I cannot believe that I’m already writing another Ultimate Dream Fund update! It doesn’t seem that long since I was writing the last one out. This month has been an interesting one, as it’s been quite a volatile one for my investments. It is difficult to log in each day and see such varying numbers! But, it’s a long term thing so I need to keep some perspective 🙂
As I’ve said previously, our 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 see what they choose to spend their time doing. I cannot wait until we get to share things like that too ? I do sometimes wonder if having two children will have a big impact on our overall finances. I suppose we’ll have to just see?
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 ? a kind of online diary, so to speak!
The dividend income we received in October has already been reinvested so that it is working hard for us. A post will be up on Monday about what we received; it’s lower than some months, but the last months of the year, for me, are lower paying ones. But, it all adds up! 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 October 31st, our Ultimate Dream Fund looks like this:
Ah, that’s a bit disheartening. The fund has only increased by £234.92 during the month, which is hardly anything 🙁 I was hoping to smash through the £20k barrier, but it was not meant to be. What’s even more frustrating is that I put just under £700 in during the month, but clearly, it hasn’t been a good month! I know that there will be ups and downs to this investing journey, but still. I shall keep plodding on, so to speak.
Finally, here is the progress since I started the Ultimate Dream Fund in June 2015:
How was October for your savings/investing targets?
Follow me on:
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
I understand you feel a bit disappointed but think about the decent sum that you have built up overall!
It’s an amazing achievement, especially when you think so many people your age probably have no investments and the equivalent amount on loans and credit cards.