Long-time readers of Pounds and Sense will know that at one time I made a steady sideline income from matched betting.
Unfortunately the pandemic led to almost all sporting events stopping. And though they have now returned, for reasons discussed in this blog post, matched betting is no longer as lucrative as it once was. If you’ve never done it before, however, I do still recommend it as a risk-free way to generate some extra (tax-free) cash.
As any matched bettor will tell you, an occupational hazard with matched betting is being ‘gubbed’. This happens when the bookies get fed up with you taking advantage of their offers (which is basically what matched betting is) and bar you from taking part in any from then on. Once you have been gubbed by multiple bookmakers, clearly the returns you can make from matched betting diminish rapidly.
So what can you do? Enter my friends Gavin and Andy, who run a service/website called Gubbed. Some of you may remember Gavin’s earlier venture, which enabled anyone to profit from matched betting with no financial outlay and no need to place any bets themselves. Members received a share of the profits generated every month. Several PAS readers – including my sister Annie – signed up for this and made good money from it. Nobody lost any money, for the good reason that nobody was ever asked to pay anything. That service only closed because of the growing difficulty of making matched betting sufficiently profitable.
As the name indicates, the new Gubbed service is aimed especially at former matched bettors who have been gubbed (though anyone is welcome to sign up including those who have never done any betting before). Gubbed is emphatically not just a matched betting service. Andy and Gavin are sports betting specialists, as well as being expert programmers. They have developed AI bots and algorithms that – while they might not win every time – over a period deliver steady profits from betting. This video explains in a bit more detail how it works:
As you will gather, nobody is ever asked to pay any money to Gubbed. Even your starting capital is supplied by Gubbed themselves from syndicate winnings.
There is a certain amount of work initially uploading details of your betting accounts and/or creating new ones. And you will also need to set up a new, dedicated bank account solely for betting use. But once all that is done, you can sit back and let the bots do their thing. All the support you need is available any time from the dedicated Gubbed team.
Obviously in time the bookies WILL ban you or restrict your stakes to such an extent that no more worthwhile profits can be made. But in the time leading up to that, Gubbed guarantee that you will receive a minimum of £1,000 in winnings. To date, the highest amount paid out to a Gubbed member s £6,366.25 (to a lady named Sophie, as it happens).
One other thing I should mention is that to take part in the Gubbed programme, you need to be honest and trustworthy. That is because all the risk with the programme is taken by Gubbed themselves. They provide the capital needed to run the betting bots and in theory you could withdraw this yourself as it is (nominally anyway) your money. Of course, if you do this you will be immediately removed from the programme and forfeit the potentially much larger profits to be made during your membership. In addition, Gavin and Andy require all new members to take part in a short video call with them to assure themselves you are genuine. Of course, this is also your opportunity to ask them any questions face to face.
I have been working with Gavin and Andy for several years now and am happy to vouch that they are honest and trustworthy (Andy is a long-time PAS reader and actually made contact with Gavin after reading about his earlier betting service on the blog). I also made money from their previous service (as did my sister). If you’re willing to put in a little bit of work initially, you should pocket a tidy tax-free sum from Gubbed – though obviously I can’t guarantee that your payout will be as big as Sophie’s!
Please do check out the Gubbed website for more info. You can also contact the small and friendly Gubbed team via this web page.
Good luck, and if you join please do return here in due course and let me know how much you made!
Disclosure: I am an affiliate for Gubbed and will receive a referral fee if you sign up (free) with them after clicking through one of the links in this article. This will not affect in any way the service you receive or the returns generated by the programme. Please be aware that this is a collaborative no-risk money-making opportunity and you will never be asked for any money yourself. It is not gambling, and neither I nor the team at Gubbed advocate gambling in any shape or form.
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I was recently offered the chance to review the Simba Hybrid Mattress Topper (see cover photo). This is a premium mattress topper from the well-known Simba sleep brand.
I must admit, incidentally, I hadn’t realised the variety of sleep products Simba offer. I knew about their mattresses, of course, but wasn’t aware they also sell quilts, pillows, mattress toppers, and so on.
I currently sleep on a Slumberland king-sized mattress which – despite being barely three years old – is starting to sag. My sleep quality had deteriorated and I was waking up with an aching back and hips. Not good at all 🙁 So when I got the opportunity to test out Simba’s hybrid mattress topper, naturally I leapt at it.
I have tried mattress toppers before, and in fact got a cheap one from Amazon prior to receiving the Simba product. It helped a little but clearly wasn’t going to be the solution for me.
The Simba hybrid mattress topper takes sleep comfort to a whole new level. For starters, it’s deeper and heavier than my previous mattress topper. It came rolled up in a (very) large cardboard box. I wrestled it upstairs and opened it without any help (nobody else being around at the time) but ideally I’d say this is a two-person job.
The mattress topper comes tightly wrapped in a clear plastic bag. Once I removed it from this, it lay flat on the bed without curling. Unlike some sleep products I have ordered in the past, you don’t have to wait for it to expand to its full depth.
From the first night onward I was hugely impressed with the Simba hybrid mattress topper. It is no exaggeration to say that it felt as though I was sleeping on a brand new mattress. It is smooth, cool and comfortable to lie on and (for me anyway) offers just the right medium-to-firm level of support. I am sleeping deeper and longer before waking, and the aches and pains in my back and hips are a thing of the past.
I thought it might be useful to reproduce here the diagram from the Simba web page showing how their hybrid mattress topper is constructed and the different layers it contains…
As you can see, the Simba hybrid mattress topper includes a number of different layers (hence the ‘hybrid’ in the name, I assume). You can read more about this on the Simba web page, but briefly at the top there is a soft, breathable sleep surface, with a foam comfort layer under that. In the middle is a spring support layer (just like in a mattress), with a high-density foam base below that. This is very different from most cheap mattress toppers, which are basically just quilts with a cotton/polyester filling.
Obviously because of its layered structure, you can’t turn the Simba hybrid mattress topper over. You can rotate it from end to end though, and it’s probably a good idea to do so occasionally to even out wear. No instructions are provided about this, however, so that’s purely a suggestion, based on my previous experience with mattresses.
Are there any drawbacks to the Simba hybrid mattress topper? Well, I did notice a slight ‘chemical’ smell which took a few days to disperse. It didn’t bother me, but ideally you might want to let your new mattress topper air for a day or two before starting to use it. I’m afraid I was too impatient to wait, though!
In addition, as this mattress topper contains springs, I wouldn’t recommend trying to wash it (it wouldn’t fit in a standard washing machine anyway!). It does though come with a removable, washable cover. Essentially, you need to treat this product as if it was a mini-mattress in its own right. That isn’t really a drawback to the Simba hybrid mattress topper, just a feature of it.
