I'm not questioning your logic or financial experience, but bear in mind that markets (and the world in general) are highly unpredictable. When you pump your money into the shares of only two companies you're increasing your exposure to this inherent risk. By all means go for it but treat that money like you would if you'd budgeted it for a casino, i.e. a profit would be lovely and that's the aim but it's not the end of the world if you lose everything. Being sanguine is a quality you'll have to acquire if you plan on investing in individual enterprises.

>I'd like to own a house one day but don't make much money so I'm trying to be smarter with what I save using long-term investments

You'd be better putting more effort into increasing your income.

You' know what, fuck it. Trying to do interesting things is already turning into far too much work. I'll just stick with my funds and probably even move to a FTSE DD so I don't have to think and if it all go wrong I'll have more important things to worry about.

The next phase of my plan involved shares in FirstGroup and foray into the Eurozone with Atlantia. This would be followed by looking into the telepresence to try and tack the winds of shifting economic geography. Actual fruition would be getting nearer to the 25 year mark which would better suit risky retirement planning.

>>7868
Yeah, you're right. It looks weird because my strategy is to minimise the impact of trading costs with 1k moves but then there's probably too much risk to be doing that.

>>7869
By "much money" I mean that I have a nice career I enjoy doing but it's in Central bastard London so every month I look into what owning property involves (within a reasonable commute) and get crushed. Going up the career ladder doesn't solve the problem because my dad isn't an investment banker.

Probably not even worth seriously thinking about this until a few years down the line. Once I'm settled down with a Mrs I'd only have to move if I've bought a place for myself anyway.

CUNT OFF ?

>>7859
Their raison d'être is that they don't charge any fees, hence the name.

>>7860
How magnanimous!

>>7854
I got blind-sided by the shiny app Wealthify provides and sunk in £10k. I've since shut down my account with them (or tried to... they are like herpes) because they made more in fees for themselves than I earned in the two years I had the account. It is a S&S ISA, so performance (and hence your experience) will vary. To me they are a poster child for making it easy to sign up but a pain in the arse to get rid off. If you pick the right plan/level of risk that works for you they may be acceptable but I can't really recommend them.

>>7862
>I've since shut down my account with them (or tried to... they are like herpes) because they made more in fees for themselves than I earned in the two years I had the account.

It seems a bit strange to blame Wealthify for the massive drop in the stock markets.

>>7863
There was no major down turn in the time I held the account. I did pick the lowest risk investment idea, but their fees turned the meager gains into de-facto losses. Almost. They charged a fee to do better and basically did not. That's fair game, but disentangling myself from them. That's where I take issue.

No but you do it by talking to a lawyer of some sort.

Amazon sends me about 70p a year for a short story collection I put on there.

I own some recipes/menus and 'business methodologies' related to kitchen stuff, but this is more that I own them and the company has already paid for the rights to use them, rather than me getting money every time someone eats a black pudding tower or whatever. I also retain the rights to some specials I designed as a young cheflad for the company I worked for, which is nice I suppose but utterly useless as the company still retains all rights to use and modify the dishes, but it was exciting at the time. This stuff I suspect is mostly symbolic, it's pretty fucking hard to copyright a recipe as just about anything worth making has its roots in a published or age-old dish as it is.

I also have a few producer credits for bands you've never heard of and one for a band you might have heard of, and get occasional PRS cheques for a few pence each.

I have no valuable information for you, just wanted to contribute.

>>7844

Alright, you forced it out of me, bloody hell. I was in Half Man Half Biscuit.

>>7847

This might be the most believable claim anyone has ever made here. I don't even want proof, it just makes sense.

>>7848

Agreed. I've spent the last ten minutes reading about them and it all fits perfectly. Exactly how I'd imagine a bunch of .gs posters in the flesh.

I'd also bet my right bollock you're the same guy who sometimes brings up how trivially easy it is to get sucked off by a teenager in the bogs if you can hold a guitar the right way up...

