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?

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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