Part 159

Hello and welcome back to Mortgage Advisor on FIRE.  Thoughts on crypto, and questions you should ask yourself when looking at an investment opportunity.  Also, how Covid has kicked my ass this last week.  

Weekly Update

It’s been a bit of a rubbish week as I started feeling rough last weekend, and then tested positive for Covid on Monday.  In many ways, this bout was worse than the first time I had it, and I’ve spent most of the week stuck inside.  As someone who gets physically restless, this has been very frustrating.

Another thing that annoyed me about getting Covid is that I’d just started my Movember challenge, which depended on me being physically active.  With a week lost to Covid, I don’t think I’m going to be able to give the challenge my best, especially as it looks like my self-isolation will continue into next week.  

I suspect I probably caught Covid at the gig I mentioned last week.  The venue was crowded so I’d imagine a few people came away from that gig with symptoms. 

I’ve had four vaccines, and Covid on at least two occasions.  It’s possible I’ve had other, minor, instances of it.  The fact that Covid is probably here to stay should not be seen as a criticism of the vaccines.  Rather, the vaccines have provided a layer of defence to reduce the impact of infection.  Think of it like this, if you build a castle you don’t destroy the enemy’s army.  The castle reduces the ability of the enemy army to damage your home.  In this example, the castle is the vaccine and the enemy army is the virus.  

Support Mortgage Advisor on FIRE

I love writing this blog but maintaining a website costs money.  If you want to say thanks for the content I publish, consider donating to my virtual tip jar on the link below:

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/davidscothern

2022 Goals – to be achieved by 31/12/2022

1 – Reduce weight to 90kg.  (Current weight 126.4kg).

2 – Complete 10 “classic” books (4/10)

  1. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (1866)
  2. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville (1851)
  3. Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897) ✅
  4. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (1961)
  5. The Iliad by Homer (8th century BC) ✅
  6. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (1844) ✅
  7. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (1867)
  8. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (1859)
  9. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (1862)
  10. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (1605) ✅

3 – Read 10 authors I’ve not read before (24/10)

  1. John Birmingham ✅
  2. Nicole Perlroth ✅
  3. Sabine Durrant ✅
  4. Luke Smitherd ✅
  5. Max Skittle ✅
  6. Harlan Coben ✅
  7. Jo Spain ✅
  8. Kate Elizabeth Russell ✅
  9. Kiersten White ✅
  10. Rob Hart ✅
  11. Edward Aubry ✅
  12. Marina J. Lostetter ✅
  13. S. J. Morden ✅
  14. C. J. Tudor ✅
  15. Greer Hendricks ✅
  16. Clare Mackintosh ✅
  17. Stephen Baxter ✅
  18. Pete Wharmby ✅
  19. Devon Price ✅
  20. Nick Jones ✅
  21. Nathan Hystad ✅ 
  22. J. P. Pomare ✅
  23. Max Hastings ✅
  24. Brian Lumley ✅

What Am I Doing?

Reading: Fake History by Otto English.

Listening: Necroscope V: Deadspawn by Brian Lumley.

Watching: The Crown.

Although I’m as far from a monarchist as you can get, I have enjoyed The Crown on Netflix.  The key is to remember that it’s a work of fiction based loosely around the royal family.  The production values are incredible and every episode is a work of art, from the direction, costume and set design, and the fantastic score.  Season five recently dropped on Netflix and we smashed through it in short order.  Sheffield’s own Dominic West plays Charles and gives a great performance.  Although, I feel West is too stocky for the role.  My favourite performance is from Jonathan Pryce who plays the Duke of Edinburgh.  Quite how much of the story of the show is true to life is up for debate, but the show manages to create a version of Philip that is often sympathetic, in that we have a man trapped by the system and tradition.

I’m on book five of the Necroscope series and whilst it’s still enjoyable, I think there’s been a slight drop in quality.  Some of this is down to the awful narration on books four and five.  The narrator manages to make many of the characters sound like people from a Harry Enfield sketch show.  I have no idea what, if any, direction the voice actor received but their performance is detracting from the enjoyment of the series.  A good narrator can elevate the material.  The best example I can think of is Jonathan Keeble’s work on Bernard Cornwell’s Arthur trilogy.  The writing alone is fantastic, and Keeble’s voice work elevates it even further.  A competent narrator should not be noticed; as their voice work should be neutral and not stand out.  Every now and then, though, I come across one who negatively impacts the material being read.  It’s annoying.

Financial Update

Assets

Premium Bonds: £9,360.00 (+£100.00). 

Stocks and Shares ISA: £61,501.03 (+£913.30). 

Fuck It Fund: £1,625.00 (no change).

Pensions: £54,030.94 (+£715.83). 

Residential Property Value: £233,989.00 (no change). 

Buy-to-Let Property Value: £150,993.00 (no change). 

Total Assets: £511,498.97 (+£1,729.13).

Debts

Credit Card: £0.00 (no change).

Residential Mortgage: £180,466.52 (no change). 

Buy-to-Let Mortgage: £105,193.90 (no change). 

Total Debts: £285,660.42 (no change). 

Total Wealth: £225,838.55 (+£1,729.13)

Investment Income in 2022: £4,805.27 (target £6,000).

The stock market has rallied this week and added some value back to my bottom line.  It all feels like a bit of a waiting game with my finances now, until we start the new financial year in April.  I’ve maxed out my ISA some time ago, and it’s looking like a second BTL purchase will also be a few months away.  In the meantime, I’m consolidating funds where I can and trying to account for upcoming expenses.


Over the coming months, we have a few things to pay for;

  • Norwegian cruise.
  • Work in our kitchen.
  • Increase in mortgage payments when some of our deals end in 2023.

We have funds in place to cover the cruise, and to clear some of the mortgage that is coming to the end of its deal.  The kitchen work will need funding though, and it might have to come from a small loan or credit card.  I’d rather not have to do this, but our kitchen desperately needs improving.

Crypto Madness

This isn’t a boast-post, but I saw the writing on the wall for crypto some time ago; it’s almost 40 weeks since I cash in all my crypto.  In many ways, it was similar to what happened with Football Index, and I exited that platform before it all came crashing down.

There are three main questions any person should ask when confronted with an investment they don’t understand:

  • Where is the money?
  • Who is gaining from this?
  • Can you explain the investment in terms a five-year-old would understand?

Where is the money?

When investing you need to fully understand where and how your money is stored.  Is your cash protected? If the platform becomes insolvent, are your funds safe?  Where are the rewards/interest/dividends coming from?

Who is gaining from this?

If you can’t work out who is gaining from the investment, and if it seems too good to be true, then you are the product.  If the rewards/returns seem too good to be true, go back to the previous question and ask where the money is coming from.

Explaining the investment in simple terms…

As a (very) general rule of thumb, the more complicated an investment seems, the more it is trying to hide the answers to the previous two questions.  Legitimate investments should be clear, transparent, protected, and at their core simple.  If it seems overly complex or too good to be true, then you need to think very carefully before parting with money. 

Take Football Index as an example.  This was an app where you would buy and sell shares in football players.  Note, this did not result in any actual ownership, but simply shares the app created for these players.  For example, you could buy ten shares in Harry Kane, but this did not mean you had any actual interest or stake in Harry Kane.  The shares were, for all intents and purposes, imaginary.  As you held shares in players you would receive dividends based on how those players performed or were mentioned in the media.  What I couldn’t work out was a) how the owners of the app made any money and b) where the money for the dividends came from.  

When I looked at Football Index and attempted to answer the first of my questions, I couldn’t arrive at an acceptable answer.  So, I cashed out and ran.  I was fortunate enough to make money from this venture, but it was small change compared to the eye-watering losses some people experienced when the index came crashing down.

There may be a future in cryptocurrency but my thoughts are it will probably not be one of the current batch of currencies out there.

Here’s a question for you, and please have an actual guess before googling the answer.  How many cryptocurrencies are out there?

The answer; well, depending on which articles you believe it’s anywhere from 10,000 – 20,000+ different cryptocurrencies in circulation.  

If you are thinking about gambling on a cryptocurrency, just ask yourself a few questions;

Why do I believe this crypto is going to perform better than the thousands of others out there?

Do I understand how my money is protected?

Can you explain in simple terms what blockchain is without using the word blockchain?

I swear whenever I hear someone banging on about blockchain I automatically think of someone using the bible as evidence as to why the bible is an accurate history.   

That’s all for this week.  Please remember to like, comment, share, and subscribe to this blog.  Have a great week.

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:

StepChange

MoneyHelper

Biolink and other links

You can now find all my social media pages by checking out my Biolink:

bio.link/davidscothern.

Also, check out Darren Scothern’s blog which talks about autism, being autistic, and general mental health:

www.darrenscothern.com

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Part 158

Hello and welcome back to Mortgage Advisor on FIRE.  This week I look at the latest farce surrounding the Qatar 2022 World Cup.  A look back at the Kiefer Sutherland gig, and a surreal interaction on Facebook.  The usual financial updates and a possible increase in debt in the coming weeks.

Qatar 2022

As the World Cup draws closer the controversy over the competition is heating up again.  Gary Neville was ripped a new one by Ian Hislop on Have I Got News For You over his decision to attend as a commentator.  Neville had responded that he felt it was a choice between not going, or going and highlighting the problems with the tournament’s host.  Hislop asked why he couldn’t stay in the UK, not take the Qatari’s money and highlight the problems from home.  It’s a fair, and obvious, question. 

I always try to be balanced and fair in my opinion, but this World Cup is an abhorrent, morally bankrupt, circle jerk by the rulers of Qatar.  We have a country that, if I’m being polite, has a medieval approach to human rights, and is seemingly fine with working hundreds (maybe more) of immigrant workers (is “slaves” too strong a word?) to death.

There is now the issue that they are bribing fans of different countries to be cheerleaders who will be contractually obligated to post only positive stories about their time in Qatar.  These fans will be given flights, accommodation, and spending money.  It’s an absolute fucking disgrace and shows that, for some people, they can be bought for the equivalent of £60 per day.  So far I’ve read that fans from England, Wales, and Dutch fans have been bought.

