The Squirreler

Our Favourite Personal Finance and FI Podcasts

I am an avid Personal Finance and FI podcast listener and consume most of my content this way. On a recent Meaningful Money Community Facebook post someone asked what our favourite podcasts were. Loads of suggestions so I’ve pulled them into one list. I’ve also added in some of my own and others suggested by Money to the Masses’s Andy Leeks on 16 Feb 2020.

I will be improving this list, visually and by adding in some more detail such as target audience and maybe some reviews. You can google lists of top 5 or 10 finance podcasts – but I am interested in what personal finance junkies and / or FIRE followers are interested in so, if you think I have missed any, let me know and I’ll add them.

Name	Publisher / Host	Country	Frequency	Description
Afford Anything	Paula Pant	US	Bi weekly
AJ Bell Money and Markets	AJ Bell	UK	Weekly	Helps you understand the markets and manage your investment portfolio.
Ask Martin Lewis	BBC Radio 5 Live	UK	Weekly	Personal finance / consumer podcast
Bad with Money	Gaby Dunn	US	Weekly
Cash Chats	Andy Webb	UK	Weekly	Money saving tips, features, interviews
ChooseFI	ChooseFI	US	3 per week	The US based FI podcast
Dave Ramsey	Dave Ramsey	US	3 per day	US personal finance podcast of the Dave Ramsey Show.
Everyday Courage	Jillian Johnsrud	US	Weekly	Personal growth podcast with financial content
Fidelity Rich Pickings	Fidelity	UK	Monthly	Monthly asset allocation podcast hosted by Richard Edgar, Editor in Chief.
Financial Wellbeing Podcast	Ovation Finance	UK	Monthly	Expert insight, tips and advice on creating financial peace of mind.
FT Money Show	Financial Times	UK	Weekly	How latest events impact your finances
FT News Briefing	Financial Times	UK	Daily	Global business stories
In Her Financial Shoes	Catherine Morgan	UK	1-2 per week	This personal finance podcast is for women, including female entrepreneurs to learn personal finance & practical money management tips to be financially confident.
Informed Choice Radio	Martin Bamford	UK	2 per week	Personal finance podcast all about achieving your financial goals and living a better life.
Investment Week	Investment Week	UK	Varies	Interviews biggest names in the funds industry and analysis of the stories affecting the marketplace
Investors Chronicle	FT	UK	2 per week	Investor news
Mad Fientist	Mad Fientist	US		Interesting and informative discussions on money, investing, and all things related to early retirement and financial independence!
Maven Money	Andy Hart	UK	Weekly	Personal finance – no market commentary focus on financial literacy
Meaningful Money	Pete Matthews	UK	1-2 per week	Everything you need to know and everything you need to do to make sense of money
Money 101	BBC	UK	18 episode series	Principles of personal finance from paying off debt to saving and investing
Money Box	BBC	UK	2 per week	The latest news from the world of personal finance plus advice for those trying to make the most of their money.
Money to the Masses	Damian Fahy	UK	2 per week	One of the best personal finance and investing podcasts
Money Week Podcast	Money Week	UK	2-3 per week	What’s going on in the markets and how does it affect your wealth
Optimal Finance Daily	Dan Weinberg	US	Daily	Budgeting, investing, and financial independence
Property Podcast	Rob and Rob	UK	2 per week	News and essential resources for property investors
She’s on the money	SOTM	Austrailan	2 per month	She’s on the Money Founder, Molly Benjamin and leading financial planner Lisa Conway-Hughes aka Miss Lolly interview guests on a range of personal finance topics using jargon-free language helping listeners to understand the world of money and how they can take control of their financial futures!
Stackiing Benjamins	Joe and OG	US	3 per week	Magazine style podcast. Since 2012, Stacking Benjamins has used the science of play to make finance more approachable, interesting, and fun. Our hope is that people will think more seriously about money and about financial well-being.
The Which? Money Podcast	Which?	UK	Weekly	Personal finance news, updates and discussion
This is Money	This is Money	UK	Weekly	Personal finance news, updates and discussion
UK Investor Magazine	UK Investor Magazine	UK	1-2 per week	Regular update of issues important to UK investors and savers
Wake up to Money	BBC Radio 5	UK	Daily	News and views on business and the world of personal finance. Plus the very latest from the financial markets around the globe

Savings Ninja thought experiment #10

“Unprecedented events create new experiences. What fun, misadventure, or positive discoveries have you encountered while locked down?“-Savings Ninja thought experiment –The Covid-19 Edition

Like Firelite this is my first Savings Ninja thought experiment and despite working from home and social isolating for 6 weeks am only just getting round to reflections on lockdown.

