Millionaire Challenge

mikep22

Thanks guys, I will get on it when I get back from work and start totalling!!

Kayalana99

Well all moved in

I don't know if I said but we nearly backed out of this property because we found a 3 bed (After we had paid the estate agent fees too...) and we drove an hour up to see it and back again on the evening spur of the moment, and she had another appt for 5pm and us at 4:40, well the message was never passed on so we ended up going in around 4:55pm with this other couple, decided to take it and rang the office and it closed at 5pm so we said we'd take it on message.

Rang back in the morning and the woman said is was available for an application to be put in (I asked as I was worried about the other couple) then I said oh great I was worried the other couple might have had it - then she said Oh yes let me just check with the EA....didn't ring back for 90min and she said oh they already transfered the money over I'm afraid.

Given we are a young couple with two young kids and the other was a mature woman in her 40's I'm assuming they basically choose the 'better option' but got a call from her yesterday saying it was back on the market and I said sorry we've already moved in and rented somewhere so it serves them right

Sorry...rambling lmao. To be honest we are really happy here, it's smaller then our old place but it was falling apart tbh and it's just small things like having 10 sockets in the kitchen and the water in the bath goes down really quickly...lol plus overall it should be cheaper to run (bar the rent to mortgage payments >.<) . We've still got some stuff to bring but everything fits in nicely too, managed to get my desk and treadmill in front room so I'm happy. The other property was bigger, but it was falling apart a bit as well so I think we ended up with better option. Only issue is garden isn't really great for kids but I do have a car now so can take them out to park and things more.

Just editing up my last two weddings and will be selling all of my equipment, I've been to and froing about it but going to buy back some cheaper basic ones I can use and figure I can always upgrade later if I need to but if I keep the expensive stuff then I might not ever end up using it.

Degree books for one of my modules is due any day now too so exciting times

Roll on the house selling and everything being sorted bill wise...

Lingua

Hi all!

Been very inactive since my first post or two, though I have been nosying in to read through the posts. Amazing the progress people are making!

Kayalana99 - congrats on the new house! Shame about the 3-bed, but as long as you're happy that's the main thing! Hopefully the house sale moves forward soon as well.

I'm at uni and about to begin my third year, which is studied abroad. I leave in a few weeks, and will be teaching English in schools. It's a paid role, so will be receiving that plus my student finance - more to put in savings if rent isn't too high!

While I'm away, I've also decided to do some English tutoring on the side to increase my income. I'm still set on having around £25k saved by next September, so it's going to be a big push.

Long-term, the plan is to get into teaching (a risky business if ever there was one!) and buy a reasonably-priced property in the area with extra bedrooms to be rented out for extra income. It's all just a waiting game at the moment as I can't really do any long-term planning without getting through the degree first!!

Hope all is going well for the rest of you millionaire hopefuls,

Lingua

Chesapeake

Well my journey has been set back by £1000 as my car blew up last week Cam belt broke and it trashed the engine Luckily there are plenty of cars around under £1k but it's going to be a struggle to buy food once I've bought one. Hope the new one lasts more than 6 months!

Broken_Biscuits

Hello all,

I was digging around in old posts of mine as I couldn't remember where I had set the bar for this year. Found my challenge to myself from December 2016 (below) where I set the target at £162k net worth or a 20k increase in a year.

Last count up was August 2017 and I was at £158.75k, so definitely achievable. I've noticed a difference in my attitude towards money this year to be honest. I'm still pretty frugal and know the value of a pound but I find it easier to spend than I used to. I find it much easier to not just say yes to the meal out with friends but also to just order the dish I want even if I would be almost as happy with a different option at a fiver or so less. Don't get me wrong I've never lived the life of squalor but I feel a lot more comfortable to spend now than ever. Saving rate is still decent but unlikely to be near the 60% it did hit at one point.

I think, although I'm still a few years away from the financial independence I seek, it's the safety net of the money I've accumulated so far that allows me to relax a little. It's nice to know that if we hit a recession any time in the near future I could just go back to my old spending habits and hopefully coast through the bad times to a stronger position again. Work doesn't stress me out knowing that I'm not relying on next pay day to feed me anymore.

Debt and money troubles can cause so much stress and worry in people. As a family, growing up, we were poor. It's nice to be at the other end of the scale now and to have a clear mind.

