So the FIRE community is real, and for me this is especially online. Keeping going with budgets, big dreams, downturns, frugality and more can be exhausting, and getting energy from the community helps keep me going. So here’s a quick round up of where I found inspiration and great content in 2023. Of course, you can always go to my IG if you need the same!

#1 for 2023

One person who I loved this year is the Budgetnista, Tiffany Aliche who has books out, a blog, and appears on podcast. I love her no-nonsense practical approach to financial wellbeing, and the way she targets the middle section of people (i.e. most of us) who are neither flat broke nor financial genuises. She has a great community on Facebook and elsewhere, and serves up inspiration to be brave and keep going in search of your best life.

Tiffany was also in Get Smart With Money which was a Netflix film about FIRE and financial guidance, along with Paula Pant, Mr Money Mustache and Ro$$ Mac. I rarely watch TV but I loved this – and my kids thought it was hilarious that something I talk so much about *finally* became interesting enough to make it onto Netflix. The different approaches of the financial experts, and the needs and solutions for the different participants, really showed that there are many ways to get this right, but help is out there.

Podcasts

I remained very much a creature of habit this year and will include those here for anyone new to this journey, but there was a definite shift in podcasts for me in 2023. I started to have a sense from a few – Choose FI, Bigger Pockets – that I have missed the boat. I am always cheering on people who have reached FIRE and for sure they don’t want to talk about budgeting forever after they don’t need to think about it any more, but 2023 had a lot of content about ‘how to spend’ and get out of frugal habits (and a whole lot about pickleball) which felt alien to me. So I’ve been skating around more and listening to particular episodes instead of just pressing play. Old faithfuls have been:

Afford Anything: the inimitable Paula Pant continued to bring weekly wisdom this year, talking through the choices that we have to make with our money, focus and energy in order to make a life which suits us and where we really move.

Journey to Launch: I listened to this more in 2023 as she is many steps ahead of me but is still in the ‘courageous decision making’ rather than the ‘done and dusted’ phase. Getting into thinking about side hustles, passive income streams and the ‘what next’ of a financial independence journey is where I’m at, and her passion, personal story and diverse range of speakers is really inspiring.

Choose FI: this was another staple during 2023, though a lot of it starts to feel like conversations we’ve had before and as noted, has definitely moved into the ‘how to do life when you are FIRE’ territory which is to be expected from such a long term project. It remains a really good basic resource and a great community for when you need dusting off and putting back on the path.

Books

I read a lot this year, making the most of the local library which has an excellent selection of books in English. We went pretty much every two weeks, and got a cookbook out each time so there are lots of new recipes in the household menu bank.

I’m not going to list all the books here – and I put them up on my IG – but I read a lot of non-fiction about finance to get more into the nuts and bolts of how the financial systems work. And I read a lot of 1920s detective fiction, because honestly how else do you get to sleep?

#1 2023: Raynor Winn: The Salt Path, The Wild Silence, Landlines

I read all of Ray Winn’s books this year after a friend recommended the Salt Path. These are all written as memoirs, charting the moment Ray and her husband become homeless when their house and land are reposessed as the result of being scammed by a friend. They take to walking, going hundreds of miles across the UK and learning a lot about what matters, money, nature and society as they go.

So I hope there is something in there for you, whether you are getting started, having a think about your finances at the end of the year, or need to get back into our community ready for 2024. Enjoy!