April Review

After such a ‘bad’ month for our investments in April, I wasn’t particularly looking forward to reviewing our investments for May, that was until I checked out the crypto charts for my investments… It appears my investments have gone from -22.53% to 20.69%, wow what a gain!

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So with regards to our budget we have really stripped it back to basics, as I am on furlough and my partner is waiting for his government grant to come through. We decided to slash it by 20%. But we have increased our grocery budget by 15%. The reason why our grocery budget increased is because we aren’t shopping at the usual stores. We usually get most things from Aldi and Iceland but recently we have shopped at Iceland, Asda and a the corner shop, purely for convenience. But like you know, convenience comes at a price.

Investment Update

Comments on this months investments

Biggest Winner: Cryptocurrency
Biggest Loser: Property Partner

Well, cryptocurrency … what a turn around from last month. I expected my crypto investments to increase because of the up and coming bitcoin halving. There is always a rally leading up to and after the halving – as proven in previous years, I’m hoping bitcoin hits $50,000 this year

My precious metal investments have once again steadily increased in value. Although you never get huge gains from gold or silver, these are the two most stable investments you can make (in my opinion).

As you can see my Property Partner investments haven’t given me any return this month, reasons of which were stated in April Budget & Investment Review.

We received a nice return on our private property investments this month as well, more than it should’ve been to be honest. Mid April we received our monthly statement from our letting agent, with the monthly rent and any management fees deducted. However, upon reviewing the statement I noticed a discrepancy. The agent, without consent from myself or my partner, decided to increase the rent by 2%. I have told my agent for the past 3 years not to increase the rent, and EVERY YEAR they have failed to follow instructions and put the rent up anyway! I have to micromanage everything they do as they failed to get some works completed in time and then they consistently ignore instructions.

I try and be a good landlord and keep the rent at a reasonable amount as I have really good tenants who pay on time and give me no grief. If I kept increasing the rent, greed would end up costing me money long term; pushing my current tenants too far and they could find somewhere else to live, leaving me with an empty property (with bills to pay) or worse, get really bad tenants. ⁣ I’ve once again told them to decrease it back the original amount and apologise to the tenants.

Goal(s) For May

As most of the UK is unable to work and I’m on furloughed, I am going to have a ‘beans on toast’ budget. My beans on toast budget is a basic budget that only includes my mortgage, utilities, groceries and any debt repayments. Things like holidays, hair and beauty appointments and dining out are absolutely unnecessary in this economic climate. Our fuel budget has pretty much decreased by 80% because the only places we are driving to is to and from the grocery store and we still have a good amount available in our budget ready for when we can go back to work and it’s all systems go.

Previous Updates

March 2020 update
February 2020 update
April 2020 update

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March Review

 

Well, March ... what a month.

Hands up who found March to be the shittest month (so far)

 

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I'm very fortunate that all I lost this March was a bit of money ... people have lost much more than me, so I am still very grateful for what I have. Luckily my family and friends are well and I pray that they continue to be.

 

I am eternally grateful to my previous self for creating an Emergency Fund, this would be a much more stressful time if I hadn’t created one.

 

I set myself the following goals for March: I sold quite a few unwanted things on eBay and Facebook marketplace, I will use that money to reinvest in Live Full Retire Early. I decided NOT to invest in Wealthsimple until I feel the stock market is more stable. I decided to keep the money in my bank, ready for investment when the world has gone back to ‘normal’. We also decided that putting 5% of our paychecks into the 'refurb' budget wasn’t a good idea. I haven’t worked since 23rd March (and have now been put on Furlough) and my boyfriend finished the following day, so we're trying to be VERY conservative with our spending.

 

In March's update I said " I’m looking forward to a ‘normal’ month. Normal being where there is nothing that affects my boyfriend working and we have no major expenses coming out" well ... I guess we are going to be waiting a while to get back to normal. Over the next few weeks/months I expect the world to get back to normal however, my biggest fear is the state of the economy once all this is over. We are going to have to pay of it ... literally!Any Brits reading this, expect your income tax to increase ... start planning for it now.

 

Lets see how the C word has affected my numbers...

