Know Your Blogger Series
Latestarterfire
I woke up one morning in January 2018 in a cold sweat, really worried and anxious about retirement. It was the year I turned 47. I was in a stressful job and the thought of working another 20 years was unbearable. At the same time, retirement was a scary concept, something I hadn’t thought about at all. It had always been something far, far away in the future.
Googling how much I need to retire somehow led me to Mr Money Mustache. And led me down the rabbit hole of FIRE. Many of the blogs I read were written by much younger people who had already FIRE’ed or intending to FIRE in their 30s and 40s. And here I was, just beginning the journey at 47.
Check out our Q&A with Latestarterfire here.
Googling how much I need to retire somehow led me to Mr Money Mustache. And led me down the rabbit hole of FIRE. Many of the blogs I read were written by much younger people who had already FIRE’ed or intending to FIRE in their 30s and 40s. And here I was, just beginning the journey at 47.
Check out our Q&A with Latestarterfire here.
Learn why it’s never too late to start taking control of your money with the blog, Latestarterfire.
Each week at Personal Finance Blogs, we publish interviews from amazing bloggers from the personal finance space. This week, we are featuring the blog, Latestarterfire.
During these weekly features, we are hoping to provide a way for you to interact and learn more about different blogs in the personal finance space.
Below, you can read more about the story behind Latestarterfire, learn about the author, and learn personal finance tips from Latestarterfire to help you improve your financial situation.
A big thanks for Latestarterfire for this interview! Now, we will turn it over to the author for this interview.
During these weekly features, we are hoping to provide a way for you to interact and learn more about different blogs in the personal finance space.
Below, you can read more about the story behind Latestarterfire, learn about the author, and learn personal finance tips from Latestarterfire to help you improve your financial situation.
A big thanks for Latestarterfire for this interview! Now, we will turn it over to the author for this interview.
Tell us about Latestarterfire
Hello, I’m Latestarterfire and as the name suggests – a late starter to the FIRE movement. I woke up one morning in January 2018 in a cold sweat, really worried and anxious about retirement. It was the year I turned 47. I was in a stressful job and the thought of working another 20 years was unbearable. At the same time, retirement was a scary concept, something I hadn’t thought about at all. It had always been something far, far away in the future.
Googling how much I need to retire somehow led me to Mr Money Mustache. And led me down the rabbit hole of FIRE. Many of the blogs I read were written by much younger people who had already FIRE’ed or intending to FIRE in their 30s and 40s. And here I was, just beginning the journey at 47.
I started writing the blog in late August 2018, mainly to be accountable. I knew I would be tempted to give up when the going got tough. Plus I wanted to add an older ‘voice’ to the community. Once I began connecting with the community, I found there were others like me – I just didn’t find them before. It was a relief to know I wasn’t alone. Now, I am passionate about sharing other late starters’ stories in my Late Starter to FI series.
What makes you and your blog unique?
My age? At 49, I am ‘old’ to be a FIRE blogger ☺
I want other late starters to know that it is never too late to start taking control of our money. And that we are a community within the broader FIRE community. We may not be able to retire super early but we can aim at retiring earlier than the traditional retirement age.
What does “being good with your personal finances” mean to you?
I used to think that all I had to do to be ‘good’ with my personal finances was to spend less than I earned. That that would be enough. Now I know that it is a great start, but I also need to invest my savings regularly and consistently in order to build future wealth.
What are some habits you practice to keep your personal finances in order?
I spend less than I earn. I don’t borrow money to buy depreciating assets or stuff. I um … don’t budget but track my expenses instead. And automate savings by scheduling automatic transfer of funds from my weekly pay to various accounts such as emergency fund, travel, annual expenses, investment, house maintenance, give and so on.
Right now, I need to catch up on my retirement savings so I have a portion of my pay deducted before tax which goes directly into my retirement account (known as superannuation in Australia). This money doesn’t hit my bank account at all so I don’t miss it. I make sure I contribute the maximum allowed per year (currently $25 000 including employer contributions) I review this every 6 months to make sure I am on track.
What are your three articles people should read to get to know you and your message better on your site?
For someone looking to improve their financial situation, what’s your best advice?
It all depends on your goals – what are you hoping to achieve? And then work out a plan to achieve it.
But it all starts with spending less than you earn – you can’t improve your financial situation without this first step. Review expenses to work out what you can reduce or eliminate totally. Then direct that savings to your goal, be it saving for an overseas holiday, paying down debt or investing in the share market.
I would set up automatic transfers of funds directly into various accounts specifically named after your goals or if you are paying down debt, directly onto the credit card or loan account.
For medium to longer term goals such as paying off the mortgage or achieving Financial Independence, it is important to review your goals and assess if savings is adequate and on track – adjust as necessary. And don’t forget to celebrate any milestones achieved along the way.
