2017 Spending forecast

A weather forecast can't be looking far more than a couple of days into the future and there's no way we can influence weather (okay, there are some conspiracy theories on this subject but that's way beyond my point here, or at least way off topic).

On my spending (and maybe even on my future income) I've got major influence. So a spending forecast can be done for a whole year.

Oh my gosh, all I can see in the future are more graphs and numbers!

I've put the numbers against last years' spending and this is what it's going to look like.

At this moment I'm not counting in any vacation- or years' end bonus. It's a standard at my current workplace and I'll probably just use the extra income for saving and stocks, but you never know. I want my regular saving rate to be at least 25% and hope to boost it with these extra's to 30% or more. Simple tricks also to boost my savings rate are spending less on vacation and training. I've already put down a snowboard trip (ouch), but I would like to travel a bit this year, so my budget is quite high. I don't want to have a theoretical high savings rate and crush that number with overdoing budgets; let's do it the other way around this time and just be conscious about the spending so there might be a boost at the end of the year instead of embarrassment. 

I did start a mindfulness training again at the end of last year which I have to pay somewhere this month. Just to be sure I reserved another fee for some more training somewhere this year. It's very healthy to be more conscious about myself, my habits and my life and since freedom comes in different flavors, the road to personal freedom should be included on my path and in my budget.

I think this budget is, for now, realistic and manageable without having to feel guilty for some spending and without having to become a creative accountant to make sure everything fits.

Financial Independence is a goal I want to achieve. Saving rates need to be at 40% minimum, preferably higher to reach that goal within ten years*. Early retirement comes at a much higher saving rate or with a much longer setpoint well into the future. At this moment, my only option is to save more (personally I believe there is some room left for this within my current budget but I'll just try and make that happen) or go for a higher income (or both). Also, moving might be an option, yet that would almost certainly mean I should move into a low-employment area where rent might be slightly lower yet income might be uncertain. Rents in my working area are simply high and I'm paying a very minimal rent at the moment, given where I live. The best option to reduce spending on living might be buying a house. Since that means putting down another loan and remain where I am for a couple of years, that option doesn't feel quite right now. At the moment I think looking for more income might be the best option. Time to get creative in my free time and find ways to make money!

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 *) I could explain why, but I think the early retirement extreme and other FI/RE blogs explain this part very well.