 

Investment Update

 

 

 

 

	Money allocation	Returns last month	Returns in 2020
Cryptocurrency	70.04%	-22.53%	-64.07%
Real Estate - Property Partner	1.18%	-1.18%	-1.09%
Real Estate - Private Rentals	24.65%	-1.21%	-7.76%
Precious Metals	3.50%	6.72%	8.60%

 

 

Debt	Paid back this month	Paid back in 2020
Mortgage	0.36%	0.99%
Credit Cards	4.75%	26.01%
House Loan	0.46%	2.19%
Loans	2.37%	8.89%

 

 

 

Comments on this months investments

 

Biggest Winner: Precious Metals
Biggest Loser: Cryptocurrency

 

Well, so far my crypto investments are performing very poorly and seeing these numbers in black and white doesn't make me feel good at all. That being said, I invest for the long term, I have no intention of selling any of my investments so the loss is only a paper loss not a realised loss.

 

My precious metal investments are clearly the best performing asset of 2020, which isn't a surprise because precious metals are proven to perform the best during a recession.

 

I received an email from Property Partner with an announcement stating that all dividends are going to be suspended for 3 months and will be reviewed on 30th June 2020.

 

The email says " Net income that is earned in the next 3 months will accumulate within each property’s bank balance, for the benefit of that property’s capital reserves and that property’s investors. "

 

I completely understand why they have done this however, the dividend payouts would've come in handy... so for the next few months you don't be seeing any gains (or losses) to my Property Partner returns.

 

Goal(s) For April and May

 

I’m not going to go mad with goal setting for the next month or two, the world is very uncertain and I guess my main goal is to continue to be conservative with our spending and be mindful of every penny I spend, to stick to my budgets and to review and update my budget weekly.

 

10 things you can do to improve your investment and financial situation during lockdown

 

1. Read Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad Poor Dad Book
2. Read Dave Ramsey's The Total Money Makeover
3. Download the Live Full Retire Early Annual Budget Planner
4. Use the above planner to review or create your budget
5. Do your own net worth/investment update. Tag me on instagram @livefullandretireearly
6. Set your financial goals for the next 8 months
7. Read Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill
8. Read The Richest Man in Babylon By George S. Clason
9. Listen to The Sunny Show Podcast by Sunny Lenarduzzi
10. Listen to the Build Your Tribe Podcast by Brock and Chalene Johnson
11. Listen to The Financial Confessions Podcast by The Financial Diet
12. Listen to the Blogging With Leslie Podcast by Leslie Samuel

 

 

Previous Updates

 

March 2020 update
February 2020 update

 

 

 

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It’s always a good code of practice to check and review your budget and your investment portfolio. There have been a lot of changes in the stock market this month due to the Corona Virus … It went crazy high mid-month then dropped all of a sudden towards the end of the month … you will see exactly how it has affected my investments below.

February Review

What can I say about February? Well … financially it didn’t go as planned. Due to the bad weather we experienced in the UK my partner was weathered off at work so he ended up having the last 2 weeks off work (without pay). So that’s 2 tight months we’ve had so far, which if we didn’t prepare for events like we’ve experienced, we would’ve been shitting our pants. But thanks to our ‘safety cushion’ aka our Emergency Fund we haven’t been hugely affected. 

We stayed within all our budgets which has been great. We’ve bearly eaten out as we’ve made some lovely meals at home. We’ve brought the party to us and had friends round.

I had my hair done mid-month (which I budget for in my sinking funds) but from March onwards the cost to get my hair coloured and/or cut has increased by 20% so I’ve had to review our budget and make the relevant increases. One thing I have decided to do is get my hair done every 8 weeks instead of every 6 weeks. 

Oh, due to unforeseen circumstances my boyfriend’s car stopped working, so he had paid to get a new fuse, which got him home from London but the next day when he tried to use it, it stopped working … again. We’ve spent a lot of money on that car over the years, it has been a great car but it is time to say goodbye and scrap it. So, one weekend we nipped to Available Car in Morley and checked out their stock. Their selection was OK, maybe a little expensive, but we didn’t buy anything, it was merely for research purposes. So the next day we nipped into our local BMW garage and we ended up buying a used 5 Series. We got a great deal on it, we’re both chuffed. BUT this is one major expense we hadn’t accounted for, luckily we’d been saving for a while for when the car did give up the ghost. 

I’m looking forward to a ‘normal’ month. Normal being where there is nothing that affects my boyfriend working and we have no major expenses coming out … it has been an expensive few months. Thank God I budget … WELL!

We set a goal to boost our Emergency Fund (we’re 70% there) but due to all the unforeseen expenses stated above, we had to put that goal on hold. We’ve got enough money in the Emergency Fund and we intend on using an end of year bonus to give it a healthy boost. 

