A new month means it is time again to update The Ultimate Dream Fund again, as I continue our journey to early retirement. The Ultimate Dream Fund is named because it is our dream to retire early, and we need the funds to make that happen! One day, this fund will provide us with the money to live on when we leave our 9-5 jobs and time will be all ours. That’s the biggest motivator for achieving our goal.
I’m going to post updates on our fund for two reasons; one, so that I can show that living a frugal lifestyle means that we can retire earlier than we should do and still live a good life on the journey, and two; to keep me motivated for the long haul. This journey is going to take us a long time, but it’ll be worth it in the end. This plan also includes us being mortgage free, so that our monthly outgoings are reduced and manageable.
May was the first month that I was able to post an update for the Ultimate Dream Fund, as it was the starting point of our journey. I said in that post that this is definitely a challenge for us; the savings target is very steep and there is a very good chance we will miss our target. However, I’m a big fan of stretch goals and aiming high, so that’s what we are doing!
At the moment, all of my Ultimate Dream Fund is sat in an instant access savings account, which doesn’t particularly pay a great deal of interest. The reason for this is that I’m a bit hesitant to open a stocks and shares ISA and put all of money in those at the moment, with the uncertainty that Greece is bringing to the European markets. I have been keeping a close eye on things over the past two weeks, as I am keen to start investing, but I do not know if this is the right time to be making that decision. I know that you are not supposed to time the market, and that is absolutely not what I’m trying to do, but I’m clearly a nervous saver/investor. Perhaps I should open one and only put in a small amount for now, to actually make the jump into investing rather than just saving?
Anyway, as of June 30th, our Ultimate Dream Fund stands at £1,565.46 which is an increase of £609.62 from last month. Although that looks good, we need to be hitting the £1,000 mark of savings every month to hit our overall target. However, I have just had my maternity pay breakdown from work, which scuppers our plans somewhat from the moment I leave work, so I need to get my thinking cap on to try and close the gap a bit.
I am hoping for July to be positive in terms of saving towards our fund. I might see if I can raise some funds by selling some things online; J Money’s Challenge Everything challenge is motivating! I haven’t sold anything online for a long time and have never ventured into the world of Gumtree or Facebook groups. Perhaps that’s something I can do in the short term, before bump arrives!
How was June for your savings/investing targets? Are you still on track?
I’m on a similar path to you in that myself and hubby are trying to save up so we can retire a lot earlier than 67!
With regards to investing, I was the same as you a couple of years ago, unsure about investing as people were saying that the stock market was bound to drop soon so i just started investing a small amount (£200) a month into a couple of Vanguard funds.
This meant that it wasn’t a big deal if market dropped after I started investing and over time it kind of averages it out. Sometime you buy high, the next month it may have dropped a bit so you buy it a bit cheaper.
Its definitely given me confidence as I’ve not resorted to panic selling when the funds have dropped and as soon as my mortgage is paid off next year, I will be putting more money into the market.
It maybe with trying something similar so you don’t feel like your risking all your money on the stock market.
Thanks for the tips; I think that maybe starting off small and seeing how it goes is perhaps a good way forward 🙂
Hello TFC,
Congratulations on starting your Dream fund! The start is the toughest bit, but I bet you’ll find ways to either reduce expenses or increase earnings (or both!) and meet your goals.
As for investing in the stock market, I had similar doubts and fear before I started investing. I just read everything I could about it, and analysed many companies – the stock proce may fluctuate from time to time, but good, blue-chip businesses will almost always overcome headwinds.
With the uncertainty surrounding Greece , a lot of the stocks I own have decreased in price, so I’ve taken the oportunity to buy the same high-quality shares for a lower price! They’ll be back up before long (and in the mean time, they are paying me dividends).
Keep it up!
Dividend Legion
Thanks for stopping by! 🙂 and yes, starting is the hardest step which I’ve done, I just need to add a bit more risk to the scenario for long term gains 🙂
You are almost there Nicola. You just need 400 for you to hit £1,000 mark of savings every month. I know for sure that you know how to do that. Good luck! Me? so far I am hitting the mark I set. Hopefully, I can do it this month of July.
Whilst on maternity leave, the £400 alone might be difficult to find, never mind £1,000! However, I am determined to get as close as possible 🙂
You are doing well, but you will not reach your goals without investing in equities. Well, unless you wait out your job for 30 years for the golden boot to arrive. If you are not willing to embrace a little risk, you either have to save a lot more or accept that you need to scale back your aspirations.