What’s an area of your life which has benefited from improving your personal finances? Have there been any areas of your life which have suffered?
I never thought that pursuing FIRE and therefore improving my personal finances would lead me to so much self analysis and reflection. It has made me question what is important to me. And made me aware that I really wanted to free up time in my life, that I didn’t want to live a stressful life.
It gave me the courage to quit a demanding and stressful job. And transition to a slightly lower paying job with less responsibilities. I now jealously guard that time off and ensure I have enough time for self care and reflection. I have time to read and learn new skills (such as blogging!)
In your opinion, what’s better? Renting a place or buying a house to live?
I am firmly in the camp of buying a property to live in, a property that you can afford.
When I first came to Australia as a student, I lived in rental properties, sharing with a friend. We would take turns, in between university lectures, to visit real estate agents to ask for a list of available flats to rent then rushing to check out the flats and hopefully beat the competition. (This was ‘before the internet’ days!)
I don’t want to do this in my seventies. I don’t want to have to move out because the owner wants to sell the property and new owners are moving in. Or whatever the reason is.
I want a place that is mine, a place where I can choose to paint a wall red without asking for anyone’s permission. It is a place of sanctuary, a place where I can be me. The sense of security with owning my home, debt free is priceless. It is knowing that I have a roof over my head, no matter what and that no one can kick me out.
Of course, I must have the money to pay for local council rates, utility bills, maintenance etc – all the associated costs of home ownership, costs that I am willing to pay to be secure and have peace of mind.
In your opinion, what’s better? Focusing on increasing your income, or focusing on decreasing your expenses?
It really depends on where you are at in your life. It is also not an either or situation – you can do both!
It is easier to focus first on decreasing expenses – it is totally within our control. We may be able to justify every expense but if we are honest, there is always room to reduce or eliminate some expenses. This is especially true if we’ve allowed lifestyle inflation to happen over the years.
Increasing income becomes harder in the later stages of our career. We may already be earning peak incomes in our 40s and 50s. Many of us are suffering burnout or on the verge of doing so. Increasing our pay may mean more responsibilities that we just don’t have the mental capacity for. And adding a side hustle may push us over the edge.
I’m not saying not to pursue a higher income. I’m just saying it may come with a cost – to personal relationships, self care and that feeling of overwhelm, that things are spinning out of control. I know – I have been there.
It was much easier and quicker for me to free up money to invest by reviewing my expenses and cutting the multiple take away coffees and lunches, for a start. I then moved on to bigger ticket items such as insurances and utility bills. Using credit cards for travel reward points meant that I no longer pay for flights. Learning how to save money is a continuous process and a challenge, especially if, like me, you think ‘frugal’ is a dirty word.
Through reviewing my expenses, I also define what is important to me. Drinking coffee brings me a lot of joy. That doesn’t mean I have to pay for takeaway coffee every day. Ordering coffee from my favourite coffee roaster and making it at home with a moka pot reduced my coffee to $1 a day instead of the usual average of $4 for a takeaway coffee. If I could stomach instant coffee, it would be way cheaper but a girl has to draw the line somewhere ☺
It may take a little bit longer to achieve financial independence without increasing your income. But I would choose this any day if it meant my mental health is not compromised.
Do you have any financial mistakes you’d like to share, and how have you grown from these mistakes to improve your personal finances?
Oh yes, I have made many financial mistakes!
I started out doing the right thing in my twenties – investing in shares, contributing extra to my retirement account and saving for a deposit for my house purchase.
However, once I bought my house, I stopped investing altogether. I stopped investing in shares – in fact, I sold the majority of my portfolio to have a bigger deposit. I stopped contributing extra into my retirement account. It was too much hassle to look for rental properties.
My excuse was I wanted every cent to pay down my mortgage. But the truth was I found money to travel and buy stuff. I could certainly have found some money to invest.
The lesson I learnt is that time passes quickly. It is easy to drift through life and wake up one day with no idea how you can afford to retire. So I am learning to be intentional with my money and set up systems to invest in my retirement account and my share portfolio.
What’s a non-money related interest you have and what do you love about it?
I love reading, baking and cooking.
Reading opens up your horizons, allows you to explore lives and takes you to places without leaving your lounge. It is a great way of escape for me – I can immerse myself in someone else’s world for a time, without thinking about my own situation.
Baking and cooking is a life skill. My friends joke that I will never starve – I am always cooking something or thinking about cooking something. It is therapeutic to transform simple ingredients into something delicious and nutritious – it feeds me physically and feeds my soul at the same time. I just hate the washing up.
How You Can Contact Latestarterfire for More Information
You can learn more about Latestarterfire at https://www.latestarterfire.com/, like them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/latestarterfire/, and follow them on Twitter at @latestarterfire.
Thank you for reading this interview, and thank you, Latestarterfire, for providing us with some great personal finance tips!
