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Savings and Investments thread

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  • @golfaddick, want some advice next time bro?
    Still a long way to go bro...
  • Is it just me or is this “ correction” going on a long time 

    my investments down 5% from peak 
  • If we have a sustained period of higher inflation/interest rates it may well be worth considering paying off.

    I'm not convinced at all by the rhetoric of 'a lot will never pay it back', you can bet your bottom dollar the level at which you start paying it back will not keep up with inflation over time and therefore in 10/15/20 years the very lowest paid jobs will be above the starting point. Just look at all the other limits that don't move up in line.

    If on plan 2 (after 2012) the interest rate also increases the more you earn.

    My bet is student loans will still be kicking in at the £25k ish level in about 15 years time (depending what scheme you are on it ticks in at between 20 and 27k currently), they last for 30 years (so for most into their early to mid 50's).

    For both my daughters I got them to take the fee loan only, predominantly in case Corbyn got in! But I'll likely pay it off for them, my eldest (graduated last summer) is already paying her's back each month at an alarming rate!

  • Rob7Lee said:
    If we have a sustained period of higher inflation/interest rates it may well be worth considering paying off.

    I'm not convinced at all by the rhetoric of 'a lot will never pay it back', you can bet your bottom dollar the level at which you start paying it back will not keep up with inflation over time and therefore in 10/15/20 years the very lowest paid jobs will be above the starting point. Just look at all the other limits that don't move up in line.

    If on plan 2 (after 2012) the interest rate also increases the more you earn.

    My bet is student loans will still be kicking in at the £25k ish level in about 15 years time (depending what scheme you are on it ticks in at between 20 and 27k currently), they last for 30 years (so for most into their early to mid 50's).

    For both my daughters I got them to take the fee loan only, predominantly in case Corbyn got in! But I'll likely pay it off for them, my eldest (graduated last summer) is already paying her's back each month at an alarming rate!

    I think the alarming interest rates hide the real issue in the repayment threshold being frozen. It’s a sneaky way to reduce education spending that’s going to hit modest earning graduates in the pocket! At least the repayments are pegged to income, so you don’t need to worry if you stop/lower income and at some point it can be written off. For simplicity, I wish they would just make a tax for it as it’s not straightforward to get to grips with, especially as a 17 year old.
  • holyjo said:
    Is it just me or is this “ correction” going on a long time 

    my investments down 5% from peak 
    I would say it could continue for some time now. Inflation, rising interest rates and a war do not bode well for our investments.
  • I heard on 'Wake up to Money' this morning that student loans are set to soar to 12%.  Might be worth paying up if possible.


    Probably the worse thing to do. Admittedly I dont know too much about SL as I never had one, but of what I do know 
    & read about,  the increase to 12% is only very temporary as its linked to inflation & so will fall again next year, where the interest rate charged is predicted to be close to 0%. 

    I believe you also still pay the same every month & the extra interest is simply added on by increasing the term you pay it over. Seeing as a lot of people with SL never fully pay it back then its makes no sense to pay it off now.
    If the student loan was for studies that commenced prior to 2012 then I would agree - it's fixed at 1.5%.

    After then it's RPI or RPI plus 3% for those earning above a certain amount. It makes no sense to pay maybe 10 or 12% when a personal loan can be got for much less - unless you are correct and RPI is likely to fall to zero next year.

     
  • Not sure if others have seen the Chase (JP Morgan) online account?  Martin Lewis in favour.  I've just opened one - app based but paying 1% cashback on most daily purchases using their debit card and 1.5% on savings (no tie in).  No conditions and don't need to actually change bank.  Seems a good deal.  
  • A word of warning to any of you who are in DB schemes & who are higher rate taxpayers......make sure you get an Annual Allowance statement every year & make sure the pension scheme administrators have your current address.

    Just see a client (dentist) who has never had or requested an AA statement. She is in the NHS Pension scheme & Pension Savings Statements are sent out to all members who exceed the £40k AA (usually in September ). 

