Has 2017 Been good for you?

chucknorris

Puddylove wrote: »

Hi all.
I feel like a pauper in comparison to all the rich people posting here

Never feel that way, it doesn't really matter what other people have, you are entitled to your opinion/strategy, and everything is relevant anyway, £1k is just as relevant to you as someone else's £100k is to them.

AWPTheo

Another pauper here!

2017 has been a really turbulent year. I moved from London to the countryside which suprisingly cost an absolute bomb, then had several months of unemployment before I started a college course (with a view of going to Uni, interviews next week, eek!!). During the unemployment stage my mental health also deteriorated so ended up relying on benefits - cheerful!!

However, gotten a grip of my finances more and making more of an effort to control them. I stupidly overly shopped this year as a "filling holes" reflex but have gotten a grip on that too. I'm terrible at resisting a sale, but realised it doesn't make me feel as good as I thought it did! So I actually think that's a really positive thing moving forward.

I've made a list of resolutions, and am doing two savings challenges this year. I got a little savings pot for Christmas, the ones you have to break, so saving all my £10 notes and £1 coins. Also pledged to save £200/month next year, so seeking odd jobs and little things I can do to reach that target which feels really good. I saved around £100/month last year as well as paying off around £2,000 of debt before the unemployed spell, so now the remaining is a lot less scary. Hopefully I can do it and then invest at the end of next year, I'm only 27 so apparently a fun time for investing - we will see!

Here's to 2018! :beer:

RobStaffs

Not sure really. I have been really lazy but have gotten around to organizing my finances a bit in the last week but still a bit to go. I have moved quite a bit from cash into stocks and shares ISA's(20% of my portfolio) and also looked at trying to lower my overall costs in terms of OCF/TER charges. For the first time I have invested in passive funds in the last week and also repositioned from UK to Emerging Markets and Europe Ex UK. I am still probably risk averse but I know have 45% of my investments in markets outside of the UK. Overall my funds invested specific to 2017 have returned 7% but I am in it for the long term so hopefully I will improve. For 2016 investments I have returned 14% and investments made in 2015 have returned 45 %. and for 2014 I have seen a growth of 60% My one big disappointment in the Woodford Equity Income which makes up 12% of my portfolio. Call it blind faith but I will stick with it for a while yet.

23% of my money is tied up cash ISA's with a further 45% in a private pension. I have still not made the leap of faith to use the services of an IFA but this is the year I will do it as I turn 55 in 2019.

Snakey

My 2017 has felt good, investments have gone up and I got a decent pay rise from next week.

Despite my lack of conviction about paying ongoing IFA charges (see my separate thread from earlier) I have had value from the initial review and advice. It was previously DIY'd and had done well mostly through dumb luck and a good market, whereas I now think I have my risk and asset allocation etc sorted out for the longer term and am more comfortable that I haven't missed anything in my planning.

Having had an interesting few years I am finally in a stable position where I can start upgrading my current life (with e.g. maybe a new kitchen, flooring, or some plastering - my flat was an ex-rental and you can really tell) without feeling guilty that it's at the expense of investing for my future. I'm looking forward to being able to relax a little and feel/behave like a normal person instead of a skinflint.

Over the Christmas period I have got my powers of attorney signed and ready to file, and updated my Will (the beneficiaries haven't changed, but I hadn't realised about Wills being public documents and had put some things in there that would be better in a private side-letter, which is what I've now done). Just my tax return to do now, and then I'm up to date for a while.

My main financial whinge is that when I bought my flat I signed up to a five-year fix on my mortgage, which was the right decision bearing in mind my precarious employment position at the time but it's a source of constant (if minor) annoyance to be paying 3% when I could be paying half that, and it doesn't run out until April 2019. Nothing I can do about it though since there's a 5% penalty for early redemption. I can overpay by 10% per calendar year so I need to decide whether to throw a chunk in during January - people keep saying invest the money instead, but then other people keep saying we're overdue a market crash, so...

Non-financially, I'm now firmly into my mid-forties and (just as soon as I've finished my selection box, giant tube of Smarties etc) I need to eat better and rediscover the more active lifestyle that I used to have up until only a few years ago when my focus temporarily became all about financial security. No point racing towards early retirement only to spend it suffering with dodgy knees or diabetes or something.

I wish you all a prosperous 2018 and may you get everything you've worked for.

mark55man

A bit of a mixture really from a 55y.o bloke
* I got a transfer value for my DB and it was well lower than expected so ditched that as an early retirement option for now
* My larger (80%) DC SIPP pots was up +16% (thank you India and China)
* My small pot (20%) is down -11% having been up 20%, but it is highly concentrated in some risky assets (Oil related), but looking good for 18
* My personal finances are a bit tight, but ending quite strongly now that my DS2 has got over an illness and has now started an apprenticeship (and paying rent). Added a bit of 0% CC debt ie up from last year but repaid more of my mortgage than I increased the debt
* I got promoted at work which increased my share of the bonus, but no one got any so a net -ve from 2016/17: plus DD1 and my OH both got new jobs

In all I have £15K more pension and £7K less debt and better potential for next year so I'm sat here smiling in a frowny sort of way with a xmas beer so cheers! :beer:

tara747

I'm really risk averse, so all my savings are in cash

My savings increased by over 10% this year to £121,000, I'm very pleased with that.

Pay rise just about keeping pace with inflation.

I have a final salary pension scheme with a lump sum, I'm not counting that in my total.

Well done, all of you.

pip895

I have just done the maths - Its been a good year - a few percentage points down on last year but at just under 15% still very good. What's more I bench mark my portfolio against VLS 60 and unlike last year, this time I beat it, and by over 5% so well pleased

I started investing in 2011 after we sold a business, so apart from a bit of a bumpy start things have been very benign. The portfolio is up 100% over the seven years.

SamSam17

Good year for me financially and I guess professionally.

I joined this forum and started being careful with my money and paid off quite a lot of debt. Still got £4500 debt left but I’ve also saved nearly £3k in emergency fund. I’m going into 2018 in much better position and a lot wiser in terms of finance.

I’ve also got a promotion at work and it’s all going well. I’m very optimistic about next yr

Fatbritabroad

Overall I'd say it's been a productive year. Highlights include :

Finally getting my mortgage down to 65%ltv and 3.5 times salary following a divorce 3 years ago when it was 6 times Now fixed for ten years at 2.5% enabling me to invest instead

Got my s and s isa upto 24000. All in lifestrategy 100

Diversified into p2p for the high risk bit of my investing

Paying 200 a month into a stocks and shares isa plus additional lumps as and when

Sorting out power of attorney for mum

Tracking my net worth month to month again after a year or two of fun

Cotta

Fatbritabroad wrote: »

Overall I'd say it's been a productive year. Highlights include :

Finally getting my mortgage down to 65%ltv and 3.5 times salary following a divorce 3 years ago when it was 6 times Now fixed for ten years at 2.5% enabling me to invest instead

Got my s and s isa upto 24000. All in lifestrategy 100

Diversified into p2p for the high risk bit of my investing

Paying 200 a month into a stocks and shares isa plus additional lumps as and when

Sorting out power of attorney for mum

Tracking my net worth month to month again after a year or two of fun

Is Peer to Peer lending really worthwhile? It seems that lots of cash have to be tied up for modest returns.