I’ve been a sun-worshipper since my teens and like nothing better than to relax and bask in the sun for hours (with sun lotion on), listening to my favourite tunes or reading a book, but that heatwave we had this month was a little too much, even for me! Phew!
It was so tempting to WFH in my bikini and just not put my camera on but I didn’t want to risk me forgetting and joining a video call! It was times like these that I missed the office air con, which I usually complain about being too cold! And no, I’m not one of those who ‘works in the garden’ as in any case, 1) the wifi signal isn’t strong enough and 2) I can’t work with just the laptop screen and need a second (bigger) screen to do my job properly.
Was madly trying to keep my plants alive in the heat – many are in pots so suffered a lot more than the ones in the beds/borders. I’m always reluctant to use the hosepipe so was doing some extra ‘weight training’ by lugging the watering can around!
Also, trust my sister to go away during this particular hot period as I’ve been tasked to water her plants (indoor and garden). As her house alarm is linked to her phone, she knows how many times I’ve been over, so I can’t skimp on my duties, haha!
This month, it wasn’t only the temperatures which were soaring but also my expenses.
I had a couple of social outings but the big expenses were car repairs – a few items marked as ‘Amber’ on my MOT in previous years turned to ‘Red’ so had to be fixed in order for my car to pass. The ensuing £648 was mostly paid for by emergency fund, so that’s me not reaching that goal I set this year.
Reasons to be Cheerful
The news continues to be filled with doom and gloom, so I look on the bright side:
- My sister who lives in Singapore came over to visit – it was so good to see her and my niece in the flesh after over 3 years and my little niece has grown so much!
- Summer sports – first the tennis, then the Women’s Football Euros – this is the first time I’ve watched most of the matches of the women’s tournament and I’ve really enjoyed it – what a win for the Lionesses! Have also been catching lots of the events from the Commonwealth Games – after spending a couple of hours watching women’s T20 cricket, I think I can say this is another sport I will happily go to spectate.
- After numerous IVF treatments, my friend had a baby girl! ‘Geriatric’ Mum (as new mothers over 35 are referred to) and daughter are doing well and I can’t wait to see them both.
- Meeting another blogger – more on this later!
So, how did I get on with my numbers in the heat of July?
I saved 15.2% of my net salary. The above includes £96.57 from doing Prolific surveys. As my social life continues to make up for lost-Pandemic time, my savings rate will suffer but hey ho, it’s important to enjoy my life and maintain friendships.
Shares and Investment Trusts
No changes here, I just topped up existing investments.
Current share/IT portfolio can be found here.
(Entire portfolio here)
Future Fund
Well, I wasn’t expecting this upon checking my portfolios!
My Future Fund climbed to £232,406 by month end. I’m now back to where I was at the beginning of the year. That is, if you don’t include new capital added so far this year.
On the graph, it looks like another ‘V’ shaped recovery. However, I’m not getting too hopeful, as this is likely just a false dawn and this bear market probably hasn’t quite finished with us yet by a long stretch.
Dividends and Other Income
A fairly average month for dividend income:
I received £311.99, of which £203.57 was from my ISAs, the rest from my SIPPs. All dividends were reinvested.
Here’s the updated graph:
Matched Betting (MB)
Was too busy sweating in the heat and going out to do any MB this month so no profits (or losses!).
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 my goals look just past the midway stage:
Well the emergency funds goal is a no-go – even without the car repair, I think a combination of increasing cost of living and my social activities is having an impact.
Blogger meeting Blogger
I’ve met several FIRE bloggers face-to-face over the years but all of them have been UK-based.
So when the blogger LatestarterFIRE from Australia asked if I wanted to meet up with her as she was visiting the UK over the summer, there was really only one answer!
Our meet up was nearly derailed as she caught Covid upon arrival to the UK, but fortunately, she recovered quickly and we arranged to catch up early evening, after I finished work.
That afternoon, I was out meeting a friend for lunch and was just crossing the road around the corner from my office when somebody caught my eye and I was prompted to ask, “Um, excuse me but aren’t you…?”
Yep, it was only LatestarterFIRE, who just happened to be crossing the same road at the same time! What were the chances or probability of that happening!!?
I mean Manchester’s nowhere near as big as London but it’s hardly small! The timing was a little spooky and uncanny, but we both found it hilarious! It was just as well that as anonymous bloggers, we had sent each other selfies so we could recognise each other!