Anyway good on you m8, sounds like you've had a right adventure.

>>7690
If it's that kind of categorisation you're after, YNAB is excellent.

>>7685
Monzo is bloody brilliant. Their customer comms is clear and honest, even if it puts them in a difficult light, their app is brilliant, no faffing, customer service is at the other end of a whatsapp style chat box that responds 24/7, no more sat waiting on the phone, it's all done through the app.

Starling is equally as good, but I find the interface a bit dark and gloomy.

So is YNAB what we're picking for budgeting software? I read that YNAB doesn't do direct transaction imports for UK banks but can do file based imports. I'm guessing it can at least accurately categorise spending?

What alternative budgeting software is out there? I see Monzo and Starling mentioned; I'll take a look at them. Anything else?

Please don't mention any brands too often or we'll have the astroturfing police turn up.

What premium would you pay to rent your own place?

I'm looking in London. I have somewhere nice, that's shared. I'd be looking at an extra £200-£300 a month for a nice enough 1 bed flat, that isn't a mouldy little bedsit.

>>7829
I think paying the premium to be on your own is a very good idea - but everyone is different and some people actually like sharing.

The challenge with living in London is the area - too far out and you end up with an hour commute, some areas aren't served with great public transport, there are a bunch of trade-offs. My advice would be pay as much as you can and live right in the centre - it'll be a tiny place compared to what you get outside Zone 3 and higher but you'll be happier.

I have had about £10k in Abundance for a couple of years.

They have been very professional, but the projects are not without risk: read the brochures before sticking money in.

There is also a little annoying how the returns are made available in dribs and drabs that require manual re-investment or withdrawal (and the withdrawal paperwork is a bother when using an ISA).

>>7822
Wow thanks!

>>7823
Thanks for the tip. What sort of return have you received?

>>7821
Good lad.

>>7824

The returns have been as advertised, so far. Some of the investments are very long-term, though (ignoring the secondary market - no idea how usable that is), so ask me again in 20 years.

>>7826
RemindMe! 20 years

>>7814
When calculating my monthly budget, definitely.

https://www.youneedabudget.com

No, you're supposed to be saving money on-top of your pension because ours won't ever be enough and it's not money you can redirect to other things. I don't see why it would simplify the process unless it's not coming direct out of your payslip.

Good to see the measly 3k I've managed to squirrel away this year still makes me the 1%

>>7815
I second YNAB but would recommend trying to find an old version back when it was just a one-time fee. Paying 15.99 a month to use budget software seems a bit ironic.

>>7816
Yeah - good advice. I have a savings category in YNAB, and in there are my extra pension payments, ISA, kids ISAs, holiday/emergency fund etc.

I pay about $80/year for the subscription for YNAB - it's a little pricier than it used to be, but its just terrific and has really helped me over the past three years.

Thanks for the recommendation lads but I've used Google sheets for the past five years, and it's linked into a lot of other aspects of my future plans.

I've made a note to separate out pensions, though. My next goal, of course, will be to actually create some savings, which will certainly happen in 2020.

Have you had a company car or any other taxable benefits, in this job or your previous job? Or are you/have you been on the higher tax band at any point?

>>7792
No to both.

Ask your employer if they know why your tax code has changed.

And try this service from HMRC, not sure how much it will tell you.
https://www.gov.uk/check-income-tax-current-year

The usual reason that your tax code would be reduced is if you've underpaid tax at some point in the past and HMRC is clawing it back, or you've got another source of income somewhere which isn't being taxed at the source. No idea why it would keep changing like you say though, you'd have to ask the people who control that.

>>7791
Well did you start before the end of the 2018-2019 tax year? Were you working before this job in that year?

>>7785
That's not the same poster either. It's just that when you use logic, other people also using logic can come to the same conclusions.

>>7785
U wot m8? I was using you in the generic you sense.

>>7787

I used to do that. Nobody wants to get it. Use one instead, you'll look like a mongoloid but nobody will be able to derail your conversation with their ego.

