42 thoughts on “4 Years!”

1. Congratulations and happy 4th birthday! I am amazed how you have increased net worth by £145K and investments by over £100K over the past 4 years..truely impressive and just shows what can be achieved in a relatively short period. I wonder what the figures will be by 2022?

   This warmer weather must be better for the homebrew…right?

   • Thanks DIY.

     I know, I was amazed myself at the numbers and as I wrote them down, I suddenly doubted my own spreadsheets and had to log onto my accounts to double check! The increase in my networth has been due to a 50% increase in my property value (based on a recent sale of a flat in the same block as mine) so that was a big surprise.

     Yes, the homebrew’s ready – post coming up shortly! 🙂

2. Congratulations weenie. Well done for keeping up with the blog posts so consistently. Ive really enjoyed following your progress

   • Cheers FBA, I hope to continue to keep you ‘entertained’ with my progress! 🙂

3. I don’t know Weenie, one minute you’re being asked to appear on a TV show, the next someone wants to buy your site….your star is in the ascendant, I wonder what’s next!

   Congratulations are very well deserved. I owe you my matched betting income, so thank you! Here’s to your oontinued success

   • Haha, thanks Fireth9to5 – onwards and upwards indeed!

     It’s good to hear that I’ve helped you with your matched betting income – let’s hope you’re having a far better month than I am though, as I’m currently having a bad run!

4. Congratulations and well done!

   • Thanks Catherine!

5. Happy birthday QuietlySaving!

   Congrats on your progress to date weenie. Keep doing what is so obviously working well, and thanks for letting the rest of us come along vicariously for the ride.

   • Thanks Slow Dad. Yes, I shall ‘keep on keeping on’!

6. Happy 4th blog birthday weenie! Great to see you still at it with this FIRE lark being a marathon and not a sprint.

   I wonder how many of those 1000 blogs will actually ever make it to FI let alone FIRE. We’re now starting to see a few good UK based FIRE blogs appearing but I can count on one hand the number that have shown the tenacity to make it to 4 years let alone FI or FIRE. One of the psychological pillars I think is necessary to make it is Determination and as I write from the other side I still believe that.

   • Thanks RIT. It very much is a marathon, not a sprint – I wouldn’t want it any other way. And you’re right about Determination – the decision to aim for FIRE was not a light one for me to make and once I’d decided to go all in, I was and still am determined to see it through. Documenting my journey in this blog helps me keep focus. Your own journey (albeit on an entirely different scale) remains an inspiration to me and I continue to follow your story with interest.

7. Weenie, congratulations on another milestone. It’s been great following your progress and your posts have provided much encouragement and reassurance to me, and i suspect a few others as well, to continue along our chosen paths. Your friendly, down to earth writing, plus the fact that you seem to reply to virtually every comment, gives your blog a communal welcoming feel to it, so it’s perhaps no surprise that someone was interested in buying it. Without the original author remaining on board though would it be worth anything? Glad you’ve remained true to your beliefs and not sold out for a quick buck. Also for what it’s worth, of the ~1,000 blogs out there, i regularly follow just eight of them, so that puts you in the top ten in my poll.
   Keep up the good work,
   Kid Cocoa.

   PS – i followed you in on HICL a couple of weeks ago, so thank you for the timely reminder with that one.

   • Thanks for the kind words of support, KC and I’m glad I’m in your top ten blogs! 🙂 My blog has never been about ‘how to’ but in documenting my own progress, I’m happy that readers might get some ideas about their own journeys.

     As for replying to comments, that’s just etiquette, isn’t it?

     Ah, nice one on the HICL – I think we got there at the right price, not that I was trying to time the market!

     • Good manners cost nothing, so that makes you an ideal FIRE blogger.

8. Wow! Can’t believe it’s been 4 years. I remember reading a comment from you shortly after you started your blog saying how you had done so after encouragement from other bloggers. Think it was on either RIT or Monevator (but I could be very wrong!). Here you are now a fully fledged FIRE blogger with a site worth buying 🙂

   Your net worth and future fund figures are increasing very nicely, even more so given you are doing this as a singleton, no mean feat. Do you have a FIRE date in mind? Or is it more about hitting X in income/capital?

   What are your thoughts on how OMY might play out for you? I know RIT has discussed at length which has been ever so interesting to read and ponder as we near our original FIRE date.