Reducing my (planning) horizon

I am a planner, usually I’d be on the internet now booking flights for 2021, trying to secure early bird tickets for this or that festival. Now I plan a day ahead or to the next weekend at the most. Living more in the moment and not having continual FOMO has been quite nice. As well as reduced planning horizon my physical horizon has become much more local. Walking, running and cycling in my near or not to far neighbourhood. This has involved walking down cul-de-sacs just round the corner from where I live to cycling on side roads not before travelled.

Lots of random interesting facts now forgotten

Zoom quizzes are now the social gathering of choice and I have been entertained with friends and work colleagues alike – have learnt lots including – how many eyes do bees have, which city in the UK has the most Greggs and how high is Scafell Pike – most have facts are now though unfortunately forgotten ! (5, Newcastle, and 978m).

Taking time to read and reflect

I consume my personal finance and FIRE content through podcasts and reading blogs. I rarely read books these days and definitely not finance or FIRE books. I love podcasts in particularly, that mini discussion or lecture nicely packaged in a 30-40 minute bite sized listen is just enough before I move onto the next thing. So I decided to get back to basics and read some of the historic and recent seminal FIRE texts including ‘Simple Path to Wealth’ and ‘Your money or your life’. Reading a book slows you down, give you time to reflect and digest, go on a longer journey than a podcast episode can take you. These books are great in their own right and I have enjoyed rediscovering reading.

Knowing the path is different from walking the path

Talking of ‘Simple Path to Wealth’ in more normal times I would have read the text ‘The market always goes up and it is always a wild and rocky ride along the way’ and gone ‘yeah yeah I know this’. Now when I read that sentence I go, ‘yes, yes I KNOW this’. Much less dismissive and information that is felt as well as understood. It’s been a pleasant discovery that I am accepting this with equanimity.

I have really relished been booted out of my comfort zone – working from home, VCing family and friends rather than visiting, doing more cooking, running, spending time with my partner, even a bit of sketching with Grayson Perry.

However there is a negative note.

Have the ability to accept the unacceptable

You may not accept the government statistics but even theirs are saying we have, per million population the fourth worst death rate in the world currently, topping Italy and Spain, and for some reason right behind Belgium. And even with this tragedy Boris Johnson’s approval rating has increased (courtesy of the Daily Mail, mid April). How can this be so?

April 2020 Net Worth Update

I feel like I am getting into the swing of life in lockdown. I must admit I did struggle before Easter, but since our time off over the long week I seem have learnt to better work and live at home and personally am feeling more on an even keel.

It is really humbling to hear about and see how people are responding to the crisis, particularly our NHS and other key workers. I feel sheltered from it with most of my family and friends working at home or being furloughed. I want to understand what is going on in the UK and abroad so I am watching the news, I am very much a news junky but am rationing myself … just a little.

I am still behind blogging both writing and reading – have loads of ideas for posts but for some reason the garden and kitchen deep cleans are taking my attention! This and my financial education in more general is something I want to prioritise for the next few months. Let’s see how I get on!

Getting to figures, where are we for April then? I have continued with a savings rate of 40% and topped up my investements with £572 from cash – the change in my net worth has been an increase of £1550 or 1.3% from last month (small yeah), however I am down 1.4% from the end of 2019 (small boo).

Actions from March

The main activity was to have the April MCR FIRE – Friday 17th April, using Zoom – I think it went really well and I will try and do a separate update. It was different of course, we used Zoom, and there were I think about 30 people, most from the North but some from farther afield, including fellow FIRE chasers from the London FI group. We had a couple of presentations from D and M and lots of discussion, which continued well after the ‘formal’ part of the evening.
Am dong OK keeping sane, positive, and connected, Have built up many a new habit of Zoom family calls, quizzes with friends and work colleagues. Have also been enjoying online festivals through United We Stream and Open Mic Nights e.g. One Mic Stand – am going to do a post on what I’ve been up to in lockdown in response to Saving Ninja’s Thought Experiment challenge.
… and not drinking too much cheap cider. A big fail here I have to admit.

