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Savings and Investments thread

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  • ROTW
    ROTW Posts: 642
    Rob7Lee said:
    Quick Qs for the more financially astute folk in this thread... and apologies if it's a bit basic.

    Mortgage has just come up for renewal, it seems to me like it's a good time to go for a long-term fixed rate given that the base rate was a vote away from going 0.25% higher and it's trending up. Would you go for as long as 5 years fixed or is that a bit extreme? There's no real risk of downsizing etc.
    I went for 5 years (Thanks Golfie :-/:smile:) but got in last year when 5 year fixes were sub 1%, was a no brainer at that rate. The 5 years are now over 1.5%, 2 years a bit over 1%.

    Do the math and include fee's, I'd work on the basis that a 2 year fix in 2 years time will be 1.75-2%.
    Maths.
  • RaplhMilne
    RaplhMilne Posts: 4,601
    edited February 2022
    Bloody HMRC… I have a Lloyds staff mortgage start of tax year 21/22 balance about £49,000. HMRC declared interest rate is 2.25% so they say anything I have under that is a taxable benefit. I have been paying 0.1%. So roughly on my £49000 they say I should pay £1102. I actually paid £49, so a benefit of  £1053. My Tax code has deduction of £1546.

    Now last year I paid off £6,000, so going into next Tax year balance is about £43,000. 

    HMRC have given me a tax code for 22/23 that has a deduction of £1546 for my beneficial loan. 

    So last year it should have been £1053, pay off £6000 an HMRC make it £1546.

    So on a look back HMRC have deducted £1546 from my code for 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 an now trying for 2022/23.   

    SO ANYONE WITH A STAFF RATE MORTGAGE TAKE A LOOK, YOU COULD BE OVERPAYING HMRC…. 
  • IdleHans
    IdleHans Posts: 10,957
    HMRC are utter shit. Excuses for everything, can't get a lot of the basics right EVEN WHEN YOU TELL THEM ON THEIR OWN FORM. Dont give me "but Covid" as an excuse, other organisations have managed not to be crap, but they slowed right down and carried on making the same mistakes as always. And yet send one thing to them in seconds late and they're issuing penalties like confetti. Bastards.
  • golfaddick
    golfaddick Posts: 33,620
    Bloody HMRC… I have a Lloyds staff mortgage start of tax year 21/22 balance about £49,000. HMRC declared interest rate is 2.25% so they say anything I have under that is a taxable benefit. I have been paying 0.1%. So roughly on my £49000 they say I should pay £1102. I actually paid £49, so a benefit of  £1053. My Tax code has deduction of £1546.

    Now last year I paid off £6,000, so going into next Tax year balance is about £43,000. 

    HMRC have given me a tax code for 22/23 that has a deduction of £1546 for my beneficial loan. 

    So last year it should have been £1053, pay off £6000 an HMRC make it £1546.

    So on a look back HMRC have deducted £1546 from my code for 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 an now trying for 2022/23.   

    SO ANYONE WITH A STAFF RATE MORTGAGE TAKE A LOOK, YOU COULD BE OVERPAYING HMRC…. 
    No one is forcing you to have a staff mortgage. You could easily re-mortgage to a different lender & not incur any BIK.

    Also checking your tax code is your responsibility.
  • RaplhMilne
    RaplhMilne Posts: 4,601
    I never inferred anybody was….. I can pay the thing off tomorrow. However, as a financially astute man, I would think you would agree. That my low rate, even with BIk, costs less than I can invest the mortgage money for. I make money out of keeping it.

    The point I was making was that HMRC are able to get even the most obvious maths wrong. An that we should as you say NOT trust them to get it correct.
  • golfaddick
    golfaddick Posts: 33,620
    edited February 2022
    I never inferred anybody was….. I can pay the thing off tomorrow. However, as a financially astute man, I would think you would agree. That my low rate, even with BIk, costs less than I can invest the mortgage money for. I make money out of keeping it.

    The point I was making was that HMRC are able to get even the most obvious maths wrong. An that we should as you say NOT trust them to get it correct.
    There is a great line from Sir Humphrey Appleby is Yes Prime Minister when they are discussing tax.