If I was a high-profile footballer who was going to be included in the World Cup squad, I’d have refused.  Some things are more important than money, and players at that level are already financially comfortable.  I don’t buy the argument that it’s down to sponsors either.  Imagine if an England international refused to go on principle.  Would a sponsor really come out and say, “well yeah, lots of people have died and Qatar’s human rights record is awful, but you should put money ahead of your morals.”  Not a chance; it would be even more damaging to their brand.  Also, I think that had someone jumped off the bandwagon early enough, more would have followed.  Anyone who voluntarily takes part in this farce needs to have a look in the mirror and ask if it’s worth it.

My decision to not watch the World Cup might not achieve anything, but at least I can say with a clear conscience that I didn’t contribute to it. 

Weekly Update

We had a fun start to the week as we saw Kiefer Sutherland in concert at the Leadmill in Sheffield.  It’s the second time we’ve seen him and although we enjoyed the first gig, this second one was much better.  This might be because we are more familiar with his music, but whatever the reason we had a great time.

I had a frustrating interaction with someone on Facebook.  I’ll let the screenshots tell the story;

It’s incredible how many assumptions were made from just a short post from me.  She’s getting worked up about points I’ve not even made, and arguing against positions I’ve not even stated.  She’s basically arguing with herself.  People like this are impossible to have a rational debate with.  The key to any argument should be to reach an understanding, rather than simply score points off each other.  Sometimes though, people are just playing a different game by their own rules.  

I’m due to have an operation to remove a troublesome kidney stone next week and I’ll be under general anaesthetic.  That doesn’t bother me, but waiting around for hours until my surgery is stressful, especially in a hospital environment.  It might not happen though as I feel like I’m coming down with a cold.

A large part of my week has been spent building my Lego Star Destroyer.  It has almost 5,000 pieces and has been fun to build.  I’m nearly finished and you can see my progress in the images below:

The Star Destroyer is the Devastator, the first Star Destroyer seen in the original Star Wars movie.  Although it’s been fun to build, there have been a few steps in the instructions that were not very clear.  Also, one of the pieces broke but I had a spare from another Lego set.  

I should receive the last few parts for my Rocinante model, so if I’m not going into the hospital next week I’ll probably be building that instead.

Movember

In 2017 I completed a cycling challenge for Movember.  Through the course of the month, using a stationary bike at the gym, I cycled the distance from Land’s End to John o’Groats.  I raised a few hundred pounds for Movember, and it was the most satisfying charity campaign I’ve been a part of.  

This year I’m raising money for Movember again.  I’m aiming to lose weight this year; 10kg in November for Movember.  I’ll share my fundraising page throughout the month and update you on my progress.  

Why does Movember matter?  Over 500,000 men take their own lives around the world each year.  Movember funds research and services to help men of all ages with mental health.  Times are hard for us all, but even a small donation can make a difference.  You can find my fundraising page here:

https://movember.com/m/13607662?mc=1

Support Mortgage Advisor on FIRE

I love writing this blog but maintaining a website costs money.  If you want to say thanks for the content I publish, consider donating to my virtual tip jar on the link below:

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/davidscothern

2022 Goals – to be achieved by 31/12/2022

1 – Reduce weight to 90kg.  (Current weight 126.4kg).

2 – Complete 10 “classic” books (4/10)

  1. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (1866)
  2. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville (1851)
  3. Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897) ✅
  4. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (1961)
  5. The Iliad by Homer (8th century BC) ✅
  6. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (1844) ✅
  7. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (1867)
  8. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (1859)
  9. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (1862)
  10. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (1605) ✅

3 – Read 10 authors I’ve not read before (24/10)

  1. John Birmingham ✅
  2. Nicole Perlroth ✅
  3. Sabine Durrant ✅
  4. Luke Smitherd ✅
  5. Max Skittle ✅
  6. Harlan Coben ✅
  7. Jo Spain ✅
  8. Kate Elizabeth Russell ✅
  9. Kiersten White ✅
  10. Rob Hart ✅
  11. Edward Aubry ✅
  12. Marina J. Lostetter ✅
  13. S. J. Morden ✅
  14. C. J. Tudor ✅
  15. Greer Hendricks ✅
  16. Clare Mackintosh ✅
  17. Stephen Baxter ✅
  18. Pete Wharmby ✅
  19. Devon Price ✅
  20. Nick Jones ✅
  21. Nathan Hystad ✅ 
  22. J. P. Pomare ✅
  23. Max Hastings ✅
  24. Brian Lumley ✅

What Am I Doing?

Reading: Fake History by Otto English.

Listening: Necroscope III: The Source by Brian Lumley.

Watching: Nothing at the moment.

I’ve loved the Necroscope series so far.  In short, the series follows young Harry Keogh, from the north of England, as he discovers he can talk to the dead.  Set against a backdrop of vampires and ESP-based intelligence services in the UK and the Soviet Union in the 1970s it’s as refreshing as it is bloody.  One of the main things I like about the series is that actions have consequences, and characters don’t have much plot armour for protection.  It’s something I find frustrating in many works of fiction when the main characters survive absurd events which would kill anyone else.  

Financial Update

Assets

Premium Bonds: £9,260.00 (+£100.00). 

Stocks and Shares ISA: £60,587.73 (+£1,868.79). 

Fuck It Fund: £1,625.00 (no change).

Pensions: £53,315.11 (+£1,123.96). 

Residential Property Value: £233,989.00 (no change). 

Buy-to-Let Property Value: £150,993.00 (no change). 

Total Assets: £509,769.84 (+£3,092.75). 

Debts

Credit Card: £0.00 (no change).

Residential Mortgage: £180,466.52 (-£432.10). 

Buy-to-Let Mortgage: £105,193.90 (-£85.33). 

Total Debts: £285,660.42 (-£517.43). 

Total Wealth: £224,109.42 (+£3,610.18)

Investment Income in 2022: £4,805.27 (target £6,000).

I had a £100 Premium Bond win which helped boost my investment income for the year.  Also, the stock market has had a mini-surge which boosted my ISA and pension.

It feels as though things have gone a bit flat on the investment front.  I had hoped to be much further on by now, but as I stated last week there have been a lot of uncontrollable factors at play.  As we head into 2023 I’m expecting house prices to stall and then fall.  So, the aim is to try and acquire our second BTL by the midpoint of next year.

It’s likely that in the coming months my debts may increase a little as we pay for additional work in our apartment.  Our kitchen is in need of modernisation.  I use the word “need” correctly here as certain parts of our kitchen just don’t work properly, such as our extractor fan, taps, power points for the dishwasher, and several other things.  We’ve been using workarounds for a while now but it’s got to the point where we have to put in place more permanent solutions.  We’re getting quotes for the work and I’m expecting something in the region of £5,000-£7,000 for what we want to do.  

That’s it for this week.  Thanks for reading.

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:

StepChange

MoneyHelper

Biolink and other links

You can now find all my social media pages by checking out my Biolink:

bio.link/davidscothern.

Also, check out Darren Scothern’s blog which talks about autism, being autistic, and general mental health:

www.darrenscothern.com

Part 157

Hello and welcome back to Mortgage Advisor on FIRE.  This week I look back on three years since I started this blog, and my FIRE journey.  There are the usual financial updates, and some more examples of poor customer service.  

Three Years On…

I started this blog on November 1st, 2019, and this post will go live on October 30th, 2022.  Within a window of a couple of days, this is the third-anniversary post.  So, what progress have I made?  Where did I expect to be on my journey?

November 1st, 2019 Financial Statement

Premium Bonds £8,250.00.

Stocks and Shares ISA: £6,519.00.

Fuck It Fund: £1,650.00.

Pensions: £32,150.00 (approx).

Residential Property Value: £172,500.00.

Total Assets: £221,069

Three Years on…

Premium Bonds: £9,160.00. 

Stocks and Shares ISA: £58,718.94. 

Fuck It Fund: £1,625.00.

Pensions: £52,191.15. 

Residential Property Value: £233,989.00. 

Buy-to-Let Property Value: £150,993.00. 

Total Assets: £506,677.09

It’s clear that some great progress has been made over the last three years but if I were to rate my progress against where I’d hoped I would be, I would have to say it would come under the heading, “underachieving”.  However, I think there are a fair few mitigating factors.

Brexit

The shadow of Brexit has loomed over us ever since the referendum result in 2016.  From that point until we left the EU, the stock market was subject to some intense variability.  Had Brexit not happened, I believe my ISA would have a higher valuation.  

Covid-19

My FIRE journey started less than six months before the UK went into lockdown.  The pandemic has hammered the economy, and I believe some of the provisions for home buyers during this time (such as the SDLT offers) contributed to heating the housing market more than was necessary.  We’ve seen some, frankly, unreal house price growth in the last couple of years and the housing market has been incredibly competitive.  Had this madness been avoided we would almost certainly have more than one BTL property on the books by now.  

The War in Ukraine

Russia’s war of aggression in Eastern Europe has had many knock-on impacts on our lives here in the UK.  The most obvious is the impact on our energy bills.  Our household energy bills have more than tripled despite us halving our usage in kWh.  It’s just insane.  Had our energy bills remained sensible, all the extra money we’ve paid on bills would have been assigned to investments instead.

Cost of Tory Greed Living Crisis

In addition to the above points we are living through a period of inflation not seen in decades.  All these factors in combination have gradually worn away at the proportion of my income I’ve been able to allocate to investments.  

Liz Truss, Kwasi Kwarteng, and Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson

The damage done to this country by these three Tories, in particular, makes me angry.  In just a few weeks Truss and Kwarteng essentially ruined lives.  Think about it like this… Imagine the UK population as the owner of an antiques store.  The owner hired two new members of staff; Truss and Kwarteng.  These two came into work on their first day and took baseball bats to thousands of items of stock.  The whole store was ruined.  The store owner fired them.  All is well, yes?  Well, no.  They might have been fired, but this action does not unfuck the damage done to the store’s stock.  

As for ABdPJ, I hate this guy.  When I see his face on TV I feel an almost physical revulsion and hatred for him.  It’s not just that he was a poor leader.  He was dishonest in his personal and professional life.  He revelled in ignoring scientific advice at the start of the pandemic as he boasted about shaking hands with people.  Under his leadership the government wasted tens of billions of pounds on PPE contracts.  There’s the clusterfuck over the test and trace system.  Failure, after failure, after failure.  If it was just wasted money that would be bad enough.  It wasn’t though; it was wasted money, lies, and thousands upon thousands of avoidable deaths.