Personal Expenditure last month

Total expenditure for April £194 which is 29% down on my monthly average and 26% of what I actually allocate for my personal expenditure. It does still amaze me that I can spend £200 and not supposed to be leaving the house, however it is all reasonable. The main expenditure of presents including some nice folders for mother’s day (£77.95), charity contributions (£46.90) and ‘Entertainment’ which now consists of books and booze! I am accruing some of my allocated personal expenditure to buy a new phone, and if I have any money left I will invest it.

Action for next month

Next month I really want to concentrate on my own personal financial education, this involves reading more including finishing ‘The Simple Path the Wealth’ and other FI books – I currently have, ‘Your Money or Your Life’, the Choose FI book and David Sawyer’s RESET on my to read list. I also want to use the blog to reflect my reading, deepen my understanding and take action. I am also doing FI101 ChooseFI’s online FI course.

At work, I and a colleague are our team’s ‘well being champions’. We are using the six ways to well being to support and engage each other in well being activities. The six ways to well being include, connect, take notice, be active, keep learning, give and care. There is nothing about financial well being so am planning on putting something of my own together for colleagues.

March 2020 Net Worth Update and MCR FIRE meet up change of venue (now online)

Well that was painful, unexpected and, new word of the year ‘unprecedented‘! Such a lot has happened in the last 10 days / 2 weeks hasn’t it? I am getting used to the new normal; working at home, the joys of virtual pub quizzes, having Zoom family gatherings and missing my daily cycle.

Am a bit behind with blogging generally so am hoping social distancing will give me more time to devote to thinking and writing about FI and engaging more with the FI blogging community. I must admit I have been avoiding blogs and blogging over last two months or so – partly I was away for 2 weeks on holiday, work has been busy but I think I also have been avoiding it all on purpose, bingeing on BBC news, indulging in a bit of catastrophising and getting used to new habits.

I am not going to reflect on what Covid-19 has taught me about financial markets and life in general or how I am spending my time in lockdown for this post. Just the numbers, here goes, since last month Feb 2020 and despite a savings rate of 40%, my net worth has decreased,

– 3.00%
– £3,622

Actions from December

Research Investment Trusts, what are they, how do they compare to funds and identify if they could provide more stability in providing a reliable income from investments when I FIRE.
- I did a bit of research but am waiting for the April MCR FIRE meet up online to hear how M using them to support his FI
Research contributing to a pension when taking a pension, confirm how it works, if there are any restrictions and how it could fit into my FIRE strategy.
- Complete. Understand this is still possible the amount you can contribute is restricted to £3,600 (individual contributions £2,880, tax relief £720).
Research the fund tips and decide if I would like to invest!
- Not done, need to revisit
Think about the next FIRE meet up in the new year and see if a more structured session would be of interest – in fact D, Weenie and I have already been having an email exchange about the next steps.
- Complete! We had a great meet up in the Salutation 21st Feb, we had a relaxed round table chat about who were are, how we came to FI etc and a presentation by Weenie on her approach to FI, great to see new faces and met the FI blogger FU man chu. Matt posted a summary of the evening on The Lemon Fool
Set up a mailing list so that anyone who attends the meet ups, whether they are a friend of a friend, use Facebook, Twitter or read blogs are aware of future events.
- Ditched the idea of a mailing list and we now have a Financial Independence FIRE – Manchester meet up group
Additional quotes and a more detailed budget for the cellar conversion.
- Still thinking about this, did a more detailed budget, but Covid-19 has put a bit of a blocker on this, so am pausing

Personal Expenditure last month

Parking doing this, mind elsewhere – am assuming with social isolation that ‘Entertainment’ budget line will be severely reduced!

But since I last blogged I do want to check in with myself, maybe the last time for at few months, of some of the social activities I have enjoyed,

2 weeks travelling in Southern India – Tamil Nadu and Kerala
MCR FIRE meet up 21st Feb
Art of the Brick – Arty Lego Exhibition at Northern Warehouse Manchester, with my nephews and their families and lunch at Carluccio’s (now unfortunately in Administration), my Xmas gift to them
Afternoon tea at Cloud 23 celebrating my friend’s 60th birthday
A canal boat trip with All Board from Sale Marina to Dunham Massey with friends – this was my Xmas present to them. We had lunch at the Axe and Cleaver and they even bought out Xmas crackers for us!
Met up with my 4 old school friends for drinks and dinner
Wine club with my friends (just before lock down – we were very very drunk)

Action for next month

Keeping it simple this month

The main activity is our have our April MCR FIRE – Friday 17th April, is now going to be online using Zoom. Come and join us, you don’t even have to be in Manchester or the North West now.