Overall, I am happy to give the Simba hybrid mattress topper my highest personal recommendation. If – like me – you have an old mattress that is starting to sag, it should prolong its useful life. Also, if you have a mattress that is too hard, it should make it softer and more comfortable for you. It’s not cheap (at the time of writing £219 for the single version or £329 for the king-size I received) – but, as so often in life, you get what you pay for. Easy payment by interest-free instalments (up to 12 months) is also available subject to status.
I should add as well that delivery is free and fast: next working day if you order before 2 pm or two working days if you order after 2 pm. There is also a range of options for buying a Simba double topper.
Many thanks again to my friends at Simba for allowing me to try out their hybrid mattress topper. If you have any comments or questions about this post, as ever, please do post them below as usual.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post (gifted product).
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Today I have another guest post for you on the subject of saving money and getting freebies 🙂
My friends at Hot Free Stuff have put together this list of seven top money-saving websites where you can get freebies, discount codes, downloadable coupons, and more. Check them out, and don’t forget to sign up for free emails from Hot Free Stuff to get all the latest free offers daily!
Are you a stressed-out mum (or dad) trying to make the family budget work?
It takes juggling to make the household budget balance without the need for taking a calculator on every shopping trip. That is because just a click of your mouse or a swipe of your tablet can reel in huge savings on credit card bills, home goods, fashion, electricity, and fun-filled family activities!
We have done the work of trawling the Internet to find you seven of the best money-saving websites around. We’ll help you get freebies, codes, downloadable coupons and more, so that you can do more with your budget every week. Here is our point-and-click guide to savings…
HotFreeStuff.co.uk
This site gets you access to lots of free samples you can really use, from lotions to perfumes. Save money using this site on lots of household goods and get a chance to try new products for free as soon as they are available.
Gumtree
At this so-called ‘classified community’ you can snap up lots of great deals on pets to property. There are many listings for rentals and jobs throughout the UK and Ireland. You will enjoy the deals, but you can also get free items via the freebies section. Just scroll beyond the ads and sponsor links to find many free listings for household items and furniture. At the time of writing there were listings on the London site for free sofas and mattresses, a working Hotpoint fridge-freezer, and free haircuts. Just a word of caution – we suggest for any classified site that you take someone along with you to collect any items, and be careful about giving away too much personal info when responding to ads.
HotUKDeals
This site has been around for well over a decade and is the most reputable place for people to share information on the freebies and discounts they have picked up on their website travels. It is free to register and features include ‘Top 10 Hottest Offers’, requests for offers, and fun, free competitions to enter.
My Voucher Codes
Get over 2000 discount codes at Britain’s biggest voucher website. Tabs include top listings as well as categories, together with the ability to print out vouchers.
Groupon
Never underestimate the power of Groupon! Many times it can seem like a venue for free or cut-price beauty treatments. There are, however, great deals on family attractions, meals and holiday getaways as well.
Moneysaving Expert (MSE)
This massive site set up by financial journalist Martin Lewis has saved the UK millions. It is clearly written, easy to understand, and has lots of information on getting deals on everything from home and car insurance to broadband and mortgages.
Travel Supermarket
This is the best site to find travel deals and compare flights and hotel offers in one easy-to-navigate resource.
Many thanks to Hot Free Stuff for sharing their advice and information. If you have any comments or questions – or other tips and resources for saving money – please do share them below as usual.
Disclosure: this is a sponsored post.
If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:
I’ll begin as usual with my Nutmeg Stocks and Shares ISA. This is the largest investment I hold other than my Bestinvest SIPP (personal pension).
As the screenshot below for the year to date shows, my main Nutmeg portfolio is currently valued at £23,859. Last month it stood at £22,994 so that is a welcome increase of £865.
Apart from my main portfolio, I also have a second, smaller pot using Nutmeg’s Smart Alpha option. This is now worth £3,781 compared with £3,640 a month ago, a rise of £141. Here is a screen capture showing performance over the year to date.
Finally, at the start of December 2023 I invested £500 in one of Nutmeg’s new thematic portfolios (Resource Transformation). As you can see from the screen capture below, this is now worth £759 compared with £530 last month, an increase of £229 since last month.
I should though say that £200 of this is ‘new money’. This came from a ‘Refer a Friend’ bonus, which I decided to pay into this pot rather than withdrawing. So if you disregard that, this portfolio has actually risen in value by £29 since last month.
March was obviously another good month for my Nutmeg investments. Overall – and disregarding the £200 RAF bonus – I was up £1,035 or 3.55%. And since the start of the year (again disregarding the £200 RAF bonus in March) I am up by £1,882 or 7.15%. In these turbulent times I am more than happy with that.
You can read my full Nutmeg review here (including a special offer at the end for PAS readers). If you are looking for a home for your annual ISA allowance, based on my overall experience over the last eight years, they are certainly worth considering. They offer self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs), Lifetime ISAs and Junior ISAs as well.
Don’t forget, the current tax year ends on 5 April 2024 and after that the 2023/24 tax-free ISA allowance of £20,000 will be gone forever. But the good news is that you will then have a whole new £20,000 ISA allowance for 2024/25!
I also have investments with the property crowdlending platform Kuflink. They continue to do well, with new projects launching every week. I currently have around £1,570 invested with them in 10 different projects paying interest rates averaging around 7%. I also have £14 in my Kuflink cash account.
To date I have never lost any money with Kuflink, though some loan terms have been extended once or twice. On the plus side, when this happens additional interest is paid for the period in question.
There is now an initial minimum investment of £1,000 and a minimum investment per project of £500. Kuflink say they are doing this to streamline their operation and minimize costs. I can understand that, though it does mean that the option to test the water with a small first investment has been removed. It also makes it harder for small investors (like myself) to build a well-diversified portfolio on a limited budget.
One possible way around this is to invest using Kuflink’s Auto/IFISA facility. Your money here is automatically invested across a basket of loans over a period from one to five years. Interest rates range from 7% to around 10%, depending on the length of term you choose. Full up-to-date details can be found on the Kuflink website.
You can invest tax-free in a Kuflink Auto IFISA. Or if you have already used your annual iFISA allowance elsewhere, you can invest via a taxable Auto account. You can read my full Kuflink review here if you wish.
Moving on, my Assetz Exchange investments continue to generate steady returns. Regular readers will know that this is a P2P property investment platform focusing on lower-risk properties (e.g. sheltered housing). I put an initial £100 into this in mid-February 2021 and another £400 in April. In June 2021 I added another £500, bringing my total investment up to £1,000.
Since I opened my account, my AE portfolio has generated a respectable £173.90 in revenue from rental income. As I said in last month’s update, capital growth has slowed, though, in line with UK property values generally.
