Another spendy month – think Spring/Summer is just spendy –Â which included social outings and a new pair of glasses (my prescription continues to change, for the better I might add).
I really enjoyed the bank holiday weekends, although the nice weather didn’t last, my garden (and water bill) were happy that the heavens opened.  Unfortunately, there appears to be no sign of the rain stopping now!
So how did my numbers look in May?
I saved 23.8% of my net salary. The above includes £22.74 from doing Prolific surveys.
Shares and Investment Trusts
No new investments, I just topped up existing ones.
Still working on an update on my investments but getting distracted by ideas on other posts. I will get this done at some point.
Anyway, current share/IT portfolio can be found here.
(Entire portfolio here)
Future FundÂ
The rocket comes roaring back as things look to be back on track! Or are they? Who knows, when the markets wobble at the slightest sniff of uncertainty. Anyway, at the end of May, my FF ended up at ÂŁ309,851.22.
Dividends and Other Income
A great month for dividends:
I received ÂŁ807.71, of which ÂŁ619.76 was from my ISAs, the rest from my SIPPs. All dividends were reinvested.
Here’s what my ISA dividend income graph looks like:
Goals Update
Here’s how it looks for month 5:
Still ticking along nicely I think.
Options Options
Time for my 6-month update and my options trading was not left unscathed by Trump’s tariffs and other announcements.
I made a couple of big losing trades – would have lost more had I panicked but I waited before selling, otherwise I could have lost 3 x more. I am still up overall; however my capital has no longer ‘doubled’ due to the losses I made:
My three big losing trades look really bad but this progress chart of my completed trades since I started in 2022 shows a more complete picture (and looks better, haha!):
Looks just like a normal investment graph! Anyway, I hope to recoup most if not all my losses in a few months’ time.
What a Pickle!
I learnt and did something new this month!
The local leisure centre has started taking bookings for pickleball and it’s a sport I’ve wanted to learn to play, ever since I heard about it.
Bought bats for me and sis and we’ve played a couple of times now, although it seems to be really popular with the community and hard to book available courts at the times we can play.
The sport is a little like a cross between badminton and table tennis and as we play both sports, we weren’t like complete beginners and managed to get some decent rallies and shots going! That ball needs some getting used to though! Also, I thought the sport is more forgiving on the joints than badminton is, or was, since it’s been a while since I last played.
Pickleball is not to be confused with Padel, which is different and played on courts enclosed in Perspex walls, a bit like tennis crossed with squash.
Well that’s it from me – hope you all had a great May!
Those dividends are getting pretty chunky now Weenie. 🙂 Maybe you could resurrect the old graph for a one-time special when you consistently break through the £1,000 per month barrier!
Great to see the rocket firing again. That post-move sub-dive is looking like ancient history…
Hey TI
Yes, those dips are way in the past and look so small now!
I shall consider the ÂŁ1k a month divi graph, not sure I’m going to get that many to be honest!
Hi Weenie,
Your dividends look good, great to have that money rolling in/back up into re-investments, and most of it tax free. My dividends are around the same (obviously!) but (shock/horror) all in one company, which is my employer, because I get them heavily discounted. If I’d paid “real” money for them, I’d be disappointed. Nice to see the rocket heading off in the right direction again too.
Every month seems to be a spendy month, and I don’t just mean you, I mean me too. Spendy seems to be the new normal with the cost of everything. Every month brings random overheads, i.e. last week ÂŁ100 to have a (fantastic) Chimney Sweep up on the roof to release a Jackdaw, which was stuck down one of my blocked chimney breasts and then another ÂŁ160 to have the chimneys capped off with cowls to stop in happening again. I know it sounds ridiculous, but every month brings something like this, which is why those elusive figures you discussed in your “My Annual Spending” post, and 31k being the new normal for a “moderate” lifestyle, is fairly accurate!
I’m off to Glastonbury Festival again this year, working as crew, so that’s the best part of ÂŁ400 saved on a ticket at least. Good work with the book reading, and kudos for the Pickleball and trying something new on the exercise front.
Have a great June!
Hey Starla
Understand you having a lot of stock in your employer with the heavy discount – I would be the same if that option was offered to me!
I think you could be right – every month seems to be a spendy month! I’ve been meaning to get my fascias/guttering replaced but just trying to figure out the timing of it for costs. I have some money put aside for ‘house repairs’ but have a feeling it’s nowhere near enough. I guess I won’t know until I get a quote. Too much on socially at the moment though and I need the headspace to sort it out!
Thinking of you as Glasto commences – I shall just spectate from the comfort of my armchair haha! Hope all goes well and you enjoy!
Incredible dividend amounts i’ll have to look into what I get. Love that you are doing another hobby in pickleball I’m just starting to get some fishing gear ready for the summer. Go that rocket
Thanks Sean!
All the best with the fishing – that’s a hobby which (when I talk to people who fish) sounds fascinating but not sure I would enjoy as I’m not really an outdoorsy type of person!
Yay the rocket!