    I have been telling her to access her Total Rewards Statement for a few years now but she never has. Finally I sat with her & tried to get her to log online with the Government Gateway site but it didnt work, so we persevered & rang the NHS Pension Agency. After more than an hour of being on hold & talking to various call handlers we managed to get her latest figures.....as it appears they still had her address down as a Dental Practice she last worked at over 10 years ago. 

    All this meant she never recieved any statements & due to a massive increase in earnings (from c£90k 5 years ago to over £200k now) she has pension growth in the past 4 years of a whooping £305k. Added to the fact she will not have the usual £40k AA due to tapering (in addition to her dentistry income she also has rental income from 3 BTL's) and therefore a very large amount of the £305k will be assessed for an excess tax charge of 55%.  I need to speak to her Accountant (which she should get rid off asap imo as none of this has been addressed at all it seems) but I would estimate that she could have a tax bill of around £150k. 

    So.....the AA and the LTA is a great stealth tax, dreamed up by Whitehall & delivered by various Tory Chancellor's over the past 10 years.
  • That’s good money for a failed doctor
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  • Premium Bond Day - £150 for me, £50 for the missus, £50 for my Mum. Happy Star Wars Day indeed.
  • edited May 2022
    A bad month!

    £25 for me, £50 for one daughter, nowt for Mrs R7L or my other daughter.

    edit - £25 for Father in law.
  • A big fat zero for me this month.
  • £25 for me this month 
  • £75 for the wife, £25 for junior and bugger all for me  :/
  • Mr F £75, Mrs F zero.
  • Has anyone ever heard of, or have any experience with 

    https://findukproperty.com/

    or could someone who has an eye for a scam / legit opportunity please have a look for me. 
  • Has anyone ever heard of, or have any experience with 

    https://findukproperty.com/

    or could someone who has an eye for a scam / legit opportunity please have a look for me. 
    The fact you appear to have to pay a £3,000 “reservation fee” would ring alarm bells. There are and have been a number of these house search companies around. I would not buy a property without viewing it. Unless you know someone who has successfully used them for a few years, be wary. There are some good property search/management companies around but there are others to steer clear of.
  • edited May 2022
    Has anyone ever heard of, or have any experience with 

    https://findukproperty.com/

    or could someone who has an eye for a scam / legit opportunity please have a look for me. 
    I didnt read it all but to me it looks like 

    1) it's for investors (BTL's) on cheap properties so probably lowish rents. Not too much risk buying a 2 bed terrace house in burnley for £120k. Different gravy buying a 2 bed flat in London to rent out.

    2) lots of "portfolio landlords" have been ditching properties since Covid - rent arrears & new tax rules haven't made it that profitable since 2020. Lots of cheap stock around ip North.

    Personally I wouldn't touch it with a barge poke. Property as an investment is probably about 5th on the list when it comes to investment opportunities. Very tax inefficient & not very liquid. Now the tax breaks have ceased & CGT has been frozen you are stuffed if you are a 40% taxpayer. 
  • imo worst time possible to be investing in property right now. Maybe wait a year or two.
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  • edited May 2022
    fancy some higher saving rates? fluidfi.ch are launching their mobile app on june 1st with 6% annual interest paid daily on their fluid "digital cash" accounts. Same banking partner as revolut (currency cloud) and they're backed by billionaire alex vik. 
  • fancy some higher saving rates? fluidfi.ch are launching their mobile app on june 1st with 6% annual interest paid daily on their fluid "digital cash" accounts. Same banking partner as revolut (currency cloud) and they're backed by billionaire alex vik. 
    Well that was an interesting read. Being a cautious old git, I'm a bit sceptical. I don't know how they would fund savings rates of 6% when AFAIK no major central bank has interest rates anywhere near that (as it happens the Czech National Bank is currently at 5.75% and the max I get on easy access deposit is 3.3%). 

    I'm trying to not be too much of an old gitt but I read this on th site and shivered a bit : "Fluid Finance isn’t really a company. It is more of a movement.". I think the shiver is because currently I'm watching WeCrashed, the Apple drama about WeWork and that's word-for-word Adam Neumann's pitch!
  • edited May 2022
    Has anyone ever heard of, or have any experience with 

    https://findukproperty.com/

    or could someone who has an eye for a scam / legit opportunity please have a look for me. 
    I didnt read it all but to me it looks like 

    1) it's for investors (BTL's) on cheap properties so probably lowish rents. Not too much risk buying a 2 bed terrace house in burnley for £120k. Different gravy buying a 2 bed flat in London to rent out.