At the time of writing, 8 of ‘my’ properties are showing gains, 7 are breaking even, and the remaining 14 are showing losses. My portfolio is currently showing a net decrease in value of £35.05, meaning that overall (rental income minus capital value decrease) I am up by £138.85. That’s still a decent return on my £1,000 and does illustrate the value of P2P property investments for diversifying your portfolio. And it doesn’t hurt that with Assetz Exchange most projects are socially beneficial as well.
The overall fall in capital value of my AE investments is obviously a little disappointing. But it’s important to remember that until/unless I choose to sell the investments in question, it is largely theoretical, based on the most recent price at which shares in the property concerned have changed hands. The rental income, on the other hand, is real money (which in my case I’ve reinvested in other AE projects to further diversify my portfolio).
To control risk with all my property crowdfunding investments nowadays, I invest relatively modest amounts in individual projects. This is a particular attraction of AE as far as i am concerned (especially now that Kuflink have raised their minimum investment per project to £500). You can actually invest from as little as 80p per property if you really want to proceed cautiously.
As I noted in this recent post, Assetz Exchange is particularly good if you want to compound your returns by reinvesting rental income. This effectively boosts the interest rate you are receiving. Personally, once I have accrued a minimum of £10 in rental payments, I reinvest this money in either a new AE project or one I have already invested in (thus increasing my holding). Over time, even if I don’t invest any more capital, this will ensure my investment with AE grows at an accelerating rate and becomes more diversified as well.
In 2022 I set up an account with investment and trading platform eToro, using their popular ‘copy trader’ facility. I chose to invest $500 (then about £412) copying an experienced eToro trader called Aukie2008 (real name Mike Moest).
In January 2023 I added to this with another $500 investment in one of their thematic portfolios, Oil Worldwide. I also invested a small amount I had left over in Tesla shares.
As you can see from the screen captures below, my original investment totalling $1,022.26 is today worth $1,303.49, an overall increase of $281.23 or 27.51%.
eToro also offer the free eToro Money app. This allows you to deposit money to your eToro account without paying any currency conversion fees, saving you up to £5 for every £1,000 you deposit. You can also use the app to withdraw funds from your eToro account instantly to your bank account. I tried this myself and was impressed with how quickly and seamlessly it worked. You can read my blog post about eToro Money here. Note that it can also serve as a cryptocurrency wallet, allowing you to send and receive crypto from any other wallet address in the world.
I had two more articles published in March on the excellent Mouthy Money website. The first is Saving versus Investing – What’s the Difference and Why You Should Do Both. People often get confused between saving and investing, and it doesn’t help that the words are sometimes used loosely and interchangeably. In reality, though, there is a clear difference between them. In this article I explain why saving should always be your first priority, but ideally you should do both.
Also in March Mouthy Money published my article Are Solar Panels Still Worthwhile? As you probably know, solar PV panels generate electricity from sunlight. Growing numbers of homeowners (me included) have them on their roofs. At one time solar panels came with generous payment tariffs known as FiTs (feed-in tariffs), but those days are long gone. So in this article I examine what incentives exist today for installing panels and whether the sums still add up. I also look at the other pros and cons of solar panels.
As I’ve said before, Mouthy Money is a great resource for anyone interested in money-making and money-saving. I am a particular fan of my fellow MM contributor and money blogger Shoestring Jane. She writes mainly about money saving and frugal living. Her latest article Save Money on Gifts Throughout the Year sets out some top tips for saving money on gifts without (of course!) being a skinflint. You can see all of Jane’s articles for Mouthy Money via this web page.
I also published several posts on Pounds and Sense in March. I won’t bother mentioning those that are no longer relevant now, but the others are listed below.
One was a reminder that the Trading 212 welcome offer has reopened. If you haven’t done this before, you can get a free share worth up to £100. As I said in the article, my free share in AMD is now worth £151.88! This offer closes on 16 April 2024.
Also in March I published Don’t Miss Out! Use Your £20,000 ISA Allowance Before It’s Too Late. This was a reminder to use your 2023/24 allowance before it vanishes on 6th April 2024. Obviously you will need to move very smartly if you are going to do this now. But (as I said earlier) the good news is that everyone will have a fresh £20,000 allowance from that date.
One other bit of news this month is that I finally got around to buying a home storage battery to connect to my solar panels (see my recent MM article about panels). I used a local (Staffordshire) company called The Energy Box for this, and am very happy to recommend them.
I’ve had my battery for just over a fortnight now and it’s been quite eye-opening. Using the battery app I can see how much electricity my solar panels are generating at any time and how much I am using in my home. I can also check the battery charge level and whether it’s charging or discharging. Even at this time of year, if there’s a bit of sunshine I am generating enough electricity in the day to cover my needs and charge the battery to a level where I’m running the house from it till well into the evening.
In the summer I’d expect to be generating enough to live off solar-generated power entirely, meaning there will only be the dreaded standing charge to pay. So I will actually be saving more money than I originally anticipated, though admittedly it will still be a number of years before the cost is covered.
It wasn’t just a financial decision, though. My other aim was to be able to continue as normal in the event of power cuts (which I expect to become more frequent in coming years as the UK transitions away from fossil fuels), and that should be the case too. The only issue might be a power cut in the depths of winter when the battery hasn’t charged up from the panels. Even so, if I know (or suspect) a cut is coming I can charge the battery in advance from the mains.
I’ve written an article going into more detail about home storage batteries (including my own) for my regular clients at Mouthy Money. This will be published in April, so keep an eye out for it!
Finally, a quick reminder that you can also follow Pounds and Sense on Facebook or Twitter/X. Twitter/X is my number one social media platform these days and I post regularly there. I share the latest news and information on financial (and other) matters, and other things that interest, amuse or concern me. So if you aren’t following my PAS account, you are definitely missing out!
That’s all for today. As always, if you have any comments or queries, feel free to leave them below. I am always delighted to hear from PAS readers
Disclaimer: I am not a qualified financial adviser and nothing in this blog post should be construed as personal financial advice. Everyone should do their own ‘due diligence’ before investing and seek professional advice if in any doubt how best to proceed. All investing carries a risk of loss.
Note also that posts may include affiliate links. If you click through and perform a qualifying transaction, I may receive a commission for introducing you. This will not affect the product or service you receive or the terms you are offered, but it does help support me in publishing PAS and paying my bills. Thank you!
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Offer now closed – sorry! I will update this post when/if it reopens.
Today I’m featuring a way you can get a free share worth up to £100 by signing up with an online share trading platform called Trading 212.