Also am aiming to stay sane and positive, keep connected, and not drink too much cheap cider.

The power of the pot

I’ve been using ‘pots’ for years now to earmark funds for specific purposes. I started off simple, just the one or two pots. My oldest pot is ‘monthly spends’ a slush fund for discretionary expenses; booze, cinema, trips out… all that good stuff.

My pots are usually virtual rather than physical; current, savings accounts etc. But I have used physical pots (actually an empty tin of Uncle Jo’s mint balls) to squirrel money away.

Dave Ramsey talks like he invented potting (my snideness hides huge fandom, the subject of a future post), but calls it ‘The envelope system‘, having an envelope for each budget category, usually discretionary categories that it is easy to over spend on e.g. groceries, or going-out. Cash is put in each envelope so you ear mark your spending for that category – and his rules are, no money in the envelope no money to spend.

Putting a virtual or physical ring fence around funds for different spending categories is so simple but so powerful.

It allows you to see your progress toward specific goals.

It creates enforced scarcity so you don’t over spend.

It provides focus – a specificity which which drives good behaviour e.g. more intentional spending or increasing the drive to save.

It makes measurement simpler, and we all know what happens when you measure.

It provides transparency and clarity about what is happening to your money, where its going, showing either your priorities or your excesses.

Level 1 potting

It must be over 20 years since I started potting – this level one potting was mainly for my monthly spends as well as a pension and stocks and shares ISA pot.

I have always found separating off my monthly spending, all that lovely fun stuff that can just have your money disappearing into a round here and a lunch there, a corner stone of managing my money. This is the only account I have and do sometimes use an overdraft on. Even though I do have money elsewhere I would not use it for my monthly spends, opting instead to go into overdraft, suffer a fee and have to recoup the money from the next month.

Level 2 potting

When I really started getting intentional with my spending, and it may have coincided with my partner and I getting married and joining our finances, I can’t quite remember, but I took the potting up a level! Pots for household expenses, savings and home improvements were born. Like monthly spends household expenses is another cornerstone of managing expenditure. I kick myself that it took so long to get it set up. My finances were stabilising and my income increasing enabling me to save and think ahead on how to finance significant activity such as home improvements. This pot has allowed me to finance some very expensive but absolutely gorgeous sash windows!

Level 3 potting

I have now reached potting nirvana – a full set of pots where every pound is accounted for. This is a very recent state of financial affairs. I listen to Dave Ramsey on loop and he prescribes the every dollar budget where every single dollar is accounted for. With level 2 potting there was money hanging around, some of it I classed as an emergency fund, some of it I used for holidays or propping up other pots, basically it was a a bit sloppy and ill disciplined. So I set up two new pots, holidays and Xmas. I have set up an account with a local credit union for Xmas spends to support community based ethical saving and lending. I also decided to define more clearly my emergency fund and inspired by Maven Money podcast (espisode 142) have put £5,000 emergency fund into Premium Bonds.

Now ever pound is accounted for so I can now track my priorities and my excesses!

Are you a potter? Are you Level 1, 2 or 3?

MCR FIRE Meet up February 2020

First MCR FIRE Meet up of the new decade! 21st February 2020 from 6pm, informal presentations from 7.15pm. ‘The Salutation’ was a hit in November so we are heading back.

Something a little different this meet up – as well as the usual informal evening with the opportunity to meet like minded FIRE chasers, it will include an informal presentation and discussion on ‘The FIRE journey and investing for FIRE’.

Getting there

Address: The Salutation, 12 Higher Chatham Street, Manchester, M15 6ED, just 10 mins walk from Oxford Road Station.

Car parks: There are a number of car parks near by as well as some street parking near Manchester Metropolitan University

Get the train: 10 mins south of Oxford Road station

Map of Salutation from Oxford Rd Station

All welcome at whatever stage in the journey!

2019 Year in Review / 2020 Goals

Have really enjoyed other blogger’s year in reviews and goal setting for 2020, am a bit late to this party and have changed my mind on goals for 2020, slimming them down and trying to be more focused. Here goes!

2019 was a good year financially, with significant, for me at least, improvements to my net worth however you cut the pie. Whether I measure just my cash and investments, whether I include the BTL or my own home in the calculations, all figures are on the up and are improvements on last year. See the updated net worth in £s in my Net Worth page.