   • Hey Tuppenny

     I know, time has just flown by! It was theFIREstarter and Huw from FFB40 who both inspired me to start my own blog as they were the first UK based FIRE blogs I’d come across and I liked what they were doing.

     As for a FIRE date, it wavers between 2024 and 2025 and will depend on me hitting X in capital and Y in income. My numbers have changed over the 4 years so I need to review them properly. There’s also lean/fat FIRE to consider, although my figures are actually for something in between. I don’t want to set a lean number in case my mind starts aiming for that target and sees that as enough!

     I’m open to OMY, although I’d probably see if I could drop to a 4-day week. This is assuming that I’d still like to work at the same place but who knows?

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10. Congrats on your 4 year blogiversary! That’s a very good shift in net worth from when you started until now. Keep it up!

    • Thanks DDSW!

11. Happy blogaversary Weenie!! Your progress has been so impressive. Excited to see what the next year brings.

    • Cheers PWF. The markets have been a bit wobbly this year so it feels as if I’m not made any progress this year but it’ll all pan out in the end!

12. Hi Weenie,

    Happy 4th Birthday! I can’t believe that it is so long – it feels only the other month that you were celebrating a previous one!

    Ah so I have some work to do to make sure I stretch ahead of TFS on the comments 😉

    I can’t believe its been a year already you are in the new job – time really does fly!

    It’s a huge increase in NetWorth and funds over 4 years – just think what the next will bring in. I’m also curious to see how you are getting on with your £200k challenge!
    Cheers,
    FiL

    • Thanks FiL – I know, the anniversaries will come in thick and fast and then before I know it, I’ll be in sight of the finish line….eeek!

      This past year has just been a blur of winter months – time does seem to go by faster as you get older!

      Yes, as mentioned to DIY above, the big jump in my networth has been due to my property – I don’t tend to monitor its value as I’m not planning to sell in the near future so I had no idea it had gone up by so much.

      As regards to the £200k challenge with John Kingham, I’m still in the lead! 😉

      • Hi Weenie,
        Hopefully the finish line will be faster than you expect, and with this, it is always optional, you can still work! 🙂
        Ah with you on the increase – I am with you, I track my networth in 3 ways – everything, everything excluding house and then everything excluding house and pension – just to get an idea!
        Ah I wait to see how you both progress, where can I find the updates on the competition? 🙂
        FiL

        • Hey FiL
          I was going to do a half-yearly update so will mention the competition in my June update! 🙂

      • Have you ever considered (and definitely not saying theres a right or wrong answer on this just asking) selling your house and investing the money? I seriously considered this last year as I have over 200k sat in my house and really feel houses may be at the top of the market (yes i know we’ve been saying that for years). I just don’t see them going up more than a couple of %round here. I could invest that 200k and be rent free paid from income. Ultimately i decided to just fix my mortgage for ten years and stop over paying. It means my mortgage will only have reduced from 287 to 230k but ill have almost 200k saved which will be nice
        I don’t think I’ll bother clearing my mortgage until i take my lump out my pension

        • Hi FBA

          The only property I own is my BTL flat, the rental income of which will form part of my retirement income. I live in my parents house and pay them rent which is obviously not market rate, because unlike a normal tenant, anything which needs fixing and replaced, eg boiler repair, roof, fencing, washing machine, I pay for. I’ve got about £90k equity in my flat but I’d be pushed to be able to get investment returns to beat the rent I receive. I was paying down the mortgage before but I’ve stopped now – just putting the money to one side to cover for future repairs, decorating etc.

          Sounds like a decent plan with your mortgage – I do think the housing market seems to be stabilising, or due a burst bubble. I’m not looking to sell so it won’t affect me.

13. Great achievement Weenie, fellow bloggers know just how hard it is to keep posting regularly, never mind staying relevant and not repeating yourself. You were one of the people originally urging me to publish my own, so thanks for that, I still enjoy posting (on the whole!) and assume you do to. Here’s to another four years.

    • Thanks Jim and yes, I still enjoy posting. That’s why I’ve never set myself blog goals, eg so many posts per week/month – I know if I did, it would all become a chore.

      I’ve said it before but I’m glad I helped persuade you to start your own blog – I didn’t get the chance to talk to you at length in York, but from the brief convos we had, I knew you had a great story to tell and would tell it in a different and entertaining way! 🙂

      Hear Hear, to another 4 years!

