A MF day begins at midnight

midnight_child

First working day of the month can only mean one thing...........
I get to work early to deal with an urgent spreadsheet

Managed to make another OP for £440 plus my standard payment today. Its just about do-able at this level, but I think im going to wind these OPs back a bit once I get to 25-30% equity and I can swap to a much better rate. Can save any extra as a regular saver for big items like the kitchen & bathroom:eek:

Not such a major milestone this month but I have just dipped under 99K, with equity crossing 17.5%.

MC

edinburgher

So MC, can we pry and ask what you're invested in? Or, if that's too much of a personal question, what's your investment approach/philosophy? Just curious, I've already made up my mind on low cost trackers

midnight_child

Hi Ed,

I went far simpler than trackers, and I just bought into a few individual companies. Im currently holding 6 stocks in different sectors. I am not sure I want to state exactly which ones on here, mainly as I dont want people to view it as "a tip" and blindly invest without having any form of investment strategy. Also, a couple of them I have held for 18-24 months, and I am considering when would be best time to sell these stocks. Ideally before the ned of this year so I can use to lower my LTV when I remortgage.

However, I will say that I currently have:
1 major high street bank
1 food retailer
1 food producer
1 betting company
1 mining company
1 small oil firm (ok so this one is much more of a punt).

MC

edinburgher

Hehe - you're a brave one to suggest that stock picking is simpler than index investing!

So how/why did you pick your shares?

midnight_child

My stretegy is to invest in companies that are sound but have had some bad press, but are inherently profitable. It could be a temporary profit warning or the CEO resigns or some other big scandal. I was very tempted to invest in G4S during the whole olympics security debarcle, but didnt have the spare cash at the time as I was waiting to complete on my house. But this gives you an idea as to my thinking. I dont worry so much about divis, and only 2 of my stocks current pay one.

Once I have earmarked a few stocks that are having a bad time in the press, I then watch and wait to see how far they drop in value. I will have a figure in my head as my buy in point, which is loosely based on previous high/lows, the company value per share, my own gut feeling and also an overview of what others online view the low point will be (much less emphasis on this one as many will be have their own agenda to drive the price higher/lower, but it helps to get an idea of where that mark will likely be).

When I invest initially I would aim to buy 33-50% of what I would want to invest in total. I have a nominal exit price in my head, but I stay flexible to react to what happens next. If the price stays the same then I wait until it moves. If the price drops then I would buy more to cover my position. If the price rises to my exit price then I sell maybe not all but at least bank some profit. If you get a good rise of say 50% then you could even sell two thirds to get your stake back while keeping the profit invested for the future. Dont get emotional with shares, you can always buy them back again if it falls back down!!
If I am in profit but then they stop rising and just hang a round at a particular range for a while then I might just take what profit I have even if they did not reach my exit level. Its all about flexibility and adapting your goal based on what happens with the market.


My golden rules are:
1. Dont invest in any non-viable businesses (aka blockbusters)
2. Dont stress if it drops lower, and certainly dont just panic sell. You followed rule #1 remember. This is an opportunity to buy more of them at a discount. :cool:
3. Once you are in profit dont get soppy/greedy!!


It can get a bet hairy if say you invest a grand in something that the next day the whole market drops 5% (as happened to me during recent Ukraine situation:eek:), but it goes in cycles and it seems to work for me.

MC

midnight_child

Not much to report recently.

Weekend involved chilling out yesterday, and another day of decorating today. Scrubbed down walls/ceiling with sugar soap and hacked out all rotten plaster. Slow progress being made, but will all the 90's classics on radio, I didnt realise the time.

Only spending this weekend is a trip for groceries, but as I need to eat, its not really an avoidable expense.

MC

Dobbibill

great diary MC, good luck with the house renovations, I'm sure the end result will prove the hard slog was worth it!!!


Reading your inc/exp at the beginning I don't know if you had considered a sim only contract, depending on your usage they now start from well under a £10 a month and if you can get it via TCB then even more for the OP pot :T


Good luck with the MF diary and the renovations
Going to jump on the midnight train #subscribed


DB

midnight_child

Hi Dobbibill,

Glad you are enjoying it. Im kind of suprised ive not bored everyone to tears with my ramblings yet.

On the phone front I reckon I use maybe £5 per month so I cant think there will be any contract worthwhile. The phone I have is an indestructible n0k!a but does everything I want: Calls, texts, alarmclock and "snake" :rotfl:
I dont need fancy apps, and I absolutely love it my boss knows that I cant access work emails 24/7.

I may seem rather old fashioned but when I go out somewhere new I view a map beforehand to know where I am going to avoid getting lost. The number of times ive had people pull over to ask for directions cos they "lost signal" or "battery died" is comical. Invariably there is street sign literally in front of them pointing them where to go. And this has included a mini-cab driver wanting directions to the local library, which I told him is the biggest and bright white building in the middle of the high street just up the road. When he then asked for the street name he got offended if I asked if he was filming for a wind up show.

MC

Dobbibill

midnight_child wrote: »

On the phone front I reckon I use maybe £5 per month so I cant think there will be any contract worthwhile. The phone I have is an indestructible n0k!a but does everything I want: Calls, texts, alarmclock and "snake" :rotfl:
I dont need fancy apps, and I absolutely love it my boss knows that I cant access work emails 24/7.

ah 'snake'......fun vs frustration :rotfl:
I remember snake and the old Nokia phones certainly take some battering but 'it does what it says on the tin'. I have an old(ish) phone but with a few apps that I rarely use. So long as it sends/receives calls/texts then essentially it's doing it's job.
Not being able to access work emails 24/7, well that's got to be a bonus lol

midnight_child

Pretty hectic week and not one that was very MSE unfortunately.

Weekend away with friends that meant hotel, travel, and obviously too much imbibing. No wonder all the pubs are closing down, as since when has £4 a pint been referred to as "reasonably priced"? Its still £2.50 where I drink!!

I guess ive been oop north too long (Im originally from da sarf), but I would now need to double my salary to have a similar standard of living anywhere near the capital. I have a friend who is paying £900 to rent a scabby room in shared housing in one of the worst areas of london, and I dont see how it can carry on in the future. What happens to the capital when all the nurses/teachers/cleaners/shop workers jack it in for a much better life elsewhere?

MC