We must curate our own happiness

Happiness doesn’t just happen. While we can choose to be joyful in the moment, being truly happy in the long term takes effort, resilience and conscious planning.

An education on the environment

Blue Planet II made headlines around the world last year as people were shocked by the impact of plastic waste on the environment. It was accompanied by a succession of plastic related horror stories as scientists have discovered micro-plastics in food, water, and even in our bodies.

I’m back!

Some time ago I set up a blog. For months I wrote about saving money on the quest for financial independence, all the while self-sabotaging by planning to buy a house and have a wedding. The spending involved made me feel like a complete fraud, so I mothballed my blog and tried desperately to bury my sense of failure.

Clearly, that didn’t work because I’m back! Nearly two years later, after some huge and amazing changes in my life, I find myself with the same thoughts and unease swirling in my mind that first motivated me to set up this blog.

Taming the devil on my shoulder

Sometimes it is all too easy to give in to the devil on your shoulder that’s saying “you can’t do this,” “you don’t really want this,” “you’re bound to slip up sometime so why not just stop now?”

It’s especially difficult when your goals are long term. That’s a lot of time for the devil to build a persuasive case.

2016 Personal Goals update – 5k nailed!

I did it! I actually ran a whole 5k. I even have a medal to show for it.

Can your goals cause a mid-life crisis?

According to Nathaniel Branden having a clear idea what your goals are and knowing that you are actively progressing in pursuit of them are two key components of self-esteem. So what happens if that sense of direction and pursuit eventually runs out? According to one philosopher this could actually be a cause of a mid-life crisis. 

Young money

Education is a topic that I have very strong views and ideas on. I believe that the mainstream education establishment in the UK fails children by focusing too much on knowledge to pass exams, and not enough on life skills such as money management, entrepreneurism, communication and health and wellbeing. In essence, we fail to give young people the skills they need to assess their life choices. 

Sometimes you have to spend money to save money

Anyone dreaming of financial independence will be familiar with the need for savings. But saving money isn’t just about refusing to spend money and squirreling it away instead. This works in the short term to save for a holiday or a wedding, but for a long term savings goal, refusing to spend money will make you miserly and unhappy. For long term savings a different approach is required.

Savings Update – September 2016

It’s that time again – time for my monthly update on our savings rate as a proportion of our income.