Lads don't trust the OP. I also bought this product after reading many positive online reviews. When I spilled red wine on my carpet I broke this sucker out, but found that it actually made the stain dramatically worse. It now looks like I killed someone in my living room, chopped up the corpse and buried it in between my sofa cushions. Also it reeks to high heaven, I had a dinner party that evening and everyone thought I had been cooking raw shit.

>>7789

Did you cut the interior seal to allow the contents to reach the brush head and then allow the foam to do the work?

>>7729
Umbrella company, until you start getting long term contracts and get the hang of the paperwork.

>>7734
Seconding this bit about HMRC, they are not known for their sense of humour or their laid back approach to life. For the first year you might want to get your accounts dealt with by a professional who can set you up with proper spreadsheets etc. and advise you on potential hazards and gotchas.

>>7734

Thanks, I read about this. I'm still not sure how the HMRC distinguish between being contracted for a full-time service and being employed, exactly. What puts you in one category or the other?

>>7737

There's an assessment tool at the link below; the questions asked should give you some idea of what criteria HMRC will apply. The fundamental question is whether you're providing a service for a client or supplying labour. Are you expected to keep particular hours? Could you send someone else equally qualified in your place? If you bugger something up, would you be expected to fix it at your own cost?

https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/check-employment-status-for-tax/reason-for-using-tool

>>7738

Took the questionnaire and it seems IR35 doesn't apply to me, but there's always the chance HMRC would disagree with my answers.

Appreciate the advice on this one, both, I think I'll see how these six months go with an umbrella company. If I like the work and I get an extension or another contract, I'll register myself as a limited company.

Unless you can point out something the landlord does not already know, then I don't see what difference any grovelling will make.

>>7726
It's a dance. You say you want to renew, they come back with a mostly reasonable figure and you go from there - it isn't usually a hassle.

As long as your savings are covered by and below the FSCS limit you're pretty much fine whoever you go with.

>>7721
How do people protect monies over the FSCS limit?

>>7722
Spread it between multiple FSCS-registered institutions.

>>7722
Properties.

I'll hold onto it for you.

>All of this makes me wonder why a country would rely heavily on trade rather than produce a good deal of necessities itself. Maybe something's gone over my head but it seems like we've balanced that tradeoff between savings and security poorly.

Comparative advantage. If you as an individual had to be completely self-sufficient, you might just survive, but you'd eke out a very meagre existence. The same principle applies on a national level - it makes a great deal of sense for us to import food from places with lots of land and import manufactured goods from places with a lot of cheap labour, while exporting goods and services that benefit from our highly educated population and highly sophisticated economy.

This kind of trade has historically had a profound stabilising effect on international relations - you're far less likely to fuck with a country if it would disrupt a profitable trading relationship. You treat your customers with a level of courtesy that you wouldn't extend to strangers. Trade sanctions are a very severe but completely bloodless punishment for breaking international law.

Some issues are just inherently international. When Chernobyl blew up, Scottish farmers had to pour their milk down the drain. Back in the 70s, sulphur dioxide emissions from German and Eastern European coal smoke were destroying Scandinavian forests. If you were so inclined, you could really make life difficult for your international neighbours (or vice-versa) without ever declaring war. Trade policy is one of the levers the international community uses to resolve these issues.

Isolationism would definitely make us poorer and it'll probably make us less safe.

>>7715
All of this.

Comparative advantage on a large scale is what drives international trade, but on a small scale it's why you call in trades rather than fixing every problem you have yourself.

>>7532

Bitcoin maybe, but something like Monero is still very useful for buying drugs on the internet.

>>7533
>Monero
Then you're back to just getting any money out the other end at all.

Can we wordfilter brexit to WORLD WAR THREE!!!!!

>>7707
That might get a bit confused after the actually WWIII begins. And, even if it happens decades from now, many of the threads currently on the front page of /*/ will still be here.

>>7708
>>7707
Whichever mod actually did this I owe you a pint mate.