Another month is over so I get to do one of the best updates again! Getting to update my Ultimate Dream Fund at the end of each month is one of my favourite parts of our journey. Each month, I can see us inching slowly towards our goal. There is nothing more transparent about aiming for something than documenting it. Some months are slower than others and this is one of them. I suppose life is always going to get in the way sometimes?
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. Being able to spend our time with our family is what we’re doing this for; there’s nothing more meaningful to us than that. I keep reading about people who have managed to retire early already and it’s very interesting to read! I cannot wait until we get to share things like that too 🙂 but, I do need to remind myself to enjoy the present too.
I continue 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. Secondly, 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. Also, when I feel like I’m not doing enough, I look back at the posts and see how far we have come 🙂
June’s dividend income has already been reinvested so that they are working hard for us. A post will be up on Monday about what we were paid. Receiving dividends throughout the month means that I get multiple small pay checks each month. For doing nothing! I still love the dividend investing approach. Over time, the percentage reinvested will increase and so the amount needed to be saved from income will decrease, or we’ll be able to speed up the process! All of this is within my stocks and shares ISA which is with Hargreaves Lansdown. It is very easy to use and I’d definitely recommend them.
As of June 30th, our Ultimate Dream Fund looks like this:
That hasn’t been the best month 🙁 my investments have taken a bit of a battering this month. It’s quite disheartening to see! The fund has only increased by £137.32 despite me putting over £600 into savings this month. Ouch! I know that there will be good times and bad times, and I’m in it for the long haul. I need to remember that at times like this.
Finally, here is the fund’s progress since I started it in June 2015:
How was June for your savings/investing targets?
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Nice post Nicola. I’ve had a bad month for my portfolio too, down over 2% in a couple of weeks, and I suspect it’s going to be a very bumpy ride for the next couple of years till the fallout from Brexit subsides 🙁
Yes, I suspect this too, unfortunately 🙁
Hi Nicola,
Great that you’re paying down debt and saving for your future.
How have you protected your portfolio for the next stock market downturn?
What factors do you think have helped the FTSE to rise since the last financial crisis? I believe the amount of money that central banks are creating to prop up stock markets is not going to end well.
How do you think the excessive unsecured private debt of £15,000 that the average UK household has will affect the performance of the UK economy?
Currently I’d recommend going to cash for your some of your shares portfolio over the summer/autumn and overpay your mortgage more, as well as having some money for a rainy day or emergency expenses.
Wish you well, would hate to see you caught out by a big market correction like happened in 2008.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jun/25/booming-stock-markets-distract-from-threat-of-excessive-lending
Hi, thanks for the great comment! We already have an emergency fund in a separate account, though I should probably drip feed slightly more into that occasionally. I am getting a bit anxious about my portfolio at the moment – I think the idea of having slightly more in cash reserves for the short term is probably quite a good one and I have been thinking about it for a while. Also, the storm that is Brexit is an big uncertainty! Thanks for giving me more things to think about 🙂 it’s never a dull moment in the financial sphere.
I love seeing these updates! Do you have a date in mind for when you want to retire?
When I’m 50 – so in 20 years time!