Joney Talks!

• ‎Working on Financial Independence in an HCOL City

In today’s episode, we will speak to my friend Mr. Wealthster from The Wealthster.

We met on Twitter and I must say I enjoy his tweets. He is a London-based personal finance blogger and started his journey to Financial Independence 3 years ago.

His journey to FI started by being fed up with his job,  but was that reason enough to wish to retire, or did he simply need a new job? We will talk about how he changed his mindset about his career, his finances and we will go into the detail of his newfound plan to reach financial independence (despite living in a high cost of living city).

Listen here:

…or listen on Apple Podcasts

This episode is for you if you are at a crossroads in your career and this will be particularly interesting if you live in an expensive city and want to reach FI.

Key Takeaways:

• Career
  • Sometimes what you might need is a course or additional training to boost your career.
  • This can rejuvenate your interest in your career or field of work.
• Financial Independence
  • From the New York Times article, It sounded feasible and not that complicated, “I could do it too”.
  • If you have debt, you might forget where the debt comes from but you still need to pay it off and it prevents you from investing.
  • Focus on paying debts: The more you focus on something, the quicker it happens. The Wealthster paid off debt in less than a year while his plan was for 2 years. It helped to have a lockdown before the actual lockdown 😅.
  • Keep same expenses as a student, no need to live like before. You can get by with a lot less.
• FI in London
  • Basic utilities are the same as everywhere else in the country.
  • The large city offers more opportunities and can help you to go further in your career and find high-paying jobs.
  • The trick is to not live the high life by going out to bars and restaurants all the time.
  • You can cook healthy meals at home and cycle to work if possible, all these little things add up.
• Investing
  • There are legal ways to avoid taxes on capital gains: Special retirement accounts in the UK (ISA), or buying and holding securities for at least 6 months in Belgium and Luxembourg. See what are the rules in your country.
  • Determine your target figure (750 000 GBP).
  • Investing in ETFs is a powerful and simple way to invest. It is dull but the more you invest consistently, the more things accelerate.
  • At some point, your investment may grow more in one year than your salary!
• 3 tips
  • First step: Get an understanding of Financial Independence by reading his blog obviously and Mr. Money Moustache’s blog.
  • Look at your situation very harshly.
  • Make a plan and stick to it, use the enthusiasm to get you going.

Who is The Wealthster?

RESOURCES 

• Website: The Wealthster
• Twitter: @thewealthster
• Book recommendation:
  • The Alchemist
• Best purchase under 100 dollars: A good dinner out with your partner!

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