    He says the Treasury doesn't work out what they need in regard to spending & then decide how they are going to raise it.....but simply tax as much as they can & then decide how to spend it.

    HMRC benefit from taking as much as possible & then you have to fight to get it back if they get it wrong. 
  • CafcWest
    CafcWest Posts: 6,166
    Ok...so Putin has started his war and God help the Ukrainians.  Hopefully it won't escalate into a full blown world war.  In the meantime the stock markets are plummetting globally.  Now the question is...has anyone any advice on if now is a good time to buy...?  Or do we think it's going to keep going down - any thouights?
  • golfaddick
    golfaddick Posts: 33,620
    CafcWest said:
    Ok...so Putin has started his war and God help the Ukrainians.  Hopefully it won't escalate into a full blown world war.  In the meantime the stock markets are plummetting globally.  Now the question is...has anyone any advice on if now is a good time to buy...?  Or do we think it's going to keep going down - any thouights?
    No harm throwing a bit of money into the markets. Year to Date Europe, US & Japan are down almost 12% with the UK down around 4%. Hong Kong is down less than 2%. 

    They say buy on the dips - no one knows where the market is going short term but long term it will recover. Could put in a chunk now & wait & see. Depends on how much you have to invest & how long you have until you need it out again. We are coming to the end of the tax year & so I have a few clients looking to max out their ISA's so not a bad time to put in £20k  -  if you have it of course.
  • redman
    redman Posts: 5,285
    Not going to disagree too much with Golfie but oil at $103 (and gas futures up 33% today!), economic growth will be lower than previously forecast. Most companies worth worth less than they were probably. Could be a bumpy ride
  • golfaddick
    golfaddick Posts: 33,620
    US markets are just bonkers. Total 180 degree turn with the Dow ending up almost 0.3%, the S&P500 up 1.5% and the NASDAQ up 3.34%

    did I miss something  ?  Has Putin surrendered  ??

    I suppose it is the 3rd Thursday in the month if anyone  knows their history. 
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  • US markets are just bonkers. Total 180 degree turn with the Dow ending up almost 0.3%, the S&P500 up 1.5% and the NASDAQ up 3.34%

    did I miss something  ?  Has Putin surrendered  ??

    I suppose it is the 3rd Thursday in the month if anyone  knows their history. 
    Nobody has a clue at present regarding Putin's intentions.
  • wwaddick
    wwaddick Posts: 121
    edited February 2022
    I'm 60, my pension fund is split cash 45%, bonds 15%, equities 40%.  All invested in Fidelity/L&G funds.  I don't often switch it around.  Looking at recent volatility is my equity exposure a little high? I'm not looking to touch the fund for at least 5 years. Any sensible advice welcomed. I do top it up each year to the max, normally the cash portion, and work still pays in.  Cheers.
  • golfaddick
    golfaddick Posts: 33,620
    wwaddick said:
    I'm 60, my pension fund is split cash 45%, bonds 15%, equities 40%.  All invested in Fidelity/L&G funds.  I don't often switch it around.  Looking at recent volatility is my equity exposure a little high? I'm not looking to touch the fund for at least 5 years. Any sensible advice welcomed. I do top it up each year to the max, normally the cash portion, and work still pays in.  Cheers.
    I would say that you are over invested in cash, but seeing as your Bond portion is relatively low then I'd say you're about right, although still a bit underweight in equities. A lot of Bonds are giving negative returns atm so holding cash is probably a sensible ploy......but not for too long. You should have bought equities yesterday because most markets are up 3%+ today !!

    I'd say that your portfolio is akin to someone on the low risk side of things- probably a 3 or 4 out of 10. Main question is, what are you going to do at retirement  ?  If buying an annuity then fair game but if you are going to stay invested & go into drawdown then your actual retirement date is not that relevant as you'll be "investing" up until you die.
  • wwaddick
    wwaddick Posts: 121
    wwaddick said:
    I'm 60, my pension fund is split cash 45%, bonds 15%, equities 40%.  All invested in Fidelity/L&G funds.  I don't often switch it around.  Looking at recent volatility is my equity exposure a little high? I'm not looking to touch the fund for at least 5 years. Any sensible advice welcomed. I do top it up each year to the max, normally the cash portion, and work still pays in.  Cheers.
    I would say that you are over invested in cash, but seeing as your Bond portion is relatively low then I'd say you're about right, although still a bit underweight in equities. A lot of Bonds are giving negative returns atm so holding cash is probably a sensible ploy......but not for too long. You should have bought equities yesterday because most markets are up 3%+ today !!

