Holiday - bad news

Well don't I feel relaxed! 

Sorry I don't want to rub it in too much, but I've just come back from holiday. Shall we start with the bad news? 

I somehow managed to go almost 3x over my budget I set out for the holiday!! Crapping hell, what did I do wrong?

Well, everything! 

First my budget was unrealistic - I hadn't thought about what we were going to be doing, or eating. 

Second - I had holiday brain, I did what I've been trying to not do over the past 3 years, just spend without thinking. Most things went through my debit card so when I look at my bank statement it sits there taunting me!

Third - I was unaware. If I had realised what was happening halfway through the week I could have done something about it.

Fourth - I didn't plan anything, we just winged the whole holiday. If we'd set more of a schedule we wouldn't have been caught in the rain so much or stuck for dinner plans in a place where everything closes at 4pm!

So what conclusion have I come to about this? What life changing thing have I derived from this time of hedonism? Well... to be honest... nothing.

At first when I checked my bank I thought someone had fraudulently accessed my account, but after going through it with a fine tooth comb I realised this was just me. Then I got angry, at myself firstly, then at my partner - in the form of a bad mood for half a day (sulky pants!). When we talked it through I realised something.

I had a great time!! It was brilliant, so nice to be away from work for a week, so nice to break the routine, I indulged a little too much maybe but it's not like I threw all my money in a drain. I exchanged it for some good times and some great memories that will stay with me for a long time. Hey I got to see a freaking lighthouse in real life (never done that before!).

Would I do it again? Sure, I'd probably plan it a little better though - maybe having a few less meals out, as to be honest I can't really remember half the things we ate, the things I'd really concentrate on are the good times. 

All in all it was a great experience.

Needs / wants

Once you've compiled a few months of expense reports, it's time to rip them to pieces. I find the best way to do this is to have two sections; one of your needs and one of your wants.


Needs

The needs section contains the bare essentials to living, shelter, warmth and food/water. This gives you a feel for how far you can cut costs whilst still maintaining some sort of a modern lifestyle. You have to remember that in many countries people have to go without these needs, not because they can’t afford it but because they do not have access to them.

Wants

This is for pretty much everything else, I still break this section down into its various types of spend. Car, home, lunch etc etc.

You’re probably thinking why the hell I would want to spend all my time doing this. Well you can then see all the superfluous things that you’re spending your hard earned cash on. Basically every £ you spend on something other than the essentials is a £ you've earned for no reason.

If you can reduce this spending to the lowest requirement you therefore don’t need to earn as much. You can therefore not work as much or at all!

Or continue working and start spending more on productive things like helping out charities or building a spaceship!

Imagine a spaceship! Your own freaking spaceship!

There's also the concept of fuck you money which I love. It's basically where you build up enough savings so that if your work ever crosses that line, whether unreasonably asking you to work yet another weekend, or asking you do something that is against your morals, you can just say fuck you and walk out the door. There's comfort in having a safety net like that, giving you the confidence to speak your mind when required.

Ever stress over needing that pay rise or whether redundancy is going to come knocking? This fear can be removed through the creation of these safety nets and the way to create them is to have control over your spending.

Freedom can be gained through increased control, it sounds weird but it’s true.

I’m not there yet, but I’m on the path. I’ve set a date of 14/02/2031 as when I can stop working. It sounds a long way off but considering I’ve only just started on this path it seems fairly reasonable to me. Especially as I have some big expenses coming up in the next year or so.

Photo by: boingboing