Investment Update

Comments on this months investment progress

According to Bullion By Post, Gold had hit an all-time high, so I reviewed our investments and considered selling some the gold and moving that money into an Index Fund to start earning a money dividend. But after having a sanity check conversation with my bestie Chris, we soon realised that Gold wasn’t at an all-time high and it might be best waiting a few more weeks. The stock market is pretty high and it is possible that due to the knock-on effects of the Corona Virus, it could severely affect the stock market. 

Here are some updated charts to show you what I mean.

The US stock market over 348 days was up 24.66%. Then in 9 days, it went down 15.84%
The UK stock market over 323 days was up 9.21%. Then in 42 days, it went down 15.99%
Gold over 354 days was up 31.87%. Then in 4 days, it went down 7.47%

If I had sold my gold when I consulted Chris and moved into an index fund, yes I would’ve made money from the gold capital gains, HOWEVER, if I moved that money into an index fund that day, I would’ve lost a hell of a lot of money. I asked him on Monday 24th February and the very next day the UK and US stock markets began to crash further.

Goal(s) For March & April

I don’t have any known huge expenses due to come out in April We have my sister-in-law and my brothers birthday but that’s all covered in my ‘Gift’ Sinking Fund.

Like I said earlier. Since we bought our new house in December 2019 it has been a VERY expensive few months, there are a lot of repairs and renovations, 70% we have budgeted for and 30% we haven’t. So every month we’re going to put 5% of our budget towards those extra repairs.

I have decided to give Wealthsimple a try and see what their investing platform is like. So I have allocated a small amount each month to see how much my money grows using them. I will let you know in May’s update on my first month’s progress.

I’m going to continue selling unwanted things on eBay and Facebook Marketplace, I have done quite well so far, I’m averaging at a guess, £50.00 per month. I’ll add an extra table or graph next month for where all my side hustle income comes from and then I can tally it up each month and see how much extra I have made over 12 months … is anyone interested in seeing it?

Previous Updates

February 2020 update

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Every month on Instagram I share my investment progress, however, I’ve decided to start writing a dedicated post every month to give you a more detailed overview of each investment along with my thoughts, feelings and feedback.

As this is the first in-depth Investment Portfolio Update some of the information is missing as I didn’t do one last month as I was in the middle of sorting out the chaos after I moved house. Next month will be much more interesting and enlighting.

You’ll notice that I don’t include the actual amounts and values of each investment. That’s because it’s just not necessary and not helpful to you. The only reason I can see why someone would publish their own figures is to make them look good.

I’m here to educate you on money management and investing, and sometimes it doesn’t go according to plan. My net worth isn’t helpful to you, it won’t make you financially free, only investing principles do. All that matters is the investment distribution and percentage gains/losses, that way you can take my percentages, apply them to your net worth and see what the actual amounts would be in your case.

Thoughts on this months progress

As you can see we paid a big chunk of change off our credit cards this month. We did this as one of the credit cards deals was up for renewal (or pay an insanely high-interest rate at 19.6%) I simply transferred the balance of the credit card to Barclaycard on a 28-month deal at a 1.9% transfer fee. Simply by restructuring the debt we now have an extra £200 per month.

I’m not particularly pleased with how much of my portfolio is in cryptocurrency. However, I’m still in the red with some of those investments (damn bear market!!) so when I am in the green I fully intend on transferring some the capital into an index fund and buying another property to rent out.

We’ve had a couple of minor setbacks this month as my partner injured himself at work so was unable to work for a couple of weeks, then when he was ready to go back to work he was booted off the job he was on (he’s a contractor) which was a highly paid job for the next year or two so I had to go back and comb through our budget. As usual, he landed on his feet and automatically went on another job but this was isn’t as well paid as the previous.

Budgeting Goal(s) For March

In 2019 we smashed our goal of a 3-6 month Emergency Fund. However, since we hit that goal we have moved into a much bigger house with higher expenses so we have to go back to baby step 3 and increase that figure by 50%. It hadn’t occurred to me that I would need to increase the fund (I know, silly me). Hence why I hadn’t budgeted for it in January and February.

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With more and more apps and software being launched every month, it can be difficult to figure out what is the most helpful and beneficial to you. All claim to offer ways to help improve the way to manage your investments. 

I have compiled a list of all the websites and apps that I use to either manage my property portfolio or stack potential investments. 

