Barista FIRE I did it!

Scotty
May 21
4 min read

I personal financial milestone I still have a long way until the boat is ready and I cast off into the sun set. What Is Barista FIRE? "Fire" stands for "Financial Independence Retire Early" It's about having enough or just slightly enough for passive income to pay your core expenses. For me this is just £220 because I don't really live anywhere and my marina fees are £200 and my phone is £20. But That's now between working for event companies who put me in hotels, give me fuel card food subs.....when I'm working. But that's not all the time. I'm also a minimalist all my cloths fit in a suite case and for now I drive a 2009 car (written 2025) which I go car camping. I also help my folks out and sofa surf at theirs which can be frustrating but renting is expensive and I'm not in one spot for long. Then I stay on the boat.

But this is how I have managed to build the passive income.

Main income - Working
I earn an income through my work in the events industry, although it's not always consistent. I try to take on jobs as often as possible, but the nature of the events world is seasonal and unpredictable. With a large number of people competing for the same roles, wages have been driven down, making it more challenging to rely on steady pay.
The high turnover in event offices also makes it difficult to build long-term professional relationships, as many roles are now filled by short-term interns. In addition to my event work, I also generate income through dividends and various online revenue streams.
My Investment Income from my wage My Stocks and shares ISA's hold dividend paying funds, which I have paid out to help with day to day cost that is my roller coast income. Monthly paying
Sterling Short-Term Money Market Fund.
(VUTY) USD Treasury Bond ETF Distributing Quarterly paying funds (3 months)
(VUKE) FTSE 100
(VHYL) All-World High Dividend Yield
(VUSA) US Equity Index Fund.

My Online Income

Amazon - My Store link

My YouTube channel features a lot of car maintenance videos, boat life vlog style, car camping and have a semi off grid set up with solar and batteries which I use at home. If people use my links I get a small amount of commission. It's really not much but at the If you choose to shop through the affiliate links I share, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. On average, I make around £20 per month, which I usually redeem as Amazon vouchers—reinvesting in tools and gear for new car projects, or occasionally treating myself to coffee or gin.

My YouTube Channel

My channel began as a hobby during a tough time—after a breakup and with little work on hand, I started fixing my car and filming the process. It was a way to stay productive and share DIY car repair tips that could help others save money, just as I was doing myself. In the beginning, I uploaded around 30–40 videos, most of which received fewer than 500 views.

Everything changed when I uploaded a video titled “How Much Did My Boat Cost – 4 Years of Ownership.” YouTube’s algorithm picked it up, and within two weeks, it had over 50,000 views. Although it didn’t earn money at the time, it helped me hit the subscriber and watch time milestones needed for monetization. Which is 1000 subs and 4000 hours of watch time.

YouTube success isn’t just about quality content or interesting stories—it’s also luck. Most of my videos still get under 500 views, with a few hitting into the thousands. A great example is my boat tour videos. I’ve uploaded five tours, all filmed with the same style, same format, and same camera: a walkthrough from bow to stern, inside and out, followed by a short interview with the owner. One of those videos took off and hit 47,000 views. The others? Less than 4,000—one even stalled at just 1,000 views, despite me thinking it would perform best.

I enjoy making the boat tours—they’re interesting and resonate with viewers. I also continue doing car repair tutorials both to help others and to cut my own costs. With both types of content, my long-term goal is to build consistent views through search. After all, changing an oil filter today is the same as it was five years ago, and people interested in alternative living or shopping for boats will always be searching for that kind of content. The channel makes me around £100

Over all my income fluctuates

Wages depend on job dates and rates. My dividend income depends on companies ability to pay out, My amazon store depends if people use the links and my channel depends on viewing times.

Expenses.

I'm trying to keep my cost low I know I will use my laptop and coffee machine a lot throughout the day and I use power all the time so I invested in a portable PowerStation. Mainly for the boat as I drive to and from the marina it's on charge in my car which I use for car camping and a mobile office. While it's stationary it's charging via solar depending on what time of the year it is. I think the best way to be financially independent is to use available technology as a loop hole. Invest up front to cut your bills with money and income they can tax and freeze it. Your bills they can increase them and you kind of don't have a choice so to hedge yourself on something like the setup I have may help in the long run.