Please don’t misunderstand me; I’m not trying to compare the impact that ABdPJ’s leadership had on my FIRE plans with the pain and suffering many people went through due to the death of their friends and family.  I’m only mentioning it here because it did have an impact on my plans, but that impact is such a minor thing compared to how many people suffered due to Johnson’s actions.

Weekly Update

A week dominated by poor customer service, unfortunately.  I’ve posted a few times about poor customer service and I’m convinced it’s getting worse over time.  I suspect this can be, in part at least, traced back to those in front-line service roles being paid minimum wage.  There are a few movements ongoing around this, such as Act Your Wage and Quiet Quitting.  Major corporations pinching pennies by paying minimum wage when just a modest uplift would have almost no impact on their bottom line. £1p/h more might not sound like a lot, but for someone working 40 hours per week, it’s at least £160pcm more (pre-tax).  Ultimately, if you can’t pay a decent wage and make a reasonable profit at the same time, then your business model doesn’t work.

All companies make mistakes because companies are made up of people, and people are far from perfect.  However, if a business has in place policies and procedures that assist when things go wrong, along with good quality training and support, then mistakes will be quickly resolved to the satisfaction of the customer.  Ikea seemingly do the opposite.  

Ikea Training Day One

“If it’s complicated, just hang up the call.”

We had to deal with Ikea again to organise the return of our mattress.  This is part of their T&Cs where it can be returned for an exchange within 90 days of the date of purchase.  However, we had it agreed by one of their customer service managers that we could return for a refund instead of an exchange, so long as it was within 90 days.  

Anyway, we called their contact centre and explained the situation.  Note; we spent 20 minutes on hold waiting for someone to answer.  Then, after a few minutes of conversation, we were placed on hold again for over ten minutes.  The agent came back to repeat the policy that the mattress could only be exchanged.  So, once again I explained that I knew this and that she’d already said all this, but as I’d explained before we had an agreement from the manager (the full name of which we passed along).  Once more we were placed on hold for ages before they disconnected our call.  Over an hour on the phone and no progress was made.  This was actually one of the better instances of service from Ikea; yes, they set the bar that low.  As a result, we’re now back dealing with the CEO’s office.  

My girlfriend, Oana, had a pretty bizarre interaction with Skechers.  She signed up on the website for an offer as a first-time customer, which meant she got a discount on her first purchase.  She’s never had Skechers before and chose the size she thought would fit.  The trainers arrived but were too big, so she arranged to return them so she could get the next size down.  She was told she had to get a refund and reorder.  However, following those instructions did not allow for the discount on the smaller size.  Thinking this would be a simple issue to sort out, she emailed their customer service team to explain.  Their response was less than stellar:

Not only did they get my girlfriend’s name wrong, they ignored the basic facts.  

Rounding off the week we ordered in for dinner on Thursday.  A new(ish) pizza place called Rudy’s (part of a national chain) had opened in the city centre.  We had a table booked here in a couple of weeks but thought we’d try it ahead of time.  We ordered two pizzas and one garlic bread.  This is what turned up:

We had ordered through Deliveroo who gave us a refund, but seriously if you’re delivering pizza how hard is it to realise that you store the fucking thing flat.  The rider had blatantly shoved these in the bag on their side.  It wasn’t just the fact the pizzas looked like they’d been smacked about, the food was coated in a sheen of grease and oil.  It was just gross.  We called the restaurant and cancelled our reservation and explained why.  I understand the restaurant was not to blame for the way the food was delivered, but the volume of grease was just seriously off-putting. 

On a more positive note, I’ve signed up for a new meal delivery service called Field Doctor.  I struggle with various digestive problems and trying to find meals that are safe to eat without causing flare-ups is hard.  Field Doctor offer a range of low FODMAP meals which are thought to be better for those with certain digestive problems.  We had our first delivery on Friday and I tried my first meal, salmon teriyaki with brown rice, on Saturday.  It was very nice.  Hopefully, this service will make life a bit easier.

Movember

In 2017 I completed a cycling challenge for Movember.  Through the course of the month, using a stationary bike at the gym, I cycled the distance from Land’s End to John o’Groats.  I raised a few hundred pounds for Movember, and it was the most satisfying charity campaign I’ve been a part of.  

This year I’m raising money for Movember again.  I’m aiming to lose weight this year; 10kg in November for Movember.  I’ll share my fundraising page throughout the month and update on my progress.  

Why does Movember matter?  Over 500,000 men take their own lives around the world each year.  Movember fund research and services to help men of all ages with mental health.  Times are hard for us all, but even a small donation can make a difference.  You can find my fundraising page here:

https://movember.com/m/13607662?mc=1

Support Mortgage Advisor on FIRE

I love writing this blog but maintaining a website costs money.  If you want to say thanks for the content I publish, consider donating to my virtual tip jar on the link below:

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/davidscothern

2022 Goals – to be achieved by 31/12/2022

1 – Reduce weight to 90kg.  (Current weight 126.4kg).

2 – Complete 10 “classic” books (4/10)

  1. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (1866)
  2. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville (1851)
  3. Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897) ✅
  4. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (1961)
  5. The Iliad by Homer (8th century BC) ✅
  6. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (1844) ✅
  7. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (1867)
  8. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (1859)
  9. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (1862)
  10. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (1605) ✅

3 – Read 10 authors I’ve not read before (23/10)

  1. John Birmingham ✅
  2. Nicole Perlroth ✅
  3. Sabine Durrant ✅
  4. Luke Smitherd ✅
  5. Max Skittle ✅
  6. Harlan Coben ✅
  7. Jo Spain ✅
  8. Kate Elizabeth Russell ✅
  9. Kiersten White ✅
  10. Rob Hart ✅
  11. Edward Aubry ✅
  12. Marina J. Lostetter ✅
  13. S. J. Morden ✅
  14. C. J. Tudor ✅
  15. Greer Hendricks ✅
  16. Clare Mackintosh ✅
  17. Stephen Baxter ✅
  18. Pete Wharmby ✅
  19. Devon Price ✅
  20. Nick Jones ✅
  21. Nathan Hystad ✅ 
  22. J. P. Pomare ✅
  23. Max Hastings ✅

What Am I Doing?

Reading: Fake History by Otto English.

Listening: Necroscope by Brian Lumley.

Watching: War of the Worlds (2019).

After years of trying to convince me to read Necroscope, my Dad has finally succeeded.  I’m about halfway through the first book in the series and I’m enjoying it so far.  Much of the story is based in Romania and most of the places mentioned are places I’ve spent time in.  It always adds an extra layer to any story when the places are ones you know firsthand.

Financial Update

Assets

Premium Bonds: £9,160.00 (+£820.00). 

Stocks and Shares ISA: £58,718.94 (+£5.64). 

Fuck It Fund: £1,625.00 (no change).

Pensions: £52,191.15 (+£487.95). 

Residential Property Value: £233,989.00 (no change). 

Buy-to-Let Property Value: £150,993.00 (no change). 

Total Assets: £506,677.09 (+£1,313.59). \

Debts

Credit Card: £0.00 (no change).

Residential Mortgage: £180,898.62 (no change). 

Buy-to-Let Mortgage: £105,279.23 (no change). 

Total Debts: £286,177.85 (no change). 

Total Wealth: £220,499.24 (+£1,313.59)

Investment Income in 2022: £4,705.26 (target £6,000).

No major changes in my finances this week.  Next week’s post will show the impact of November’s mortgage payments, but what I really need is for the stock market to start making serious gains.  

LeanFIRE

I was chatting with Oana about how much money is needed to cover my basic living expenses, i.e. LeanFIRE.  We arrived at a figure of approximately £1,300pcm.  By the end of 2022 I will have averaged around £450pcm investment income.  Assuming my projections for 2023 end up being accurate, I should average a little over £600pcm in investment income.  So, there’s still a way to go.

When I started this project in 2019 I had in mind a four-year timeline in mind.  It was always going to be difficult but I would rather set a tough goal and fail than an easy goal and smash it.  By aiming higher I think it pushes me to do more, and work harder.  I suspect that I’m still three full years away from FIRE.  The question is, can I continue with my current life set up and succeed over the next three years?  I suspect something will have to give somewhere.  The main thing is that I’m still getting closer to my goal, even if the pace of my progress is much slower than I’d hoped. 

Thanks for reading.

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:

StepChange

MoneyHelper

Biolink and other links

You can now find all my social media pages by checking out my Biolink:

bio.link/davidscothern.

Also, check out Darren Scothern’s blog which talks about autism, being autistic, and general mental health:

www.darrenscothern.com

Part 156

Hello and welcome back to Mortgage Advisor on FIRE.  This week I look ahead to 2023’s investment income goal.  Also, thoughts on the latest Tory Shambles.  

This Week’s Tory Shambles

It looks like the lettuce won.  If you aren’t sure what I’m talking about, it’s the Daily Star’s campaign to see what would last longer, an iceberg lettuce in a blonde wig, or Liz Truss.  In case you’ve been living under a rock, Liz Truss resigned as Prime Minister hours after stating she was a “fighter, not a quitter.’  

I’ve got to hold my hands up at this point because when it came down to Sunak or Truss for PM, I said I’d rather see Truss because I felt she was too stupid to be truly dangerous.  All I can do is admit I was wrong.  She was both stupid and dangerous, and her actions have damaged our country so badly that it could take years to repair.  On the plus side, she may have irrevocably broken the Tory party.  

It’s hard to understand how these people get to the positions they hold.  I didn’t think I’d find myself agreeing with any element of the Russian government, but their foreign ministry hit the nail on the head when it referred to Truss as “catastrophically illiterate”.  Let’s not forget the time, just prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, when Truss met Sergei Lavrov and confused regions of Russia (where they had troops stationed) believing they were part of Ukraine.  It’s gross incompetence.

Speaking of which…

There are reports Boris Johnson may attempt to regain the office of Prime Minister.  It will not come as too much of a surprise to regular readers of this blog that I’m not a fan of Boris Johnson.  I’m not saying he’s a totally incompetent skidmark on the reputation of this country; he’s worse than that.  

There’s a website devoted to the lies Boris Johnson has told, which you can find at boris-johnson-lies.com.  Lying seems to be a way of life for this man, and I just don’t comprehend how any working-class, or even middle-class, person would support him.   If the previous website about his lies doesn’t float your boat, then check out another dedicated to his lack of integrity; costofjohnson.com.

I mean, just look at the state of some of the things this guy has come out with? 

