Courtesy of the Mad Fientist
Brandon, aka the Mad Fientist, is enjoying early retirement.
- Brandon, aka the 'Mad Fientist,' is a former software developer who achieved financial independence and early retirement at age 34.
- Today, he writes about money and his own financial journey on his blog the Mad Fientist.
- For Business Insider's "Real Money" series, he shares how he spends his money in Edinburgh, Scotland.
- He doesn't usually spend a lot when he is at home, but he splurges on food, drinks and entertainment when he is traveling with his wife.
- Want to share a week of your spending? Email yourmoney@businessinsider.com.
I've been saving money my entire life.
For the first five to seven years of my career, I wasn't saving for anything in particular. I was just saving because I wanted a portfolio. Then I learned about financial independence, and I was like, 'This is perfect. This is what I'm saving for.'
Now, since I've retired and my wife and I moved from the United States to Scotland, we optimize our spending when we're at home. We don't have any crazy recurring expenses. We eat healthy, go to the gym, do our hobbies and things like that - but we don't spend that much when we are at home. And that means when we do want to go somewhere, we can then feel like we can spend as much as we want.
We can afford to travel all the time, and yes we can afford to eat out all the time, and we can afford to do a lot of things all the time, but we find it more enjoyable when we treat ourselves every so often and give ourselves something to look forward to.
I tracked my spending for a week. This week was a great representation of how I spend my money because we laid low and also took a short trip to Manchester, England.
Here's a look at what I spent: