Welcome to the next edition of a new monthly series! I recently invited the Australian FI community to share a personal highlight from the past month.
The journey to financial independence can feel long at times, so it’s important to acknowledge our wins along the way (and post-FI too)! Plus, sharing small successes with others can lift us up and keep us motivated to take the next steps towards our goals.
Each month, let’s celebrate our milestones and brag-able moments! Whether you’ve discovered a new frugal hack, hit a net worth goal, welcomed a new family member, paid off a chunk of debt, changed jobs, learned a skill, got a project underway… share it here with your fellow Australian FI enthusiasts.
Aussies, fill in this survey by the 25th day of each month. Posts are published on the last day of that month. For a reminder to submit, subscribe to the mailing list.
Want to read about previous months? Check out the November and December 2019 editions.
Now, on to January’s community news…
- Sarah from Keepin’ It Frugal – “We reduced our fuel costs by two thirds after switching to (mostly!) e-biking around the city. :)”
- Adelaide J – “My 8-year-old washing machine packed it in. Found a ‘how to fix’ on Youtube; $17 worth of parts from Ebay and 1 week later, washing machine is back up and running. A lot of great money saving repair videos on Youtube for those who can turn a screwdriver.”
- Aussie Doc – “We achieved one of our bucket list dreams over Xmas, taking our little ones to play in snow for the first time and meet the real Santa! Couldn’t have been more magical, well worth all the saving.”
- Serina Bird from The Joyful Frugalista – “I’ve started a challenge to give away – with joy – 366 items this year.”
- Frogdancer Jones from Melbourne – “Late last year, I took some profits from my investments to get some work done around my home to future-proof it for retirement. I’d rather pay for exxy renos now when I still have a wage coming in, rather than pay out of a fixed income later. In January: a new front fence + electric gate and a HUGE verandah for outdoor entertaining. Old Lady Frogdancer will be sitting, wine glass in hand, enjoying the shade of that verandah in decades to come!”
- Kate from Money Bites – “I launched the Financial Literacy Hub! The Hub shows all the sources of financial literacy support and information across Australia. This includes organisations offering information and support, leading financial books by and for Australians and key research.”
- CaptainFI from Sydney – “I released my first podcast ‘Episode one: Financial Independence for Beginners’ and I’m celebrating its acceptance into Spotify.”
- Fayme and Miguel (aka. faymeandmiguel_fire on Instagram) – “Kicked off 2020 by taking a mini-retirement, volunteering for 2 months, followed by a trip to South Asia for 6 weeks. We discovered co-living recently so that’ll be our goal for Q2! Living off dividends as an experiment – let’s see how it goes!”
- Michelle from Frugality and Freedom – “In January, I celebrated my 10 year anniversary of buying my first shares. I’ve learned a lot since then, but I’m so pleased to have gotten started with small steps a decade ago.”
Congrats to everyone making progress towards financial independence as we begin 2020. It’s inspiring to read these diverse updates and celebrate the wins – large and small.
Don’t forget, fill in this survey by the 25th day of each month or subscribe to the mailing list for a reminder when it’s due. See you next time!