Another month over so I get to update the Ultimate Dream Fund. Some aspects have been a bit hit and miss during October. However, I am going to continue to go with my investing strategy. After all, I am in it for the long term, so to speak. October saw a great savings rate, but did my investments do as well? We shall see!
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’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. 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. With some budget projections, once we are mortgage free, we could make our monthly outgoings under £1,000 without too much effort.
The dividend payments I received throughout October have already been reinvested so that they are working hard for us already. 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! October’s dividend income post will be up at the end of the week. 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. You can get information about that here or even open an ISA today.
Related post: I’ve Started To Invest – Finally!
Related post: My Investing Journey So Far
As of October 31st, our Ultimate Dream Fund looked like this:
Woohoo, I have broken the 10k barrier! This is an overall increase of £942.92 for the month of October, which is good. But, it does show what the markets can do. I transferred just over £1,000 into the fund during the month. However, some of my holdings have had a rough ride. I hope to be in the £11,000s by the end of November.
Finally, here is the fund’s progress since I started it in June 2015:
How was October for your savings/investing targets? Are you on track for the end of the year?
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KnyttWytch says
Brilliant news! I hope it keeps growing at a good rate for you 😀
Nicola says
Thank you! 🙂
Organised Redhead says
Good work with breaking 10k that must feel great! I like your chart which shows year on year monthly progress, it’s a nice visual.
OR
Nicola says
Thank you – it did feel pretty good 🙂
Sarah @tortoisehappy.com says
Great achievement! I don’t check my portfolio very often as it can be disappointing when you see falls. I’ve only chosen accumulating funds rather than those that pay dividends out. I’m tempted to pick some that pay out but it’s less maintenance (as gives less chance to spend income) by choosing the accumulating funds.
Jane Harrison says
Hi – I’m new to your blog. I DID retire early. Two years early and it was worth living frugally for years and years. My strategy was to live on one paycheque per month and bank the other other dividing it up between debt payoff and savings. Once I had no debt and a nice pile of savings I retired. Making sure everything is automatic (transfers to savings, bill payments etc) was also helpful. Now that I am retired I still save a certain amount each month. It becomes a habit!