Johnson doesn’t give a single, solitary fuck about anyone but himself.  Why, WHY would anyone publicly declare that they support him? 

My only hope is that there are enough decent Tory MPs out there to mean that Johnson has no hope of forming a new government.

Fake History and Fake News

We attended a talk by journalist Otto English to promote his new book, Fake History.  I’ve followed Otto on Twitter for a while and listening to him in person was great.  He’s articulate, and seems to share many of my political opinions, mainly that Boris Johnson is a deceitful shit who shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near a position of power or influence.  It was amusing listening to Otto take apart lie after lie from Johnson, but after a while it’s like beating a dead horse and he moved on to other areas of fake history.  

One thing that he discussed, which I think is a lesson many people would do well to learn, is that the first thing you hear is not necessarily always right.  Whilst this may seem like common sense so many people fall victim to this cognitive bias.  For example, you call your bank to ask about a process or policy.  You are given an explanation.  You then call back to follow through on that process, only to be told that it doesn’t work that way.  The tendency is to reply, “well the other person said I could.”.  The implied meaning is that the first person was correct, and the second person was not.  

Why is this important?

In our political climate it often doesn’t seem to matter what is true and what is complete fabrication.  All that matters is who speaks first.  There are many variations on the phrase, but there seems to be some truth to the argument that “a lie travels halfway around the world whilst the truth is still putting its boots on.”  The point is that if you speak first, people will believe you and no matter how many times the point is refuted, it doesn’t seem to make a difference.  Case in point; Jeremy Corbyn.  I’m not Corbyn’s biggest fan simply because there are areas of policy I disagree with him on.  However, many of the stories about him in media when he was Labour leader were simply false.  The points were refuted, but when the vast majority of our media is owned by Tory donors or supporters, it should be clear to see why the truth is not always easy to spot.

Weekly Update

I recently mentioned that I’d spent £520 on Lego parts for my Rocinante model.  Well, I’ve gone and done it again.  I’ve bought a Lego Star Destroyer.  It should have cost around £620 but due to a limited time offer I was able to get it with over 30% off.  I don’t have room to display the model, as it’s over a meter long but the price was too good to pass up.  I’ve wanted a Lego Star Destroyer for ages and the detail on this model looks incredible.  It’s strange in a way that it’s the Empire’s ships from Star Wars that tend to be more iconic.  I would guess that if you asked people to list the most iconic ships from Star Wars you would get plenty of responses for the Millenium Falcon, but possibly more for Star Destroyers or TIE fighters.

The Star Destroyer was not the only Lego model I received this week, as I also took delivery of Lego’s Starry Night.  I’ve been fortunate enough to see the original Starry Night twice, and it’s my favourite painting.  I could stare at it for hours and still find new detail.  Once I’ve assembled it I’ll post pictures in the following blog.

Support Mortgage Advisor on FIRE

I love writing this blog but maintaining a website costs money.  If you want to say thanks for the content I publish, consider donating to my virtual tip jar on the link below:

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/davidscothern

2022 Goals – to be achieved by 31/12/2022

1 – Reduce weight to 90kg.  (Current weight 124.3kg).

2 – Complete 10 “classic” books (4/10)

  1. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (1866)
  2. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville (1851)
  3. Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897) ✅
  4. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (1961)
  5. The Iliad by Homer (8th century BC) ✅
  6. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (1844) ✅
  7. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (1867)
  8. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (1859)
  9. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (1862)
  10. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (1605) ✅

3 – Read 10 authors I’ve not read before (22/10)

  1. John Birmingham ✅
  2. Nicole Perlroth ✅
  3. Sabine Durrant ✅
  4. Luke Smitherd ✅
  5. Max Skittle ✅
  6. Harlan Coben ✅
  7. Jo Spain ✅
  8. Kate Elizabeth Russell ✅
  9. Kiersten White ✅
  10. Rob Hart ✅
  11. Edward Aubry ✅
  12. Marina J. Lostetter ✅
  13. S. J. Morden ✅
  14. C. J. Tudor ✅
  15. Greer Hendricks ✅
  16. Clare Mackintosh ✅
  17. Stephen Baxter ✅
  18. Pete Wharmby ✅
  19. Devon Price ✅
  20. Nick Jones ✅
  21. Nathan Hystad ✅ 
  22. J. P. Pomare ✅

What Am I Doing?

Reading: Fake History by Otto English.

Listening: Battle for the Falklands by Max Hastings.

Watching: War of the Worlds (2019) series.

We’ve abandoned our MCU marathon after getting burned out with it following Moon Knight.  We’ve started the series based on H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds.  It’s a joint UK/French production and has a few interesting twists on the original story.  We’re only about halfway through the first season and it’s been entertaining so far.  There was one part that made me shout out “bullshit” though.  Mild spoilers follow:The aliens have these robot dogs (yes, similar to that Black Mirror episode) which are hunting down survivors of the initial attack.  These robots have gone up against squads of soldiers armed with rifles and grenade launchers and won.  So, when two pensioners are able to dispatch one of these robots by closing their eyes and spraying it with machine gun rounds, all the while not hitting their partner who is wrestling with the robot on the ground… Yeah, bullshit is the word.

Financial Update

Assets

Premium Bonds: £8,340.00 (-£1,360.00). 

Stocks and Shares ISA: £58,713.30 (-£188.26). 

Fuck It Fund: £1,625.00 (+£575.00).

Pensions: £51,703.20 (+£834.85). 

Residential Property Value: £233,989.00 (no change). 

Buy-to-Let Property Value: £150,993.00 (no change). 

Total Assets: £505,363.50 (-£138.41).

Debts

Credit Card: £0.00 (no change).

Residential Mortgage: £180,898.62 (no change). 

Buy-to-Let Mortgage: £105,279.23 (no change). 

Total Debts: £286,177.85 (no change). 

Total Wealth: £219,185.65 (-£138.41)

Investment Income in 2022: £4,640.26 (target £6,000).

I cashed in some of my bonds to pay for a few unexpected things but the balance will increase again in time.  With our property plans on hold for the time being, there’s no major pressure to have funds in place immediately.  I suspect that stock market investments, such as my ISA and pension, will continue to fluctuate until our government has some stability.  Unfortunately, I can’t see any stability until a general election takes place, so we might be waiting a while. 

The cost of living crisis, which now encapsulates the rising cost of energy, food, and sky-high mortgage rates (relative to recent years) means that there will be less money from our earned income to allocate to investments.  The investments themselves will have to do much of the heavy lifting in terms of compounding.  This means the FIRE plan will slow down, but not stop altogether.  The beauty of compounding gains is that once momentum builds it is very difficult to stop.

With just two potential rent and dividend payments due before the end of the year, it’s pretty much impossible that I’ll hit the £6,000 income goal for this year.  It’s looking like I’ll end up with around £5,300.  It’s still a solid increase from last year, and I’ll soon start work on projections for next year.  Assuming that I end the year on £5,300, that would represent a 40.5% increase on 2021.  Using that increase as a goal for 2023, I should be aiming for £7,446.  To achieve that, I’ll need two properties that are generating rent.

The most interesting part of this is what will happen to the mortgage and housing markets.  Rates have increased much faster than many thought, but that’s par for the course for this Tory government; always finding new ways of fucking things up.  I doubt there will be any major change in house prices this year, but the first quarter of 2023 will be interesting.  

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:

StepChange

MoneyHelper

Biolink and other links

You can now find all my social media pages by checking out my Biolink:

bio.link/davidscothern.

Also, check out Darren Scothern’s blog which talks about autism, being autistic, and general mental health:

www.darrenscothern.com

Muchos Libros

Since I discovered audiobooks I’ve been able to smash through dozens of books a year.  As I write this, I’ve completed 106 books for 2022.  It’s fair to say that audiobooks are my favourite form of entertainment, ranking above TV, film, music, and gaming.  One question I am often asked is what my favourite books are.  It would be difficult to come up with a list of my top five, ten, or even twenty books, as I’d always be stressing about leaving certain books out.  Instead, I will share a few of my favourite series of books.  I’m not going to include series that are still in progress, but rather focus on those that are complete.  Mild spoilers will follow each series listed.

  1. The Century Trilogy by Ken Follett;
    1. Fall of Giants
    2. Winter of the World
    3. Edge of Eternity

I was not initially a fan of Ken Follett.  I found the Pillars of the Earth to be quite dull.  The Century Trilogy does not, on the face of it, sound that exciting but as the story progressed I was gripped.  The books follow several families in the UK, Russia, and the US against the backdrop of world history.  We are introduced to these families in the early 20th century, and then we see how their fortures rise and fall through the Spanish Civil War, the Second World War, the Cold War, all the way to present day.  

Favourite Scene: There are many to chose from, but the concert in West Berlin in the third book was an emotional scene.

  1. The Warlord Trilogy by Bernard Cornwell
    1. The Winter King
    2. Enemy of God
    3. Excalibur

I’ve read this series more than any other over the years, and I’ve listened to the incredible audiobook version narrated by Jonathan Keeble more than once.  From all the books about Arthur published to date, this is the definitive version.  Grounded in reality, these books follow the Celtic warlord Arthur, bastard son of High King Uther, as he attempts to unify the warring kingdoms of Britain against the Saxon invaders.  The story is told from the point of view of Derfel, one of Arthur’s most trusted soldiers.  This story is less knights in shining armour, and more spearmen in shieldwalls fighting bloody battles.  Many of the traditional elements of the Arthurian legend are turned on their head, such as the portrayal of Lancelot, the Holy Grail, and the Round Table, but in my opinion Cornwell’s version is superior because of these changes.  No matter how many times I complete this series, the ending always leaves me choked up and emotional.

Fans of the show The Last Kingdom will love this series; it’s the same author, and The Last Kingdom works almost as a loose sequel to The Warlord Trilogy.

Favourite Scene: The Battle of Lugg Vale, towards the end of the first book.

  1. The Expanse by James S. A. Corey
    1. Leviathan Wakes
    2. Caliban’s War
    3. Abaddon’s Gate
    4. Cibola Burn
    5. Nemesis Games
    6. Babylon’s Ashes
    7. Persepolis Rising
    8. Tiamat’s Wrath
    9. Leviathan Falls

Technically The Expanse series also includes a number of novellas that take place between the books of the main series, but it’s not essential to read them.  The Expanse is just pure art.  James S. A. Corey is the pen name of due Daniel Abraham and Ty Frank, the latter of whom worked with George R. R. Martin, the author of Game of Thrones.  