14. Congratulations Weenie on 4 years. That’s brilliant. I also started on my quest to FI about 4 years ago and this post got me a bit reflective too. Your future fund is looking sweet now and it’s great to hear about the success your blog is having. Some great progress over the years. Here’s to 4 more years and many more :). Chris

    • Cheers Chris and well done on your own 4 years!

15. Many happy returns!! That’s a great achievement on the future fund and net worth increase. With being at the start of my FI journey, I’m hoping when I look back at this point in 4 years time I’m equally as surprised at my progress as you were.

    Keep up the good work 🙂

    HTSC

    • Cheers HTSC. I think the ‘surprise’ is when you see how far you’ve come after a few years – looking at the month on month numbers, it’s harder to see progress. Good luck with your own journey!

16. Hi Weenie,

    Happy blogiversary! Like you mentioned there are loads of blogs coming and going but far fewer that stand the test of time. Respect for having the staying power and keeping your blog interesting and inspirational. I’m constantly writing blog posts in my head but somehow I find it harder to sit down at the computer and make them a reality. You’ve inspired me to keep going!

17. Happy blog anniversary. We only celebrated 1 year in february and I can’t imagine..4 years. WOW !! Keep up the great work delivering your key messages and inspiring people.

18. A happy belated blogoversary weenie!

    4 years!

    Amazing that someone approached you for buying the blog. Was there not just a little bit of you that wanted to find out how much they thought it was worth? 🙂
    I don’t think I could have not found out despite having no intention to sell.

    I agree with you on the numbers etc… I barely look at mine now, mainly cos they are boring and never really seem to go up or down much! I think I’ve reached my level and I am pretty happy with it. Too many comments means you would have trouble replying to them all eh?

    I’m coming up to 5 years in July so am looking forward to doing a big update on progress then. As Fatboy Slim would say: “We’ve come a long way… baby”

    All the best for the next year and more…

    • Thanks TFS!

      I will admit that yes, there was a bit of me that wanted to find out how much they thought my blog was worth but I didn’t want to be swayed (negatively or positively) by a number, so I decided I was better off not knowing!

      Yeah, agree with the comments thing – I think you reply to all yours too and too many would just take too much time and management.

      Fatboy Slim is right but as someone else (the Hollies?) would say about the journey to FIRE (or not), “The road is long, with many a winding turn..”

      Looking forward to your 5th anniversary post!

19. Hi Weenie

    Great achievement, and some great information in your post. The two things that stand out are your future fund increasing by £100,000 in four years, but the really great titbit is that you have stopped spending on things you don’t seem necessary, but continue to splash out on the things you enjoy!

    I think it is this exact philosophy that allows the average person to maintain their sanity while still being to be able to cut their spending and save for the future (I for one could not have gone the extreme frugal route).

    Hope you can continue to grow the future fund at the same rate or better, and achieve FIRE earlier than your current forecast.

    Best wishes
    FIUK

    • Thanks FIUK.

      If I had gone down the extreme frugal route, I would have seen immediate short term gains but I doubt very much I would have been able to sustain that sort of life and may have just given up. I believe the key is balance, so I can keep going the distance.

      If I achieve FIRE earlier than my current forecast, well, that would be a nice problem to have!

20. Hey Weenie,

    Many congratulations on your 4 year anniversary. That’s a super achievement, well done! I’ve been reading your blog for over 2 years and wish that I had discovered it (and other FIRE blogs) sooner. Still, I’m happy to have found it when I did and be following along with your journey.

    Thanks for being so consistent and innovative with your posts. I’ve enjoyed the diversity of reading about the Dogs of the FTSE, your home brews, the Monkey Stocks league, toilet twinning, book bingo, dividend investing, goals setting/tracking and of course your net worth and future fund progress. Wow so much variety!

    Please continue to keep up the good work, I for one will definitely be following along and sending you encouragement and best wishes as you approach your FI goal. I think as we get more UK bloggers approaching/achieving FI we should have a UK FI “party”/meet-up!!

    Corinna x

    • Thanks for the kind words and your continued support, Corinna.

      I try to write about different topics, basically stuff that interests me and which I hope readers might find interesting too.

      Let’s hope we all get to FI as planned so that we can make this UK FI “party”/meet-up!!

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