the fire place – Details, episodes & analysis

This episode's News covers the planned rise in dividend tax rates for the 2026-27 tax year and  

In the main section our interviewee is Evelyn from one of our Nottingham FIRE meet-ups. We talk about how you know when you've reached financial independence and finding a healthy work/life balance.

And in the Q&A we talk about using dividends as a source of income and whether the free investments platforms are likely to stay that way?

⁠Support the show

the fire place community

Andy talks about the recent Nottingham meet-up in the news. What is a meet-up? Who attends? What do they talk about? And what do they get out of it? Meet-ups are a big part of our community and a chance to meet and chat to people in comfortable surroundings.

We then have Michael, one of the attendees, as this podcast's guest interviewee. He had a career in the forces but then decided to switch into the private sector and then retired early with a combination of a defined benefit forces pension and a defined contribution one from his time working after leaving the forces. What were the challenges? And what is he doing now?

In the Q&A we talk about some of the issues around end of year capital gains tax harvesting, which can be useful for people with substantial sums in taxable general investment accounts.

Support the show

the fire place community

A long time ago in a galaxy far away...

Oops! Wrong episode IV. 

In the News section we cover how the war in the Middle East is affecting the value of shares and bonds. Are bonds still useful at these times and what about the effects of inflation? 

In the main section Mike interviews Andy about his FIRE journey - how could a regular earner could reach financial independence in 8 years? And what challenges were there on the way?

And in the Q&A we talk about the role of cash savings and cash equivalents such as Premium Bonds for investors and those aiming for financial independence.

Support the show

the fire place community

In this magazine format episode, we cover the introduction of new low-cost investing platforms in the News section: are these useful for those planning for financial independence and FIRE and how do they compete with existing platforms?

In the main section Andy interviews Mike about his FIRE journey. When did the penny drop that you could live off your investments? And what did he then do about it?

And in the Q&A we talk about what tasks investors should be undertaking at the end of the tax year and whether it is a good idea to invest while there is a war underway in the Middle East?

Support the show

the fire place community

Here we cover the goals of our podcast and how it fits in with the fire place community, along with what the hosts Andy and Mike bring to the party.

Support the show

the fire place community

Here we ask: what is FIRE? How does it work? How can you expect to reach financial independence and early retirement?

This 15 minute introduction covers the basics for people to whom FIRE and investing is new territory.

Support the show

the fire place community

We've used this episode to make a Q&A special to answer a number of questions that regularly come up with our guest John, who is a regular in our Facebook group.

We look at 'one more year syndrome', where it's very tempting to delay your retirement, along with dealing with how to generate an income to bridge the period between retirement and access to pensions.

We then deal with how to optimise planning for your retirement and drawing down an income once you get there, including gifting money to dependents.

Show notes

Support the show

This episode is a follow-up to episode #12 where we discussed How Pensions Work. This time we look at the practicalities of drawing down an income from a self-invested personal pension (SIPP).

The SIPP has been chosen for simplicity although many occupation defined contribution pensions will behave in a very similar way. We again cover the difference between flexi-access drawdown (FAD) and uncrystallised funds pension lump sums (UFPLS) and how these relate to the 25% tax-free allowance.

[Correction: the podcast mentions Origo as a provider or back-end software for investment platforms. They do provide transfer services between pension platforms but the actual backend software provider for Vanguard and Interactive Investor is FNZ.]

⁠⁠Support the show⁠

the fire place community

Can you reach financial independence by your 30s if you start early enough? We chat to Lucy and Kieran who are still in their twenties with a house and family but expect to reach Coast FI - where their investments are established and they can work fewer hours to meet their spending - in their early 30s.

They talk about both having a frugal mindset from an early age and meeting up with shared goals of making money fit their lifestyle and not the other way around. We cover how they manage their money and how they explain what they are doing to friends and family.

Support the show⁠

the fire place community

In the News section we cover the introduction of SIPPs by the Trading 212 platform and the new platform Prosper which offers a free SIPP and a global tracker fund with no fees.

In the main section we chat to William about looking at FIRE in your 30s. We deal with the challenges of accommodation, balancing pension and ISA investments and dealing with job uncertainty.

Is FIRE easier for younger people with the widespread availability of tools and apps to help you get there? Or do the constant demands on your attention span and tempting offers make it harder?

More information on investment platforms

Support the show⁠

the fire place community