If I had to describe The Expanse briefly, it would be Game of Thrones in space, but the good GoT that involved political intrigue, nuanced story telling, and tense action, as opposed to bizarre character turns, coffee cups in castles, and battles you can’t see in the dark.  

The Expanse is set a couple of hundred years in the future.  Humanity has colonised Luna, Mars, many of the Jovian and Saturnian moons, and The Belt.  In this setting there are rival factions vying for supremacy against the backdrop of a newly discovered technology.  Mars and Earth are at each other’s throats.  The colonists of The Belt yearn for independence and respect.  In some ways it’s like powder keg of Europe before the world wars.  The characters we follow are the crew of the Rocinante, a salvaged warship, as they find themselves trapped between the various powers of the solar system.  

Favourite Scene: The battle between the Rocinante and the Pella.  I will not say anymore about it so as not to spoil the action for those who’ve not read it.  It is the finest space battle put on the page.  Incredible.

  1. The Cemetary of Forgotten Books by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
    1. The Shadow of the Wind
    2. The Angel’s Game
    3. Prisoner of Heaven
    4. The Labyrinth of Spirits

A Spanish series set in, and around, Barcelona in the first half of the 20th century.  I started these books with some reluctance as the idea just didn’t grab me.  I was wrong.  I cannot praise these books highly enough.  There are books that tell entertaining stories.  There are classics.  There are tales that cross into mainstream culture, and then there are works that are just pure art.  The Cemetary of Forgotten Books can, technically, be read in any order, although most people recommend reading them in the order I’ve listed them.  I don’t want to say much about these books because I think it’s best to go into them with no expectations.  There are few books that resonate with me so deeply, but I loved these.  

Favourite Scene: Impossible to choose just one.  The whole series is just beautiful.

  1. Remembrance of Earth’s Past by Cixin Liu
    1. The Three-Body Problem
    2. The Dark Forest
    3. Death’s End

You may have seen posts on social media about the upcoming Netflix adaptation of The Three-Body Problem by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the guys who adapted Game of Thrones for TV.  There is also a Chinese adaptation in the works which I suspect will be more faithful to the books.  

The Three-Body Problem is a story of first contact with an alien civilization, the mystery surrounding a computer game, and a series of suicides amongst scientists who claim physics isn’t real.

The first book in the series is excellent, but for me the second book, The Dark Forest, may be the single finest science fiction book around.  The name comes from a theory put forward by one of the characters to explain why space is so quiet, and we we haven’t made contact with aliens.  The theory is simple, and horrifying.  The scene in which this is discussed is one of my favourite scenes across all the books I’ve read.  

Favourite Scene: Luo Ji and Da Shi discuss Dark Forest Theory.

  1. The Nemesis Saga by Jeremy Robinson
    1. Island 731
    2. Project Nemesis
    3. Project Maigo
    4. Project 731
    5. Project Hyperion
    6. Project Legion

I discovered Jeremy Robinson by accident.  As I was scrolling through Audible I saw the cover for Infinite, and the summary was interesting so I bought it.  It was then forgotten about as I got sidetracked with other books.  I then found myself craving Kaiju stories, and I came across The Nemesis Saga.  The series follows the adventures of Jon Hudson, an agent of the paranormal section of Homeland Security in the US.  During a routine investigation he uncovers a shady group experimenting with Kaiju DNA.  

The series, like all of Jeremy’s work, features great dialogue and the characters feel real, albeit with some traits dialled up to eleven.  

Favourite Scene: When we first encounter the full sized Nemesis.

I hope you found this interesting and I’m sure this list will change over time as more series are completed. Some contenders for inclusion in future include, 

  1. Chess Team by Jeremy Robinson
  2. The Stone Man series by Luke Smitherd
  3. The Lady Astronaut series by Mary Robinette Kowal

If you have read an incredible series that you think I might like, please leave a comment and let me know. Also, if you enjoy my writing please leave a tip in my virtual tip jar by clicking the image below:

Part 155

Hello and welcome back to Mortgage Advisor on FIRE.  A shorter post this week as I’ve been distracted with other things.  There’s only one place to start; The Tory Shambles: 

This Week’s Tory Shambles

Kwasi Kwarteng was one of those Tory politicians who was seemingly promoted way beyond his competencies. During his time at the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Security, whenever I saw him interviewed I felt like I was watching a comedy show.  When he was appointed Chancellor, I just laughed.  He may have failed miserably, but you also have to assign some blame to the person who appointed him; Liz Truss, the current Prime Minister.

To understand just how bad Kwarteng’s time as Chancellor was, just take a look at those who held the position of Chancellor for the shortest periods, and why they left office.

Iain Macleod – 30 days

Macleod’s time as Chancellor was short as he passed away in office.  He had spent a long time as Shadow Chancellor, and his death came shortly after a general election.

Baron Denman – 31 days

Only ever an interim appointment.

Nadhim Zahawi – 63 days

Another interim appointment, this time by Boris Johnson.  The day after his appointment, Zahawi stuck the knife in Johnson’s back by calling on him to resign.  The 63 day reign was only due to the time it took the Tory party to appoint a new leader.

George Canning 103 days

Another example of a politician dying in office.  

So, to be clear, Kwarteng did not die, nor was he subject to a change in government.  He was just a terrible appointment, by a terrible PM.  

Our whole political situation in the UK is an embarrassment.  We’ve had four PMs in six years.  We’ve had four chancellors in four months.  I would not be surprised to see another PM before the year is out.  Liz Truss is ruling with no mandate, and no credibility.

Weekly Update

Not a huge amount to tell this week.  I’m back on the list for surgery to remove the kidney stone that will not budge.  According to the scans, it’s far too big to pass naturally and it needs to come out.  The op is pencilled in for November 9th, with my pre-op booked in for next week.  

I’m not looking forward to the procedure, but not for the reason you might think.  General anaesthetic doesn’t worry me.  I’m just stressed about going into a ward with lots of other people, having to fast for hours before (which as a diabetic is a pain in the ass), and being worried about what happens to all my stuff whilst I’m in surgery.  I wanted to have this done privately but according to the consultant there are no private hospitals in Sheffield that have the necessary equipment.  

As the week came to an end, I decided to revisit an old Lego project.  I’m a huge fan of The Expanse and a few months ago I bought a PDF guide to building a model of the Rocinante; the main spaceship from the books/TV show.  It’s over 5,000 pieces, and when complete will be 87cm long.  I can’t wait to get started on building it.  I spent most of Saturday afternoon checking what pieces I have, and then several hours shopping online for the remaining parts.  The monetary cost; £520.  Don’t judge me.

I should also note that getting carried away with Lego is the main reason why this post is a bit shorter than normal.

Before I forget, I finally received my branded hoodies with the blog’s logo on.  See the pics below: 

Support Mortgage Advisor on FIRE

I love writing this blog but maintaining a website costs money.  If you want to say thanks for the content I publish, consider donating to my virtual tip jar on the link below:

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/davidscothern

2022 Goals – to be achieved by 31/12/2022

1 – Reduce weight to 90kg.  (Current weight 124.3kg).

2 – Complete 10 “classic” books (4/10)

  1. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (1866)
  2. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville (1851)
  3. Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897) ✅
  4. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (1961)
  5. The Iliad by Homer (8th century BC) ✅
  6. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (1844) ✅
  7. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (1867)
  8. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (1859)
  9. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (1862)
  10. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (1605) ✅

3 – Read 10 authors I’ve not read before (21/10)

  1. John Birmingham ✅
  2. Nicole Perlroth ✅
  3. Sabine Durrant ✅
  4. Luke Smitherd ✅
  5. Max Skittle ✅
  6. Harlan Coben ✅
  7. Jo Spain ✅
  8. Kate Elizabeth Russell ✅
  9. Kiersten White ✅
  10. Rob Hart ✅
  11. Edward Aubry ✅
  12. Marina J. Lostetter ✅
  13. S. J. Morden ✅
  14. C. J. Tudor ✅
  15. Greer Hendricks ✅
  16. Clare Mackintosh ✅
  17. Stephen Baxter ✅
  18. Pete Wharmby ✅
  19. Devon Price ✅
  20. Nick Jones ✅
  21. Nathan Hystad ✅ 

What Am I Doing?

What I’m reading: nothing at the moment.

What I’m listening to: Waiting to start a new audiobook.

What I’m watching: Rings of Power.

Rings of Power… I was hoping it was going to be great.  It’s poor though.  The large ensemble cast has varying levels of quality.  There are a few decent performances, such as Owain Arthur as Durin IV.  On the whole though, the performances are not great.  I suspect that it’s a case of the actors doing what they can with poor scripts and poor direction.  Sadly I think this show is an example of story-by-committee, with too many parallels to the Lord of the Rings;

  • Dwarf-Elf bromance? ✅
  • Human-Elf romance? ✅
  • Wizard-like character befriending adventurous hobbit-like creature? ✅
  • Rough around the edges, noble warrior who refuses to be king? ✅

It’s as though the producers took the most popular elements from the film trilogy, made them worse, and then repackaged them as a TV show.  

Financial Update

Assets

Premium Bonds: £9,700.00 (no change). 

Stocks and Shares ISA: £58,901.56 (-£1,035.44). 

Fuck It Fund: £1,050.00 (no change).

Pensions: £50,868.35 (-£2,227.19). 

Residential Property Value: £233,989.00 (no change). 

Buy-to-Let Property Value: £150,993.00 (no change). 

Total Assets: £505,501.91 (-£3,262.63). 

Debts

Credit Card: £0.00 (no change).

Residential Mortgage: £180,898.62 (no change). 

Buy-to-Let Mortgage: £105,279.23 (no change). 

Total Debts: £286,177.85 (no change). 

Total Wealth: £219,324.06 (-£3,262.63)

Investment Income in 2022: £4,562.87 (target £6,000).

The stock market and pensions took a bit of a hammering last week.  I don’t see many gains being made until there is some stability in our government.  So I guess that means limited progress until the next general election.

In response to the economic clusterfuck we find ourselves in, I’ve tweaked my ISA a little.  I’ve cashed in three funds I was invested in, and I’ve used the proceeds to consolidate the money in my ISA into just two assets; one fund and one stock.  The fund is one that pays a monthly income, and I should start receiving around £80pcm going forward, instead of the £71 I’ve been getting for the last few months.  The stock I’m invested in is one I’ve held for a long time.  I believe it will increase in value and I’m loathe to cash in.

