FIRE Monthly Newsletter: May 2025

It’s May 2025, and it seems like the first day of the new year is still fresh in my mind. As I get older, I realise that sometimes time passes by so quickly, and it makes me feel even more deeply about the value of passive income. I love the expression so much, there’s income while you sleep. That’s what I understand by being friends with time.

This month’s newsletter allows me to continue my story of living in my car.

Live in Car

The main reason for living in my car was that I realised that rental costs accounted for more than 50% of my monthly expenses, and it just so happened that my previous rental was about to expire, so I decided to live in my car for the savings and freedom. I lived in my car for a total of 3 months until I decided to give up living this way for reasons I will share.

At first, it was very exciting because it was just so freeing. No more waiting for the train after work, just drive wherever you want. I would drive around the park or to the beach.

Although my car was just a Mercedes Viano because it was an 8-seater, when I removed the seats, there was enough space inside to be able to lie down two adults (Yes, I need to rent a garage/space for sure). I use half of the cargo space for items, and I packed 6 large bins for my clothes etc. I also bought the mat I use for the gym as a mattress from Kmart, it’s just the right size for one person,n so it fits perfectly in the compartment.

There was no way to cook, so I had to eat out for every meal. Showering was an easy solution, I had a gym membership for Anytime and in the Sydney area, Anytime gyms have very good area coverage and it was easy to find a gym in the right location. I could also work out for an hour and then take a shower and go back to bed.

Gradually, I started to become accustomed to this lifestyle.

Cost Analytics

In 3 months I saved at least $2500×3=$7500 in rental cost, which is really good savings, but I gradually found other problems, such as I had to eat out because of the lack of a proper kitchen, which meant that my daily cost for 3 meals went up from $20 to $50. I made a comparison table to show it clearly.

I found that I imagined I could save money on renting by living in my car, but the single change affected the rest, and the actual savings were not significantly higher. But most fatally, I increased my time spent on the road by not having a fixed place to live, resulting in no extra time for self-study and enhancement after work, which was reduced from the original 3 hours to 1 hour per night. This is the biggest loss for a young person.

My energy is limited, and I should utilise that energy and time to try to make more passive income. Time is more valuable to me! This topic has now come to a point of reflection—how to balance saving money and quality of life, and how to understand saving money and living a happy life? I’ll keep sharing this in future updates.

This Newsletter is a record of my journey through FIRE, and I’ll do my best to share my cognitive enhancements each month. If any of this interests you, I’d love it if you could share it with your friends. You can share it with them and sign up here.

If you’re interested in this site or content, or if you’re interested in exploring personal financial independence content, you can share your story to rob@moneyoflife.com. I’d love to hear from you.