A delayed update as I was on annual leave at the beginning of the month and didn’t even open my laptop.
Compared to previous months, August was ‘action-packed’!
During the month, I…
– Attended various social events with friends and colleagues
Left was how it looked just after the start, right was as it was ending
– Saw the eclipse! Unlikely to see another in my lifetime?
– Attended a couple of festivals; one in York (Ministry of Sound Classical) and a local one featuring cover bands (eg Take That, Oasis)
– Took part in a charity sports day event organised by work at a local running track/sports club. Despite the rain, I completed 10k (not all at once and not all running) but my claim to fame is that I was the oldest person there and I didn’t come last in any of the events I took part in, including sack race, skipping race, 100m sprint and team tug of war! Actually I lie, I came last in egg and spoon but didn’t drop my egg once, haha! Anyway, for my efforts, my body was hurting for about a week afterwards! Also, my nephew was doing a weeks’ work experience and helped with photography duties!
So, how did I get on in August?
I saved 27.8% of my net salary. The above includes £50 Premium Bond winnings, £12.66 from Prolific surveys, £65.32 from Google Ads and I took £500 profit from my options account (not had a chance to do an update on my options but I’m still doing them).
Shares and Investment Trusts
No new shares or ITs were bought – I just reinvested in existing holdings.
Current share/IT portfolio can be found here.
(Entire portfolio here)
Future Fund
At the end of August, my FF had continued its upward trajectory, hitting £428,532.39 – the rocket continues its mad flight ever upwards to the beyond. I should be rejoicing but still not really…
Dividends and Other Income
An average month for dividends:
I received £490.43, of which £262.38 was from my ISAs, the rest from my SIPPs. All dividends were reinvested.
A big drop compared to last year’s August, but I think this is due to a combination of the changes I made to my portfolio recently (a couple of the big divi paying renewables would have paid in August) and some dividends missing end of the month/being paid in September. I was expecting a drop in income but hopefully, I’ll be able to make this up over the next couple of months or so.
Goals Update
Am behind on the divi income now but pretty much there with others still, I think. I’ve been enjoying my reading, been able to get stuck into some books which have really grabbed my attention, so it’s been a nice rest away from screen time.
What was the non-fiction book I read? ‘Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI‘ – by David Grann, a fascinating account of the injustice inflicted upon the Osage tribe, with money being the root of all evil.
Other stuff
After such a long, dry spell, the weather is getting its own back with endless rain. As a result, I’ve not been able to enjoy my garden so much, plants are either overgrown or starting to die off.
I had some success with a few courgettes, not so much with tomatoes, no luck with peas, some success with potatoes.
Oh, I also downloaded the Merlin Bird ID app – I’m clueless about the twittering and singing birds, sometimes see them, usually don’t but this has allowed me to ‘connect’ with the birds!
Screenshot of the app, identifying the chirping little bird!
So far, the app has identified a few birds I can hear, including a robin, great tit and (as I stood outside in the dark in the garden) a tawny owl!
Anyway, I hope all had a great August – here’s to a great September!
Hi weenie,
Congratulations on growing that FF…it has just about doubled over the past 3 years which is amazing.
However with retirement just around the corner and the markets bound to tank at some point – we know it’s coming just not when and how much – I really would be thinking about selling a good chunk of that £200K gain and transferring to a cash ISA providing a safe tax-free income for your retirement living costs.
For example, that whole FF could generate £20K/year tax free with the Skipton fixed cash ISA (one I have just transferred into) @4.65%.
Good luck going forward and again well done with progress so far!
Thanks John!
Transferring such a large amount to my ISA isn’t something I’m considering, despite retirement just being round the corner. In any case, only around half of my FF is in ISAs, the rest is in SIPPs.
I intend to remain invested and have de-risked my portfolio by moving some equities into money market funds. I haven’t done the full analysis but I think my portfolio is probably around 70/30 now, which I feel ok about, though I may push it a bit closer towards 60/40 this coming year.
My FF is only a financial bridge to use until I get my DB pension and the state pension so I’m comfortable taking more of a risk with it.
That graph is stellar. Your start point was within a few £k of mine, at around about the same time. So it always interesting to make comparisons. I was reflecting in the last week about some of the mistakes I have made with my plan, which include: i) not using the full ISA allowance each year ii) fiddling with the AIM market for a bit (not a good outcome) iii) over-fixating on daily share prices rather than looking at the trends. and having far too many funds that have duplicate underlying shares.
It is interesting to see others’ journeys’ as I will be retired (I hope) in May of 2026, or at a push April 2027. Good luck with your plans, I will keep checking in.
Thanks Dave.
I’ve tried not to look back and think about ‘what ifs’ but I have learned my lesson in a similar way to your getting fingers burned on AIM market, mine was with lend investing and some crowdfunding. I will stick to the stock markets now, with the only ‘fun’ being my tiny play on options trading.
All the best with your push for retirement next year!
Well done on the 27.8% and on not dropping the egg! On the August dividend dip: a trailing-twelve-month total is a kinder yardstick than month versus same month last year, especially after a portfolio reshuffle. When the payers change, the ex-dividend calendar changes with them, and a big payer landing in September instead of August can make one month look far worse than the year actually is. On the renewables you swapped out, their share prices have mostly been a rates story: with long-dated government bond yields up sharply this year, investors can get a decent yield without the discount risk, and that pressure applies to income trusts generally, not just the ones you sold.
Thanks Kuzmanov!
You are right, I am being harder on myself with the month versus month measurement – I will have a far bigger September payment which will make up for the lower August. However, I haven’t really calculated what I may get in the last 3 months of the year, so my dividend goal is not a dead cert. I don’t regret swapping out of the renewables, out of sight out of mind now, I don’t look at how they are doing so I don’t get FOMO!