I’m edging closer to my 2022 goal of £6,000 investment income.  I still think I’ll fall slightly short of the target.  Unless I get a win on Premium Bonds, I’ll probably end up with around £5,200 by the end of the year.  Whilst still a decent increase on the year before, there’s a long way to go until I can FIRE.  

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:

StepChange

MoneyHelper

Biolink and other links

You can now find all my social media pages by checking out my Biolink:

bio.link/davidscothern.

Also, check out Darren Scothern’s blog which talks about autism, being autistic, and general mental health:

www.darrenscothern.com

Part 154

Hello and welcome back to Mortgage Advisor on FIRE. This week I discuss the recent update to the house price index. Also, thoughts on the war between Ukraine and Russia. Also, the usual financial updates and some pictures of how our apartment is coming along.

Quote of the Week

“Everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine, everything occupied by Russia must be expelled.”

~ Ukrainian Presidential Advisor, Mykhailo Podolyak.

Following the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, a bridge was built linking Russia and the occupied territory.  That bridge has been destroyed in what many believe to be an operation by Ukrainian partisans or special forces.  Whatever the cause, this is a huge blow to Russia’s ability to resupply forces in the south.  The lack of Russian effectiveness in this conflict has surprised some, but many commentators with knowledge of Russia’s military have stated, for some time, that the Russians have poor logistics.  War isn’t just about who has the most soldiers or the best weapons.  It often comes down to logistics; who can move the most stuff from point A to point B.  There’s no point having troops advancing as part of an invasion if you can’t supply them with ammunition, food, medicine, armour, and so on.  

Russia has lost a huge amount of material in this invasion of Ukraine, as well as a lot of high ranking officers.  In an army of conscripts this is especially damaging.  One element to this, that hasn’t been as widely publicised as I expected, is due to the US supplying Ukraine with sixteen HIMAR systems (basically a mobile rocket launching system on a flatbed truck, but you know, much cooler).  These missile platforms are highly mobile and can launch a variety of different warheads.  Ukraine is using them to devastating effect and has reportedly destroyed over 400 targets with them so far.  In the coming months the US is going to supply Ukraine with more of these HIMAR systems, and with Russia seemingly incapable of defending against them, I suspect Ukraine will use these weapons to expel Russia from their land.

When it comes down to it, in conventional war, the side that can build the most stuff, transport the most stuff, and supply its troops most effectively, is the side that wins.  With the majority of the developed world supporting Ukraine, and with Russia hammered with sanctions, I see a few possible outcomes for this conflict and none of them end well for Russia.

Scenario One: Russia is expelled from Ukraine and is forced into a negotiated peace.  Russia’s economy will be in ruins and it will take years, if not decades, for them to replace the people and equipment in their military.  With Russian access to advanced microchips extremely limited, they will find it difficult to build the missiles, tanks, drones, and other aircraft a 21st century military would expect.  

Scenario Two: Russia deploys tactical nuclear weapons inside Ukraine.  Should this happen, the gloves of the western world would come off, but this doesn’t mean a nuclear response from the US or NATO automatically.  I believe that if Russia deployed nuclear weapons inside Ukraine, Putin would quickly be removed from power by elements inside Russia.  The Generals inside the Russian military must know that any use of nuclear weapons is suicidal for Russia.  To stop the full might of NATO airpower turning Russian cities into rubble, Russia would need to remove Putin, withdraw from Ukraine, and agree to demilitarisation.  

Scenario Three: Russia refuses to back down in Ukraine and is forced into a lengthy conflict over the disputed regions along the border.  Russian losses mount forcing them to deploy conscripts of ever lesser quality (in terms of training and morale) with older equipment.  Ukraine’s military becomes fully trained in the use of advanced NATO and US weapons systems (this training is ongoing right now).  The war ends when Putin dies.  

Weekly Update

Would you believe me if I said I’d had yet more poor customer service?  As part of the improvements to our apartment, I ordered a new espresso machine from Nespresso.  I’ve had four machines prior to this one; one which worked fine until I gave it up (the first machine I had from them), two machines which developed faults within weeks of being bought, and finally one which was faulty out of the box.  I figured that I couldn’t be so unlucky as to have another machine with a fault.  I was wrong.  The new machine seemingly had two faults; it would not heat up to the required temperature, and water would not flow through the machine.  I spent half an hour on the phone with technical support.  The call ended when they said there wasn’t more they could do and that I should try working through more troubleshooting.  If that failed I should return the item via the retailer I bought it from.  So, I’ve sent it back for a refund.  I wasn’t even angry; I think I knew on a subconscious level it would be faulty.  Five machines; four of which wouldn’t work.  That’s some piss-poor workmanship.  

Something weird has happened in the last couple of weeks.  My go-to trainers when I head out have started giving me blisters on both feet in the exact same place.  These are not new trainers, and I’ve worn them without a problem for a while.  Just seems bizarre that they’ve suddenly started giving me blisters.  I’ve tried adjusting the laces, using an insert, and a couple of other things without any improvement.  I’m utterly confused by this, and if anyone has any theories about what the cause is, I’d love to know.

Following my frustrating medical call that I mentioned a week or so ago, I had a follow-up conversation with my GP.  It was decided to increase the dosage on my mirtazapine from 15mg to 30mg.  I took the first, higher, amount on Friday evening.  Saturday morning I woke up feeling like I’d got a huge hangover.  It wasn’t a headache, but I felt like a zombie.  I could barely walk in a straight line.  I decided to go out for a walk, and a coffee, to try and clear the cobwebs but it wasn’t until lunch time that I started to come around.  I was like this when I first started taking this medication, but after a few weeks, I adjusted to it.  

Our apartment is really starting to come together.  My girlfriend, Oana, has done an amazing job organising things, and I love how the living room looks now:

Support Mortgage Advisor on FIRE

I love writing this blog but maintaining a website costs money.  If you want to say thanks for the content I publish, consider donating to my virtual tip jar on the link below:

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2022 Goals – to be achieved by 31/12/2022

1 – Reduce weight to 90kg.  (Current weight 124.3kg).

2 – Complete 10 “classic” books (4/10)

  1. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (1866)
  2. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville (1851)
  3. Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897) ✅
  4. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (1961)
  5. The Iliad by Homer (8th century BC) ✅
  6. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (1844) ✅
  7. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (1867)
  8. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (1859)
  9. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (1862)
  10. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (1605) ✅

3 – Read 10 authors I’ve not read before (21/10)

  1. John Birmingham ✅
  2. Nicole Perlroth ✅
  3. Sabine Durrant ✅
  4. Luke Smitherd ✅
  5. Max Skittle ✅
  6. Harlan Coben ✅
  7. Jo Spain ✅
  8. Kate Elizabeth Russell ✅
  9. Kiersten White ✅
  10. Rob Hart ✅
  11. Edward Aubry ✅
  12. Marina J. Lostetter ✅
  13. S. J. Morden ✅
  14. C. J. Tudor ✅
  15. Greer Hendricks ✅
  16. Clare Mackintosh ✅
  17. Stephen Baxter ✅
  18. Pete Wharmby ✅
  19. Devon Price ✅
  20. Nick Jones ✅
  21. Nathan Hystad ✅ 

What Am I Doing?

What I’m reading: The Good Samaritan by John Marrs.

What I’m listening to: Lost Time by Nathan Hystad.

What I’m watching: MCU in timeline order.

The Good Samaritan is messed up.  It’s told from the point of view of two characters.  The first you are introduced to is Laura who works on a charity phone line for people who are depressed.  She picks callers who meet a certain type, and then slowly encourages them to take their own life.  It’s a page-turner and I’ll have it finished in the next day or two.

I was enjoying the time travel series by Nick Jones, but the fourth book in the series is not released until October 11th.  In the meantime I’ve been listening to The Bridge Sequence by Nathan Hystad.  Lost Time is the second book in the series.  It’s nice, easy listening but I doubt I’ll remember it in detail in a few months.  The story centres on an archeologist who is trying to find out what happened to his dad, also an archeologist, who went missing.  Objects have been detected at the edge of the solar system heading for Earth, and there’s a shadowy group of “believers” who are preparing to receive their alien masters.  It’s entertaining, but is trope-heavy.

Financial Update

Assets

Premium Bonds: £9,700.00 (no change). 

Stocks and Shares ISA: £59,937.00 (+£1,157.05). 

Fuck It Fund: £1,050.00 (no change).

Pensions: £53,095.54 (-£239.08). 

Residential Property Value: £233,989.00 (+£4,830.00). 

Buy-to-Let Property Value: £150,993.00 (+£3,117.00). 

Total Assets: £508,764.54 (+£8,864.97).

Debts

Credit Card: £0.00 (no change).

Residential Mortgage: £180,898.62 (-£822.89). 

Buy-to-Let Mortgage: £105,279.23 (-£22.23). 

Total Debts: £286,177.85 (-£845.12). 

Total Wealth: £222,586.69 (+£9,710.09)

Investment Income in 2022: £4,305.87 (target £6,000).

The quarterly house price index update took place and saw both my properties increase in value.  I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the last increase for a while, as I’m expecting something of a reset to the housing market with the current rate situation.  I don’t think we will see a complete crash, but I’m now thinking there will be a period of instability whilst the ripples of this Tory government’s latest fuck up spread through the economy.  

I’d talked with my investment partner about additional borrowing on our BTL, but we’ve decided against it.  Whilst the value of the BTL may drop in the coming months, making extra borrowing more difficult, we feel this is outweighed by the level of rates right now.  If we completed £10k of additional borrowing (the lowest amount possible) we’d be looking at an interest rate of almost 6%.  Roughly speaking, £50pcm on interest only to secure £10k of capital is not worth it.  So, it’s looking like we will not release funds from the initial BTL for some time, but that’s ok.  Each month that passes sees our BTL balance reduce slightly, and it’s been demonstrated time and time again that in the long-term property values increase.  

Just out of curiosity, have your plans to buy/sell a property changed because of what’s happening in the world?  I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on the matter.

