop Police Financial Independence
(no. 067) – Image Credit: Wesley Tingey

I’m Back

So where the hell have I been?  In short, life has taken over in recent months with my new role at work and focusing more on my family.  This has meant that the blog has taken a back seat.  I’ve also not had the time to read many blogs either which is something I miss doing.  

I thought I’d write this short post just update you on a few things; how my thoughts have changed on certain topics and the future of this blog.

I will write in more detail about some of the things I talk about here at some point in the future. 

Family

Mrs CfC is well and continues to be on maternity leave; due to be back at work in April after a year off.  

Part of our consideration with my wife returning to work was childcare.  I spend half of the week away from the family working down south so cannot do the childcare on those days.  We had looked into a full time nanny, part time nanny, au pair, child minder, day care – everything we could think of.  In the end; we ruled out each of them for different reasons; but they centre around: 1) lack of training and qualifications of the child carer; 2) cost; 3) complexity; and 4) flexibility.

The two boys are growing up so quickly.  There is a two-year age gap between them with the eldest turning three this year.  He is still trying to figure out how he fits into the family and gets jealous of his sibling.  Something which we hope he will eventually grow out of.  It’s wonderful watching them develop but it doesn’t make their tantrums and meltdowns easier to cope with.  

 

Work

I’ve been in my new role (still policing) for a few month now.  It’s a regional post covering a large part of England so I now get a company car, spend a lot of my time on the road and in hotels.  It’s interesting work, very challenging and learning a lot.  

Mrs. CfC has had her flexible working pattern approved by the MoD and will be going part time.  This is very unusual because flexible service something relatively new for the MoD.  There was one point where we thought it would be turned down but after a few months; she finally got the approval.

Her total working hours will now be reduced by 40% and coupled with my new role which is relatively flexible (working condensed full time overs spread over 3/4 days a week); it means we can sort out childcare without hiring someone. 

That said, mother-in-law will be helping out quite a bit on days when our shift patterns don’t allow for one of us to look after the kids.  We are very fortunate.

 

Money

With all the changes and uncertainty above; we were anxious about the future and money was definitely a factor.  However, we were never worried about not having “enough” money – just how much less we will be able to invest and the effect this could have on our FI date.

We had planned for the scenario where the MoD would not accept her flexible working request.  In that situation, she would have handed in her notice and we would relocate down south to be closer to my work and mother-in-law.  She would then do ‘bank’ shifts (flexible part time working) for the NHS. 

It wouldn’t have been ideal because she stills enjoys the RAF and would be sad to leave; but it was something we were ready to do.

I think that’s the beauty of being on the path towards financial independence; the ability to be prepared and having the resources to adapt.  We would have of course had to change our budget and dip into savings; but would have been fine.  

The reality is that there is still the possibility that this flexible arrangement agreed might still not be enough and she will need to leave.  We’ll just have to wait and see how things work out.  

 

Home

Our “home” – the place I stay when working down south (not the MoD subsided accommodation up north where she works) will be mortgage free in June this year! 

We are paying about £2,250 a month on that mortgage and once that is paid off; it will give an incredible boost to our cashflow.  This was a big factor in why we were not overly concerned about the future of Mrs. CfC’s work.  

Seeing the balance approaching four digits is an incredible feeling and we have no regrets about overpaying our mortgage – just the thought that we wished we started overpaying sooner.  

We have also decided on where our “forever” home will be. 

Mrs. CfC doesn’t quite believe in a “forever” home because she says our post financial independence life could take us any where in the world.  That’s why we make such a great team – she has such an open mind about everything and an adventurous spirit.  

For me, a “forever” home is somewhere I think our kids will grow up in and perhaps act as a base for us to return to whilst we are on our travels.  

It’s a small town on the East coast right by the sea.  It’s also about an hour’s drive from mother-in-law.  We’ve been there a few times now and will go there often to have a better ‘feel’ for the area.  

We also intend to rent there for a period to be sure it is the place for us to bring up the children.  

We both love to be near to sea; it really helps us to relax and the fresh air is great!

All this sounds expensive.  You’re right!

We’ve budgeted about £500k for this – £250k for the sale of our home (Zoopla estimate is £275k), £125k for deposit, legal, tax and other purchasing costs.  This leaves us with a potential new mortgage of about £150k. 

This will give us a LTV (loan to value) of about 30% – although ideally we’d like to hit the 25% figure purely for psychological reasons.  To hit that number, we will need to look for a cheaper house or increase our deposit.  

