The Crossover Point

Zola.

Grogged said:

Looks like you're making good progress there.
Had some amazing monthly performances this year, both good and bad, but overall slightly positive.
A real rollercoaster 😟🙂🙄😳!

Nice one, it's all about the aggregation of marginal gains isn't it!.... pushing us along to hopefully make big gains down the road!!

Zola.

Hope everyone is well... October is almost past us, it's getting dark and cold!
I have had the fire roaring almost every night for the past couple of weeks, a joy to have going when it's cold... I also have had the slow cooker fired up and made a nice stew. I have found the slow cooker hard to get used to but the meal I made yesterday was good, even though my son didnt touch it and instead wanted spaghetti hoops 
This month I managed to get a little freelance work, only 3 hours work, but utilising what I do in full-time work as an online consultant... easy £100. I got paid yesterday, so I have shifted my usual money into the joint, but also managed to stick another £200 into investments as I basically didnt spend a bean on myself this month. Being locked up in the house makes that easy!! That means there will be £800 going into our S&S ISAs this month 

Markets have fallen since last month, so I don't expect my latest 'gap' figures (which I do mid month) to be as encouraging haha.... 

kane8907

good luck on your mortgage journey

Grogged

Well done on the freelance work and the investment OP, hope you managed to catch some of the dip.
Down about 1%ish at mo, debating whether to top up now or wait out the election...
We (by which I mean MrsG) have never got on with a slow cooker.
We (again ditto 😆) pot cook our roasts in the oven for 3-4 hours.
Don't know if that counts?
ATB,
G.

Zola.

Thanks, @kane8907
Nice @Grogged - yeah it's basically the same thing haha.. the slow cooker was a lifesaver in the cold mornings, rushing out to the office... all the meat and veg was roughly chopped and chucked into the pot, with a timer to come on mid-morning and it was all basically ready for coming home... It was never quite as good as true oven casserole in my experience, but there's a different technique to it... adding some flour at the end seems to be vital to thicken the sauce up, etc!

Friday again 

Zola.

Wooah! So there's potentially a Covid vaccine that looks very promising, the stock market is surging today! It already had a good "Biden Bump" last week to recover recent losses, but today the European markets are up 7%! American hasn't even opened yet. 
The end in sight? 

sofarbehind

Great progress being made here! 
It was good to read about your strategy for investing in index funds and aim to be mortgage neutral. I know that investing is something I need to get started with but two years later I still haven't made the leap! I just need to start...thanks for the reminder.

Ami-Rose

sofarbehind said:

Great progress being made here! 
It was good to read about your strategy for investing in index funds and aim to be mortgage neutral. I know that investing is something I need to get started with but two years later I still haven't made the leap! I just need to start...thanks for the reminder.

I put off investing for ages, but then we got a new banking app that tied in with other apps. They had an investing one (WealthSimple if you're interested) and I decided to just jump in. I still don't understand it, but they started me off with a little quiz to work out my risk tolerance and goals etc and it's done for me. I could probably do a lot better for myself if I actively looked at it, but I'm only putting £3/month in out of my fun fund so I'm happy with it.

Sorry to hijack your diary Zola, just wanted to give encouragement that it's better to get started and be put off by a lack of knowledge! Then you can use knowledgeable MSE'ers like you and @Grogged to course correct once you're in. 😉

Any news on the job front?

sofarbehind

Ami-Rose said:

I put off investing for ages, but then we got a new banking app that tied in with other apps. They had an investing one (WealthSimple if you're interested) and I decided to just jump in. I still don't understand it, but they started me off with a little quiz to work out my risk tolerance and goals etc and it's done for me. I could probably do a lot better for myself if I actively looked at it, but I'm only putting £3/month in out of my fun fund so I'm happy with it.

 Starting small could be the way to get me started, I've still got a mental block and fear around it. Paying off the mortgage is so much more tangible and easy to understand but I know I should be aiming for a balance.  A stocks and shares ISA looks the least daunting.

@Zola. , my fingers are crossed for good job news.. 

Grogged

I think a lot of people enjoyed the Biden surge today.
I suspect many will be thinking of locking in their gains as well.
I wonder how many vaccines we'll have to choose from by Christmas?
@sofarbehind I can recommend Vanguard for your ISA, cheap and easy to understand.
Probably their Lifestyle funds, the 60 if you're cautious, 80 otherwise.
As ever, do your own research and be prepared to invest for at least 10 years.