First 100K: Climbing Away – August Update
August brought a baby-free weekend (more dates, fewer negotiations about bedtime), with the small human safely in the care of Granny and Grandpa. It reminded me why I’m chasing my First 100K in the first place: freedom. Turns out that “time off” as a parent is a lot like compound interest — magical, and it feels disproportionately good.
And in the background, the investments trundled on. No fanfare, no drama — just the slow, slightly dull accumulation of numbers in a spreadsheet. Which, honestly, is how I like it.
Other things happened this month too — nothing dramatic, but the kind of ordinary wins that stitch life together.
First 100K: The Numbers Bit (Briefly)
- End of July balance: £16,889
- August contributions: £1,230
- Growth from the markets: £325
- End of August balance: £18,444
- Current net worth: £227,082 (this includes investments)
So August gave me both: the predictable part (my steady contribution) and the unpredictable part (the markets doing their own thing and handing me £325). Together they nudged the total upwards, slowly but surely.
If this were a film, this is the part where the tension builds before the big reveal. Except in my version, the credits roll before anything happens, and the audience shuffles out muttering about “slow burners.”
Still — each small addition matters. Each line in the spreadsheet pushes me that little bit further away from zero, and a little closer to that First 100K milestone I’m chasing.
Dates, Downtime, and Dividends
August wasn’t all numbers. It was dinners out, actual adult conversations, and the rare novelty of walking somewhere without a pushchair. The kind of things you forget you’re allowed to have when you’re deep in the trenches of parenting.
My parents generously stepped in, which meant those evenings — free from bedtime wrangling — became a small reminder of what freedom looks like in the here and now.
Because yes, the goal is future financial independence. But it’s also about being able to say yes to the present, without guilt.
And it struck me: this is what I want my First 100K journey to feel like. Not an obsession with the final number, but a rhythm that leaves space for small, ordinary joys along the way.
The Long Game Toward First 100K
The first £100k is the slowest. Everyone says so, and I believe them — mostly because I’m living it. You shovel money in, and it feels like the pile barely grows. But the maths says otherwise, and so does the quiet curve of the chart.
Right now, my “strategy” is refreshingly simple:
- Keep contributing
- Avoid panic when markets wobble
- Don’t get sucked into chasing the next big thing
What I’m not doing:
- Day-trading
- Obsessively checking daily gains and losses
- Listening to that one friend who insists crypto is “about to explode”
Some would call that boring. I call it sustainable. And sustainability is what will actually get me to my First 100K, one month at a time.
Gentle Questions for the Road
These days, my investing habit boils down to one thing: show up each month, put in the amount I said I would, and then go do something else with my life.
So here’s what I’m wondering — and maybe you are too:
- What’s the one investing habit you’d keep even if the markets were flat for a year?
- What would your next month look like if you only focused on the next £1,000?
- Where could you find a little more “time off” in other parts of life?