My Financial Year in Numbers

The idea that what gets measured is improved has definitely come true for me this year – I have definitely got into better habits this year in terms of

increasing % of savings in investments
decreasing the % of my total net worth in cash, but still a way to go
monitoring my monthly spend so I can 1) be honest with myself, 2) look at how to reduce spending and 3) be realistic about what passive income I need for FI
setting up more squirrel pots so I manage Xmas and holiday expenditure better

I have continued to consume lots of personal finance and FIRE content largely by podcasts. I listen to Dave Ramsey every day! Check in with ChooseFI regularly and love my UK based podcasts of Meaningful Money, Money to the Masses and Maven Money.

Also this is the year when I have started reading blogs, blogging myself and making more connections with other people in the North West interested in FI. I have been involved in two MCR FIRE meets up and have got a lot of encouragement, motivation, tips and knowledge from like minded people. I have also started reading more of my fellow FIRE chaser’s blogs as well as being more active on Facebook include the ChooseFI Manchester UK Facebook.

2020 Goals

So what about my goals for 2020. I am a goal setter and sometime goal achiever! This year I am going to be focusing on goals in 3 areas

Financial
- Increase savings rate to 40%
- Increase in net worth to exceed or at least be in line with 2019 figures i.e. 28% increase in net worth
- Increase savings / income by £2,000 with side hustles / squirreling / being more ruthless with budgeting
Personal
- Focus on well-being and get a better better work / life balance, leave work on time, sleep better and don’t self medicate – which will leave me more time, energy and head space to do more of the things that make me happy
Preparation for FI
- As well as all the the financial goals above, I also want to work on getting myself and my partner ‘on the same page’

December 2019 Net Worth Update

A great month to finish the year, a significant increase in this month, however a good bit of this was due an accounting error, an omission of a cash account. It also included as last month another £1,000 of my cash used for home improvements. This month’s net worth,

2.6%
£3,033

Actions from last month

Reduce the amount of personal expenditure categorised as ‘Misc’.
- Reduced it down to 22%.
Review the ROI numbers after the initial cellar conversion quote and consider getting at least 2 more quotes over the next month. After which agree a plan to save the money and a timescale for the conversion.
- Not yet received my quote but got a finger in the air amount was on the high side – but even so it was over 5% ROI. Have set up a squirrel pot to save a monthly amount and am planning on undertaking the work within the next 12 months. I will be getting a couple more quotes and doing a detailed budget in January.
Confirm that my cellar conversion plans fit into the ‘Rent a room’ scheme.
- Yes it does, I found a useful website that explained it https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/property-income-manual/pim4030.
Research Match Betting.
- Still not done. In my head this is this is time consuming and difficult. I need to look at a way to carve out some time and break it down into manageable chunks.

Personal Expenditure this month

Carried on monitoring my personal expenditure during December. December is obviously an expensive month but I have been squirreling away money monthly for Xmas presents so my general expenses isn’t much more than usual, in fact its a bit less!

Family Christmas meet up
Junkyard Golf with work colleagues
Works Xmas meal at a lovely restaurant in Manchester
Family birthday celebrations
Stereo MCs at Manchester Academy
The musical Gypsy at the Royal Exchange
General Xmas and New Year celebrations with family and friends

Action for next month – most of these are taken from MCR FIRE Meet up in November

Research Investment Trusts, what are they, how do they compare to funds and identify if they could provide more stability in providing a reliable income from investments when I FIRE.
Research contributing to a pension when taking a pension, confirm how it works, if there are any restrictions and how it could fit into my FIRE strategy.
Research the fund tips and decide if I would like to invest!
Think about the next FIRE meet up in the new year and see if a more structured session would be of interest – in fact D, Weenie and I have already been having an email exchange about the next steps.
Set up a mailing list so that anyone who attends the meet ups, whether they are a friend of a friend, use Facebook, Twitter or read blogs are aware of future events.
Additional quotes and a more detailed budget for the cellar conversion.

MCR FIRE meet up #3 29th November 2019

MCR FIRE meet up #3

Venue = 10/10 – a lovely relaxed venue – food and real ales available
Atmosphere and conversation = 10/10
Fire fans = 10, 6 fans from September meet up
Pints of cider = 2

A great night on Friday 29/11 at the Salutation Pub for the 3rd MCR FIRE Meet up. A great venue, the staff were really helpful in organising us a corner. It is a lovely old pub with a great atmosphere and they have the option of a great separate space to hold more intimate gatherings. It was busy but not too busy and very easy to hear conversations. There was 10 of us, 6 of us from the September meet up and 4 new friends, three P, H and J who came all the way from Wigan!