Trading 212 is unusual in that it offers commission-free and fee-free share trading. As a special offer, until 16 April 2024 they are offering people new to the platform a free share just for signing up via a referral link (such as the links in this post). The share you will get is chosen at random, but could be worth up to £100. You can either keep this share or sell it.
How to Sign Up
Signing up with Trading 212 is pretty straightforward. Just visit the Trading 212 website via any of the (referral) links in this post and follow the on-screen instructions to register. Note that you will be required to provide various items of information, including your date of birth, National Insurance number, annual income, employment status, and contact details. I understand that this is to meet their legal ‘Know Your Customer’ duty.
You will also need to indicate the type of account you want from the three options available (see screen capture below).
As you will see, the three account types on Trading 212 are CFD, Invest and ISA. You can apply for one, two or all three of these if you like.
CFD stands for Contract for Difference. CFDs are quite complex financial instruments, and unless you know what you’re doing I recommend giving them a miss. As you can see, you can also use this type of account for trading in Cryptocurrencies. Again this is pretty high risk and not something that appeals to me personally.
I would also recommend thinking carefully before you tick the ISA box. An ISA is, of course, a tax-exempt Individual Savings Account. Nothing wrong with that, except you can only invest in one of each type of ISA (Cash, Stocks and Shares, IFISA) in any one tax year (though this will change from April 2024).
Trading 212 are offering a Stocks and Shares ISA, so if you have already invested in one of these this year (e.g. with Nutmeg), you won’t be able to open another. Equally, once you invest in a Trading 212 ISA, you won’t then be able to open another Stocks and Shares ISA in this financial year. So you do need to be pretty sure that is how you want to use your 2023/24 Stocks and Shares ISA before doing this.
All you need to take advantage of the Trading 212 offer is a standard Invest account, so I recommend ticking this box only (as per the screen capture above).
Getting Your Free Share
There is one more step you will need to take in order to get your free share. You will need to deposit a minimum of £1 into your account. There are various ways you can do this, but i just used my debit card. There is no obligation to invest the £1 (or whatever you choose to deposit) and if you wish you can withdraw it once your free share has been credited.
The next business day you should receive an email confirming that a free share has been added to your account. As mentioned above, this is allotted at random. If you’re lucky you might get one worth up to £100. Even if you get a less valuable one, though, it’s still a share for free. If you choose to keep it, it may rise in value. There may also be dividends payable in future (and credited to your account).
Already have a Trading 212 account? You can also get a free ETF share worth up to £200 (and now guaranteed to be worth at least £10) with new DIY wealth-building app Wealthyhood. A minimum investment of £50 is required to get the free share (although if you’re not bothered about this you can start investing on the platform with as little as £20). Click through here for more info!
Selling Your Share
You can’t sell your share immediately. You have to wait three business days before doing so, but it is then just a matter of clicking the Sell button on your member’s dashboard.
The money will be credited to your Trading 212 account but you will have to wait 30 days before withdrawing it. So there may be a case for waiting to see if your share’s value goes up in that time. Of course, it could also go down!
In my case, I received a free share in the Ford Motor Company worth about £8 at the time. Obviously this wasn’t as exciting as I might have hoped, but it was still – in effect – free money for almost no time or effort 😀
How Safe Is Trading 212?
Trading 212 is registered in England and Wales and authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. In addition, all clients’ funds are kept separately in segregated bank accounts which are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. So even if the company itself were to go broke, any cash in your account would be protected up to a value of £85,000.
Of course, the FSCS guarantee doesn’t apply to the value of your stocks and shares, which can go down as well as up. All investments carry a risk of loss, although in the case of your free share you can never lose any more than the original cost, which was of course zero!
Referral Scheme
Any Trading 212 member can also refer new members. In this case, both you and the person concerned will receive one free share worth up to £100. Obviously, the links in this blog post include my referral code – so if you register and get a free share, I will receive one also. Under the terms of the current offer you can get up to five free shares in this way. Five is the limit per person. Although you can still refer new members who will get a free share after this, as a referrer you won’t receive one as well.
Final Thoughts
I first heard about Trading 212 a while ago, but wasn’t initially sure whether it was legit and here for the long term. And I thought the free share offer was, frankly, too good to be true. However, my own experiences have been entirely positive. My original free share in the Ford Motor Company was credited the next business day as promised and I received an email notifying me about it.
I can log in to my Trading 212 account any time to see how my Ford share is doing. I have also collected a few other shares from referrals as well. These include a share in AMD (the semiconductor company), which is currently worth £151.51, and one in Nike, which is worth £88.33. I still have my original Ford Motor Company share and it has risen in value to £9.65. I also received an annual dividend payment from them a while ago. I haven’t sold any of my free shares yet but could of course do so any time I choose. I am not in any rush, as Trading 212 do not impose any platform or inactivity fees.
Although in this post I have focused on the free share offer, Trading 212 is worth considering as a share-dealing platform too. In particular, the fact that it’s fee-free and commission-free means it is well suited for people who are dipping a toe in stocks and shares investment for the first time. By contrast, the dealing fees and commissions charged by some other share-trading platforms can make small share purchases prohibitively expensive. This review by Money Savvy Daddy looks at the pros and cons of Trading 212 as a share-dealing platform in a bit more detail.
In conclusion, I hope this post has inspired you to consider registering with Trading 212 to claim your free share. If you do, I hope you get a valuable one! Please let me know what share you receive in a comment below. And, as always, any other comments or questions are very welcome too.
Don’t forget, the current free share offer ends on 16 April 2024.
Disclosure: The links in this post include my referral code. If you click through and register as described above, I will receive a free share (as will you). Please note also that I am not a qualified financial adviser and nothing in this post should be construed as individual financial advice. Everyone should do their own ‘due diligence’ before investing and seek advice from a qualified financial adviser if in any doubt how best to proceed. All investment carries a risk of loss (although not in the case of free shares, obviously).
This is an update of my original post about this special offer.
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I’ll begin as usual with my Nutmeg Stocks and Shares ISA. This is the largest investment I hold other than my Bestinvest SIPP (personal pension).
As the screenshot below for the last 12 months shows, my main Nutmeg portfolio is currently valued at £ £22,994. Last month it stood at £22,386 so that is a welcome increase of £608.
Apart from my main portfolio, I also have a second, smaller pot using Nutmeg’s Smart Alpha option. This is now worth £3,640 compared with £3,530 a month ago, a rise of £110. Here is a screen capture showing performance over the last 12 months.
Finally, at the start of December 2023 I invested £500 in one of Nutmeg’s new thematic portfolios (Resource Transformation). As you can see from the screen capture below, this is now worth £530, an increase of £11 since last month and £30 or 6% over the three-month period since I first invested.