    2) lots of "portfolio landlords" have been ditching properties since Covid - rent arrears & new tax rules haven't made it that profitable since 2020. Lots of cheap stock around ip North.

    Personally I wouldn't touch it with a barge poke. Property as an investment is probably about 5th on the list when it comes to investment opportunities. Very tax inefficient & not very liquid. Now the tax breaks have ceased & CGT has been frozen you are stuffed if you are a 40% taxpayer. 
    Cheers golfie, it would be viewed as long term investment, mortgage free and up north.

    not a taxpayer at all in the UK, would that change things?

    a bit of context of my current situation, that might help with a suggestion of where else I can put my money. 

    Have savings spread across some tracker funds, eu, asia and America, wife and I own an apartment here and another is currently being built, both mortgage free, value probably around £160k combined, have what I consider to be too much cash sitting doing nothing (I can’t buy premium bonds as not a UK resident), so the guaranteed 6% income per year seems quite attractive. Especially as it would be my only UK income.  

    With my current job I add around 1k to the savings pot per month. 
  • Not updated for a while - but just for Prague as at close yesterday;

    NameLevelVariance% Variance
    PragueAddick753310.250.14%
    StrikerFirmani751012.750.17%
    LargeAddick754724.250.32%
    Gary Poole757451.250.68%
    holyjo759471.250.95%
    Rob7Lee760582.251.09%
    Thread Killer743785.751.14%
    @TelMc32762198.251.31%
    WishIdStayedInThe Pub7634111.251.48%
    Addick Addict7652129.251.72%
    TheGhostofTomHovi7666143.251.90%
    fat man on a moped7675152.252.02%
    Bangkokaddick7686163.252.17%
    thecat7690167.252.22%
    RalphMilne7702179.252.38%
    meldrew667337185.752.47%
    Daarrrzzettbum7717194.252.58%
    Covered End7721198.252.64%
    golfaddick7730207.252.75%
    Housty7747224.252.98%
    Pedro457297225.753.00%
    Salad7750227.253.02%
    MrOneLung7270252.753.36%
    IdleHans7777254.253.38%
    Fortune 82nd Minute7250272.753.63%
    CAFCWest7799276.253.67%
    valleynick667801278.253.70%
    Lonelynorthernaddick7845322.254.28%
    CharltonKerry7860337.254.48%
    blackpool727880357.254.75%
    HardyAddick7892369.254.91%
    bobmunro7897374.254.97%
    gunnessaddick7936413.255.49%
    Hoof_it_up_to_benty7100422.755.62%
    wwaddick8002479.256.37%
    Er_Be_Ab_Pl_Wo_Wo_Ch 8250727.259.67%
    oohaahmortimer6789733.759.75%
  • well if I win this one, that would be hilarious because it would imply that I foresaw Putin’s war, that inflation would outpace all recent central bank deployment of tools to rein it in, and that the main beneficiaries stock-wise would be the climate-trashing energy and commodities companies who dominate FTSE100. 

    Quite obviously, none of these things were remotely on my radar (maybe inflation a bit, but see below). I haven’t been more uncertain about investment for a long time than I am now. A couple of crises back (2008, and earlier) i decided to sit tight with my funds, but that was when I had 15 years or more of work ahead of me. I dont have that long term outlook at this stage and its unsettling. I survey the damage to funds which either are tech or have too much tech in them, and tell myself that companies like Microsoft, Apple and Intel are solid and not going anywhere. Google? (Or Alphabet) not so sure. Facebook (Meta, oh prrrlease…)? Run by a bloke who set it up because he couldnt pull girls. That sort of stuff - about people at the top of companies - matters more than people are sometimes prepared to admit. ( (See -again - WeWork, watch WeCrashed on Apple TV)

