I’m not a winter person and I really dislike going to work in the dark and coming home in the dark. I don’t quite suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) but do find that I really struggle to get up in the mornings now, even after a good night’s sleep and it’s not because I can’t face going into work! Traffic is also worse this time of year – might have to start setting off earlier for work to see if I can avoid the worse part of it.
Fortunately, the weather is still quite mild – really not looking forward to scraping ice off the car windscreen! Roll on springtime!
So, how did I get on with my savings this month?
Savings
Pretty much on the nose with 50% saved this month! I wasn’t sure I would make it this month as I’ve just started to pay off the flight to Hong Kong I’ve booked for Christmas but I was careful with my food shopping (I’ll post about this shortly) which balanced things out.
Savings were boosted this month by £56.04 from Topcashback*, £12.09 reviewing music via SliceThePie*, £54 cashback from a new boiler maintenance plan and £150 rent received.
Shares
Aside from receiving my first dividend income from shares this month, I bought some shares in De La Rue (DLAR) and BP. I also bought some shares in Vodafone (VOD) the back end of September but the purchase didn’t happen until the beginning of October.
So my little portfolio of shares continues to grow and currently looks like this:
As I’m still trying to get my allocations close to my ‘Portfolio For All Seasons‘ (am still very much home-biased towards the UK), I won’t be buying individual shares every month, although by the end of 2015, I hope to have around 10 different shares.
Portfolio Goal
My investment portfolio now totals £21,803, just £197 short of my 2014 goal of £22,000, with two more months to go, so all is on plan for year 1 of my road to FI/Early Retirement!
[*Referral Links]
Great job, Weenie! I'm glad you managed to hit your 50% target!
It's awesome to see you're already at £20,000 for your investment portfolio this year. Do you have any ideas on how much you want your investments to be worth by the end of next year?
I'm als glad to be a fellow shareholder of BP and GSK. Soon I'll be adding VOD to my portfolio too.
Good luck for November!
NMW
Hi Weenie,
Congratulations on yet another consistently good month. I'm sure it's not that easy, but you're making 50% look comfortable now.
I'm afraid I can't agree with you on the weather, but I think I'm in the minority. I like it Britain when the weather constantly changes. I'm looking forward to the frosty weather, it almost adds to the beauty of the Spring when it comes around. I appreciate it more. I am a bit odd though! 🙂
You received some nice side-income, some of which were your first dividends! Speaking of which, I own shares in 4 out of 5 of the companies that you've invested in. I hope we're both right!
You're right on track now – £197 with two months to go on your goal is looking very positive indeed. What a great first year, well done!
All the best
Huw
Nice one Weenie, you are making great progress. I know what you mean about the commute to work in the dark.
Richard
Great month! 50% savings is amazing, keep up the great work. I am a fellow shareholder of BP and love them as a dividend growth stock. As a company that has been around forever, they are not going anywhere anytime soon and are one of the largest oil companies. What I think is the most interesting aspect about the company is that their divdend is not evn at the level it was at prior to the oil spill a few years ago. I am sure they are itching to get back to that level!
Again, keep up the great work.
Bert, One of the Dividend Diplomats
Hi Bert, thanks. I hope to purchase more of BP in the future to add to my portfolio. Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks Richard. The commute in the winter is one thing I definitely won't miss when I retire!
Hey Huw, thanks. No, it's not easy, have to stay focused and not spend, especially this time of year!
I understand what you mean about the changing weather. If I didn't have to drive to work, then I wouldn't mind rain, snow and ice! The only time I get excited about snow is if it falls on a weekend and melts by Monday haha!
Yes, I hold similar shares to you, in fact, many others that you hold are on my list to purchase at some point, as they are good strong companies paying high dividends.
This has been a good first year for me, thanks for your words of encouragement!
Hi NMW, thanks! I do have an idea of what I want my investments to be worth by the end of next year. However, I will wait to see where I am at the end of 2014. Since it looks like it will be worth more than predicted, I will need to adjust my goal for next year accordingly.
Thanks for stopping by and good luck for November too!
Very nice progress and hitting the 50% saving rate target is awesome. Keep up the great work. I'm long BP and VOD myself too.
Hi Tawcan, thanks. It's not always easy and I think December is going to be a tough one but I'll try my best! Yes, BP and VOD for long-term for definite! Thanks for stopping by.
Hi Weenie
Welcome to the world of shareholders.
It's great when you receive dividends from the companies you own, and it adds a kick to your investment momentum when you re-invest.
Purely on a selfish notes, hope your shares really perform (I hold all the shares you do).
50% saving rate is fantastic, can't get near it myself as myself land Mrs FIUK still can't get in to real frugal mode (probably save around 35% but lucky enough to still have a great life).
I hope your investing journey continues to go well, and look forward to following your progress.
Best Wishes
FI UK
Hi FI UK
Thanks. The investments that I have in funds are all accumulated so I don't see any income as such, so I'm very much looking forward to reinvesting my dividends as they come through.
Investing is pretty selfish so I understand you totally haha!
I'm being frugal in some ways to get the 50% saving rate but could probably get it higher if I turned into full frugal mode, ie cancelling my gym membership, not going on holiday and not socialising. But like you, I still want a great life! Your 35% is still great compared to most in this country!
Thanks for your words of encouragement and for stopping by.