For now, we are still thinking that adding to our BTL portfolio would be a mistake.  We’ll see how the market responds throughout the rest of 2022 and into 2023.  In the meantime, I might be putting some money towards a place for my Dad to buy outright.  For those who don’t read his blog, first of all you should.  But yeah, he’s talked about how frustrating it’s been looking for a place to buy since he sold his previous property.  With the mortgage market as it is, and with us both having spare cash, it makes sense to put it to use.  The idea would be that when rates stabilise we could release funds by securing a mortgage against the property in the future and use those funds to buy further BTLs.  We’ll see how it develops.

That’s all for this week.  Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer

The views and opinions in this blog are my own, and do no 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:

StepChange

MoneyHelper

Biolink and other links

You can now find all my social media pages by checking out my Biolink:

bio.link/davidscothern.

Also, check out Darren Scothern’s blog which talks about autism, being autistic, and general mental health:

www.darrenscothern.com

Remortgage

If there is one word that will make a mortgage advisor put their head in their hands, it’s when someone says “remortgage”, because almost every single time the word is misused.  

Things I’ve heard the word remortgage used to describe:

  • Borrow more money on an existing mortgage with no home move involved.
  • Switching to a new interest rate.
  • Changing the names on the mortgage account, because of marriage or some other life event.
  • Change of address as selling property and moving to another address (note: person not aware this requires more information as it could involve redeeming the mortgage, taking a new mortgage on a new property, or it could just be setting up a correspondence address).
  • Changing to a BTL mortgage.
  • In some cases, the person has not even known what they meant when using the word.

What does remortgage mean?

According to HSBC:

“If your mortgage is with another lender, easily move it to HSBC and you could get a better deal.”

According to Natwest:

“A remortgage is when you change the mortgage you currently have on your property, by moving it to a new lender.”

According to Barclays:

“Remortgaging means moving your mortgage to a new lender while staying in the same property. Our guide can help you decide if it’s right for you.” 

According to Santander:

Well, their website isn’t great but the term remortgage is used in the context of “remortgage to us” (i.e. to Santander from another lender).

As you can see from these examples, there is a broad amount of consistency with respect to the definition of the term remortgage.  

Why is this important to me?  Why is it important to you?

“Words have power.” ~ Darren Scothern

“Words have the power to both destroy and heal.  When words are both true and kind, they can change our world.” ~ Buddha

“There is power in words.  What you say is what you get.” ~ Zig Ziglar

In short, say what you mean or else people will think you mean what you say.  

The economy is in a bad state right now due to, well, **gestures vaguely at the Tory Party**

Also, the media have to shoulder some of the blame.  A quick glance through articles on The Guardian, the BBC, and This Is Money (don’t judge me, it was one of the few sites that isn’t hidden behind a paywall) all use remortgage incorrectly.  It’s almost as though people are being fed bullshit deliberately, but I’ve not got my conspiracy theorist hat on right now.  

All this brings me to my next point about words having power.  There’s been talk of “mortgage offers being withdrawn”, which is not strictly speaking true.  A mortgage offer is issued when the lender is satisfied with all the necessary checks on you, your income, and the property.  Offers can be withdrawn, but are generally valid for a few months (the exact length of time can vary according to a number of factors).  However, when you look at some of the news stories in recent days that mention “mortgage offers being withdrawn”, they either mean products have been removed from circulation (interest rates the lender were willing to grant to customers are no longer available) or the borrower had approached the lender to see what deals were available, before going away to think about it.  None of these are “mortgage offers”, and by not clarifying this point the media is complicit in whipping up a frenzy of panic amongst customers.

It might be the autistic in me but I swear when I hear terms being used incorrectly my blood pressure spikes.  

If you would like to help increase my blood pressure further, please consider buying me a coffee on the link below.  All donations gratefully received and are used to help with the costs of running this blog.

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/davidscothern

Part 153

Hello and welcome back to Mortgage Advisor on FIRE.  Well, it’s been a rough couple of weeks for some investors, and the mortgage industry is going crazy.  I discuss this, and how it impacts on my BTL plans.  Also, another look at spoon theory in the context of the knife hypothesis (I’m not making this up, honest).  Finally, a frustrating week of medical appointments and visits to hospital.  First, the Quote of the Week:

Quote of the Week

I’ve talked about Spoon Theory before, but I’ve only recently heard of The Knife Hypothesis (TKH).  Before I discuss the latter, I’ll just quickly recap the former.

Spoon theory comes from the idea that we all have a reserve of spoons each day.  The amount can vary depending on a range of factors, but for this example I’ll assume I’ve got 10 spoons.  Whenever we do something, we use up spoons.  Cooking a meal from scratch might use three spoons.  Making a call to your mortgage provider might use five spoons.  Eventually, you run out of spoons.  I’ve heard people talk about spoon deficit before, and TKH takes this idea and develops it further.  Once you’ve run out of spoons, you reach into the drawer and find only knives. 

Now, knives have their purpose and can sometimes be used for other things.  For example, you might use a knife to scoop out peanut butter but if you lick the knife you risk cutting yourself, whereas if you had licked the spoon the risk is lower.  So, TKH suggests that you can use knives to some degree but as they are not the optimal tool for daily activity you risk hurting yourself and others.  If you need a spoon but you only have a knife, then you really need to get more spoons.  Frustratingly the only tried and tested way to replenish spoons is to rest, and for autistics it involves finding a place that allows for relaxation and recuperation.  

Things that help me recover faster:

  • External quiet; little to no noise distractions.
  • Escaping to another world through a good audiobook or physical book.
  • Going down a Youtube/Wikipedia rabbit hole on a subject that’s interesting to me.  (Lately this has been analysing the logistical problems facing the Russian military in Ukraine).  

Things that stop me recovering:

  • Being distracted by competing demands for my attention.
  • Other senses being activated because of a funky smell or an uncomfortable texture of clothing, or an uncomfortable temperature. 
  • Knowing there are things that need doing, but not being able to face them because I’m out of spoons.

It can be a catch-22 situation; not having the spoons to do something, but not being able to recover them because you feel under pressure due to the things that need doing.

It has felt, in recent weeks, like I’ve been running on empty, or living in a spoon deficit.  If you stay too long in a deficit, it only leads to one thing – burnout.  I’m not talking about being shattered and having a good meal and sleep sorting you out.  I’m talking about a state of burnout that leaves you damaged in a way that you can never fully recover from.  

I’ve likened this situation, complete burnout I mean, to a flood.  Imagine you have a large river, and the river is dammed.  On either side of the river is farmland.  The farmland represents your physical and mental health.  The river represents the demands of daily life.  The dam is your ability to deal with with the demands of life.  In an ideal world, the flow of water is fairly stable and constant, with only minor surges here and there.  A fully functional dam is able to open and close valves to make sure the flow of water is constant, which in turn helps the farmland remain fertile.

If there is a period of heavy rain, then the river starts to surge.  The dam would then be utilised to make sure that the surge does not destroy the farmland down river.  However, if the rain comes down at a rate that exceeds the dam’s ability to control the flow of water, then the water backs up.  If this continues for long enough, the dam will start to crack.  Eventually, the dam bursts and a wall of water will race down river destroying everything in its path. 

Every person is unique; their river, farmland, dam, and so on are all different.  Some people are able to be very flexible in what they can deal with.  Other people are not.  Taking this idea on a step further, if your dam breaks and the farmland is destroyed, for many people they never fully recover the land that was lost.  Is this a perfect metaphor?  No.  I think it’s a pretty simple way to visualise how people can be overwhelmed, and how people may not always fully recover from trauma.  

Weekly Update

It’s been one of those weeks where I’ve been to the hospital every day.  I had an appointment for some x-rays on my hands to investigate why my joints all hurt.  I also sliced into my thumb with a new knife whilst chopping tomatoes.  As it wouldn’t stop bleeding I rocked up at the minor injuries unit for them to stitch me back together.  I also made a few attempts to get some blood tests done via the walk-in service at the hospital.  However, the queue was very long each time I went, so I had to try again.  The idea of waiting in a cramped room for almost two hours where it’s noisy and warm… No.  Just no.  

I’m a bit pissed off as I’ve been unable to do any significant exercise with all of this going on.  The stress has led to more stress, as when I’m stressed, I get stressed about being stressed and it becomes a self-reinforcing cycle.  I recently had a few other medical appointments, including my flu vaccine and covid booster.  Now that these vaccines are done, I’m hoping to not have to attend any other medical appointments in person for a while.

On Friday afternoon I had a further medical appointment.  It was the one that should have happened the week before where they had my name and date of birth wrong.  The call was, if I’m being polite, frustrating.  This call relates to a referral made on my behalf.  The person who made the referral wrote a detailed overview of the reasons for the referral.  You would expect that the person receiving the referral would have familiarised themselves with the report prior to the call.  However, the first 15-20 minutes of the call was the person reading the report whilst mumbling to themselves.  Following this, they put me on hold whilst they read the notes of a previous discussion I had with their service last year.  It was half an hour in before we actually started talking about the issues at hand, and at this point, I was not fully engaged with the process as I was just thinking, “surely there’s a more efficient way of doing this.”  The person I was speaking to further alienated me from the process by arguing, in a pretty hostile way, that self-diagnosis of autism is not valid.

To be clear, many autistic people can’t access the resources needed to get a formal diagnosis from a medical professional.  This can be due to the financial, emotional, and cognitive cost (it’s a stressful process, exacerbated if you need to fund it yourself).  Self-diagnosing is not something that autistic people tend to just do on a whim.  Almost every account I’ve read involves a person undertaking a lengthy personal journey of introspection.  The realisation of one’s own neurodivergence is not always a sudden, lightbulb, moment.  To claim that self-diagnosis, or self-identification, as autistic is not valid is insulting and ignorant. It was even more absurd to argue this point because I have a diagnosis from a medical professional, not that it should matter.

At this point, I was ready to just end the call but I stuck it out.  Unfortunately, the process left me completely drained and feeling worse than before I had the call.  It might result in some benefit later down the line, but I’m just not sure if the juice is worth the squeeze.  Thinking back, it’s a really strange hill for this person to die on, but it wasn’t the only one they chose to make a stand on.  We spoke about the next appointment I have with my GP, which is in a couple of weeks for a review of my medications.  This requires a specific type of appointment.  I told them when my appointment was, and the person stated I needed an earlier appointment.  I explained this was the first appointment they had.  I found it strange that this person felt it necessary to argue that it wasn’t the first appointment they had, considering they have nothing to do with my GP practice.  