National Landlord Association

Becoming a member of the NLA (National Landlord Association) is vital for any landlord. Especially those who choose to self manage their properties. They offer courses (which you will receive a discount for if you are a member), countless forms, documents and guides for when you are setting up, managing and even ending your tenancy. You will receive regular emails with updated legislation, discounted rates and cashback from the ‘NLA Services’ including NLA Mortgages, NLA Tenant Checks, NLA Rent Protect and NLA Property Insurance (and many more) along with FREE unlimited access to their telephone helpline. 

You can even become an accredited landlord via their system.

Check out their website for more information.
https://landlords.org.uk/

Landlord Vision

Landlord Vision is an all in one cloud based software that helps you manage your finances, your tasks and your landlord responsibilities.

Landlord Vision

Finding an efficient way of managing your property investments can be very frustrating to say the least. You can feel you are being bogged down with paperwork and have no suitable place to put it, especially if you have more than one property. You can set weekly, monthly or annual reminders so you don’t end up missing anything important. You can arrange  inspections, deal with maintenance issues and those important safety assessments. You can have each supplier information saved so when something needs repairing or replacing you just simply log onto your account and find the relevant supplier. 

Landlord Vision actually an NLA branded service, so you can be rest assured they have been validated from a third party. 

Check out their website for more information. Full NLA members receive 6 months FREE with a 15% discount thereafter. **

Download from the app store: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/landlord-vision/id1069864879

Stamp Duty Calculator

Sick of struggling to figure out how much SDLT (Stamp Duty Land Tax) you have to pay when buying a property? Look no further than StampDutyCalculator.

For properties over £40,000 – £125,000 you are required to pay 3% SDLT

For properties over £125,001 – £250,000 you are required to pay 5% SDLT. 

For properties over £250,001 – £925,000 you are required to pay 8% SDLT

For properties over £925,001 – £1.5m you are required to pay 13% SDLT

For properties over  £1.5m you are required to pay 15% SDLT

I have this bookmarked under my property stacking list. Without taking into account the amount of stamp duty you have to pay for the property could decide on whether an investment is a goer or not. 

https://www.stampdutycalculator.org.uk/

Checkatrade

We’ve all seen the checkatrade advert on TV. They’re great for anyone, not just landlords. 

They have over 30,000 suppliers that are recommended, monitored and vetted. 

What I love about CheckATrade is that you can post your job and the suppliers come to you. You don’t have to spend hours trawling through the phone book ringing down different companies hoping to find a good one. On CheckATrade you can read reviews from previous customers before you even respond to their proposal. 

https://www.checkatrade.com/

Protect Your Bricks

Protect Your Bricks is a landlord insurance comparison website. They search the WHOLE market for insurance that matches your requirements. I’m sure I have paid too much insurance in the past due to only being offered providers on my brokers small list of suppliers. 

https://www.protectyourbricks.com/

UK Crime Stats

UK Crime Stats are the leading crime and postcode data research and analysis platform. 

Before you purchase a property you need to know what kind of area you are investing in. Location is key and you make or break your rental income for the property. 

You simply enter a postcode and you will be shown all the different crimes that have been reported in current and previous years (and months). If the property is in a high crime area then it is probably the best idea to walk away, as you may get a high turnover in tenants as a result. High turnover in tenants also HUGELY affects our bottom line. Having an empty property and searching for new tenants can wipe out your profit for the whole year. 

https://www.ukcrimestats.com/

Google Drive

Ok, this was more of a last minute addition to this article and is directed at new landlords with only 1 property and is completely FREE. You don’t need to invest in fancy software if you only have one property. That’s overkill. 

I use Google Drive for everything, personally and professionally. This article was created in Google Drive. I manage my budget and investments in Google Drive and I even upload personal photos from my phone. 

If you are new to the whole property investment world. Storing documents, setting daily, weekly, monthly and annual reminders and record keeping can be done on the Google Drive. 

• You can upload and download files. 
• Set reminders in Google Calendar
• Create spreadsheets
• Upload photos
• Open and edit documents (if you don’t have microsoft word)
• Send and receive emails

https://www.google.com/drive/

BBC Mortgage Calculator

Another helpful website to go on when stacking your properties is the BBC Mortgage Calculator. This is probably 99% accurate. I suggest using this website because it gives you a rough idea of what you are working towards without constantly speaking to your mortgage advisor. You can do the basics at home then if the property doesn’t stack up with the basics, then it’s more than likely a no go on the investment front. 

