Goals

Long term goals

Ultimately, as with most in the FIRE community, my primary goal is to free myself from debt and generate enough passive income that I can choose whether, or how much, I work.

Although the Australian benchmark for a single to be able to live comfortably in retirement is just shy of the $44,000 mark (Sept 2020 quarter, as per the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia’s Retirement Standard), I’d prefer to have a bit more than that, as I’d like to travel and maintain a lifestyle that includes being able to go away for a few days here and there, attend concerts and shows, and be able to eat out on a reasonably regular basis. Ultimately, if I could generate, say $55,000 p.a. in retirement (or whatever the equivalent will be by that time) then I think that should keep me pretty happy.

I also plan to buy what will likely be my last car in around 2030.

Medium term goals

I have met my Phase 1 Mojo goal of having 6 months full income saved as of early May 2020. Phase 2 Mojo is a longer term goal of having up to 2 years post-tax income available as ready cash.

Savings Goal	Achieved
3 months expenses only	February 2019
3 months full post-tax pay	July 2019
6 months expenses only	December 2019
6 months full post-tax pay	May 2020
1 year full post-tax pay
18 months full post-tax pay
2 years full post-tax pay

In the medium term, I particularly want to discharge my mortgage. Due to various life decisions, combined with ending up in a relatively lowly paid job for longer than I expected, I’m not anywhere near as far along with this as I should be – and I don’t even have a huge mortgage. Unfortunately, I fell into that trap for unwary players – the redraw facility. While it saved my bacon here and there, it’s far too easy to end up spending the interest savings you make from putting your whole income on the mortgage, and then using a credit card for purchases which you then pay off in full each month. NEVER AGAIN!

Short term goals

I have an overseas holiday to save for, which is slated for 2021.

There are also some things I’d like to get done around the house – air conditioning would be nice, and I plan to investigate the installation of solar panels and battery storage at some point. I also really need to replace my carpet and blinds.