Hope is not an Effective Financial Strategy

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  • shangaijimmy
    shangaijimmy Posts: 3,796
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    Unfortunately £23 spent yesterday. Coffe and cake whilst out and about and then a couple of pints later on. Still spectacularly low totals for us! Rain been incessant this morning so rethinking our plans.

    90p TT this morning so keeping things going MFW wise.
    MFW: Was: £136,000.......Now: £61,892.24......
    Mortgage Neutral Deficit: £43,082.90... Mortgage Neutral Savings: £18,809.34

    MFiT-T6 #13 - £3,517 of £15,500 (22.69%)
    1% Mortgage Challenge 2022 - £157.59 of £650
  • Karmacat
    Karmacat Posts: 39,460
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    I think those are spectacularly low spends for any family, Jimmy. You're on holiday, remember, not in a sweatshop! Enjoy :):):)
    2023: the year I get to buy a car
  • shangaijimmy
    shangaijimmy Posts: 3,796
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    Don't panic Karma we've enjoyed it plenty, we just haven't spent anywhere near as much in the bar on an evening. Hectic days out, kids shattered after late afternoon swimming so favoured having a few drinks in the caravan whilst kids flake out. Our kids definitely haven't got stay up late staying power!

    Made a few risk free bob on the national (Mrs SJ and DD where snoozing and DS's playing out on scooters) which will pay for a Mrs & Mrs night out in a few weeks. Had finger on the button for a £58 cashout on the last race as well and then it fell at the last...darn it! Didn't lose anything though as it was a free bet.

    S&S Isa is now open with cash waiting to be invested. I transferred a £436 cash isa to start off and will be adding £30 a month to it. Am determined to learn...! So if anyone has some links for me to read please feel free to send on.

    Home tomorrow. The week has gone far too quickly!
    MFW: Was: £136,000.......Now: £61,892.24......
    Mortgage Neutral Deficit: £43,082.90... Mortgage Neutral Savings: £18,809.34

    MFiT-T6 #13 - £3,517 of £15,500 (22.69%)
    1% Mortgage Challenge 2022 - £157.59 of £650
  • Sounds like an enjoyable holiday, you’ve got me thinking about bacon now, it would go very well with all those eggs that are in my fridge!

    Of course there is no doubt you will have to stay on this board when you are MF :D
    I was MF when I started my diary before moving here last year and wasn’t kicked off the board!
  • gallygirl
    gallygirl Posts: 17,228
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    S&S Isa is now open with cash waiting to be invested. I transferred a £436 cash isa to start off and will be adding £30 a month to it. Am determined to learn...! So if anyone has some links for me to read please feel free to send on.
    Basically, pick your chosen area/areas, invest in low-cost index trackers with very low annual fees and more or less forget about it, apart from 6-monthly or annual reviews. In a nutshell, if you pick an active fund half will over-perform and half will under-perform - what makes you think you're clever enough to pick the over-performers when the under-performing funds a) may have been last year/3 year/5 years over-performers and b) they are run by people who know more about it by you and still get it wrong :D.

    There is a book worth reading but I've forgotten what it's called :rotfl:. Ed can you help?
    A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort
    :) Mortgage Balance = £0 :)
    "Do what others won't early in life so you can do what others can't later in life"
  • shangaijimmy
    shangaijimmy Posts: 3,796
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    Thank you gally. That type of info is exactly what i need! An idiots guide into the terminology for each type of fund. The initial idea is that i'll be leaving it for 15yrs or so. After starting with an initial £30 a month to get me started my hope is to start increasing that over time (not sure where i'll get the extra cash from just yet!)

    EtE - just make sure you have brown sauce with bacon and egg. Its the perfect combination!

    Well i did my usual Sunday morning practice of a TT, which was a £1, and then OP's the weekly pot. This week the pot sat at £4.46, so that's 1 days worth of interest for the month taken care of.
    MFW: Was: £136,000.......Now: £61,892.24......
    Mortgage Neutral Deficit: £43,082.90... Mortgage Neutral Savings: £18,809.34

    MFiT-T6 #13 - £3,517 of £15,500 (22.69%)
    1% Mortgage Challenge 2022 - £157.59 of £650
  • Suffolk_lass
    Suffolk_lass Posts: 9,306
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    edited 15 April 2018 at 8:22AM
    Hiya shangaijimmy, I've picked up your diary via others references to you and just started to read. I started to learn about the investment thing by subscribing to the investment and savings thread and just starting to lurk, googling terms I did not understand. I occasionally posted but there are a few people over there who like to feel clever by demeaning novice posters, so mostly I am a silent researcher.

    I subscribe to Slowlyfading's web-site "The Frugal Cottage" and she has just posted a guide to investing here. There are some more links in her article.

    Hargreaves Lansdowne also have a beginner's guide to investing here.

    In terms of platforms, I use Charles Stanley Direct who are very reasonable, but more expensive if you keep buying shares (cheaper for funds) but HL (as above) set out their info in a very straightforward way and are generally considered to be good and cheap. Both of these are self-invest platforms.

    I also have a S&S ISA in a wholly managed pot with Fidelity International. They are good but I think the payments to them are higher and the content of their "bundle" fund not so transparent.

    If you want to be more hands on, the first two might be better. I started with three funds -
    • an automated tracker, based on the FTSE (not sure if this is 100 or 250)
    • a Neil Woodford income accumulator fund
    • a global fund that has done rather poorly over three years

    So a passive (automated) tracker, an actively managed fund and a global fund, to have a bit of a spread. It fits in with what gally said.

    I hope this helps a bit
    Save £12k in 2024 - #2 target is £5000
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  • shangaijimmy
    shangaijimmy Posts: 3,796
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    Suffloklass - thank you very much. The help and guidance on here never ceases to amaze me!!
    MFW: Was: £136,000.......Now: £61,892.24......
    Mortgage Neutral Deficit: £43,082.90... Mortgage Neutral Savings: £18,809.34

    MFiT-T6 #13 - £3,517 of £15,500 (22.69%)
    1% Mortgage Challenge 2022 - £157.59 of £650
  • shangaijimmy
    shangaijimmy Posts: 3,796
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    I'm only here briefly just to report on a couple of good financials. Firstly, I have decluttered my financials box, which was about 12months overdue! DS1 & DS2 have enjoyed shredding!

    Secondly i have worked up our net worth and finally got a spreadsheet that i like the look of and the workings of. Very happy to report that our net worth is £299,498! Happy to see that figure but not sure what to make of it just yet!!
    MFW: Was: £136,000.......Now: £61,892.24......
    Mortgage Neutral Deficit: £43,082.90... Mortgage Neutral Savings: £18,809.34

    MFiT-T6 #13 - £3,517 of £15,500 (22.69%)
    1% Mortgage Challenge 2022 - £157.59 of £650
  • gallygirl
    gallygirl Posts: 17,228
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    https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0273785370/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    This is the book I was referring to Jimmy - a well spent £25 :T.
    A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort
    :) Mortgage Balance = £0 :)
    "Do what others won't early in life so you can do what others can't later in life"
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