Edinburgher gets cracking!

edinburgher

Hey there

• Freedom Fund is the name I've put to my 'early' retirement fund/nest egg. I got sick of procrastinating and reading about how my generation will be working 'til 70 and decided to do something about it. What's the worst that can happen? Miss my goal and still be better off than someone who didn't plan at all?
• I could also envisage myself starting a business ever (maybe instead of retirement proper) and it will be a help.
• CollectPlus seems to be good for anything heavier than a kilo vs. Royal Mail. Their basic rate starts at just under £5, you can send quite a heavy parcel for that. It also includes free tracking, £50 insurance, and no greeting faced Royal Mail staff trying to strong arm you into adding additional cost insurance onto their already overpriced rates...
• Vanguard LifeStrategy is a fund made up of other Vanguard Funds that holds shares and bonds from all across the world. It's sort of a one stop shop for investing. Read this
• Thank you for framing my inability to make my mind up as a positive :rotfl:
• I'll be going out again on Thursday, going to finish Week 1 of Couch to 5k by walking/jogging home from work

Now you'd better look out, the wall of text may crush you :eek:

southerndave

Hi Ed, that Vanguard looks interesting as does the blog. Are you a customer of theirs? It looks similar to Hargreaves and Landsdown - are there many differences do you know?

edinburgher

Good evening SD.

I am a customer (of CSD and Vanguard) and have also been a customer of HL. Main difference = cheaper, that's all I needed to know. 0.25% platform fee for holding Vanguard, vs. 0.45% for HL. HL haven't even stopped sending me marketing c*** after leaving them over a year ago, I certainly don't feel like paying them to spam me for the next 20 years!

CSD have good customer service, a few 'features' to their website that annoy me, but nothing that's a deal breaker by any stretch of the imagination. Will be continuing to use them in new financial year.

edinburgher

Today was also mince. Looks like my concerns about the objectivity/value of my role were spot on and what little freedom I had to challenge things that were frankly, pants, seems to be evaporating :eek:

Keep saving, keep searching, the papers claim we're in a job renaissance!

• £7 to Freedom Fund
• £11 to 2017
• Took part in a VO survey about, erm, prevention :rotfl:
• Uploaded some photos for a survey on financial products, it really got me thinking about the power of advertising

Dinner is a salad made from smoked trout and all the random leftover nonsense in our fridge.

Alchemilla

Sorry to hear about your carp day.

DedicatedDFW

Hi Ed,

Thank you so much for such a considered reply - i have made a note and will be reading up - hopefully this weekend and if not certainly by wednesday - i just have to focus on my OU course at the mo. :eek:

I am also sorry to hear about your carp day - i've had plenty of those in work and its not good when we are in work such a lot of the time - had to say at first when you said 'mince' - my brain was going - mince beef pie? Mmm om nom nom - Chilli? before i read on :rotfl: I too am on the job hunt - we will find the right thing Ed

Ooh your dinner sounds good and healthy - my single teas also tend to be use-ups - jacket potatoes for the last 2 days :eek: Still its easy, hot & filling and no wastage :T - i only really cook when my Mr is here as well

Rightio best get on with study - Hope tomorrow is a better day for you

southerndave

Mm. Might delve a bit deeper into Vanguard and see what I find. I am with HL and have been very pleased with them. I don't mind slightly higher charges if the service is there and so far so good. Plus I get a good if not great deal through my employer with them, so some charges are lower. Thanks for the heads up though, will investigate as another iron in the fire won't hurt.

edinburgher

Hope tomorrow is a better day for you

Cheers DDFW, I've got an early start, but jogging home which will get the feel good chemicals going.

I don't mind slightly higher charges if the service is there and so far so good

Hehe - you clearly have more money than me - but CSD have great service as well.

edinburgher

Nightmare day, went to a meeting with lots of really important people who sat there and told me how I'm 50% responsible for an impossible task that has fallen in and out of favour for the 5 years our company has existed.

I'm starting to think that I need a thicker skin, because I have discovered that I'm now working with a bunch of people with far more experience of 'playing the game' than me and I'm not willing to be made to look like a plonker by opportunists.

I also discovered that I made a mistake that cost £2k (thankfully not my own money) 10 months ago. While it was literally first time I'd completed the item involved and my handover was brief and from a man who didn't understand it himself, I am beating myself up about it in true Edinburgher style

In the office for 11 hours today, my evening jog was bliss :T

• £9.20 to the Freedom Fund
• £11 to 2017
• Send more texts/photos for financial products survey
• Completed hot topics survey for VO
• Screened out of another survey
• New headphones are surprisingly good for less than £2!
• Trying first homebrew. Far from the worst beer I've had, although it's definitely 'green' and needs another couple of weeks to finish carbonating :beer:

After wrecking the January target for the Freedom fund, the February target is £175 (£695.47)

edinburgher

Shorter day of work planned, happy Friday all :beer:

• £25.59 to Freedom Fund
• £1.7 to Freedom Fund (interest)
• £11 to 2017
• £2.45 to 2017 (interest)
• Emergency Fund has now passed £1100 :A