the fire place

13. Ask the Panel Q&A at FIRE in the Forest

This episode is a live Q&A special at our recent FIRE in the Forest event where over 50 members met at Center Parcs in the beautiful surroundings of the English Lake District: people hung out together, went on hikes and enjoyed the facilities while chatting about their FIRE plans. Our panel included a few members as well as Andy and Mike and we had a wide variety of questions covering topics such as choosing funds, inheritance tax and using partners' allowances. As it was recorded live, the sound quality may be a bit variable. Support the show [https://buymeacoffee.com/thefireplace] the fire place community [http://www.thefireplace.info/]

12. How Pensions Work

In this episode we first cover the difference between defined contribution and defined benefit pensions and then we look out the the principles of a defined contribution pension such as a workplace pension or a self-invested personal pension (SIPP) . We discuss how to take advantage of the 25% tax-free portion and explain the difference between flexi-access drawdown (FAD) and uncrystallised funds pension lump sums (UFPLS) and how to use these to access your pension assets. ⁠⁠Support the show [https://buymeacoffee.com/thefireplace]⁠ [http://www.thefireplace.info/] the fire place community [http://www.thefireplace.info/]

11. Coast FI with Guest Chris

In this episode we talk to Chris about 'Coast FI' - when you're financially independent or nearly there and decide to prioritise quality of life over work. We chat about his background and when he became aware of the financial independence on retiring early (FIRE) movement. Along the way we cover the career choices he has made and using unpaid parental leave to get more time with his family. How do you balance the need to save for retirement with a young family? What options are there for employees? How do you use pensions, ISAs and general investment accounts (GIAs) to fund your retirement? Chris details his FI journey on his blog here: dadonfire blog [https://www.dadonfire.co.uk/] Support the show [https://buymeacoffee.com/thefireplace] thefireplace community

10. Building Bridges

We talk often on the show about 'bridging', which is how you build a pot of assets to provide you with an income until you can get access to another source like a pension. A good example is retiring before pension access - the bridge fund would then need to be big enough to pay for your outgoings until you reach the age when you can access the pension. We also talk about bridging the gap until access defined benefit pensions, which often are only accessible later than private occupational or self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs). When you should you start thinking about bridging? And what proportion should go in your pension compared to the bridge fund? We also talk about what sort of assets you should have in your bridging fund and how this might change depending on the length of your bridge. Support the show the fire place community [http://www.thefireplace.info/]

9. Frugality - Why is it Important?

Frugality is a key part of the financial independence and early retirement community, but it's not necessarily all about wearing hair shirts and eating mung beans. We talk about good and bad frugality and the key metric that defines your progress - the savings rate, or the proportion you save compared to how much you earn. Is it easier to increase your savings rate by reducing your spending? Or by earning more? And is frugality still important once you've reached financial independence or early retirement? We discuss how plenty of people find happiness in free activities like being outdoors in nature. And we discuss holidays - many see extensive travel as a key goal for early retirement and how can this be done to align with frugal goals? ⁠Support the show [https://buymeacoffee.com/thefireplace] the fire place community