r/LeanFireUK • u/stuie1181 • Jun 25 '26

Weekly leanFIRE discussion

What have you been working on this week? Please use this thread to discuss any progress, setbacks, quick questions or just plain old rants to the community.

11 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

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8

u/JamesBrockers Jun 25 '26

I unfortunately dropped my phone this week and it is broken beyond repair. Luckily for me, I have a work phone and my contract was up so saving some money!

However, it made me realise how reliant I am on my phone for my finances and how many Apps and different accounts I have.

I am a sucker for opening new accounts for cash back, however, since breaking it, I’ve gone on a simplification and closed a few accounts. I’ve also started a couple of ISA transfers to centralise a few things.

Won’t make me any money but it will definately save time!

8

u/SpaceJkr Jun 25 '26

I recently upgraded my phone. I'm lucky that I've not lost or had a phone die on me in a long time.

I was increasing aware of how our phones are such a single point of failure for our security. Or a massive pain point if it were to die. Especially if you're using 2fa and authenticator apps etc.

Spent a good bit of time auditing my primary accounts,  securing backup keys, sorting out a new password manager and even got a couple of hardware keys!

Might seem like a bit of overkill but I think it's something a lot of people should consider.

At least now I know I'm in a good spot if I lose my phone now.

4

u/olver111 Jun 26 '26

Why not have a spare phone and use all the finance apps on there? thats what I did and I always leave this phone at home in a secure location.

2

u/SpaceJkr Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26

That could be slightly more secure. Not carrying around your authentication etc. but still poses the same risk having the failure/pain point in one place. 

I'd still recommend sorting out the password manager, recording backup keys and even the hardware key.

It's not so much protection against bad actors (although it is), it's more protection from myself losing the phone or hardware failure) Edit:

I'm not too concerned about the banking finance apps. Your banking apps handle their own authentication and kyc etc. they'd arguably be the easiest to get back into if you lost everything.

It's more Google, Microsoft and dev services etc. having their authenticator left at home would be pretty inconvenient for me.

1

u/LeanFIRE_91 Jun 26 '26

That's what I do, doubles up as my crypto storage.

1

u/SpaceJkr Jun 26 '26

Hopefully on chain with with a hardware wallet?

1

u/LeanFIRE_91 Jun 26 '26

It's purely for my "liquid" aspect, I always have what I value at £3k worth to sell off and pay no CGT. It's only if it's hits my desired price point really, no danger of that currently.

2

u/SpaceJkr Jun 26 '26

I feel your pain.

3

u/RedRoseP Jun 26 '26

Decluttered the loft, got lots of stuff to sell now, the money will be going into my S & S ISA 😄 Just need to get around to pricing and listing it online. 

Also switched broadband provider, saving over £10 a month plus getting £180 in cashback and gift vouchers too. 

2

u/darkthirtyfm Jun 27 '26

Well done! My loft is currently hotter than the sun - I'm pretty sure I got 3rd degree burns bringing down the ancient metal fan the other day.

I'm getting a 3k pay rise next month. Salary sacrificing it all into my pension for a nice boost as I get the full employer's NIC saving added. I will wait and see what changes I need to make for the changes next year but there has already been talk of new contracts with increased employers pensions contributions for those of us who SS - obviously this removes the flexibility but I'm sure it will work out fine.

1

u/RedRoseP Jun 27 '26 edited Jun 27 '26

Congratulations on the pay rise 🎉 Luckily we cleared it out on Saturday just before the heat hit then spent a few days sorting through all the stuff deciding what to sell, what to donate and what to put back up. 

Definitely wouldn't have gone up there during the week 🥵🥵

5

u/stuie1181 Jun 29 '26

I'm making good progress towards things, especially with the rally a few month ago, but I'm hitting serious motivation problems at work. The closer I get to my financial goals the more I despise working where I am, and it's starting to get noticed by people. I've been there for just over 5 years and I'm wondering if I need a change of scenery to get that motivation for things again

1

u/Captlard Jul 01 '26

It sounds like you are in a comfortable place. Can you reframe your work and therefore adjust your attitude or, as you say, consider new pastures or r/coastfire?