February was obviously a good month for my Nutmeg investments. Overall I was up £737 or 2.79%. In these turbulent times I am more than happy with that.
You can read my full Nutmeg review here (including a special offer at the end for PAS readers). If you are looking for a home for your annual ISA allowance, based on my overall experience over the last seven years, they are certainly worth considering. They offer self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs), Lifetime ISAs and Junior ISAs as well.
Don’t forget, the current tax year ends on 5 April 2024 and after that the 2023/24 tax-free ISA allowance of £20,000 will be gone forever!
I also have investments with the property crowdlending platform Kuflink. They continue to do well, with new projects launching every week. I currently have around £1,570 invested with them in 10 different projects paying interest rates averaging around 7%. I also have £14 in my Kuflink cash account.
To date I have never lost any money with Kuflink, though some loan terms have been extended once or twice. On the plus side, when this happens additional interest is paid for the period in question.
There is now an initial minimum investment of £1,000 and a minimum investment per project of £500. Kuflink say they are doing this to streamline their operation and minimize costs. I can understand that, though it does mean that the option to test the water with a small first investment has been removed. It also makes it harder for small investors (like myself) to build a well-diversified portfolio on a limited budget.
One possible way around this is to invest using Kuflink’s Auto/IFISA facility. Your money here is automatically invested across a basket of loans over a period from one to five years. Interest rates range from 7% to around 10%, depending on the length of term you choose. Full up-to-date details can be found on the Kuflink website.
You can invest tax-free in a Kuflink Auto IFISA. Or if you have already used your annual iFISA allowance elsewhere, you can invest via a taxable Auto account. You can read my full Kuflink review here if you wish.
Moving on, my Assetz Exchange investments continue to generate steady returns. Regular readers will know that this is a P2P property investment platform focusing on lower-risk properties (e.g. sheltered housing). I put an initial £100 into this in mid-February 2021 and another £400 in April. In June 2021 I added another £500, bringing my total investment up to £1,000.
Since I opened my account, my AE portfolio has generated a respectable £168.53 in revenue from rental income. As I said in last month’s update, capital growth has slowed, though, in line with UK property values generally.
At the time of writing, 10 of ‘my’ properties are showing gains, 4 are breaking even, and the remaining 15 are showing losses. My portfolio is currently showing a net decrease in value of £40.01, meaning that overall (rental income minus capital value decrease) I am up by £128.52. That’s still a decent return on my £1,000 and does illustrate the value of P2P property investments for diversifying your portfolio. And it doesn’t hurt that with Assetz Exchange most projects are socially beneficial as well.
The overall fall in capital value of my AE investments is obviously a little disappointing. But it’s important to remember that until/unless I choose to sell the investments in question, it is largely theoretical, based on the most recent price at which shares in the property concerned have changed hands. The rental income, on the other hand, is real money (which in my case I’ve reinvested in other AE projects to further diversify my portfolio).
To control risk with all my property crowdfunding investments nowadays, I invest relatively modest amounts in individual projects. This is a particular attraction of AE as far as i am concerned (especially now that Kuflink have raised their minimum investment per project to £500). You can actually invest from as little as 80p per property if you really want to proceed cautiously.
As I noted in this recent post, Assetz Exchange is particularly good if you want to compound your returns by reinvesting rental income. This effectively boosts the interest rate you are receiving. Personally, once I have accrued a minimum of £10 in rental payments, I reinvest this money in either a new AE project or one I have already invested in (thus increasing my holding). Over time, even if I don’t invest any more capital, this will ensure my investment with AE grows at an accelerating rate.
In 2022 I set up an account with investment and trading platform eToro, using their popular ‘copy trader’ facility. I chose to invest $500 (then about £412) copying an experienced eToro trader called Aukie2008 (real name Mike Moest).
In January 2023 I added to this with another $500 investment in one of their thematic portfolios, Oil Worldwide. I also invested a small amount I had left over in Tesla shares.
As you can see from the screen captures below, my original investment totalling $1,022.26 is today worth $1,238.51, an overall increase of $216.25 or 21.15%.
eToro also offer the free eToro Money app. This allows you to deposit money to your eToro account without paying any currency conversion fees, saving you up to £5 for every £1,000 you deposit. You can also use the app to withdraw funds from your eToro account instantly to your bank account. I tried this myself and was impressed with how quickly and seamlessly it worked. You can read my blog post about eToro Money here. Note that it can also serve as a cryptocurrency wallet, allowing you to send and receive crypto from any other wallet address in the world.
I had three more articles published in January on the excellent Mouthy Money website. The first is How to Save Money on Motoring. Like everything else in life the cost of motoring is going up and up, so in this article I set out a variety of ways – from ride-sharing to driving for fuel economy – you may be able to reduce it.
Also in February Mouthy Money published Are You Making the Most of Your Annual ISA Allowance?. As mentioned earlier, the 2023/24 tax year ends in just a few weeks’ time. And after that the £20,000 tax-free ISA allowance for that year will be gone forever. In this article I describe the different types of ISA – Cash ISA, Stocks and Shares ISA, Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) and Lifetime ISA (LISA) – and explain how they work and the differences between them. I also provide some tips and advice for making the most of your annual ISA allowance.
My final article published on Mouthy Money last month was Can You Save Money on Your Shopping with JamDoughnut? Regular PAS readers will know that I am a fan of the JamDoughnut app, which enables you to save up to 20% on purchases with a growing range of retailers. The article also reveals how you can get a £2 head-start by using my referral code.
As I’ve said before, Mouthy Money is a great resource for anyone interested in money-making and money-saving. I am a particular fan of my fellow MM contributor and money blogger Shoestring Jane. She writes mainly about money saving and frugal living. Her latest article Frugal Skills to Save You Money sets out a selection of life skills that can save you money (and aren’t hard to learn). You can see all of Jane’s articles for Mouthy Money via this web page.
I also published several posts on Pounds and Sense in February. I won’t bother mentioning those that are no longer relevant now, but the others are listed below.
In Get Your Will Written Free of Charge in March I revealed how you can get your will written (or updated) free of charge during Free Wills Month. This regular event supports a range of leading charities. Obviously the hope is that you will include a bequest to charity in your will, but there is absolutely no obligation to do this. Free Wills Month is now up and running. If you want to take advantage and get your will written free, I recommend acting now as there are only limited spots available.
Also in March I published a guest post titled Building Your Own Home – It’s Not Just for the Super Rich! This post was written on behalf of Suffolk Building Society, who are trying to raise awareness of the self-build option in the UK. As they say in the article, they can provide mortgages to purchase land suitable for self-build projects. SBS emphasize that this option is suitable and available for ‘ordinary people’, not just the super-rich folk you see on TV shows like Grand Designs!