    Upshot. For us mug punters, there’s an awfuĺ lot of luck when we do make money. That’s why I’m cautious about money generally, and especially stuff like crypto. I do have one piece of luck. Just under three years ago the Czech Republic issued six-year bonds paying inflation rate +0.5%. I stuck 4k in basically as little more than a gesture of faith in the country I was applying for citizenship of. Inflation started to pick up a bit last year since there is a long term labour shortage here. 2.0, 2.5%., all earning compound interest. Now? We have the worst inflation rate in Europe, at 14%. It’s easily my best performer of 2022🤣


  • edited May 2022
    fancy some higher saving rates? fluidfi.ch are launching their mobile app on june 1st with 6% annual interest paid daily on their fluid "digital cash" accounts. Same banking partner as revolut (currency cloud) and they're backed by billionaire alex vik. 
    Well that was an interesting read. Being a cautious old git, I'm a bit sceptical. I don't know how they would fund savings rates of 6% when AFAIK no major central bank has interest rates anywhere near that (as it happens the Czech National Bank is currently at 5.75% and the max I get on easy access deposit is 3.3%). 

    I'm trying to not be too much of an old gitt but I read this on th site and shivered a bit : "Fluid Finance isn’t really a company. It is more of a movement.". I think the shiver is because currently I'm watching WeCrashed, the Apple drama about WeWork and that's word-for-word Adam Neumann's pitch!
    They're utilising their single point liquidity pools, where you'll be able to buy tokenised stocks (and/or anything tokenised they'll offer), you'll be charged a small fee to buy/sell them, that fee then gets distributed to fluid account holders as interest and also the company for profit (obviously). It's the same principles of DeFi, where you stake your stablecoins on a decentralised protocol for x % of APY, except this time it isn't so decentralised (so takes out the risk of using these protocols) and your money is insured 100% by lloyds of london from fraud or theft. The american bank accounts will be FDIC insured too. This is Web3 meets traditional banking. They neatly fill the niche this economist article is talking about https://www.economist.com/weeklyedition/2021-09-18

    IIRC the website is getting overhauled for june 1st, so wording may change.
  • Has anyone ever heard of, or have any experience with 

    https://findukproperty.com/

    or could someone who has an eye for a scam / legit opportunity please have a look for me. 
    I didnt read it all but to me it looks like 

    1) it's for investors (BTL's) on cheap properties so probably lowish rents. Not too much risk buying a 2 bed terrace house in burnley for £120k. Different gravy buying a 2 bed flat in London to rent out.

    2) lots of "portfolio landlords" have been ditching properties since Covid - rent arrears & new tax rules haven't made it that profitable since 2020. Lots of cheap stock around ip North.

    Personally I wouldn't touch it with a barge poke. Property as an investment is probably about 5th on the list when it comes to investment opportunities. Very tax inefficient & not very liquid. Now the tax breaks have ceased & CGT has been frozen you are stuffed if you are a 40% taxpayer. 
    Cheers golfie, it would be viewed as long term investment, mortgage free and up north.

    not a taxpayer at all in the UK, would that change things?

    a bit of context of my current situation, that might help with a suggestion of where else I can put my money. 

    Have savings spread across some tracker funds, eu, asia and America, wife and I own an apartment here and another is currently being built, both mortgage free, value probably around £160k combined, have what I consider to be too much cash sitting doing nothing (I can’t buy premium bonds as not a UK resident), so the guaranteed 6% income per year seems quite attractive. Especially as it would be my only UK income.  

    With my current job I add around 1k to the savings pot per month. 
    If you are registered as a NRL (Non Resident Landlord) you will have to complete and submit an annual self-assessment to HMRC, but doubtful you will have to pay any tax. If you're not NRL you will pay tax on the earnings at source (approx 10%) assuming you will have it managed.
  • Has anyone ever heard of, or have any experience with 

    https://findukproperty.com/

    or could someone who has an eye for a scam / legit opportunity please have a look for me. 
    I didnt read it all but to me it looks like 

    1) it's for investors (BTL's) on cheap properties so probably lowish rents. Not too much risk buying a 2 bed terrace house in burnley for £120k. Different gravy buying a 2 bed flat in London to rent out.

