Peering over the hill...

coldcazzie

Lauraebrad said:

That would be an utter disaster in my house!  A couple of weeks ago my hot water bottle split and leaked in my bed.  At the moment it's all that stands between me and hypothermia whilst working at home so had to buy a new one immediately .... It's now included in the list of things from 2020 that I never thought I'd hear myself say  ' sorry I was late to the (zoom) meeting - I had to fill my hot water bottle up'.
Old one cut up really well and turned into Christmas tree decorations.

I'm using mine a lot less since I asked my mum for an electric blanket for my birthday very good for the cold legs and feet while sitting, but still use hot water bottle for targeted heat on the back/shoulders/abdomen. 

Grogged

The shed we ordered is due for delivery mid December - yay!
The non yay part is preparing the ground for it.
Cue a weekend of manly (lol!) hard work levelling the slope it will sit on.
I now feel part of the team at W!ckes, or at least first name terms...
So many bags of ballast and gravel...

The new hot water bottles have been tested after their 3 day quarantine in the hall.
Given the thumbs up. 😁
In spookier news the original stopper appeared on the stairs...
...so a big thank you to the pixies for returning it! 😳

Oh, and I, er, updated my spreadsheet as I found a button labelled stocks in excels data menu...
...wonder what that does? 🤔
Now have automatically updated portfolio information.
Which whilst neat, has taken the fun (huh?) out updating the numbers... 😕

Other than that and a hot bath following the shed prep works, nothing much to report.
Take care, G.

Ami-Rose

Damn pixies! We've had that happen far too many times. At least you have some spares now, one each for your toes at bedtime! And one for your back after all that manly work. 😂

Awwh, don't take the fun out of spreadsheeting, I'm living vicariously here! Ours is done and dusted until this bloody sale goes through. You don't *need* to use the stocks button do you?

longway2go

That's always happens to me, so annoying. 
The leveling out does not sound fun but will 100% be worth it. 

debtfreeoneday

Such a good idea with the hot water bottle. Thank you!

Grogged

The November Update

Usual money stuff first; gossip, tea and biscuits follows...

Mortgage

Jan 2020       £99,012

Nov 2020      £88,741

Change         £9,434

%Change      9.6%

Overpaid       £2,787

Nov 20 OP    £61

The normal OP is still going into the EF pot.

EF/Cash

Jan 2020       £10,400

Nov 2020      £22,950

Change         £12,550

%Change      120.7%

Target            £18,000

In Nov 20       £1,006

Had another good payment from R@tesetter, which accounts for most of Novembers increase.

Didn't open one for December as I have a shed to pay for.

The plan here is to end up with 12 of these, one per month, in case my job is lost.

This should maximise the return on these.

Over time they can be built up to cover monthly outgoings.

Pensions

Jan 2020         £186,400

Nov 2020         £219,200

Change            £32,800

%Change         17.6%

Target               £350,000

In Nov 20         £12,292

Ret Return       3%

Nov 2020         £6,576

Target              £10,500

Just in case it's not clear the "Ret Return 3%" section just shows what the annual retirement income would be if taken as interest only today or at current target.

The state pension would be added on top of that (another £9K at todays rate).

This could be boosted by drawing down on the capital, changing the rate, etc.

Currently the monthly income from dividends is £51 (based on 2 months at Interactive Investor).

I closed the ISA and transferred it to the SIPP.

The main reasons for this were:

Simplification - all retirement funds are now in two pots - main SIPP and works pension.

25% tax boost from transferring it to the SIPP

If needed, I can access the SIPP next year

I've also trimmed the works pension back to £1,000 by doing a partial transfer.

The returns aren't that great and I plan to trim it back annually each April.

We are mortgage neutral with our savings, so if needs be, at least the mortgage is covered.

Grogged Towers News

Last month I bought a shed.  It was on sale for Halloween (who knew).

This will be installed next week, which is good as I was expecting it in January.

Whilst budgeted for, it will knock the savings a bit when the credit card bill i spaid in December.

After discussion with MrsG elderly parents, it will be a virtual Christmas.

Totally understandable and a relief in a way. 

Biscuit rationing has been suspended for Christmas! 😀

(but mysteriously none were bought...) 

Still on the hunt for a rescue dog, but given the current news, I think this won't happen until the new year now.

Stay safe,

G.

Grogged

The MrsG November SIPP Update

This is the story of the good SIPP MrsG which started her voyage in June 2020 with an investment of £1,440 and a transfer from a previous plan.

As MrsG earns no income, her maximum contribution per year is £2,880, which the kind tax man will top up to £3,600.

The remaining £1,440 will be contributed monthly, from April 2021 this will rise to the maximum £240 per month.

The aim is to get a pot of £50,000 by retirement in 2035.

November continued the weirdness that is investing in 2020, being up £1,100 from October.

£900 from investments and the regular £200 contribution.

Currently contributing £200 per month (£160 + £40 tax relief).

The portfolio is fully invested, with the aim of keeping a running cash balance of £5 to cover the quarterly charges.

Weight  Symbol  Investment

79.0%                 Equities

5.0%     VMID     FTSE 250 UCITS ETF

19.3%   VHYL     FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield UCITS ETF

23.7%   VWRL    FTSE All-World UCITS ETF

30.9%   VEVE     FTSE Developed World UCITS ETF

20.5%                 Bonds

12.8%   VAGP    Global Aggregate Bond UCITS ETF Distributing

6.7%    VGOV    U.K. Gilt UCITS ETF**

Cash  £47

Total £11,531 (October £10,410)

Average monthly income is £8.18 after 6 months.

The estimated annual income is £98 after charges (0.9%).

Total return to date is 6.1%, estimated annual return is 4%.

Annual values are calculated as (current value / portfolio age) * 12.

So they will be a little patchy until a full 12 months have elapsed.

The bond funds pay dividends monthly and the equity funds quarterly.

The current weighting is 80/20 equities/bonds.

The plan is to move to 65/35 by retirement.

The equities will be 5% for the UK (VMID) and 75% global (20% VHYL, 25% VWRL and 30% VEVE).

Each £160 monthly payment buys one VAGP and one VEVE share, the rest is deposited as cash, with a £40 government top up 8 weeks later.

This flexibility allows the right weightings to be maintained going forward.

The portfolio will be rebalanced following payment of the quarterly fee. 

After moving the main pension portfolio to Interactive Investor, we've decided to simplify the portfolio going forwards.

VUKE was sold for a profit of £13 (£10 investment and £3 dividends).

The money was invested in proportion to the equity weightings.

The majority of the shares held in VUKE are also held as part of the global funds, so it seemed pointless to keep holding it.

VGOV will be sold once profitable, currently sitting on a £25 loss.

Until then it will be considered as part of VAGP's 20%.

There is also an overlap between VGOV and VAGP, so again, why hold two when one will do.

In the meantime we're comfortable holding these, but we won't be increasing their holdings.

The portfolio is held with Vanguard, which whilst not the cheapest, is fairly close for the level of investment and peace of mind.

Stay safe,

G.

Grogged

Well that was a week.
New shed delivery on Thursday.
Rang to confirm, everything looking good...
Except they arrived at 7pm...
So couldn't deliver or install as they'd forgotten their SAS night vision install kit...😡
All in all, very peed off.
Following a chat rescheduled to 6 January.

caeler

How frustrating! @Grogged
I'm glad you are rearranged though. 

Viking_mfw

What a pain. But can I ask which company? We were quoted a 5 month wait for delivery of the shed we want to order   and it seems like your company is quicker than that!