I also published Saving for a Rainy Day or a Stormy Breakup? The Surprising Facts About Secret Savings Accounts. This post is based on some eye-opening research from my friends at Smart Money People, which revealed (among other things) that one in ten people in a serious relationship, including marriage, civil partnerships, or cohabitation, maintain a secret savings account. Find out more in this post.
Also, from January this year I became a regular contributor to the new Over 60s Discounts website. You can read my latest article here: Who Cares for the Carers? This is about help available for unpaid carers in the UK, both financial and practical. I highly recommend registering at Over 60s Discounts, by the way – they list a growing range of discounts and bonuses for older people, including some that are unique to O60D.
One other thing is that this month I switched my Santander 123 Lite current account to a Santander Edge current account. I will try to find time to write a separate post about this soon. But briefly, my main reason was because having an Edge current account allows you to open an Edge savings account, which offers a market-leading 7% interest rate (AER) for amounts of up to £4,000 for one year (it then falls to 4.5% AER).
The Santander Edge account has slightly higher fees (£3 a month as opposed to £2) and the cashback on offer is slightly less. However, when I crunched the numbers, the value of having an Edge savings account easily outweighed this. Though I am fortunate in that I had £4,000 I could put into it immediately from another, lower-paying savings account. If I hadn’t had that, it wouldn’t have been worth switching to the Edge account.
Finally, a quick reminder that you can also follow Pounds and Sense on Facebook or Twitter/X. Twitter/X is my number one social media platform these days and I post regularly there. I share the latest news and information on financial (and other) matters, and other things that interest, amuse or concern me. So if you aren’t following my PAS account, you are definitely missing out!
That’s all for today. As always, if you have any comments or queries, feel free to leave them below. I am always delighted to hear from PAS readers
Disclaimer: I am not a qualified financial adviser and nothing in this blog post should be construed as personal financial advice. Everyone should do their own ‘due diligence’ before investing and seek professional advice if in any doubt how best to proceed. All investing carries a risk of loss.
Note also that posts may include affiliate links. If you click through and perform a qualifying transaction, I may receive a commission for introducing you. This will not affect the product or service you receive or the terms you are offered, but it does help support me in publishing PAS and paying my bills. Thank you!
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In the world of investing, there’s a powerful force that has the potential to turn small contributions into substantial wealth over time.
This force is known as compounding, and when combined with the magic of compound interest, it becomes a powerful tool for building wealth and long-term financial success.
For savers and investors, harnessing the power of compounding can be the key to achieving your financial goals.
The Basics of Compounding
Compounding is a simple yet highly effective concept that involves earning interest on both your initial investment and the accumulated interest from previous periods. In other words, it’s the process of generating earnings on an asset’s reinvested earnings. The longer your money remains invested, the more significant the compounding effect becomes.
Let’s consider a hypothetical scenario to illustrate the point. If you invest £1,000 with an annual interest rate of 5%, you would earn £50 in the first year. In the second year, however, you wouldn’t just earn interest on your initial £1,000, you would also earn interest on the £50 you earned in the first year (at 5% that would be another £2.50). Over time, this compounding effect can result in exponential growth.
The Magic of Compound Interest
Compound interest takes compounding to the next level. Unlike simple interest, where you only earn interest on the principal amount, compound interest allows you to earn interest on both the principal and the previously earned interest. This compounding occurs at regular intervals, such as annually, quarterly, or monthly, depending on the investment vehicle. In general, the more frequently compounding occurs, the faster your money will grow.
Compound interest can make a significant difference to the growth of your wealth. Whether you’re investing in stocks, bonds, or other financial instruments, the power of compound interest allows your money to work harder for you, potentially accelerating your journey towards financial freedom.
The Importance of Time in Wealth Building
A critical factor in maximizing the benefits of compounding and compound interest is time. The earlier you start investing, the longer your money has to grow, and the more substantial the compounding effect becomes. This is sometimes referred to as the ‘time value of money’.
For example, let’s compare two imaginary investors, Jane and Bob. Jane starts investing £1,000 per year at the age of 25 and continues until she’s 35, contributing a total of £11,000. Bob, on the other hand, starts investing the same amount at 35 and continues till he’s 65, contributing a total of £31,000.
Assuming an annual return of 7%, Jane’s investments will grow significantly more than Bob’s due to the extra years of compounding, despite the fact she invested £20,000 less than Bob in total. In this scenario, Jane’s investment would grow to over £193,000 by the time she is 65, while Bob’s would reach around £148,000. The difference is striking and emphasizes the importance of an early start in wealth building.
Key Steps for Investors
Start Early: The earlier you begin investing, the more time your money has to compound and grow. Even small amounts invested regularly can lead to substantial wealth over the long term.
Reinvest Earnings: Instead of cashing out your investment earnings, reinvest them to take full advantage of compounding. Reinvesting dividends and interest compounds your returns, accelerating wealth accumulation.
Diversify Your Portfolio: A diversified investment portfolio helps spread risk and enhances long-term returns. Consider a mix of stocks, bonds and other assets to optimize your investment strategy.
Stay Disciplined: Consistency is key when it comes to compounding. Stick to your investment plan, contribute regularly, and avoid unnecessary withdrawals to maximize the long-term benefits.
Practical Examples
Although compounding is often discussed in regard to cash savings, as indicated above the principle applies very much with stock-market-type investments as well.
To take one example from my own experience, regular readers will be aware that I have some money in the P2P property investment platform Assetz Exchange [referral link]. This platform specializes in relatively low-risk social housing projects where rents are typically paid by charities and housing associations or the government (e.g. asylum seeker hostels). Here is a link to my original review of Assetz Exchange.
With all my AE investments, I receive pro rata rental distributions every month. My investment is quite modest so these aren’t huge amounts in themselves. But once they have added up to a reasonable sum (say £10 or more) I reinvest them in another AE project or increase my holding in an existing one. From the following month I then start receiving distributions from these investments as well. That means my investment and monthly returns are building steadily, month by month, through the power of compounding.
Obviously that’s just one example. But Assetz Exchange works particularly well for this, as the minimum investment per project is so low (as little as 80p in some cases). So even if you are only investing relatively small amounts like me, you can still harness the power of compounding to grow your money.
That’s just one possible approach, of course. Another would be to invest in dividend-paying shares and reinvest the dividends when they arrive in more such shares. This approach to investment was discussed a while ago on PAS in a guest post by Lewys Lew.
Whatever your chosen investment vehicle, reinvesting your interest, income or dividends will help you grow it faster using the power of compounding.
Final Thoughts
As I hope I’ve shown in this post, the power of compounding and compound interest is a wealth-building secret every investor should embrace.
