It’s that time of year when everything gets a little busier and more frantic than normal, both work and outside. Having to use odd days of holidays up has meant my work weeks have been rather disjointed and my days off have been restful but not particularly productive.
Anyway, how did I get on in November?
I saved 28.6% of my net salary. The above includes £11.24 from Prolific surveys, plus I bagged a £25 premium bond win.
Shares and Investment Trusts
On the initial rumours of HICL Infrastructure Company Ltd (HICL) and The Renewables Infrastructure Grp Ltd (TRIG) merging, I sold the latter. The funds were invested in existing holdings but I also opened a new holding in Investec Plc (INVP). The merger ended up not going ahead after all (due to shareholder revolt) but I had thought my renewables holdings needed some reducing and this prompted me to do something.
Current share/IT portfolio can be found here.
(Entire portfolio here)
Future Fund
Hurray, things are still going to the moon but I continue to look over my shoulder as this all seems too good to be true. Even with me shifting bits of equities into cash/bonds/gold in an attempt to derisk, my FF ended up at £360,856.
Dividends and Other Income
A great month for dividends:
I received £825.20, of which £559.24 was from my ISAs, the rest from my SIPPs. All dividends were reinvested.
Total ISA dividend income this year comes to £4,816.63 so I’ve achieved one of my goals – yay!
Goals Update
With one month to go, here’s what my goals look like:
Pretty much there with my reading, but need to make sure I put aside reading time and not just waste my time binge-watching tv. The classic book I read was ‘Brave New World’ which I really enjoyed but it was not what I was expecting. I’m not sure what I was expecting but it wasn’t that! Maybe it was the different characters’ viewpoints which threw me.
Will fail the emergency funds goal but I think I made a decent attempt this year, compared to previous years. Looks like this will likely be a goal for next year, I may finally get there!
Didn’t I go away on Holiday?
My holiday seems like a lifetime ago but I enjoyed a good two weeks in Hong Kong and Singapore. I was able to spend quality time with family, rest, relax and eat a lot, and I managed to squeeze in a 10k hike and a couple of pickleball sessions.
Went on a couple of boat trips, include a night trip on Halloween.
Pic is a bit blurry as the water was kinda choppy!
Must plan my holidays a bit better next year so I don’t have them all piling up at the end of the year – so I keep saying pretty much every year!
Hope I will squeeze one more post before the December wrap up and NY goals post.
How did everyone get on in November?
Wow, the future fund rocket is really taking off.
Looking at it in Jan 2025, it’s gone up loads! Looks like £65k earned, so over 20% in 2025? So good.
I think we’re all looking at de-risking a little right now, it seems too frothy.
Looking forward to reading more about your retirement glidepaths and which one you’re going to take.
Hey SN, how are you doing? Hope all’s well with the little ‘un!
Yes, it has really taken off and great gains this year, most from investments and not from my added capital. Understand you wanting to de-risk some now, even though your investment horizon is a lot longer, there’s no harm in taking some profit and putting it somewhere a bit ‘safer’.
I have been reading more about glidepaths and mine needs to be quite simple I think, otherwise I will tie myself into knots stressing over it!