Broken_Biscuits wrote: »

Hey, hope everyone is winning at both life and personal finance.

2016 is almost over and around this time of year I do a count up of my networth to track progress. I know most like to do this in April. But I find by doing my count up middle December I can have a couple of weeks where I forget about budgets and just enjoy family time / Christmas and pick up the slack in the new year.

So, i've only been keeping track for a few years and here's the little data I have:

Dec 2013 NW 68k
Dec 2014 NW 82.5k
Dec 2015 NW 110k

I set a target to have 125k by Dec 2016 but then revised that up to 135k middle of the year when I realised I was having a much better year than expected.

2016 has brought with it lots of buying opportunities with the crazy political results this year. China devaluing their currency, Brexit and the drop in value of the gbp. Trump and then India's demonetisation efforts. Currently I'm taking advantage of the drop in India's markets and have topped up by about a quarter in the last month. With India having a quarter of the world's under 25 year olds it feels like a winning long-term bet with all those would be consumers of the future.

So I've just worked out my networth to be a few quid over 142k. Much better than expected!
I'm now within touching distance of being 1/7th of a millionaire and have increased my totals of money out of pensions and property up another 4% of my total holdings. Networth is one thing, but early retirement is only possible if the money is accessible.

New table looks like this

Dec 2013 NW 68k
Dec 2014 NW 82.5k
Dec 2015 NW 110k
Dec 2016 NW 142k
Dec 2017 NW 162k estimated.

Doubled in 3 years from 2013 to 2016!

My biggest rise yet this year and an increase in excess of my take home salary again as per 2015..

Assuming 6% returns on all investments, 4% increase in value of property and a savings rate of somewhere above 40% I should be on track for another 20k increase. Here's hoping i've underestimated again for next year.

Exciting times

Here's to a prosperous 2017 for all.

lessonlearned

Good afternoon everyone.....

Kay.....congrats on the house move. Glad it all went well. I'm sure being more settled will be a big help, certainly the "logistics" sound easier for you.

Lingua.....good to hear from you. Just keep going, you'll get there. The tutoring sounds like an excellent idea.

Chesapeake....what a blow about the car. Hope you get sorted soon. Again just keep going.

BB - great post. And so glad to hear how happy you are with your progress and that you feel sufficiently on track to be able to relax the purse strings a bit now and actually enjoy the fruits of your hard work.

It's true what you say - about how once you have a decent cushion then life is so much less stressful. I have found that too and just like you I have relaxed a bit on the spending and am buying a few things I want rather than just things I need. And I don't feel remotely guilty. :rotfl:

Well I now own my sons house. We legally completed last week. I decided not to bother with a mortgage, I just paid cash. So I have depleted my capital but have no debts whatsoever. I still have around £55k left to play with.

I am still undecided whether to use a chunk on a btl but tbh I don't really fancy the hassle of being a landlord at the moment. My stocks and shares are running at 11 percent so I am thinking I might just top those up, say using £30k and then keeping £20k in my Santander account for easy access. That currently pays 1.5 per cent. Shocking really when inflation has now reached 3 per cent. I am not really happy with that rate of return so I might rethink my strategy in the new year after my holiday.

I have earmarked half of the final £5k to start day trading. Well not me personally, but letting my son have a go on my behalf.

Yes I know it's risky.....but the risk is less than five percent of my available capital so I'm happy with that level. I think £2k to £3k is an acceptable risk.....it roughly equates to a decent cruise. So if I lose it all it's only the same as blowing it on a holiday. Lol.

My son has been practising day trading with "virtual" funds for about a year now and he seems to have got the hang of it. So we will just start small and see how we go.

Other than that, no real news this end. Have been busy decorating and furniture renovating. Have got a couple of projects on the go, enough to keep me going until Christmas and then in January I'm off on my travels.

And then......well I have no idea. Lol. I'm sure inspiration will strike.

In the meantime I'm happy just pootling along.

Hope you are all well, having fun, and making lots of money.

droopsnoot

lessonlearned wrote: »

I have earmarked half of the final £5k to start day trading. Well not me personally, but letting my son have a go on my behalf.

It'll be interesting to hear how that goes if you feel inclined to update us. Most threads about any kind of trading tend to just involve those who are convinced it's an easy way to a fortune, and those who are equally convinced you may as well burn the money. There are too many blinged-up Lamborghini-driving sunglass-wearing "traders" around for many to look further.