Support Mortgage Advisor on FIRE

I love writing this blog but maintaining a website costs money.  If you want to say thanks for the content I publish, consider donating to my virtual tip jar on the link below:

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2022 Goals – to be achieved by 31/12/2022

1 – Reduce weight to 90kg.  (Current weight 124.3kg).

2 – Complete 10 “classic” books (4/10)

  1. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (1866)
  2. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville (1851)
  3. Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897) ✅
  4. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (1961)
  5. The Iliad by Homer (8th century BC) ✅
  6. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (1844) ✅
  7. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (1867)
  8. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (1859)
  9. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (1862)
  10. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (1605) ✅

3 – Read 10 authors I’ve not read before (20/10)

  1. John Birmingham ✅
  2. Nicole Perlroth ✅
  3. Sabine Durrant ✅
  4. Luke Smitherd ✅
  5. Max Skittle ✅
  6. Harlan Coben ✅
  7. Jo Spain ✅
  8. Kate Elizabeth Russell ✅
  9. Kiersten White ✅
  10. Rob Hart ✅
  11. Edward Aubry ✅
  12. Marina J. Lostetter ✅
  13. S. J. Morden ✅
  14. C. J. Tudor ✅
  15. Greer Hendricks ✅
  16. Clare Mackintosh ✅
  17. Stephen Baxter ✅
  18. Pete Wharmby ✅
  19. Devon Price ✅
  20. Nick Jones ✅

What Am I Doing?

What I’m reading: The Good Samaritan by John Marrs.

What I’m listening to: The Shadows of London: Joseph Bridgeman Book 2 by Nick Jones.

What I’m watching: MCU in timeline order.

I really enjoyed the first Joseph Bridgeman book, And Then She Vanished, but the second book feels a bit forced so far.  I’ll give it a chance though, as I’m only very early into it.  The premise of the first book is that Joe, the protagonist, is looking after his younger sister one day.  She goes missing and is not found.  Fast forward twenty years into the future, and Joe is a mess.  During therapy, he discovers he can time travel.  From that point, he sets out to try and save his sister.  

The MCU marathon is in the home straight.  We’ve finished the Infinity Saga, and in the last few days have watched Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings, and Eternals.  Both were dull, and in some parts just cringeworthy.  As I see it there are three main problems facing the MCU at the moment; 

  1. Too much humour.
  2. Poor villains.
  3. Awful special effects.

Having watched the MCU in order in a relatively short period, you can spot where the humour starts to go wrong.  Thor: Ragnarok is a great film.  It refreshed the character of Thor, had a great aesthetic, and some great character moments.  Granted, the villain was still poor, but it’s easy to see why it has over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes.  Around this time, the MCU peaked with Black Panther and Infinity War.  Endgame was still great, but the cracks were starting to show.  Fat Thor was divisive, and in my opinion a poor, childish, attempt at humour.  Following Endgame we’ve had the following films:

  • Spider-Man: Far From Home
  • Black Widow
  • Shang-Chi
  • Eternals
  • Spider-Man: No Way Home
  • Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
  • Thor: Love and Thunder

The two Spider-Man films were decent-to-good.  Black Widow was, if I’m being generous, pointless.  If I’m being harsh, it was a mess.  The visual effects were so poor as to be distracting, and this issue was repeated in Shang-Chi where it was obvious that the characters in many scenes were simply standing in front of a screen displaying a background.  I’m sure there are many talented people working in the VFX department for Marvel, but a quick Google-fu suggests that these people are overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated.  It shows.

Here we have Florence Pugh in front of a screen showing the sky. I swear this is worse than the Power Rangers effects back in the early 90s.

I really wanted to like Thor: Love and Thunder, but I think it’s actually the worst entry to the MCU so far; yes, worse than The Dark World.  It was insultingly bad and created several plot holes that retroactively cheapen Infinity War and Endgame.  When I look back at the recent MCU releases, you have to back over ten films for the last “great” movie; Infinity War.  

Financial Update

Assets

Premium Bonds: £9,700.00 (+ £4,200.00). 

Stocks and Shares ISA: £58,779.95 (-£4,844.24). 

Fuck It Fund: £1,050.00 (no change).

Pensions: £53,334.62 (+£383.56). 

Residential Property Value: £229,159.00 (no change). 

Buy-to-Let Property Value: £147,876.00 (no change). 

Total Assets: £499,899.57 (-£260.68).

Debts

Credit Card: £0.00 (no change).

Residential Mortgage: £181,721.51 (no change). 

Buy-to-Let Mortgage: £105,301.46 (no change). 

Total Debts: £287,022.97 (no change). 

Total Wealth: £212,876.60 (-£260.68)

Investment Income in 2022: £4,280.87 (target £6,000).

Since the mini-budget a couple of weeks ago my ISA has lost more than 10% of its value.  It will bounce back in time but it’s still annoying.  Our BTL plans are on hold until the housing market and mortgage industry settles down.  It’s insane how a few utterly incompetent people can fuck the economy so much.  If you missed it, you can click here for my midweek blog on interest rates and the Tory shitshow.

Until the dust settles the plan is simple; pay down debts and save any spare cash in Premium Bonds until the ISA window opens in April.

If you are looking at buying a property and/or increasing your mortgage debt, I would think long and hard about whether it’s a good time to do it.  Take some time out to carefully review your finances, and speak with a financial professional who understands your needs and circumstances.  In this type of economic climate the worst thing you can do is engage in kneejerk reactions.

Also, if you are hearing advice from talking heads on TV, radio, or the internet, ask yourself what their agenda could be.  During periods of instability, such as this, there are opportunities for people to become very wealthy.  A cynical person vulnerable to conspiracy thinking might feel like this clusterfuck was manufactured deliberately to facilitate a transfer of wealth from the general public to those in power.  It’s happened before, is all I’m saying.  

That’s all for now, thanks for reading.

Biolink and other links

You can now find all my social media pages by checking out my Biolink:

bio.link/davidscothern.

Also, check out Darren Scothern’s blog which talks about autism, being autistic, and general mental health:

www.darrenscothern.com

More Interest Rate Shocks

Apparently, traders are referring to Liz Truss as “Daggers”, as in Dagenham, which is two stops after Barking.  It’s also rumoured that there have been letters of no confidence submitted against Truss who is less than a month into her spell as Prime Minister.  We used to joke about being two Leeds managers away from Christmas, but it seems we can amend the joke now as the UK faces further chaos and embarrassment.  What prompted all this, though?

The new-look government announced a “mini-budget” on 23/09 which led to the collapse of the £ against the $.  This is bad for our economy as we import a lot of stuff paid for in $.  If the £ can’t buy as many $ then we get less bang for our buck, so to speak.  It seems that not a month goes by without me pointing at something the Tory government has done, whilst shouting, “look, I told you they’re evil” but it seems the louder I shout, the less people listen.  

Time for a little detour… Imagine you are back at school and getting ready to sit an important exam.  You have a general idea of what to expect, but nothing more.  You study hard and achieve a decent mark.  However, one of your fellow students (who happens to be the son of the head teacher’s best friend) nailed the exam and got 100%.  Due to hitting such a high mark, this student received a bursary of £2,000 which doesn’t have to be paid back.  You later hear rumours that the head teacher leaked the exam questions to their friend, who in turn passed them to their son.  This is a messed-up situation, I’m sure you’d agree.  

Let’s look at another situation.  The Chancellor of the Exchequer is creating a new budget for the UK.  There are some concerns that the policies contained in this budget will result in the £ crashing.  There are rumours that the policies set out in the budget have been leaked, and that high-rolling traders, dealers, and investors are aware that the £ is likely to crash.  There is a flurry of activity where hedge funds short the £ (meaning they bet on the £ losing value).  Why aren’t more people absolutely raging about this?

In addition to the £ falling in value, and the stock market taking a hit, interest rates on mortgages are also being impacted.  There’s been a series of news reports suggesting hundreds of mortgage deals have been removed from the market.  There’s also talk of an emergency meeting of the MPC to raise interest rates again, before the next scheduled meeting.  Some have suggested the base rate could exceed 4% by the end of 2022, and 6% by next summer.  Should increases happen along these lines, then the UK risks an economic crisis the likes of which we’ve not seen for a long, long time.

This is what my residential mortgage looks like:

I always knew that low rates would not stick around forever, but even I had not expected the Tories to fuck the country so hard that we’d see rates go this high, this soon. Initially, I thought that the best way to tackle my mortgage would be to increase our payments to bring the balance down faster. However, on reflection, I think it’s best to do the opposite.

My plan now is to extend the mortgage term as far out as possible, which will bring the monthly payment down. Once this completes, I can then make overpayments that target specific parts of the mortgage. Using the avalanche method of debt repayment, I’d assign the overpayment to whichever part of the mortgage is going to increase first, and then the next one, and so on.

My thoughts are to tackle sub-account 9 first, then sub-account 10. The scary thing is the bulk of the mortgage that sits on 0.81% at the moment. When my various rates come to an end, the reversionary variable rate is now 5.74%. Assuming the whole mortgage reverted to this rate, our payments would more than double. Yes, we can look for a new deal at that time, and fixed rates are generally lower than the reversionary rate, but if rates continue to increase we could be faced with fixed rates that are higher than the current reversionary rate.

Once we’ve cleared 9 and 10, I’m thinking it might be best to start paying down the smaller sub-accounts so that the mortgage looks a little, well, cleaner.

What can you do?

My plans and thoughts are just that; mine. I have no idea what your circumstances are, or how you feel about financial risk. Whether you are concerned or not, I would strongly advise you to take some time to look through your mortgage. Familiarise yourself with how it is set up, and when your rates are likely to change. Speak with your lender, or a qualified mortgage professional, who can go through your mortgage, finances, and personal circumstances. The key thing is to be proactive, and not reactive. If you wait to see what happens with the market and interest rates in the news, it’s already too late as rates will have increased.

In times such as these, it’s important to remember that this climate of economic mismanagement will not last forever. Eventually, things will get better; it’s just part of the cycle of boom and bust. I suspect the government will have no choice but to scale back their economic policy, which will probably bring this government down. Several international organisations, such as the IMF, have criticised the actions of this government. This is huge news, and I think we’ll start to see some backtracking from Truss and Kwarteng in days, rather than weeks.

As always, keep calm and assess your own situation. Don’t make rash decisions that can’t be undone. Speak with your lender about your mortgage. Take stock of your finances, and perhaps most importantly, don’t bottle up your stress, fear, and worry.

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