Forced into the FIRE

by @edent | , , | 1 comment | Read ~290 times.

A tiny lego Storm Trooper eats a chocolate coin.

I'm an ambivalent convert to FIRE - Financial Independence Retire Early. The basic gist is: Minimise your expenditure, Save 20x your annual expenditure, Retire early while maintaining the same lifestyle. That's it. There are a lot of crappy books about FIRE, but the concept is simple. So I try to spend a little less, and…

A year of going cashless - and where it hasn't worked

by @edent | , , | 83 comments | Read ~1,268 times.

Four credit cards in a pile

I set myself a resolution last year - go 12 months without using physical cash. No coins, no notes, no gold bullion, no cheques. I attempted to do all my spending on credit card, Direct Debit, and bank transfer (BACS). It worked! Mostly... Here's where it didn't work, and what I learned from it. Foreign…

I Am No Longer a Vodafone Shareholder

by @edent | , , , | 4 comments | Read ~239 times.

As many of you know, I worked for Vodafone for nearly 7 years. I left shortly before the "entirely legal and justified tax avoidance" scandal came to light. I didn't know anything about the tax issues while I was working there - other than the fact I had some colleagues working in Luxembourg - otherwise…