Edinburgher gets cracking!

edinburgher

Yup, new trainers are super comfy. I'm the words least brand-snobby person, but decent trainers and socks are a jogging must have

I have tried hard to be an early adopter, moving to almost all LED lighting last year, only to move back to compact fluorescents for some bulbs.

What's the question?

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Mr E, when looking at stocks/shares and the phrase long term growth is used - can you help me understand wht that means? 20 years, 10 years?

Mr T now has an MSE account and is going to be doing some research on the savings, early retirement and share/investment forums.

Many thanks Tilly x

pavlovs_dog

edinburgher wrote: »

I have tried hard to be an early adopter, moving to almost all LED lighting last year, only to move back to compact fluorescents for some bulbs.

What's the question?

Just interested in your thoughts regarding initial outlay vs savings, and the kind of light they give off (I hate dim lights)

We have spot lights in kitchen and bath, and multi bulb fittings in hall and study. (Single bulbs elsewhere as we hunt for light fittings we like).

Despite self discipline about using lighting when needed and energy efficient bulbs where possible, our energy monitor leaps up whenever aforementioned lights are used. I had originally planned to replace bulbs as needed, but was wondering if there were savings to be made by biting the bullet and making switch.

edinburgher

Mr E, when looking at stocks/shares and the phrase long term growth is used - can you help me understand wht that means? 20 years, 10 years?

When talking about investments, I've heard 5 years bandied about as mid-term, 10+ as long term. I've never heard anyone advocate investing for less than 5 years.

Investment period is a very important consideration, to quote Tim Hale (who writes a persuasive book!):

Decide how long you can invest for each pool of money, whether it be pension, nest egg or school fees. Getting this right is very important. A mismatch between your mix of investments and your investment period could result in either having to sell investments are down... or by giving up potentially higher levels of future money by being too conservative if your investment period is actually longer than you say it is.

We have spot lights in kitchen and bath, and multi bulb fittings in hall and study. (Single bulbs elsewhere as we hunt for light fittings we like).

Are the spot lights GU10s? If so, these haven't given us a single issue since we got them. They offer quite a warm yellow, you don't feel like you're in a lab.

For single bulbs (B22, E14 and E27), I've found it very hard to get reliable LED equivalents and we've gone back to using quite a few of these Sylvania fluorescents (although we paid about half of the current price).

SuperSecretSquirrel

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS wrote: »

when looking at stocks/shares and the phrase long term growth is used - can you help me understand wht that means? 20 years, 10 years?

I don't think there's hard and fast figures for what is long term. I personally think of 10 years as medium to long, and 20 years long, but I know little

Check out the graph on this page. Looking at what happened the ten years between 72 and 82, the answer would be not a lot. Longer term between 72 and 92, tripled in value. I think generally the longer the better, and not having a fixed time in mind to withdraw will help you weather a storm should the market perform badly at your planned retirement date (though you can still draw down a small amount at low prices and leave the lions share in the market to recover later if desperate). This is a great series for Mr T to get started on - http://jlcollinsnh.com/stock-series/ it's a bit american-centric, but does a good job of explaining the basics and helping you overcome fear of investing (if you have such a fear, I know I once did).

edinburgher

I think generally the longer the better

I'd agree, but I think that Hale's suggestion on having the correct mix (equities/bonds/gilts/cash (well, I don't recall he rates cash very highly)) will cushion any falls in the market as well. I think you need a fixed (or near fixed date) because a) how can you make sure you're investing enough without one? and b) there are no pockets in a shroud :eek:

SuperSecretSquirrel

edinburgher wrote: »

I'd agree, but I think that Hale's suggestion on having the correct mix (equities/bonds/gilts/cash (well, I don't recall he rates cash very highly)) will cushion any falls in the market as well. I think you need a fixed (or near fixed date) because a) how can you make sure you're investing enough without one? and b) there are no pockets in a shroud :eek:

A near fixed date is a better way of phrasing what was in my head

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Mr E and SSS, thanks for your advice. Mr T will crack on :T

Tilly x x

greent

edinburgher wrote: »

Are the spot lights GU10s? If so, these haven't given us a single issue since we got them. They offer quite a warm yellow, you don't feel like you're in a lab.

For single bulbs (B22, E14 and E27), I've found it very hard to get reliable LED equivalents and we've gone back to using quite a few of these Sylvania fluorescents (although we paid about half of the current price).

:eek::eek::eek: I was looking at replacing the GU10s in our kitchen - but there are 12 in there - so maybe I won't just yet!!!:eek::eek::eek: (We have another 18 elsewhere in the house, too )

edinburgher

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