I know, I know…to pay off a mortgage only to contemplate taking one on again.  We are a few years off and have no plans to purchase whilst Mrs. CfC is in the RAF.  It’s more of a medium-term plan for when she leaves and we are in no rush.  

We might decide against the whole idea altogether.  If we did, it will give us more flexibility in terms of cashflow but we’ll see.  

 

Our FI Plan

I need to update our FI Plan post.  We decided to pay for the services of a financial planner to check our numbers and FI Plan.  The good news is that it has been reality checked, run through the various financial modelling they use and we passed.  

We are on course to be FI by 2025.

In fact, our financial planner said we have room to enjoy our money a bit more and not to focus too much on our pensions.  It’s good to hear that we were being overly cautious rather than the other way around.  

Remember, this advice is based on our own unique circumstances.  Also, whether we continue to pass will depend on how things change for us as the date approaches.  This is why we have also decided to keep the financial planner going forward and have bi-annual reviews.  

How will our plan to purchase a new home impact our FI date?  It is something we will need to re-calculate and factor in.  There are so many variables and ‘what if’ scenarios – trying to factor them all in is near impossible and can make the whole planning process pointless.  

Back of the napkin calculations seem to indicate that it won’t affect our FI date all that much because the new house mortgage could be paid for using other income streams in the future such as rental and/or pension lump sum payments and/or my big PMAS payment when they become accessible.  

This is something we will look to discuss with our financial planner in more detail over the next couple of years.  

In relation to two of our rental BTL properties which still has a mortgage on them; we have decided not to overpay on them.   One of them is due to be paid off in 2025 regardless because that’s what we set the repayment period as.  For the other one; whilst interest rates remain low, we will pay it off over a longer period of time.  The excess cashflow will be invested.  

 

The Blog

The bog is now two years old.  For most of last year, I was experimenting with treating the blog more seriously.  

Hats off to anyone who blogs professionally; has a full time job as well as young children.  I can safely say it is not for me.  

Whilst I was at it, I managed to increase traffic substantially together with my domain authority.  This has since dropped after I stoped blogging so regularly; but it’s nice to see I’ve retained some new readers. 

From now on; I will write as and when I find the time or have something I really want to share.  A bit like what I was doing in the first year of my blog.

Interestingly, whilst I was experimenting, I was approached by a few people asking if I was willing to sell the blog.  I politely declined.  I can’t imagine ever selling it to be honest – maybe once the kids turn 18.

I enjoy it most when I treat it as a hobby rather than a business.  

The next post will be a long-overdue book review which I had promised someone I will do – there will be an audible book version and a signed copy of the book to give away.  

 

So near and yet so FI

As we approach our FI date (2025) ; we are getting increasingly less worried about money.  I’ve noticed that although we still continue to loosely budget, we are both a bit more relaxed about it all.  I am not as consistent or as accurate in keeping track of our spending as I used to be.  

I find that I am in what I can only describe as the “boring” part of the path towards financial independence.  Not close enough to be properly excited, but not too far away to think this is impossible.  We have our strategy and just need to stick to it – nothing fancy, nothing too adventurous; set it and forget.  

The ability to be flexible; to have one less thing to worry about in our already complicated lives and being able to prioritise the people who are important to us, in my opinion, is the best thing financial independence provides.  

We’ve even booked our first family holiday abroad together this year – a cruise of all things ; not frugal I know.  I arranged the trip to meet with some of our rescuers for the first time but decided to also make a proper holiday of it – a treat for paying off the mortgage.  

Hey, as my financial planner says – don’t forget the now.  

 

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13 thoughts on “So near and yet so FI – a Life Update

  1. Tony Reply

    Hey Cashflow Cop, thanks for keeping us updated.

    I’m glad to see that although being busy you’re still committed to your FI goal, which at the end of the day that’s what matters the most, with or without posting on a blog.

    It was pretty impressive what you did last year though, the quality content you posted together with engaging with the community and promoting the blog couldn’t take just a few minutes.

    One of the reasons I want to be FI is to spend more time with my future kids. At that time I’m convinced I’ll quite possibly “abandon” my blog, unless spending time on it would buy me time in the future (make me decent money which I doubt it).

    Also glad to see you seem to be enjoying your new position. I live down south and yeah the sea is relaxing. After 5 years I couldn’t imagine to live anywhere else but near the sea.

    We may get the chance to meet someday? 🙂

    • Cashflow Cop Post author

      Thanks for the support as always Tony. I actually think it’s approaching a year since you did your HoF story right? I can’t believe how quickly the last year has flown by.