Anyway, after work, we met up again (at our actual arranged time!) and spent a very pleasant couple of hours chatting and getting to know each other more – we kind of already knew some bits from reading each other’s blogs.
We had quite a lot in common and it was good to compare stories and experiences. To my somewhat embarrassment, LatestarterFIRE introduced me to a restaurant I wasn’t even aware of in my own home city, for which I’m very grateful for, as I’ll probably head back there again with my friends! (My excuse is that I don’t normally go to that part of the city!).
Anyway, she says she’ll likely be back in the UK again at some point so if she can fit me in with her travel plans, it would be great to catch up with her again.
And that’s it for this month. Hope you all had a good July and that your numbers finished higher like mine did!
[*referral/affiliate link]
Good to see the numbers bouncing back a little. Had to laugh at you bumping into another blogger. I had my first random person come up to me in the street a few weeks ago; aren’t you Mortgage Advisor on FIRE? They recognised me from selfies I’ve had on my blog. Now I know how A-listers feel haha!
Hi David
Haha, a small world when it’s a random person going up to you! When I go to the Manchester FIRE meet ups, I don’t tend to mention my blog – I don’t feel like I need any more exposure!
“What were the chances or probability of that happening!!?”
Miracles happen at a frequency of about one per month. It must be true, a very clever mathematician said so.
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Littlewood%27s_law
Very interesting, cheers dearieme!
Sounds like a good month for you Weenie. Apart from the car of course, but that’s what emergency funds are for.
Nice to see your figures bouncing back.
That’s always good to see.
I watched the Lioness game too. I was shouting at the telly all the way through. It was so exciting. And I’m not even into football!
Cheers SS and yes, I was shouting at the tv too – what a game and loved the celebrations!
The stock market does seem to have shot up this past month. But who knows what we can trust these days as it’s all over the place!!
I wondered why there were a lot more people at work with their video cameras off, now I know they’re in their bikinis!
I’m glad you guys got past the heat wave, has it dropped back down to normal temps now?
Hey SN
Agree, hard not to get too hopeful with the uptick but just have to steel myself for more uncertainty!
Think those people with cameras off were probably sat in their gardens!
Heatwave is over, but temperatures are still warm (though rainy) so can’t really complain!
You’re probably right about the false dawn, but it’s a nice reprieve from constant the steady stream of losses! Hopefully the volatility subsides a bit at least.
Thanks to you, I’ve gone down a matched betting wormhole. Looks right up my alley. Betting isn’t legal yet in California but hopefully that changes soon!
Hi Impersonal Finances
Yes, that reprieve is very welcome indeed!
Hah, I’m at the tail-end of my matched betting ‘career’ but I hope it works for you as it did for me! Gambling licences in California (and other states) is only a matter of time, once it’s figured out how much tax they can collect from regulated gambling!
Hi Weenie,
Glad you had a good July, getting out and enjoying the sunshine. Bad news about the car, mine needed work too last year to get it through its MOT. A necessary evil of life.
I had a good month on dividends , I have some of the same funds are you, but also watch the stock market bouncing around. It is a worry with the cost of living and I am trying to offset rises with cutting spending in other areas. I will just keep trying to balance my numbers and get my passive income to grow as did I ended recover from the last two years.
Could just do with things settling down a bit and less doom and gloom in the media.
Hi Sparklebee
Great to hear that you’ve been getting good dividends too.
I will be juggling with the cost of living costs, but trying to balance that out with my social life and planning a big holiday at the end of the year. Perhaps I should have put money aside for that but it got invested or went towards my house. I’m not sure things will settle down in the media just yet – I can already sense the oncoming doom for this winter but will do my best to avoid being dragged down in it all.
Hi Weenie,
Yay, for now! Sure, the numbers may go down again but hey, let’s celebrate the small wins along the way 🙂
It WAS spooky hearing my name called out as we were crossing the street and it turned out to be you! I was worried for a second if I’d done something wrong crossing the street …
Thanks for meeting up – I had a blast! It just seemed we already knew each other well and to find we were similar in so many ways was the bonus.
Definitely happy to meet up next time I’m in the UK 🙂 Or I might see you in Australia?
Hey Latestarterfire
I was nearly too shy to call out when I saw you but I did before I could think about it, haha!
It was lovely to meet you and yes, loved that we had a lot in common.
Not sure when I’ll ever be in Oz so see you next time you’re in the UK 🙂