Monday 13 February 2017

One Year Of Organised Redhead


Just a very quick post today to acknowledge the fact that Organised Redhead has turned 1 year old! It was a year ago yesterday when I published my first post, and what a journey it's been.

I had no idea when I started this adventure where it would lead me to. In the space of the year I have continued to grow my experience and confidence with blogging, as well as avidly following my fellow FIRE seekers' blogs and cheering them along the way.

The most exciting part of the journey has been my discovery of ways in which I can earn extra income through activities such as Kindle publishing, affiliate marketing and matched betting. It's been a year of discovery, and I look forward to many more to come.

For those of you who have joined me on my journey this far...

THANK YOU!

I really appreciate it, and hope to share many more tales with you along my continuing journey.

Saturday 11 February 2017

My Revised Roadmap To Freedom for 2017



Last February I formulated my strategy for how to achieve retirement by the time I'm age 50. In my Roadmap to Freedom I set out the savings goals I would need to achieve on a monthly basis.

I think it's important to revisit this Roadmap frequently to make sure that I'm still on target with my savings each month. This post is the result of my 2017 review.

I have revisited all my calculations from last year, including:

  • My expense projections considering:
    • Ages 50-57 (the ages between which I'll be retired but won't yet be able to draw my Personal Pension)
    • Ages 50-62 (the ages between which I'll be retired and still have mortgage repayments to make)
    • Age 62+ (when I'll be mortgage free)
  • The current value of my Freedom Kitty and my Personal Pension

So without further ado, here is my revised Roadmap for 2017 onward...

FI Before 50 Roadmap

Freedom Kitty  must reach £190,000 by Jun 2025 (age 49) 

    To be achieved by saving on average £1,268 per month from February 2017 - May 2025 (assumes 4% interest)

Personal Pension must reach £446,300 by Jul 2032 (age 57) 

   To be achieved by saving on average £1,090 per month from March 2017 - May 2025 (issues 5% interest)

This results in a total average monthly saving goal of £2,358





My FI Before 50 Roadmap suggests that I need to save a total of £2,358 each month until June 2025. This splits out across my Personal Pension as £1,090 and my Freedom Kitty as £1,268 per month. The amounts I actually want to set as my saving targets for 2017 have been slightly adjusted from those suggested in the Roadmap:

SAVINGS TARGET
Freedom Kitty - £1,666 per month
Personal Pension - £1,000 per month


Equals TOTAL Savings Target: £2,666 per month 
(£308 more per month than the Roadmap states is needed, but split differently across the 2 savings pots)

Although my 2017 pension target is £90 per month lower than the Roadmap suggests, it is hoped that the fund will grow by at least 5% per year. Furthermore, savings into my Freedom Kitty are planned to be approx. £480 per month higher than the Roadmap requires, any excess in my Freedom Kitty can be used to supplement my Personal Pension if it has not met the required amount by age 57. The reason for paying more into the Freedom Kitty is to maximise the new £20,000 ISA allowance in 2017/2018.

I feel very confident in being able to achieve the Personal Pension target. The Freedom Kitty target will be more of a challenge, but I'm going to give it my absolute best shot.


Have you set any financial targets for 2017? I'd love to hear of them, let me know in the comments...