Getting FIREd up 😀

edinburgher

Sorry to hijack but what market are you going to @themadvix?

themadvix

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82093357#Comment_82093357

Cologne. Easy by Eurostar, was still good when we went 2 years ago (Berlin was very same-y at the different markets last year and too commercialised) and has things we’ve still never done (chocolate museum and the cathedral - plus we might visit Bonn, and if you’ve not been, the Wuppertal ‘dangle train’ (about an hour away by train) is worth a visit… We’re ‘taking’ friends for the first time and this seemed like a good option. Our preference would be mid-week (quieter and less British tourists 😬) but unfortunately one of our number is a teacher.

BookWorm

Can also confirm the Wuppertal train is fun! We stayed there and travelled by train to Bonn and Cologne (my first time on a double decker train!)

South_coast

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82055076#Comment_82055076

More musing on the subject of going hard on pension contributions for a year, and I have decided to trial living (bills/petrol/groceries/personal/charity) on a fixed sum each month between now and April. I'm currently averaging about £20 over this (I save a fixed amount each month, but my income varies depending on how much mileage I've claimed), but a little challenge is no bad thing 😀 The concept being that if I have more available in the months between now and then, I'll stash it away so I have it ready to draw on (and top myself back up to the same fixed amount) should I over-commit on the pension contributions and make it a little more challenging than intended 😅

It may or may not work, but at least it'll keep things interesting 🤣

South_coast

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82071900#Comment_82071900

And now they've emailed to say the rate is going down 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ No idea why, when the base rate hasn't moved since December 🤷‍♀️? New rate will be 4.05%, so still more than the old one had dropped to, but I am not impressed!

(They also can't seem to comprehend that someone might be using a LISA other than to buy their first home, and keep suggesting I add my buying partner - er, it's 2026, sisters are doing it for themselves - and offering their mortgage services - been there, done that, it's in the past 😀)

South_coast

Actually, that might just have p*ssed me off enough to finally convince me to move it to S&S (that, and re-reading lots of articles in The Escape Artist archives about money-printing eroding the value of cash). Doing some research is officially on the weekend to-do list!

edinburgher

I have my few ££ invested with Dodl. Vanguard-like fee structure of 0.15% + fund fee (i.e. terrible value for small accounts, less irritating when you have £,£££). The height of my investing complexity is an HSBC global tracker.

South_coast

Thanks, Ed. Will add them to the shortlist 👍

South_coast

OK, done 👍 I have also gone for Dodl (Hargreaves Lansdown was my first choice, as I think Dodl's "playful" language will drive me nuts 😬 but they don't accept transfers from existing LISAs) I may one day graduate to full grown-up AJ Bell, but let's see how this goes for now. I think I may have forfeited July's interest by requesting the transfer now, before I've ever received any (paid on the 8th working day of the month 🤷‍♀️ though it's showing on their app that the August payment date is 13/08, which by my calcs is the 9th working day???), but I've already lost 16 days' worth from the transfer-in taking so long that I may as well lose the last two weeks as well 🙄

Anyway, that's another job ticked off the list at least, and it will be nice not having to keep moving it around every year, chasing ever-diminishing interest rates 👍

South_coast

Ooh, I have been paid some interest - £54.97. That makes up for getting screened out of a survey because I don't have a mortgage 😅!