Only freedom will do

Secret_Saving_Squirrel

Good man for getting back on track.
As an older poster, I bf'd three children without a pump and never buying any sterilising equipment. I just boiled up water if needed for hot weather and boiled the bottle too. Disposable nappies were prohibitively expensive and not much cop then, so it was just ordinary terry squares and a bucket of napisan from day one and just got on with it. And no tumble dryer, but I was a stay at home mum so easier to nip in and out with washing on the line.
Really, all I bought was a pram, bedding, cot, clothes and a car seat later as this was in the bad old days when you just put the carrycot on the back seat. Makes my blood run cold to think of it now.
New parents really don't need to buy loads of stuff, but I think that if I was doing it now I would of course buy more because there is just so much more gorgeous stuff available now. Enjoy!

Alchemilla

Well done on the spending diary.

I seem to be spending more with a budget. Hmmnnn.

AlexLK

edinburgher wrote: »

At a gut level, we can all agree with that. On the other hand, why not include it? If you need to spend £200k to buy a nice family home suitable for your brood and have paid off the mortgage, you no longer need your £800 (example) a month for the mortgage. So your net worth has definitely gone up and the amount of income you need has definitely gone down.

I was only thinking about the asset and not about paying for it ... story of my life, there.

edinburgher wrote: »

Yay, we've got to him! :T :rotfl:

:rotfl: You never know, next year perhaps you'll persuade me I need a pension ... :eek:;)

gallygirl wrote: »

He'll probably go out and buy a watch today

What's wrong with you, Gallygirl? You've not mentioned the pens.

Anyhow, I've been a very good boy over this year and not bought a watch so far, well not to keep. However, you do raise a point about how I could spend the money I've saved this year...

SuperSecretSquirrel wrote: »

Hi Alex Where has the 10k magic number come from? All you need is £50 per month to start drip feeding. Many would argue that small regular investments are safer than large lump sums, depends if you're a slow and steady investor or a speculator. I'm a fan of low cost tracker funds, no plans to do any speculative stock picking, slow and steady wins the race for me Even if this wouldn't be your style, you could maybe do a bit of both? Very good articles on the monevator blog for getting started, no need to become an expert before dipping a toe

Hi SuperSecretSquirrel,

I have been reading the monevator blog and doing some research into investing. Personally, the only times I've gambled money before I've lost terribly but usually a lot of drink was involved. I'm somewhat reluctant to invest in things I know little about, as I do "invest" in things I do know about and make a good return.

Personally, I'm not very good at keeping to monthly commitments, so would rather start with a lump sum of money that I feel I can afford to lose.

AlexLK

edinburgher wrote: »

Oh Lord, I have become Alex! I did not, repeat, did not spend £145 on a bottle of whisky

Needs to be at least a £500 investment before you can claim my crown, boy.

in_need_of_direction

Don't encourage him. There's no telling what new parent euphoria and sleep deprivation could lead to.

gallygirl

I was only thinking about the asset and not about paying for it ... story of my life, there.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

:rotfl: You never know, next year perhaps you'll persuade me I need a pension ... :eek:;)

Now that really is :eek: and :rotfl:in equal measures

I have been reading the monevator blog and doing some research into investing. Personally, the only times I've gambled money before I've lost terribly but usually a lot of drink was involved. I'm somewhat reluctant to invest in things I know little about, as I do "invest" in things I do know about and make a good return.

Why not just invest in what you know about? Do you have any idea how much your pens/watches/other stuff is worth compared to what you've paid for it? Do a quick calculation and I expect you'll have a decent pension pot already. The downside of course is that you'd need to realise the assets at some stage which I'm aware you would find painful . But could you see yourself being able to buy things specifically earmarked for long-term sales? By all means spend time researching the stock market - diversity is very important - but it seems crazy to ignore your hard acquired knowledge and skills.

Karmacat

Happy new dad, new budgets, happy chat. I love it

AlexLK

gallygirl wrote: »

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
Now that really is :eek: and :rotfl:in equal measures

Why not just invest in what you know about? Do you have any idea how much your pens/watches/other stuff is worth compared to what you've paid for it? Do a quick calculation and I expect you'll have a decent pension pot already. The downside of course is that you'd need to realise the assets at some stage which I'm aware you would find painful . But could you see yourself being able to buy things specifically earmarked for long-term sales? By all means spend time researching the stock market - diversity is very important - but it seems crazy to ignore your hard acquired knowledge and skills.

In all seriousness, I can't see me investing in a pension, sorry to disappoint. Yes, that means the I'll be the best customer of the Bank of Mum and Dad until I die but I can't really see any other way to live the lifestyle I would like to.

I know what things are worth compared to what I paid, if I have bought to sell and have an idea of things that I've collected over the years but I really wouldn't want to sell things I'd collected and cannot see why I'd need to. No plans to get into any more debt, unless it's some arrangement like my business lending money to me but that doesn't really count as I would want to pay the business back.

Whatever money I potentially invest on the stock market would be money I'm prepared to lose, not any amount that is needed. My "savings" are purely just net profit from things I've bought to sell. It's not money that I "need", so for once if I did spend all I'd saved, it would not matter. The main reason I'm interested in investing in the stock market is because it'd give me something to think about and do when I'm usually just feeling miserable about life.

edinburgher

Needs to be at least a £500 investment before you can claim my crown, boy.

Afraid to say that my total for the week was £600+ :eek:

Granted that did get me 7 bottle of very nice whisky. Particularly pleased with the £145 bottle, basically 30% off the sticker price. Trying to think of the car equivalent for you - orange stickered Daimler? :rotfl:

You never know, next year perhaps you'll persuade me I need a pension ...

You don't *need* a pension unless your parents plan on being cryogenically frozen to scupper your inheritance

You should still probably consider one.

The downside of course is that you'd need to realise the assets at some stage which I'm aware you would find painful

The other downside risk is that whatever assets are being invested in fall out of fashion, less common if Alex is buying ultra high end stuff I suppose? What will Chinese billionaires want in 25-30 years time is probably the question that we should all consider

In all seriousness, I can't see me investing in a pension, sorry to disappoint

Well then you're daft! Even when it comes to selling some of the BTLs, a pension offers real tax benefits and using one might help you to better structure both your own finances and how you want to leave money for your son and any other children.

The main reason I'm interested in investing in the stock market is because it'd give me something to think about and do when I'm usually just feeling miserable about life.

Nothing wrong with developing an interest in investing to while away the drearier hours (I started when there was nothing to do at work), but for the love of God, avoid stock picking! You have the wrong temperament and the profit (good), loss (bad) emotions will not do good things for you.

Alchemilla

Wait! You can get yellow stickered Daimlers?