Get In The Ring?

MUFF - My Unconventional Freedom Fight.  
 Introducing the rookie contender - this is going to be one bruising encounter.
Knockout "alternative world view" blogs on have been growing in popularity on the web. They are an awesome place to get information that the education system and main stream media does not cover (or want you to know).
MUFF is dedicated to unearthing the hidden information he believes helps in the pursuit of  a safe, prosperous and most of all happy future. Thrown into the ring are some free planning tools using this information to fight over :)

Who am I and why yet another blog to read?

Well, the MUFF Tribe have been on quite a ride for the last 15 years. On this ride we have taken some hard knocks on the way but have got up and moved on. Perhaps we would have avoided some of the blows with our new found knowledge on education, finance and work that will be covered in this blog.
In the last 5 years the MUFF family has drastically changed our lives in the pursuit of financial freedom and general happiness. Old habits have died hard (reckless spending) new ones are a refreshing change (planing our future move to the French countryside). MUFF hopes you will find the topics in this blog (covered below) of interest, hopefully find some new ideas and share your own views.
A bit of MUFF history:) starting out in life we followed the majority of the population (middle class). We were part of the system. Worked and partied hard, were going to have kids, get a mortgage and a nice BMW. All of which would be funded on credit which we would pay off before pension age (65 whey!). Generally our mentality was don’t questions / answer back, this is what is expected of us, get on with it.....
After perusing blue chip corporate careers for several years we began to ask - is this really the pursuit of happiness? Our little tribe of three (Mr and Mrs MUFF + our cat), 5 years ago, were very comfortable. Our income  provided all the trappings of a modern lifestyle. Unfortunately we were bound to our demanding jobs for this lifestyle. We are accepting work until our mid 60's. Was this OUR definition of free? We hardly saw each other due to work. Were were making a big mistake?
Mr and Mrs MUFF were squandering our wealth on an ridiculously small rental flat (£1K a month) a car loan (£12K), expensive holidays(£4K a pop), regular visits to the watering hole and restaurants (£100+ a night), monthly cinema passes and mobile phone contracts to name a few "necessities" of life. we had no real wealth to show for it. We still had our pensions though. Roll on 60....65....
As a family we wanted to find out what what we could do differently - life was passing us by fast and we wanted to spend more time together. MPH1 (Muff's Pursuit of Happiness) plan was hatched. Objective: to learn about all aspects of life through reading, reading and reading some more.
We read books about finance, health, work, education, environment and started trawling the web... What an eye opener. At that point we said what the **** was the MUFF Tribe doing and where was it going? We had no idea of what we really wanted. We were just spending thousands of pounds per month on  memories and an expanding waistlines.
Our new found knowledge was put to work straight away. New aim to gain Financial Freedom as as short a time as possible with our revised plan: MPH2 (Muff Plan for Happiness). We are within touching distance of financial freedom (2013). We will be able to choose when and where to work - if we want to;).
We are now working towards the next phase of our plan: MPH3TMFC (Tribe Moves to French Countryside). Will our MPH plan succeed we sincerely hope so. It is, tantalizingly in reach after a fun journey so far.
This project's BIG knockout goals are

1. Poke some fun at conventional wisdom (and MUFF)
2. Share links to some website and blogging gems
3. Investigate topics such as finance, health and education and their impact on happiness
4. Provide a set of simple planning tools MBBT (MUFF Big Bag of Tricks) for you to hopefully view \ use \ get some ideas >>>>
5. Have some fun

Financial freedom is a passion of mine  and I hope this tickles your interest. In our experience it is possible in a fairly short period of time (7 years). The life changing possibilities this offers is only just dawning on us. I hope you find some of the tools MUFF has used to help us on this journey of use / interest. I hope you enjoy the blog!
 Please read on for more information on the blogs content 

Some of Life's Questions MUFF has Asked Himself 

• Why generally do both parents have to work? (we did with the little one being spending 10 hours in nursery each day)
• Why do we have to go to school?
• Why were no life skills imparted by the education system (e.g. change a plug, create a budget, question everything)? Luckily MUFF can change a plug and a light bulb ;~)
• Why were spurious courses taught and core subjects shunned – should we not have sound understanding of history, finance, philosophy as well as politeness and social etiquette?
• Why are we called consumers (and not citizens) what is the point of consuming what really makes a difference in this world and your life?
• Why have other people got ahead in life?
  "I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose." George Carlin
  

MUFF started with books and then moved onto blogs to look for some of the answers. I found that blogs were a more concise and easily accessible source of information, commentary, insights and passion. Blogs are generally a good unique read and I have had a good chuckle at a few of them. Some listed on this site are exceptional in what do. MUFF is not here to mirror their content but hopefully add to it :)
We live in a hugely complex world with large challenges (e.g. global debt, population explosion, work life balance). My personal challenge is how do you take huge amounts of information, ondense it into a  format that is SIMPLE and EASY to use and reference? Is it possible to build a coherent blog and planning tools plan that capture the imagination to help secure freedom and a path to happiness. Will they help to get there as soon as possible - it is surely worth a go?

"It's all about money, not freedom, ya'll, okay? Nothing to do with fuckin' freedom. If you think you're free, try going somewhere without fucking money, okay?" American: The Bill Hicks Story (2009)  

Planning for the future

To bring the information and actions into reality MUFF is developing the MBBT (MUFF Big Bag of Tricks) as the blog grows. Hopefully this will be a valuable addition to the financial freedom  community. Each section (Financial freedom, health, education and general life) will have a planning tool. MUFF's challenge is to make sure the tools usable and they can be customised to individual goals and dreams. I admit this is a lofty goal but like anything in life you have to give it a go.
Here is a bit more on some of the topics this blog is dedicated to:

"Children are smarter than any of us. Know how I know that? I don't know one child with a full time job and children." Bill Hicks

• How to be financially independent (so you can choose your working hours \ job and time you want to spend on other pursuits) but understand WHAT is happening in this world and how to GROW wealth regardless of world events

a.   Education – work towards getting a job and staying out of debtb.   Getting a good job and the need to diversify c.   Compound interestd.   Saving to get an income e.   How to reach financial independence

• Business skills (project planning, negotiation, influencing etc.) and how they relate to every day life (e.g. planning to move house, setup a blog)
• How to get a continuous balanced real world education
• How to be Self-sufficient and resilient
• What constitutes a good life

a.   Consumption b.   Community
c.   Friends and Family

"Most people work just hard enough not to get fired and get paid just enough money not to quit." George Carlin

MUFF has made some serious blunders down the years which are covered in this blog (Click here for the MUFF blog blunders). MUFF has learnt and moved on from  mistakes with a few bruises to his ego but some new ingrained wisdom..... MUFF hopes sharing some of the blunders, as well as some of the possible remedies, in this blog it can offer some alternative ideas that can be of use.
The internet has been the game changer, in that it provides ALL the information we deserve to fight on a fair playing field. Our natural inquisitiveness and desire to better our current situation, no matter how comfortable that may be, is easier that it has ever been in human history. Lets go grab life with both hands and make a difference.    
Peace and prosperity and I hope to see you soon,
THE MUFFIN MAN RECOMMENDS CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS
NEXT UP – ROUND 1 HAVE WE BEEN BRAINWASHED & CONTROL
 
MUFF
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