By understanding these concepts and implementing a disciplined and long-term investment strategy, you can harness the power of compounding to achieve your financial goals.
Start early, stay committed, and let compounding work its magic on your road to financial success 🙂
As always, if you have any comments or questions about this post, please do leave them below.
Disclaimer: I am not a qualified financial adviser and nothing in this blog post should be construed as personal financial advice. Everyone should do their own ‘due diligence’ before investing and seek professional advice if in any doubt how best to proceed. All investing carries a risk of loss.
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For many of us 2023 was another difficult year. While the pandemic receded, we now face a cost-of-living crisis driven especially by rising gas and electricity costs.
With the festive season behind us now and the worst months of the winter still (probably) to come, many of us are understandably desperate for something to look forward to in the year ahead.
Some will be planning to go abroad, perhaps for the first time since the pandemic. But others may be deterred by the cost of going overseas and the additional hassles it may (still) entail.
So today I thought I’d share links to my blog posts about some UK holiday destinations I’ve visited in the last few years, in case you wish to consider them for short breaks – or longer – in the year ahead. Clicking on any of the links below will open my post about the place concerned in a new tab, so you won’t have to keep clicking the Back button to return here.
Llandudno in North Wales is somewhere I have been visiting regularly for over ten years now. It’s a traditional British seaside resort with a long pier, Punch and Judy show, sweeping promenade, and plenty more (you can see the stunning Victorian seafront in the cover image). It’s very popular with both older people and young families. As well as my main review, my October 2020 Coronavirus Crisis Experience Update includes details of a short break I enjoyed there just before the Welsh government imposed another lockdown 😮
Minehead is a North Somerset coastal town. I enjoyed a short break there in 2020 as well, at a time when lockdown rules were relaxed. It was my first visit to Minehead and I particularly enjoyed visiting the National Trust property Dunster Castle, which is just a couple of miles down the road. Sadly the West Somerset Railway which starts (or ends) in Minehead was closed due to the pandemic when I went, but I’d love to go back for a trip on this heritage steam railway sometime in the future.
Aberystwyth is in mid-Wales on the Cardigan Bay coast. I have visited it three times now, the first two staying at the Marine Hotel and the most recent at a self-catering apartment called Sea Brin. Aberystwyth is quieter and less commercialized than Llandudno (mentioned above), and the fact it’s a university town means it has quite a cosmopolitan feeling. It’s a good place to chill out, but there are plenty of interesting things to see and do as well.
I visited Aberdovey for the first time in April 2023. It’s a small town on the mid-Wales coast. It’s about ten miles north of Aberystwyth and five miles south of Tywyn, the home of the Talyllyn Railway (see below). It’s a charming, laid-back place, perfect for a relaxing short break. It has a beautiful beach (with watersports for those who want them) and some great cafes and restaurants. I wouldn’t go there for the night-life, though – even the chip shop closes at 8 pm!
I had a particular reason to visit Hewenden MIll Cottages, as my sister Liz and her family live just a couple of miles down the road in Wilsden. Even if I didn’t have family connections, though, I would definitely recommend them for a short break. The accommodation consists of a converted mill and a number of former workers’ cottages, all in a beautiful woodland setting. The apartments and cottages are spacious and well equipped. From here you can visit Haworth – home of the Bronte sisters – and the Victorian model village of Saltaire. The area is also great for walking and cycling.
I went back to Hewenden Mill in October 2021 for a family reunion. I stayed in a cottage on the main site (picture below). I went for a long weekend but ended up staying almost a week. This was from necessity rather than choice, as the petrol crisis struck and I was unable to buy fuel to get home. The management at Hewenden were wonderful, though, and said I could stay on as long as I needed for no further charge. I therefore recommend them even more highly now!
The Aberdunant Hall Holiday Park and Hotel (to give it its full name) is about four miles from the North Wales coastal town of Porthmadog You can stay in the hotel itself (which is quite compact) or in accommodation around the park. I stayed in what they call a Forest Pod, which is roughly the equivalent of half a caravan. It was okay for a short break but if you went as a couple the cramped conditions could put a strain on your relationship! If I went again I would book a room in the hotel or maybe one of the Woodland Escape Suites in the park. I still enjoyed my stay there, and found the location convenient for visiting a range of places including Portmeirion (where the sixties TV series The Prisoner was filmed) and the Ffestiniog Railway, which runs from Porthmadog to Baenau Ffestiniog. It’s also on the edge of Snowdonia, with lots of opportunities for walking and mountain climbing.
Lake Vyrnwy is a few miles over the border from Shropshire into Wales. I went there in 2019 after watching a TV show about the history of this artificial lake, which was originally created to provide a water supply for the people of Liverpool in the 19th century (it’s now naturalised and if you weren’t aware of its history you wouldn’t know it was man-made). I stayed at the Lake Vyrnwy Hotel and Spa, which is near the dam at the western end of the lake. This was originally built to accommodate senior managers and engineers on the construction project, though it has of course been extended and modernised many times since. If you want to visit Lake Vyrnwy, it’s the best (possibly the only) option. I happened to choose a bitterly cold weekend just before Easter for my visit, which spoiled it a bit. Still, I enjoyed the beautiful scenery and some great walks. It’s probably not a place to take children, however, as there might not be enough for them to do.
The Talyllyn Railway (also mentioned under Aberdovey) is a heritage steam railway in Wales. It starts in the town of Tywyn in mid-Wales, so in October 2018 I booked a short break there. To be honest there isn’t a great deal else to do in Tywyn, but it makes a good base for a day on the railway. And the railway itself takes you through some stunningly beautiful countryside. If you buy one of their very reasonably priced Day Rover tickets, you can get on and off at any station along the route. I highly recommend an hour or two at Dolgoch, which has some great walks and lovely waterfalls.
Warner Leisure Hotels have 16 country and coastal resort hotels across England and Wales. They have a strict adults-only policy, and appeal mainly to an older clientele (based on my experience, the average age is around seventy). As well as accommodation they offer a variety of leisure activities, including day trips, quizzes, guided walks, archery and bowls, social dancing, swimming, and so on. Most of these activities are included in the price, as is the evening entertainment. I have stayed at Bodelwyddan Castle in North Wales and Alvaston Hall in Cheshire. Some aspects I liked, others I wasn’t so keen on, as you can read in my review. You can also see their latest offers by clicking on the banner ad below [affiliate].
