Hello and welcome back to Mortgage Advisor on FIRE. This week I discuss risk and investments. Also, some updates on our BTL sale, and some more frustrating customer service.
Weekly Update
It’s been a busy week and it was my turn to work on Saturday, meaning I get just Sunday off before another full working week. Working on a weekend is not all bad because it means I have a day off the week before. Unfortunately, that day off was largely wasted because service, in general, seems to be getting worse all the time.
The first thing Oana and I had on our agenda for the day off was to schedule a meeting about a job she was looking at. What should have been a fairly simple exercise became something much more complex because of the other person’s inability to listen. Following that, I was dealing with Amazon. We had ordered a bulky item for delivery, but the driver never rang our apartment. We just had a notification stating the item had been delivered to a pick-up point a few miles away. It kind of negates the point of ordering for home delivery. I got in touch and explained we could not go to that location for collection, because of the very limited opening times they had, and the fact the item was very bulky and we don’t drive. In total, I was passed through six agents on their live chat before it was resolved.
Things should not be this difficult.
I also had to collect another parcel, for which the driver did not ring us despite us being home that day specifically for that delivery, which had been sent to a corner shop about fifteen minutes walk away, or as my Grandad used to say, “it’s a ten-minute walk if you run.”. I checked their opening times online; 13:00-23:00. So, I was annoyed when I turn up at 13:10 and they’re closed, and their phone number was not working. I tried calling the retailer, but they kept me on hold for twenty minutes before disconnecting, and the delivery company just shrugged. Just as I was getting ready to leave, the shop opened and I got the package; a pair of shoes for Oana. The retailer sent the wrong size. It’s also frustrating because those shoes were for Oana to wear at the new job she had lined up, but as they decided to change their mind at the last minute, she no longer wanted them.
Following this, I went to pick up my regular prescriptions from the pharmacy, but the GP had not sent them properly, and the pharmacy did not have the stock. To cap it all off, our internet food delivery was supposed to come in a window between 6pm-7pm, but the driver just decided to arrive thirty minutes early despite the fact we were busy doing other stuff. When you schedule a delivery, being early can be just as annoying as being late.
It just seems as though everywhere you turn, people don’t give a crap about service anymore. To an extent I understand; many people are paid insultingly low wages, in poor working conditions, by businesses that care only about profit. I’m at the point where I dread dealing with a company because I just expect it to go wrong.
My Hair
So a few people have asked how long I intend to grow my hair. I’ve been growing it since November 2022, and it’s getting quite long now. The one downside to having hair this thick is that it now thinks the Tories are doing a good job.
BTL
We’ve not had the interest we had hoped for with our sale of the rental property. We had listed it at the upper end of what we thought we might get for it, and so we’ve decided to drop the asking price by £5k. Hopefully, that generates a bit more interest and leads to some more viewings. We just need it sold because every month we have it empty we are responsible for the mortgage payments and the council tax.
It seems a fair few landlords are exiting the market. I know a few people who have one or two properties rented out and all of them are either actively trying to sell, or about to put them up for sale.
Landlords get a bad rep from the general public, but I think some of this is unfair. Yes, there are bad landlords, but there are also bad police officers, bad doctors, bad journalists, and bad unemployed people. There are also honest and decent landlords who offer a vital service to a section of society that needs the flexibility of being able to rent. Homeownership is not the end goal for everyone. Some people like having more flexibility. Some people need that flexibility as they move around through work. Then some couples want to try living together without committing to a mortgage. There will always be a demand for rental properties, and there simply isn’t the supply from the local authorities.
Most landlords only have a few properties. Depending on who you ask, you’re looking at between 2-5 properties for the majority of landlords. It is these people that are being forced out of the market through high interest rates, increased taxation, and changes to laws and rules around renting property. These properties that are being sold mean that the tenants probably have to move as part of the sale, and it will lead to a concentration of rental properties in fewer hands. It’s yet another example of the system working to transfer wealth from the lower and middle classes to the wealthy parts of society.
Looking Back
You may have noticed that I posted a couple of times during the last week. One of those posts was the first in what I’m hoping will become a regular thing. I’m looking back at my older posts, tidying them up, and providing some thoughts on what I was writing about back then. The first post in this series can be found here….
What Am I Doing?
TV: For All Mankind (Apple TV). The Unthinkable (Amazon).
Audiobook: Stolen Focus by Johann Hari.
We finished all four seasons of For All Mankind that have been released so far. It’s a fantastic show, and I can’t wait for the next season. It’s even softened my opinion of Joel Kinnaman; an actor who I’ve never been fond of for some reason. He nails his role here though.
We watched a Swedish film the other night, The Unthinkable. It was described as something similar to Cloverfield but I didn’t get that impression. The only slight similarity was that something was going on, and we didn’t know what. It was a decent enough film and it kept me engaged for the most part, but I felt like it couldn’t decide what it wanted to be; whether it was an action film, or a work of introspection dealing with trauma and abuse. I think had it leaned into one of these more, it would have been better than trying to do both at once.
I don’t know what it is but so far this year I seem to be struggling for time to listen to audiobooks and podcasts. I miss getting stuck into a good audiobook and smashing through them quickly. Listening to these types of content is something that helps me relax. I need to figure out where I can free up the time to do this.
Financial Update
Assets
Premium Bonds: £13,175.00.
Stocks and Shares ISA: £61,399.19.
Fuck It Fund: £6,048.51.
Pensions: £74,073.79.
Residential Property Value: £228,116.00.
BTL Property Value: £147,203.00.
Total Assets: £530,015.49.
Debts
Residential Mortgage: £172,897.27.
BTL Mortgage: £104,891.96.
Total Debts: £277,789.23.
Total Wealth: £252,226.26.
Investment Income in 2023: £928.01 (target £10,000).
I hit a nice little milestone this week with my pension value hitting the highest level ever. The only other significant change from last week is that another mortgage payment has reduced our balances.
When our BTL does sell it will have a massive impact on my figures, reducing both my asset and debt figures. It’s going to be important to remember that it’s not a step backwards though. It’s simply a slight change in direction, almost like a sideways step to allow me to advance further forward.
Risk, Eggs, and Baskets
I posted a short blog in the week discussing the idea that putting all your eggs in one basket is risky. I explained that I felt this is a nonsense argument because it fails to adequately define “risk” and it fails to specify the size of the basket. For example, putting all your eggs in one basket could refer to throwing all your money into a single stock, or into a single crypto coin. Or, it could refer to putting all your money in a global index fund with Vangaurd. In terms of general “risk” the latter example is at the opposite end of the risk spectrum to the first two examples.
My point provoked some debate both in public and in private. My point is that the size of the basket is important; you could have a basket that is small and narrow with little carrying capacity, or you could have a bigger basket which you fill with different types of eggs. It’s better to have one basket you can watch closely than having to split your attention across several.
If you wanted to take this point to the extreme you could argue that investing all your money in Earth based investments is putting all your eggs in one basket, but that would be absurd. So it becomes a balance, and to find the right balance you have to ask yourself some questions about your risk tolerance and your willingness and ability to actively manage your own investments.
I’m content to have as few baskets as possible because I know I’m going to watch them closely and fill them with a variety of different eggs; and that’s what a global index fund inside an ISA wrapper is.
That’s all for this week. I hope you have a great week ahead, and please remember to like, share, comment, and subscribe.
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Disclaimer
The views and opinions in this blog are my own, and do not represent the views or opinions of my employer, nor should they be considered advice.
If you want personalised financial advice, seek an appropriate professional. If you are in financial difficulty, seek advice via the resources below:
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