    2) lots of "portfolio landlords" have been ditching properties since Covid - rent arrears & new tax rules haven't made it that profitable since 2020. Lots of cheap stock around ip North.

    Personally I wouldn't touch it with a barge poke. Property as an investment is probably about 5th on the list when it comes to investment opportunities. Very tax inefficient & not very liquid. Now the tax breaks have ceased & CGT has been frozen you are stuffed if you are a 40% taxpayer. 
    Cheers golfie, it would be viewed as long term investment, mortgage free and up north.

    not a taxpayer at all in the UK, would that change things?

    a bit of context of my current situation, that might help with a suggestion of where else I can put my money. 

    Have savings spread across some tracker funds, eu, asia and America, wife and I own an apartment here and another is currently being built, both mortgage free, value probably around £160k combined, have what I consider to be too much cash sitting doing nothing (I can’t buy premium bonds as not a UK resident), so the guaranteed 6% income per year seems quite attractive. Especially as it would be my only UK income.  

    With my current job I add around 1k to the savings pot per month. 
    If you are registered as a NRL (Non Resident Landlord) you will have to complete and submit an annual self-assessment to HMRC, but doubtful you will have to pay any tax. If you're not NRL you will pay tax on the earnings at source (approx 10%) assuming you will have it managed.
    As an actual landlord, I had to pay UK tax on rental of my house, despite being declared and accepted as tax non-resident. It was, apparently, because the revenue was derived in the UK and I had no room for manoevre with HMRC ( I use the same very reliable accountants for over 30 years). I also have to pay CGT on the sale.  But I guess you’ve assumed the revenue Stu would earn from this would not breach the tax- free allowance (which applies to non-residents too) ?
  • Mrs had hairdresser round yesterday said her husband is getting paid out £55 000 compensation for opting out or in off serps. 
    Remember this in 80s 90s can’t remember if I opted out or in pension didn’t really bother me them days. 
    Anyone know anything about this or how you can check to see if your entitled anything.  

  • Has anyone ever heard of, or have any experience with 

    https://findukproperty.com/

    or could someone who has an eye for a scam / legit opportunity please have a look for me. 
    I didnt read it all but to me it looks like 

    1) it's for investors (BTL's) on cheap properties so probably lowish rents. Not too much risk buying a 2 bed terrace house in burnley for £120k. Different gravy buying a 2 bed flat in London to rent out.

    2) lots of "portfolio landlords" have been ditching properties since Covid - rent arrears & new tax rules haven't made it that profitable since 2020. Lots of cheap stock around ip North.

    Personally I wouldn't touch it with a barge poke. Property as an investment is probably about 5th on the list when it comes to investment opportunities. Very tax inefficient & not very liquid. Now the tax breaks have ceased & CGT has been frozen you are stuffed if you are a 40% taxpayer. 
    Cheers golfie, it would be viewed as long term investment, mortgage free and up north.

    not a taxpayer at all in the UK, would that change things?

    a bit of context of my current situation, that might help with a suggestion of where else I can put my money. 

    Have savings spread across some tracker funds, eu, asia and America, wife and I own an apartment here and another is currently being built, both mortgage free, value probably around £160k combined, have what I consider to be too much cash sitting doing nothing (I can’t buy premium bonds as not a UK resident), so the guaranteed 6% income per year seems quite attractive. Especially as it would be my only UK income.  

    With my current job I add around 1k to the savings pot per month. 
    If you are registered as a NRL (Non Resident Landlord) you will have to complete and submit an annual self-assessment to HMRC, but doubtful you will have to pay any tax. If you're not NRL you will pay tax on the earnings at source (approx 10%) assuming you will have it managed.
    As an actual landlord, I had to pay UK tax on rental of my house, despite being declared and accepted as tax non-resident. It was, apparently, because the revenue was derived in the UK and I had no room for manoevre with HMRC ( I use the same very reliable accountants for over 30 years). I also have to pay CGT on the sale.  But I guess you’ve assumed the revenue Stu would earn from this would not breach the tax- free allowance (which applies to non-residents too) ?
    I’d be looking at less than 10k a year. 
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