A MF day begins at midnight

midnight_child

Hi Catriona,

I dont "need" the extra money a lodger would bring, but it would help to recoup some redecorating costs if I did, and ultimately pay the mortgage off quicker.

My investments are all in single shares (currently 7 companies), which I am well aware is more risky. I have been doing a bit of buying and selling and now have about 7.5K here, but I am not intending to invest any more at the moment. My strategy is to sell once I have reached my target price. One stock I had my finger hovering over the sell button the other day, but they have since pulled back a bit. May get an opportunity in Dec/Jan for this one.

Agree with the save some, pay some approach. Though it depends what the rates are for both and if you can get hold of the savings again if needed. The savings element I will probably use over the next 12-24months is regular saver and P2P as am getting fed up of "normal" savings rates.

MC

catriona79

Hey there,

Understand you're not desperate to rent your rooms out. Yes, it would probably help with paying off the mortgage, and yes it would require upfront investment.

Interesting strategy. I think that I've clarified my plan for the future, which is firstly to become debt neutral. This will be done by April '16, unless there is a problem with my second lodger.
Then, I will think of regular investments into an index tracker, to be treated as a pension pot. £250 a month for now, and save the rest. See whether to pay it off a mortgage or maybe just fill a savings acc.
But I'd like to take £50 each month and play with it, similarly to what you have done. If I get my fingers burnt while learning, that's ok, as its small sum. That way I will learn more about the market and will be able to invest more later on.

Agree with you re regular saver. I have two, both 6%, one is for £300 a month and the other only £25. Never looked into P2P.

All fascinating stuff, and exciting too. Or maybe I'm a geek.

crv1963

Hi MC and Catriona 79


Lodger does sound attractive prospect, but couple of drawbacks too that I can think of- apart from up front investment in bathroom and kitchen, both can be done on a relatively tight budget- there's the disruption to your living but that's a choice, then there's the need to heat more- no good if you like it cool and they like to live in a sauna! More electricity use and water (if on a meter).
But I would think with some decent ground rules it could be a very effective means of raising a tax free additional income even more attractive if the lodger only looking for a place to stay during the working week and then goes to their own home at weekends!

midnight_child

Hi CRV,

I dont think utilities would be much of an issue. I am already heating and lighting the house anyway, and the extra cost for one additional room is quite low. The council tax is only 25% more due to losing the sole occupier discount.
Some things like washing machine will be used more,but I would make sure I costed for any extra utility costs into the rent (or agreed that bills are split equally and are separate).

I would likely look for a lodger who is employed, and with me working a lot myself I might hardly notice a change to privacy. The most challenging thing would be not to forget this and continue wandering round the house in the nude

MC

midnight_child

Feeling rather annoyed at present. :mad::mad::mad:

H$BC sent me a letter to say that they are changing the terms of my sharedealing account and that from 1st Jan I will pay them £10.50 per quarter for having this. This will be over 80% of the dividends I am currently getting.

Will be making a rare visit to my branch as I really do not think this behaviour is fair. They hark on about investing being a 2-5 year timescale, then slap an account fee on with just 6 weeks notice. I am paraphrasing the letter but it essentially says "We are not making enough profit from you...... There is a sneaky clause in the small print of the terms....... If you don't like it well you can just do one".
I could just sell up and close the account, but it would mean I sell some stocks at a loss (unless I get a turnaround in the next 5 weeks) and this seems like a cutting off nose to spite face situation.

Will see what they say in branch, but I will make it clear to them that I am not a happy bunny and if they really want me to move my sharedealing account to another high street bank I will be taking my all my other accounts with me too. Well..... maybe all except the 6% savings account!!

MC

catriona79

Argh the annoyance of banks, MC.

What are your options, do you have to sell up to move to a new platform? Hopefully not!

midnight_child

Hi Catriona,

Technically I dont have to do anything. The bank has simply informed me that as of next year my sharedealing account will incur a quarterly fee. I can either accept this and keep the account, close the account down, or transfer the account to another provider.

There are very few similar accounts that do not already charge an account fee, and in any case by transferring them out I will incur "exit fees". I could close the account down and this will require me to either sell the shares incurring "trading fees", and perhaps selling some at a loss. Alternatively I could have them converted so I physically hold the paper shares, but this will make it more expensive to sell them on in the future.

The annoying thing is that there appears to be no outcome where I avoid paying more.

I went into branch but they said they are not knowledgeable enough to talk to me about this type of account and that I had to ring up to discuss.

MC

midnight_child

My priority at the moment is to sell my stocks if they hit a decent exit point. If I can manage to do this for all of them by 31st March, then I can close down the account for a profit without any additional fees. It will need a lot of luck to achieve this, but it means I need to watch the markets very closely so not to miss an opportunity to "cash out".

Their flat fee structure means they will be uncompetitive for someone with the small amounts I am trading with.

MC

catriona79

midnight_child wrote: »

My priority at the moment is to sell my stocks if they hit a decent exit point. If I can manage to do this for all of them by 31st March, then I can close down the account for a profit without any additional fees. It will need a lot of luck to achieve this, but it means I need to watch the markets very closely so not to miss an opportunity to "cash out".

Their flat fee structure means they will be uncompetitive for someone with the small amounts I am trading with.

MC

Alright, I see what the problem is. I guess your best option is to try and time the market and cash out when appropriate.
Have you seen the write up on the cheap trading platforms (for small investors), like the cavendish somewhere on here? That's who I was planning to use...

There's always something in life....

My second lodger is leaving, and while it's ok and I'll be able to find another (I hope), it's made me seriously consider my options. Lodger no2 brings in £400 to my monthly budget, I've got all the furniture in the room apart from the bed, which I could buy from the Swedish giant, at probably £250. Not sure what to do, as I don't want to spend money on the bed, only to rent the room out for a few months... Maybe this is a good time to cut my losses and accept the lower income, and not be too greedy. Aaaah.

midnight_child

Today is payday :j

Have OP'd the remainder of my current account balance from last month, which was around £150.
Next month will see additional spending (due to the C word ), but I would like to make one more OP before the annual 10% allowance is renewed. I am hoping there will be a 2016 MFW club as I have been following this years with interest, but didn't join as until recently I could not make OPs. I am now feeling up for a challenge!

MC