Magda Olchawska

For many years, I’ve been trying to live my life outside of the traditional understanding of what and how life should be. I was at the nursery when I realised that repeating the same thing over and over again wasn’t for me; it seemed silly to my young mind. Early on in life, I decided…

Freelancing isn’t easy in any industry, but I feel it’s really ruthless in the creative sector. First of all, the competition is really fierce and the higher the competition, the lower the prices, as individuals often compete against one another based on pricing more than on skills and experience. On top of that, many people…

We are all well-trained at dissecting our past mistakes and decisions, and I used to excel at that type of self-criticism. But I don’t want this post to sound like I’m bashing myself for my past mistakes and unconscious, uneducated choices because I’m not. The time when I felt guilty about my poor financial decisions…

2023 was financially challenging for many of us. How I’m rebuilding my finances in 2024. Budgets, savings, and, at times, even investments (depending on what you invested in) took a hit as inflation rates reached new heights globally. Despite inflation stabilising in the UK in the last couple of months of 2023, British prices have…

Recently, I had the pleasure of saying no to a project and a collaborator who didn’t respect my experience, knowledge, and time. The project I said no to: Was not a good fit for my creative practice, Wanted to exploit my knowledge, skills and talent at close to zero £ compensation while building a potentially…

The bleak economic situation stems from the housing crisis, soaring food prices, shortages of everything, stagnant wages, and interest rates going through the roof. Taking into consideration the political, economic, social and environmental upheavals we have been going through since the pandemic began, I realised that, for me, financial independence currently doesn’t mean money safely…

The Christmas Holiday period is already upon us. I noticed that many shops opted out of Halloween this year and focused their energy and efforts on Christmas sales instead. For many years, the consumer trend was to splurge on Christmas gifts and Christmas holiday getaways. The corporate messaging we have been exposed to for generations…

Investing in alternative living solutions is a powerful way to build a more sustainable future. Budgeting & Spending I have been trying to control our family budget since the beginning of the year (2022). The prices are going up with lightning speed, and my family’s needs are also changing and increasing. Like everyone else, we…

The end of Roe v Wade means that the war on women’s independence has intensified. Many right-wing governments will look up to the US and follow its example, restricting even further women’s access to abortion and, soon, access to contraception and, who knows, voting rights. In short, anything they can get away with may be…

Many financial independence bloggers talk about saving 20-30 multiples of your annual budget (expenses) to become financially independent and retire early. However, the final number for that calculation can be pretty daunting for many people, especially if you didn’t think about retirement in your 20s or 30s and have to start from zero. Furthermore, saving…