Only freedom will do

edinburgher

That's true Alex, although they don't give you credit interest on as high as balance as the S123 account.

AlexLK

edinburgher wrote: »

That's true Alex, although they don't give you credit interest on as high as balance as the S123 account.

Unfortunately, the nearest Spanish bank is about 15 miles away.

I don't think Natwest give any credit interest for balances in their current accounts? Currently we don't pay any monthly fee, so no direct debit cashback, either.

edinburgher

£19.71 OPed (£19.58 dividends + interest, £0.13 ET).

A_Frayed_Knot

AlexLK wrote: »

Unfortunately, the nearest Spanish bank is about 15 miles away.

I don't think Natwest give any credit interest for balances in their current accounts? Currently we don't pay any monthly fee, so no direct debit cashback, either.

online banking ?

AlexLK

Frayed Knot: Yes, I do know about online banking. However, I do have cheques to pay into the bank on a fairly regular basis and have a business account with Natwest, so it all ties in. Would it be a problem to have two current accounts, perhaps and use the Spanish bank for direct debits or am I just asking for trouble?

edinburgher

Shouldn't be a problem as long as you stick to the T&Cs for each account (minimum amount paid into account each month/Direct Debits set up etc. I'm sure that I can remember someone having 27 current accounts on MFW at one point... :rotfl:

edinburgher

• £50 paid into S&S ISA to cover this month's regular investment.
• 1.36 OPed (P2P interest)
• Looking for new pillows today!

Putting this down here to remind myself that there has been some progress since we moved house, positive reinforcement and all that.

Stool legs

• Pension - in place (100% equities)
• SIPP - in place (bonds)
• Mrs E pension - in place (100% equities)
• Mrs E SIPP - still to arrange
• P2P - diversified across 8 providers, current fund will be worth c. £20.5k by target date, need to pay in £250/m until then
• Cash - happy with current cushion
• S&S ISA - pretty much starting from scratch with this, not particularly happy on that front! Added £500 to core holding
• Solar panels - up and running, currently generating approximately very little :rotfl:
• Reduce energy usage - 25% achieved, may be able to improve on this slightly once we replace carpets with deeper ones and invest in decent curtains
• Reduce general spending. A bit of pareto analysis has suggested that some budget categories are too high. My first mini challenge is a 'spend none of my own money on alcohol January'. This means an interesting mix of leftovers if I want a drink (Pernod or Creme Cassis, anyone?) and vouchers. Can't do anything about the biggest item on the list (housing costs)
• Side hustles - MB only paying ££/w, need to explore some other options (including the low hanging fruit of an eB@y clearout, selling on a few bottles of whisky etc.)
• Explore ways to boost our airline miles (V1rgin). Currently sitting at enough for a free LON-NYC economy return

hiddenshadow

Liking the financial recap/pat on the back - you guys are doing really well!

lulabelle1

I'd recommend Soak and Sleep for pillows... we've had both the luxury microfibre and the hungarian goose down and I really rate all of them. Pricing and quality is excellent - you can get cash back too via the usual suspects.

edinburgher

Ultimate Hungarian Goose Down Standard Pillow Pair Soft/Med looks nice, a bit dear tho!