You simply enter the mortgage amount, the number of years you will take the mortgage over and the rough interest you will be getting. It provides a breakdown on the monthly repayment (which also includes interest) and also interest only amounts, which is perfect for buy to let investors. It also offers a caution as to what the mortgage would be if interest rates were inflated to 12%.

Check out the BBC Mortgage Calculator website:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/homes/property/mortgagecalculator.shtml

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When you hear the term Con Man (or Woman) what image comes to mind?

Is it the homeless man on the street begging for spare change or the businessman/woman trying to con you out of potentially thousands? I have heard peoples opinions and experiences on both ends of the spectrum.

There are even programmes on TV with people sharing their stories with tips you should watch out for. My thoughts and questions when I watch these shows are “but how do I know if this person is a conman? It’s easy to spot it when you’re on the outside” and “what if they are being genuine and I’m just being too suspicious”

So, it’s not like a person is guilty until proven innocent, I believe that if you keep your eyes fully open and keep an open mind you will automatically protect yourself from any negative situation.

Con artists pray on the weak and vulnerable. It’s like the pickup artist. They don’t approach the most confident person in the room. They survey the area, looking for their prey and once they spot a target they swoop in for the kill. If they do make a bad call with a strong minded individual, they make their excuses and move on … They don’t continue to use their techniques if it’s highly unlikely their skills will work (and get you into bed).

Another example is the animal kingdom. When a cheetah is hunting for food, does he go for the gazelle that’s surrounded by its pack or does he go for the gazelle slightly away from the pack that is more vulnerable?

These con artists exhibit similar patterns of behaviour. So, to protect yourself remember these steps:

Hook a Duck

People are driven by 3 things: Love, Sex and Money, and con artists know this. Don’t reveal too much about yourself, the less information they have on you, the less they can try and manipulate you.

Many con artists will try and push you into making a decision on a deal before someone else snaps it up and as many people have FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) they will sign on the dotted line before they have had time to truly evaluate. If that is the case then let it to. It’s better to lose a deal than lose your money and your sanity.

If the deal is right for you, then it shall be.

Look For Inconsistencies.

Over several conversations, you will get an idea of the person you are dealing with. Watch out for fractures in their story and subtly try about find out more information.

Validate Their Story.

Like with any investment, research the man or woman. If they are claiming to have these multi-million pound businesses or claim that their product or service will make you a millionaire, validate their story.

Ask to talk to a couple of their clients and ask for reviews. This also applies to tradesmen. If you are wanting some work done in your house and are interviewing tradesmen, go online, type in their company name and see what comes up. There’s no escaping the online world. Remember you can’t please everyone so you can ignore the odd negative comment.

Flattery Will Get You Nowhere.

This is a great way to manipulate someone into doing what you want them to do. People are so desperate for recognition they will put their trust into anyone and everyone. When it comes to business, keep your cards to your chest and only share what is necessary to the business deal. Like I’ve said in previous posts, business and pleasure are two very separate and different things .. keep it that way.

Flattery makes friends, whilst the truth makes enemies

Spanish Proverb

Watch Out For Unrealistic Promises.

This very similar to the second tip. If they are claiming that their product or service will make you thousands of pounds or dollars, ask for some kind of guarantee. If they truly believe in product or service providing you follow theirs steps to the letter, then they should offer some guarantee.

If it’s too good to be true, then it usually is

Smartly Dressed.

That doesn’t mean that every man or woman who takes pride in their appearance is a con man or woman. Taking pride in your personal appearance is very important and I love presenting the best version of me to the world. However, if you put all the above data together including this point, it may end up saving your bacon … and your sanity.

OMG They Have It All.

What the eyes see and the ears hear the mind believes

Harry Houdini

How do you behave when you meet someone who is living your ‘dream life’. They have the flashy car, the ‘amazing’ social life and a gorgeous house.

Do you fall over yourself, believing that they are ‘god’, that they have it ALL FIGURED OUT and want to be their best friend because whatever they are doing, you want to do it too. Well, a con artist will spot this behaviour and exploit it. You have taken a relatively small bit of information and filled in the blanks. You have over generalised.

Over Generalised by definition is “to draw a conclusion or make a statement about (something) that is more general than is justified.”

What if they are renting the car or home for the day to appear to have it all? It’s relatively easy to do. It’s all about misdirection.

I recommend you watching the film Swordfish with John Travolta and Hugh Jackman if you want to learn more about misdirection. This film is entertaining with many helpful messages.

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Until next time …

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