Kayalana99

droopsnoot wrote: »

It'll be interesting to hear how that goes if you feel inclined to update us. Most threads about any kind of trading tend to just involve those who are convinced it's an easy way to a fortune, and those who are equally convinced you may as well burn the money. There are too many blinged-up Lamborghini-driving sunglass-wearing "traders" around for many to look further.

I did some day trading once I was essentially hired to do exactly what this guy does (as the other guy couldn't sit their all day doing it but wanted to see if it was worth it) and buy and sell as he does, and he pretty much promised massive returns and posted his results. I found on actually doing it, that he was faking the results slightly as he tells you to sell, but then made out he sold it before or after etc (but made it look realistic by using real time figures)

No news is good news over here.

lessonlearned

My view on day trading is to take it slow and steady and don't get greedy.

I have known two successful "small time" traders - both doing it in their spare time. One was my dentist who decided she wanted to quit dentistry at 50 so began trading to build up her pension pot and the other was a lady who was a colleague of my Late husband who went on maternity leave and decided to give it a go whilst she waited for the baby to be born. She said if she could equal what she made in her day job she wouldn't come back after her leave ended. She never did return to the day job so I guess she must have made her target.

I have known several day traders who worked for the big boys in the city. Two of them were very successful but got burnt out very quickly so they retired when they were in their early 30s. One bought a small holding in Spain and the other became a photographer but both were essentially set for life with their trading earnings. Their retirement businesses were more of a hobby business.

I know I couldn't do it, I don't have that kind of mathematical ability, but my son does seem to have the right skill set. He gets that from his dad, not me. My Late husband was quite successful at the roulette tables. Before we had the children we used to visit a casino quite regularly.

My husband was both clever and cautious. He never went higher than the limit he set himself, if he was on a losing steak then he would quit. He never tried to chase his losses. Most of the time he did actually win, usually smallish amounts and again he knew when to stop, never getting greedy and always quitting whilst he was ahead.

I realise that I make my husband sound very reckless but he wasn't, he knew what he was doing and he knew when to walk away from the tables. It was just a nice night out where we had fun and usually ended up with a small profit. A bit like my friend and her weekly bingo. :rotfl: although to be fair last year she had a winning streak and won £23k in two weeks. Good for her.

My son has been practising for about a year now with quite a degree of success (he made a virtual £923 yesterday) but obviously virtual trades are not the same as doing it for real, so naturally he is a bit nervous about going live. However, as I said yesterday, both of us are only putting around 5 per cent of our capital at risk, we are being far more circumspect with the other 95 per cent. Most of his is going into his next house and some for his pension fund.

He is even foregoing the Porsche for the time being...:rotfl: As he said, really echoing BBs comments yesterday, it's just a nice feeling to know he could buy one if he really wanted to but as he said he's not that daft. He would rather invest his money in something that will make him more money in the future so he can retire early rather than have the thrill of buying bright shiny things now.

We are each putting in £2.5k for our stake money. TBH if we lose the lot then it's only the equivalent of a fairly average foreign holiday. And let's face it you can spend £5k on a second hand car and end up throwing your money away on absolute dog.

And........who knows - he might just help me make that £1m. :rotfl:

He's currently in Dubai, his hotel overlooks a marina and he's eyeing up the yachts!!! - getting his motivation.

I think in any venture there's always an element of risk. And as I mentioned yesterday I really don't fancy the risks involved in becoming a landlord. One bad tennant and you can kiss a couple of years worth of profit goodbye. I'm now 66 and frankly I just don't want the hassle.

I realise that I am now very fortunate in that I am now finally secure enough to have a little flutter. Like BB said......it's a nice position to be in, to know that you have enough of a cushion to tide you over and not to have to worry too much about what fate might throw at you.

My passive income is sufficient for my day to day needs with around 30 per cent left over to continue adding to my savings. I still dabble a bit in selling antiques and Jewellery although I haven't really done much this year. I have enjoyed having a nice long break over the summer.

Yes I will be happy to share my stories with you. We might fly or then again we might crash and burn.

Whatever happens I'm sure it will be fun.

Beartricks

If he was clever and cautious he'd have been playing blackjack or craps.