My bank statements for 2013 show that I saved on average 17% of my net income. However, I dipped into my cash ISA, so the actual % is likely to be a lot lower.
In March, I discovered various blogs and websites (such as these) and I upped my savings rate to 26.5%.
This month, having drafted my own plan for early retirement and made a concerted effort to cut out unnecessary (well, most) payments, I have saved 34.6%! Still well short of my average target of 50% over the year, but I’m quite pleased with this start.
Here’s what I saved (I’ve used today’s date as I’m unlikely to be saving any more this month):
This month has been boosted by £8.82 from selling some books and CDs on WeBuyBooks.co.uk, £30 from a piggy bank I have at work, £75 Grand National winnings/profit (I didn’t quite cut out all unnecessary spending but came out on top...) and £235 rental income.
Portfolio Value
The funds in the ISA are all less than 6 months old. A few of the funds in the SIPP are a little over 12 months old, though most are less than 3 months old.
I did a bit of research on my fund selections but not a huge amount – I’ve just tried to have a mix of UK equity, global equity and bonds in each pot. My intention is to keep them for at least 3 years and see where we are then, whether I sell and reallocate.
After seeing Huw at Financially Free By Forty reach a milestone recently, I realised that I hadn’t set myself a monetary goal for the year.
A personal milestone of portfolio value £20k will be nice but a quick play around on my ultimate goal spreadsheet gives me the following to aim for:
- Value of investments portfolio (SIPP and ISA) to reach £22,000 by end Mar 2015.
This figure starts the ball rolling towards my ultimate goal. Any real deviation will require some adjustment to my spreadsheet and future savings and targets. Let’s hope I continue to see an increase in gains!
Weenie,
I think that's a great start! You've doubled the amount you save in a few months and that's something to be really pleased with!
Thank you for the kind mention as well. That put a smile on my face when I read it. 🙂
I think what's also really encouraging is that you're aware of some areas of how you can improve, and if you do decide to record all of your income/expenses when you return from your holidays and your life is back to normal, I think you'll continue to see improvements in this area.
Congratulations on setting a milestone alongside your Goal. I find they really help keep you motivated and on track. Keep up the good work, it's great to see people improving and succeeding, I find it very motivating.
Cheers
Huw
Hi Huw
I'm sure you'll get mentioned in my posts again at some point 😉
As for tracking my expenses, I only have a small window (ie June) to do it before my life gets turned upside down for a couple of months before settling again in September. Perhaps I'll use it as a trial run!