My favourite conversations….

D from the share group and M were keen to see the meet up try out a a different approach and have presentations and talks – a more structured agenda to mix up the evening. They both said they would be willing to kick us off and share their insights and expertise.
Great to see B and her partner D again and we had an interesting discussion on ethical lending using Credit Unions. BBC Money Box recently had a programme on Credit Unions, what they are and how they work. One thing I took away was that they need new savers to ensure they can meet lending demands. So I made a commitment at the meet up to set up a Credit Union account in the New Year to act as a separate squirreler pot for Xmas savings.
Don’t know how we got around to talking about it but M clarified for me that I could still pay into a pension after I take my existing DB pension and benefit from tax relief. I am not aiming to hang up my working boots completely after I FIRE – I will probably still be doing some paid work – completely of my own choosing of course – so what a great idea to get a 20% boost to my investments through saving into a SIPP?
One issue I have been mulling over is how do you get a reliable income from investments after reaching FIRE? M mentioned his use of Investment Trusts rather than Funds in his strategy to ensure a stable income from his investments due to the fact they can reserve some of the income they receive from the investments they hold, allowing them to pay these dividends out to investors during less profitable years.
Got a couple of fund tips from P, ‘Lindsell Train Global Investment Accumulation’ and ‘Fundsmith’.

I did ask people where they heard about the meet up, most find out about it from Weenie’s blog, D’s share society of the ChooseFI Manchester FB group. So there is no one way to communicate to interested FIRE chasers, so thought it might be helpful to have a mailing list to capture all attendees details to make sure they are updated about future events. Let’s see how it goes.

Next steps / take-aways

Research Investment Trusts, what are they, how do they compare to funds and identify if they could provide more stability in providing a reliable income from investments when I FIRE.
Research contributing to a pension when taking a pension, confirm how it works, if there are any restrictions and how it could fit into my FIRE strategy.
Research the fund tips and decide if I would like to invest!.
Think about the next meet up in the new year and see if a more structured session would be of interest – in face D, Weenie and I have already been having an email exchange about the next steps.
Set up a mailing list so that anyone who attends the meet ups, whether they are a friend of a friend, use Facebook, Twitter or read blogs are aware of future events.

And now to you …

What were your highlights of the evening?
When shall we meet again?
Would you be happy coming to the Salutation again?
Would you be interested in more structured session?

November 2019 Net Worth Update

At last a month where net worth is worth reporting! And I had to use £1,000 of my cash for home improvements. This month’s net worth,

0.72%
£1,082

Actions from last month

Get someone in to do a high level quote on converting our cellar into a small apartment, then done a ROI / factor into my annual income when I FIRE
- I have one contractor booked in for later this week, so will report back next month on the amount quoted. I did do a review of the ROI and it is looking very favourable with a return on investment of 50% occupancy of 10%, however this was for the lower cost estimate. The ROI reduces to 6% for the higher cost estimate. Both are OK with me as this is tax free if the income is part of the ‘rent a room’ scheme. I need to do my research to ensure it is.
Do some background reading on Match Betting as I aim to try it out in December
- Haven’t done this, have been very busy at work and this is looking like another job. I will see how I feel in December and progress with it then.
Take some stuff to the charity shop
- Two visits!

Personal Expenditure this month

Carried on monitoring my personal expenditure during October, and as month, most of it on entertainment / going out. I had some good times this month

Went to see Romesh Ranganathan – great night out.
Saw Kate Tempest at my favourite music venue in Manchester, the Albert Hall – an amazing artist.
Did an Escape Room with colleagues from work – we got locked in!
Went to Holmfirth Winery with my ‘Wine Club’.
Had a lovely weekend away in the Lakes as part of an Outdoor Conference.
Drinks with FIRE friends at the 3rd MCR FIRE meet up 29/11 – write up on its way!

Action for this month

Reduce the amount of personal expenditure categorised as ‘Misc’.
Review the ROI numbers after the initial cellar conversion quote and consider getting at least 2 more quotes over the next month. After which agree a plan to save the money and a timescale for the conversion.
Confirm that my cellar conversion plans fit into the ‘Rent a room’ scheme.
Research Match Betting.