      Yes, you never know; maybe we’ll get to meet one day; have fish and chips by the sea and reminisce how we used to have a blog and spent so much time on it. Our grandkids would be like; “what the hell is a blog?”!

    • Tony

      Yeah it’s almost one year since the HoF, I lost the money in March, and wrote the history soon thereafter. Can’t believe an entire year has flown by already!

      Haha I can picture that! At least we’ll have some stories to tell, which may not be exciting ones but can cover a Sunday afternoon or a least a fish and chips lunch. 😛

  2. A Way to Less Reply

    Good to hear from you CfC. Glad to hear all is well and you’re still chipping away at that FI goal! Finding the right balance is hard but you seem to be making the right decisions – family should always come first!

    • Cashflow Cop Post author

      Thank you. Difficult to get the balance right. Also difficult to fight the urge of potentially getting a bigger house than we really need. Good thing is that we have time to think about it all and there isn’t a need to rush.

    • A Way to Less

      With the house, I think the most important thing is being aware hat you have options. Most people would probably storm ahead and buy the expensive version no questions asked. You’ll come to the right decision eventually, whatever that may be. The fact you’re on the FI journey means you will be more than able to afford either path 🙂

  3. Nick @ TotalBalance.blog Reply

    Great update, CC!

    I can’t believe you actually PAID someone to go through your numbers? 😛
    That’s bad-ass for someone who’s pursuing FI 😛

    I can understand your “in-between” situation (close, and yet so far), but find it difficult to relate, as I’m still quite far from my goal. I imagine that I will (eventually) get to where you’re at though – just cruising on auto-pilot in terms of investments and trying to enjoy the NOW 🙂

    I can relate to your blogging situation though. I never intended my blog to be a side-hustle, so I’m quite fine with posting something whenever I feel like it. I do the monthly update though, but it’s starting to become a bit tedious, so I’m considering turning it into quarterly updates instead. Not sure if that would work. I kinda want to keep at it, but on the other hand, I don’t want blogging to feel like work…

    I was also approached by people who wanted to buy my blog…I found it flattering, but didn’t bother asking what they imagined to pay for it. Like you, I don’t imagine selling it either.

    Anyway, good luck on your future adventures, wherever it may take you 🙂

    • Cashflow Cop Post author

      Thanks Nick.

      Yeah, I couldn’t quite believe I paid someone either. My wife took a bit of convincing but in the end we both agreed it was totally worth it.

      We’ve still not mastered enjoying the ‘now’ though unfortunately – we still think of how much money our money could grow if we didn’t spend it X. After saving and investing for so long; breaking the habit and to loosen up a bit a more difficult than I thought.

      Blogging can definitely feel like work if anyone wants to make proper money from it – I am not convinced the pay-off is worth it compared to other side hustles or even just focusing more on the day job for that promotion / over time.

  4. weenie Reply

    Hi CfC

    Good to see you back with a great update – there’s been a recent raft of inactivity from some (previously) active blogs and I’d hoped yours hadn’t gone the same way.

    I can’t remember if I congratulated you on your new role so congrats anyway.

    Great to hear that you are on track to be FI by 2025. I think I’m on track for mine but I seem to have slightly shifting goalposts these days (shifted by me, not anyone else!) so need to sit down to do some proper scenarios and stress testing.

    Sounds like you’ve got a trip and a half planned to meet some of your rescuers – that’s going to be both awesome and emotional!

    • Cashflow Cop Post author

      Hi Weenie,

      Thank you! Shifting goalposts is perfectly acceptable – it’s what our pursuit of FI allows us to do and is kind of expected.

      We are really looking forward to the trip but apprehensive about the sea sickness. My mum took a bit of persuasion to get back onto a boat for obvious reasons. I will let you know how we get on.

  5. Mr. SR @ semiretireplan Reply

    Hey CFC!

    Glad you to hear you are doing well. I’m in a similar boat — coming off of periods of making the blog a priority and then a period of a bit of a break. I’m planning a similar track now of posting when possible or when inspiration hits, but not on a regimented schedule.

    Congratulations on the new child and on the 2025 FI date! You’ll be there before you know it.

    • Cashflow Cop Post author

      Hi there Mr. SR – it has been a while! Thank you for stopping by again. I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks blogging can be hard work. 2025 seems so far away but you’re right, it is only around the corner. I hope you and family are well during these strange times.

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