    I'd say that your portfolio is akin to someone on the low risk side of things- probably a 3 or 4 out of 10. Main question is, what are you going to do at retirement  ?  If buying an annuity then fair game but if you are going to stay invested & go into drawdown then your actual retirement date is not that relevant as you'll be "investing" up until you die.
    Cheers yes am pretty risk averse despite having been a trader myself for many years in FX and interest rates. Never really was able to suss out stock markets though, hence my reluctance to be over invested there. Appreciate your input and thoughts though. I’ll wait for another dip! Cheers.
  • Long time lurker on this thread. Just considering my ISA options for the new upcoming tax year. Interested in any experience on IFISA's in particular views on the Kuflink offering
  • golfaddick
    golfaddick Posts: 33,620
    Froggy66 said:
    Long time lurker on this thread. Just considering my ISA options for the new upcoming tax year. Interested in any experience on IFISA's in particular views on the Kuflink offering
     Bumping this for you seeing as I have no clue what you mean. Googling Kuflink gives me a Peer-to-Peer lender in Gravesend and googling IF ISA's gives me Innovative Finance ISA's. Not something I have knowledge on or licence to advise on.

    I will say though, if its your first foray into investing it might be best to go down the standard ISA route.
  • guinnessaddick
    guinnessaddick Posts: 28,598
    £25 for me.
  • meldrew66
    meldrew66 Posts: 2,561
    Nothing for me in March  :(
  • blackpool72
    blackpool72 Posts: 23,667
    2 x 25 for me.
    1st time I've got more than one
  • LargeAddick
    LargeAddick Posts: 32,558
    £50 each for me and the missus, £50 for my Mum, £25 for the late mother in law.
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  • northstandsteve
    northstandsteve Posts: 14,327
    2 X £25 for me
  • Nothing for me, £25 for Mr F
  • And how did @Rob7Lee 's father in law do?

    Always makes me chuckle that he has won every month for as long as I can remember!
  • Chaz Hill
    Chaz Hill Posts: 5,216
    £25 for me, 2x£25 for junior and 3x£25 for Mrs Chaz so can’t complain. I see there was a Cheshire winner of £1m. Anybody heard from @bobmunro ? ;)
  • bobmunro
    bobmunro Posts: 20,842
    Chaz Hill said:
    £25 for me, 2x£25 for junior and 3x£25 for Mrs Chaz so can’t complain. I see there was a Cheshire winner of £1m. Anybody heard from @bobmunro ? ;)
    1x13 cita date GIF - Find on GIFER
  • cazo
    cazo Posts: 1,483
    3x£25. Then get a letter though post £615 overpayment from last job fuck sake 💪
  • CafcWest
    CafcWest Posts: 6,166
    Maxed out on PBs.  Zero this year....!
  • mendonca
    mendonca Posts: 9,405
    Going to be tricky having the balls to throw 20k into the markets in April. So much uncertainty that may mean drip feeding is a better ploy this year (for me).
  • eaststandmike
    eaststandmike Posts: 14,956
    edited March 2022
    mendonca said:
    Going to be tricky having the balls to throw 20k into the markets in April. So much uncertainty that may mean drip feeding is a better ploy this year (for me).
    Stick it in a decent ISA, by decent I mean not a high street bank one.
  • Froggy66
    Froggy66 Posts: 41
    Froggy66 said:
    Long time lurker on this thread. Just considering my ISA options for the new upcoming tax year. Interested in any experience on IFISA's in particular views on the Kuflink offering
     Bumping this for you seeing as I have no clue what you mean. Googling Kuflink gives me a Peer-to-Peer lender in Gravesend and googling IF ISA's gives me Innovative Finance ISA's. Not something I have knowledge on or licence to advise on.

    I will say though, if its your first foray into investing it might be best to go down the standard ISA route.
     No its not my first foray and yes those are the things I was asking about but note your skepticism accordingly, especially as you are an experienced voice around here. Thanks