Happy New Year to all of the readers of this blog! I hope that throughout the year of 2021, my various ramblings and updates to the garden, savings and thought processes on FIRE has been somewhat entertaining (or at least worth a read!).

It seems somewhat quite scary that I did set this blog up 3 years ago now and remember, well, writing the very first post (Starting Point) back in January 2019. Back in 2018, I started to look at options at potentially working out how to retire early. It’s been very much a stepping stone process in getting to where I am today (just over £300,000) and I feel incredibly lucky to have gotten to the point of where I am now.

I’ve been going through My Goals for 2022 and also looking at what I have achieved in 2021.

2021 Goals – Financial Independence

+ Invest maximum £20,000 limit into ISA Account (post April 2021).
COMPLETED! I have managed to save £20,000 into my ISA in the year 2021 (just short of 3 months after the new financial year – April 2021).

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+ Aim to achieve £250,000 in all saving accounts by end of 2021.
COMPLETED! I have blown this goal / objective out of the park this year!

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+ Aim to achieve a 60%+ average savings rate throughout the year.
MISSED! This year I have achieved an average savings rate of 57%, just missing my target by 3%! Ooof, oh well. I shall set the 60% savings rate again in 2022 and work hard to achieve it!

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+ Re-Read Tim Hales Smarter Investing Book.
MISSED! I must must re-read this to keep my investing ‘sanity’ in check. There are far too many ‘marketing buzzwords’ to catch your eye going on online and I find that the Tim Hales Smarter Investing Book helps bring a much more balanced perspective to investing.

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+ Pay off Zopa Loan fully by the end of 2021.
MISSED! Unfortunately I’ve missed this. However I have only £2,300 to pay left on it at a very very low interest rate of 1.12% (I’m really in no rush) but it should be all cleared in 2022!

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+ Continue to put £150 into Premium Bonds as emergency fund / rainy day.
COMPLETED! I certainly have! And I have certainly had the odd comment here and there about why I would be so silly to do so! Well, I consider my Premium Bonds account as my ‘Emergency Fund’ account. I have now amassed £4,350 in total into the account! Before I had no emergency fund and to have this sitting in there, in a relatively semi-accessible account with a chance to win a small prize each month, makes sense to me!

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+ Improve health and well-being by distancing away from news / online media.
COMPLETED! I certainly haven’t read the news or listened to it or watched it as much as I used to. The MSM in my eyes is full of fear, drama enticing headlines. My brain, attitude, clarity has been much much better me knowing what’s going on. Of course, sometimes it is unavoidable, but overall not reading the usual online MSM outlets has been a huge relief.

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+ Build 1 additional raised beds / shelving area in the garden to complete the vegetable plot.
COMPLETED! I certainly have! And it’ll be ready for planting in 2022! 🙂

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+ Continue calm and carry on as normal with investing side of things.
COMPLETED! I certainly have! And sure there’s lots of ‘doom and gloom’ posts going on about the increasing in inflation, imminent recession, but I’m going to stick to my guns and continue to keep calm and carry on.

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+ Continue to use the electric van when and where possible for journey’s (lockdown dependent of course!).
COMPLETED! I have driven over 8,000 miles in the electric van this year! Compared to that of 1,500 miles in the Land Rover. (Yes very much ying and yang with our car situation) – Land Rover to tow the caravan / longer journeys, but the Electric Van to pootle around in. Much of our driving has been in the van and this has been incredible cost savings for us!

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Overall has been a relatively good year for ticking off many of my FIRE goals. Here’s some interesting stats.

Total Savings (2021): £78,125
Investment Returns (2021): £121,015
Average Savings Rate (2021): 57%

You can really see the compounding interest really taking affect. Having deposited £78,000 into my savings, my savings actually grew by £121,015 which means an additional £40,000 is from interest alone!

2022 Goals – Financial Independence / Life

What would the start of the year be without a few goals eh?!

+ Invest £20,000 limit into ISA Account (Post April 2022).
+ Aim to achieve £400,000 in all savings accounts by 2023.
+ Aim to achieve 60% savings rate throughout the year.
+ Pay off Zopa Loan fully by end of 2021 (£2,300)
+ Continue to put £150 into Premium Bonds as emergency fund.
+ Continue with Keto lifestyle / Low Carb
+ Invest in a Traditional Home Office (Build) for Garden
+ Ensure all balances on Credit Card / Debts Paid
+ Grow lots of fruit and vegetables for 2022!
+ Install an Electric Car Charge Point at Home.