May was a month where there was just so much doom and gloom about, well, seemingly everything.
I’ve continued to consume as little news as possible, just enough so that I’m aware of what’s going on without getting too emotionally affected or distracted by it all.
The cost of my groceries has noticeably gone up. I’m not consciously trying to keep costs down yet, perhaps I should.
So, how do my numbers look in May?
I saved 15.7% of my net salary. The above includes £91.30 from doing Prolific surveys, plus £281.99, which was a credit balance refund from the utility suppliers at my last address. The full credit was actually £100 more but I used that to replace my Fitbit which had recently died on me.
As mentioned in my last post, the sale of my parents’ house has finally completed and now that I’m no longer paying duplicate utility direct debits and council tax, my savings rate should improve.
Shares and Investment Trusts
I opened a (small) new investment in NB Global Monthly Income Fund Ltd (NBMI), to add to the income-paying part of my portfolio. This is the only other monthly income investment I will have, the other being BMO Commercial Property Trust (BCPT) – will see how that goes.
Current share/IT portfolio can be found here.
(Entire portfolio here)
Future Fund
May was apparently a bit of a rollercoaster for many investors and somewhat of a bloodbath for others. I wasn’t particularly worried, although I did check my portfolios a few times to see if there was anything worth stressing about. There wasn’t.
My Future Fund didn’t entirely escape scot free from all the noise and wobbled down a little to £228,772 by month end. I’m down -1.5% YTD, which is a bit meh but nothing to worry about.
Dividends and Other Income
Three cheers for dividends received!
I received £583.60, of which £419.58 was from my ISAs, the rest from my SIPPs.
Here’s what the graph looks like:
Matched Betting (MB)
Still just spending minimal time on this, using very small bets. I made just £19.53 profit on EW betting.
As mentioned previously, the MB guide I subscribe to is OddsMonkey*, which is great for beginners and experienced matched bettors alike. There are step by step guides and also a friendly forum for you to ask questions and get help on any of the offers.
Goals Update
Here’s how I did in May:
Think I’m still on track with most of my goals.
And that’s it
As I write this, I’ve been enjoying the start of a nice long bank holiday weekend, courtesy of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Cheers, your Majesty!
Front cover of Private Eye magazine
Been chilling at home, pottering around the garden and watching Trooping the Colour on TV. I attended a Jubilee Party at work yesterday but there’s nothing organised near me, although quite a few of the neighbours have put up Union Jack bunting.
Anyway, wishing you all a great Jubilee bank holiday!
[*referral/affiliate link]
Recommend listening to the May 30th Chinese Whispers podcast with Cindy Yu on how the current Chinese leadership were influenced in their youth by the Chinese Cultural Revolution. My ex lives in Shanghai and they have just come out of an extreme 2 month zero tolerance Covid lockdown.
Hi Simon
Yeah, have read about the brutal lockdown over there and it seems unfathomable nearly 3 years on from the first lockdown. My family in HK have had to put up with some restrictions but at least they have been enjoying some freedoms.
Thanks, I listened to that Cindy Yu podcast – was interesting, however apart from Mao and Deng Xiaoping I had no idea who any of the others mentioned were; never kept on top of politics in China or had any real interest, the only thing I have in common with the mainland is my ethnicity (not even the language, although I should learn). My barebones knowledge of Chinese history is just scraps about the one child policy, the Tiananmen Square massacre, Mao’s revolution and his little red book, which I did have a copy of as a souvenir but which I couldn’t find during my house move so it may have ended up in a charity bag!
Does your EF include making your mortgage payments?
Hi Al Cam
My Future Fund has always taken into account that I’d be paying rent or mortgage, so yes it does.
Apologies for being unclear, I should have probably typed in full, I meant emergency fund (EF).
Sorry, I did do a double-take but thought you meant my FF.
Yes, my emergency does include mortgage payments; basically all my unavoidable living expenses, including groceries but none of the ‘luxuries’, eg gym membership, TV streaming etc.
Great job! what books have you read so far this year?
Hi Lazy FI Dad
Been reading my usual fodder, a mix of sci-fi, fantasy and crime fiction. Favourite book so far has been ‘A Little Hatred’ by Joe Abercrombie. One non-fiction book which I read which was educational was ‘The Tiger that Isn’t’ by Michael Blastland, which opened my eyes to numbers used by the government or in surveys, and how we need to question them. Using a recent example, people cheered when Rishi announced a £9.1b rebate to help with rising energy bills – wow! But they’re not so happy when it only translates into £400 per household. The question was, given the population of Britain, is £9.1b a big enough number and it looks like it isn’t. Not that I think a bigger number is the solution, as I’m not sure giving handouts will help things in the longterm.
Hey Weenie – totally with you on avoiding the news! There’s so much repetitive stuff and with much of it there’s nothing different that I will do as a result. It can quickly make you feel like things are much worse than they actually are.
I agree, I’ve noticed things are more expensive now here in the UK. Apart from travel (and perhaps beer ) we don’t seem to spend that much so it’s not making a material difference yet. I’m keeping an eye on it since we don’t have the option of asking for a raise but not doing anything different otherwise either.
Good to see you are still on course despite all & hope you made the most of the sunshine over the long weekend!
Cheers!
Hi Michelle
Agree, the news just magnifies and sensationalises everything to make it worse.
I’ll be enjoying the warm weather this weekend and shan’t be one of those complaining it’s too hot!
Glad you enjoyed the Jubilee weekend. I was on holiday in Scotland so didnt see much Jubilee celebrations but did get to enjoy the break.
I too have been avoiding the news, being on holiday has helped as I have been out and about although costs for food and drink were a focus during the holiday as I could see the impact on the price hikes now. The fuel price to get back was not too bad but looking at the prices now is terrible.
Thanks Sparklebee and hope you had a lovely break in Scotland.
I am sadly one of those handling a big drop in FF value. Its down about 7% YTD. A big ouch for me, I am not drawing from my ISA yet but can see that’s its value has now lost most of last year’s gain.
I am just keeping my head down and trying to enjoy the sun and keep my costs down and try and survive. I dread to think what the winter will be like as the media tries to stir up a frenzy, since 2020 the media’s fear factor has been turned up to 100.
Yes, the media just makes things so much worse. Must be tough for you to see the big drop but we’re all in the same boat investments-wise, just need to try to sit tight for now, if we are able to.
Thanks for the update weenie. When it comes to the current market conditions and general state we find ourselves in with inflation so high, a war in Eastern Europe all whilst trying to delicately recover from a global pandemic. I find myself with some background concern but also feel vindicated in my approach to global investing (investing in governments, companies – humanity in a sense) as my small pain in the back of my mind is occurring where there is far greater pain for others, when there is a global recession or bear market, it seems most of us are affected all at once. I find I like the idea of investing monthly even more as DCA works it’s magic.
I also feel better about not trying to stock pick or invest in certain sectors etc. it also humbles me a bit more to know that a bull market just won’t go on and on, a pull back is inevitable, it tests the waters. I likely would not feel as comfortable if I was drawing in my fund though especially if I had just pulled the trigger. That’s why a buffer even in drawdown is something I will build in for sure.
TFJ
Hi TFJ
I’m not sure I’ll feel any sort of vindication until I actually reach FIRE – plenty can still happen in the meantime!
My drop in portfolio is less than what I suffered during the Covid crash and is less than the decrease resulting from when I had to withdraw cash for my house purchase, so it still doesn’t feel quite so bad in my books. Not yet anyway.
Agree, I would not be comfortable had I just pulled the plug on work – instead of a normal FIRE, it would be a lean FIRE and I would hope I had built in a big enough buffer!