Tuesday 13 May 2014

Earn More by "Asking for More"

So where have I been I hear many of you asking?  Let me start from the beginning...

Regulars will know that my strategy is to retire as soon as possible.  To be more specific I'm actually still on the fence as to whether I will actually Retire Early, leaving paid employment altogether, or only go as far as Financial Independence, leaving the high stress day job and side hustling some pocket money doing something I love.  At current run rate I’ll be presented with the FIRE (Financial Independence and Early Retirement) option before my 45th birthday which will see retirement in about 10 years from when I woke up, started to do my own research and settled on Early Retirement way back in 2007.

To achieve this I'm of course living the motto of this site - Save Hard, Invest Wisely to Retire Early.  With data from 2008 my first chart shows that while both Saving Hard and Investing Wisely are both having a big impact on my annual wealth growth it’s actually Saving Hard that seems to have its nose in front even after accounting for the Miracle of Compound Interest.  Saving Hard can be achieved by Earning More and/or Spending Less and given its contribution to my financial plans is something I am unrelenting in trying to improve.

Wealth Growth Year on Year attributed to both Saving Hard and Investing Wisely
Click to enlarge 


When I wrote about some of the techniques I'm using to give me the best chance of Earning More I didn't appreciate how much of a difference this could actually make in such a short time since that post.  As it transpires while I've continued to develop the skill to:

  • deliver efficiently;
  • been prepared to commute and travel extensively for work;
  • stay flexible; and
  • watch for partially open doors, 

companies around the world have not been very attentive and are now in the situation where their internal people with similar skills to myself are now starting to retire/leave this career but have nobody trained as a backfill.  A number of roles are now starting to be advertised and while not looking in desperation I was approached with a potential carrot that just couldn't be ignored.  Queue some A-Team music, a long interview process and not much competition and the job was mine along with an eye watering offer.  I wasn't actively looking but with an alternate equally interesting offer on the table it was time to resign.  In resigning I verbally laid out a short hand version of the too good to be true situation along with an apology.  A very short time lapse and my salary package had been increased by an equally eye watering offer.*  Given the dire situation of Real Earnings (second chart) in this great country today I gladly took what was on offer and am getting on with it.

Index of Real UK Whole Economy, Private Sector and Public Sector Average Weekly Earnings Corrected for the Retail Prices Index (RPI)
Click to enlarge

Of course nothing comes for free which brings me to the reason I haven’t been blogging.  While I’m Earning a lot more my company has also asked for more flesh (the new offer also required some more blood, sweat and tears) meaning between commute and work I’m up to about 70 hours per week.  With the time remaining I had to make a choice – blogging or family – not both.  I’m sure you can understand why I chose family.

Things have started to settle down a little now after all the excitement but going forwards the posts are going to be a little less frequent than they once were.  At home the change has of course had no effect on how we live as a family (other than the extra hours).

* Note: I have no illusions of grandeur and fully expect in the coming years that my job type will be outsourced to somewhere cheaper.  It’s not imminent and I believe I can become financially independent before redundant.

13 comments:

  1. Good to see you back and congratulations on the new job - FI will loom even sooner!

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  2. BeatTheSeasons14 May 2014 at 17:21

    Really please to here everything's ok RIT, I was getting worried. I think you're absolutely right to put family first, or perhaps that's still second at the moment until you reach FI, and leave blog third. Good ongoing luck from me.

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  3. Hi John and BTS
    Thanks for the wishes. It's great to be back writing and studying personal finance again, even if at a lesser level than previously.

    @John, I wouldn't say new job - more the old job with a pile of extra responsibilities added on.

    @BTS, you might be right that FI is first although because my better half is on board and actively participating (maybe a post on that statement to come because there is a story there) in the FI adventure there doesn't seem to be any sacrifice being made. Instead the FI journey we are taking is giving us nothing but upside both now and in the future. Today I'm happier and healthier (mentally and physically) than I've been in a long time and of course tomorrow brings FI.

    Cheers
    RIT

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    Replies
    1. 70 hours sounded initially shocking but I am kind of a bit scared to work out what I am actually doing now including the commute! If it puts you on track to get out of the rat race faster then so be it :)

      I would love to hear the post about/from your better half as mine is semi on board right now but haven't really managed to get her actively involved all of the aspects of it.

      Cheers!
      TFS

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  4. MrMonkeyMoustache15 May 2014 at 11:52

    Glad to see a post here and congratulations on the pay rise. I thought you'd given up entirely on the blog, so welcome any new posts. Along with Monevator, you are on my "must read" list of UK personal finance sites.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the compliment MMM. Monevator is also high on my must read list and I'd be happy of this site was half as educational.

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  5. Great work, good to stay flexible while keeping your eye on the prize! :)

    Cheers for the update.

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  6. Welcome back!
    Good to see you posting again.
    Out of interest what do you do/what sector do you work in?

    Cheers

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    Replies
    1. Hi Chris

      At this stage of my journey I'd prefer to preserve my anonymity. Revealing pieces of information like that might enable regular readers to 'build a profile' and I'm almost sure I work with some readers. What I will say is that I'm sure you've already guessed that it requires mathematical skills.

      Cheers
      RIT

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  7. RIT

    Welcome back.

    I love the wealth growth chart. Just one (slightly geeky) question on this - did you think about showing the total for each year as the actual % by which your total net worth had grown each year? (rather than always being 100%). In other words, if your total net worth grew, say, 30% in the year, the total bar height would be 30% and might be split say 20% from saving and 10% from investment returns. This might be even more informative, I think.

    TEA

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    Replies
    1. Hi TEA

      Happy to share. Have a look at today's post for full details.

      Cheers
      RIT

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  8. Welcome back and congratulations too. You've been missed.

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  9. Welcome back!! I am looking forward to your continued postings and updates

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