About four years ago I took a short break in the English Lake District. I stayed at the Waterhead Hotel, just south of Ambleside, at the north end of Lake Windermere (England’s largest lake). The hotel is located literally a few yards from the lake (hence the name, of course). If you haven’t visited the Lake District before, the area should definitely be on your ‘To Do’ list. There are many miles of beautiful countryside to explore, along with attractions such as Beatrix Potter’s house and Wray Castle. And, of course, you must buy a day ticket for the Windermere lake steamers. You can travel the length of the lake in style on these vessels, while sipping a hot chocolate (or something stronger) and listening to commentary on the scenery passing alongside. Highly recommended 🙂
I visited Lanbedrog for the first time in July 2021. It’s a village on the Llyn (or Lleyn) Peninsula in NW Wales. I stayed at an Airbnb property, the first time I had done this (Llanbedrog doesn’t have any hotels as far as I know). It’s by the coast, roughly half way between Pwllheli (famed for its Butlins camp, now run by Haven Holidays) and trendy Abersoch. It has a beautiful sandy beach which would be perfect for families with young children (or grandchildren). I very much enjoyed my three-night stay and found it a perfect place to relax and chill out after months of lockdown. The National Trust mansion (and garden) Plas yn Rhiw is about seven miles away.
I stayed in Criccieth in North Wales for the first time in June 2022, although I have visited the town in the past. It is a lovely place to relax and chill out. It has excellent road and rail connections, and there are also some high-quality tourist attractions nearby, including Portmeirion and the Ffestiniog Railway. Criccieth itself is best known for its castle which dominates the town. Although it’s a ruin, many of the walls are still standing and you can enjoy some amazing views across the bay, as far as Harlech Castle and beyond.
I visited Lavenham in Suffolk for the first time in August 2022. It is said to be England’s best-preserved medieval town, with over 300 listed, timber-framed houses. There are various historic buildings such as the Guildhall and Little Hall you can look around. Lavenham also boasts a variety of highly rated pubs and restaurants, and some lovely tea rooms and coffee houses as well! 🍮
Barmouth is a traditional Welsh seaside resort about ten miles south of Harlech. I visited in September 2022, staying at an elegant Victorian Gothic hotel called Tyr Graig Castle. Barmouth has a clean, attractive promenade and beautiful sandy beach which goes out a long way. There is plenty to do for families, including a funfair and amusement arcades. There are various restaurants and fast food outlets along the seafront. There is also a railway station with regular trains to Pwllheli in one direction and Aberystwyth and beyond in the other. Nearby attractions include Harlech Castle, Portmeirion and the Fairbourne miniature steam railway 🚂
I visited the historic city of Bath in June 2023. There is lots to see and do, although top of many people’s lists will be the stunning Roman Baths. Bath Abbey is well worth a look too, and you can admire the beautiful Georgian architecture around the city for free! Read my top tips for anyone visiting Bath in this post, including the excellent self-catering accommodation I stayed at.
Other Resources
Here are links to a few other blog posts that may be of interest if you are planning a UK holiday this year…
In recent years Airbnb has become increasingly popular for self-catering holidays. You can book anything from a spare room in someone’s home to a whole house or apartment. My recent short breaks in Lavenham and Llanbedrog (see list above) were in Airbnb properties. You can read all about the booking process in my post.
Finding a cashpoint in an unfamiliar town (or village) can be challenging, so you might find this free app a useful resource to download. It has helped me avoid embarrassment on several occasions.
If your thoughts are turning further afield, you may be considering a cruise holiday as an option. Even if you can’t go abroad, I can testify from personal experience that a cruise of the British Isles (like these, perhaps) can be very enjoyable and enlightening. My blog post sets out a range of tips and advice that will be particularly relevant for first-time and solo cruisers.
Finally, coach holidays are another very popular option among older people especially. I don’t have much experience of this myself, but my friends at Over 60s Discounts have a great article about coach holidays for over-60s in the UK. This includes a list of popular UK destinations and details of several companies offering low-cost coach holidays.
Closing Thoughts
I hope you have enjoyed reading this post and it has given you a few ideas for UK vacations (I refuse to call them ‘staycations’, as in my view that means staying at home for a holiday, and we’ve all had enough of that!).
Obviously I am a 60-something male and nowadays usually travel on my own. So if your circumstances are different from mine, I understand that some of the destinations mentioned above might not hold as much appeal. In addition, I live in Staffordshire, so the places I go are all reasonably accessible from there.
Finally – as I noticed when reading back my list – I do have a bit of a penchant for places with heritage steam railways nearby, so please bear that in mind as well 😀
Of course, I’d love to hear your views about any of the destinations mentioned, or any other places in the UK you would recommend for a short break or longer holiday. Please leave any comments or questions below as usual.
Note: This is a fully revised update of a post originally published in February 2021.
In my post today I’m focusing on the trading and investment platform eToro. I originally reviewed eToro in this post.
eToro is a global fintech company with its HQ in Israel. The company has registered offices in Cyprus, the UK, the US and Australia. It is a hugely popular platform with 25 million customers from over 140 countries across the world. They offer a range of share trading and investment services.
eToro is regulated and authorised in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). That means if eToro were to go bust any cash deposits with them up to £85,000 would be protected. Of course, the FSCS doesn’t protect you if you lose money simply due to your investments performing poorly.
What is Copy Trading?
Copy trading is a very popular feature of eToro. As mentioned, it allows you to automatically copy the trades of established eToro investors and benefit from the profits they (hopefully) make.
eToro has hundreds, probably thousands, of approved ‘popular investors’ whose trades you can copy automatically on the platform. They each have a profile page where you can find out more about them and their investment strategy.
On a trader’s profile page you can see various stats about them, including how many copiers they have and how many people are following them. You can also check their profits over various timeframes (though of course this is no guarantee of how successful they will be in the future).
eToro operates in US Dollars, though that isn’t an issue for UK investors (see tips, below). There’s a minimum investment of $200 (around £165) for copy trading. However, many approved traders recommend a higher minimum than this. That’s because, when you sign up to copy a trader, eToro automatically duplicates all of that person’s trades in proportion to the size of your investment.
eToro has a minimum investment size of $1 and if a trade would work out less than that pro rata it won’t be executed. It follows that traders whose strategies typically involve placing large numbers of relatively small trades generally recommend a higher minimum starting investment.
One of the biggest attractions of copy trading is that no charges are payable. The traders in question receive commission from eToro for the business they bring in for the company. So in effect you are getting privileged access to the skills and expertise of these people at no cost to yourself.
You are allowed to copy up to 100 different popular investors, though you can of course start with just one.
How to Copy a Trader
Before you can start copy trading, you will need to register for an account with eToro and deposit some funds with them. I talked about this in my original eToro review.
Once you have done this, you can check out popular investors on the platform by clicking on Discover in the left-hand menu of your dashboard when logged on, then clicking on CopyTrader near the top.
A new page will open showing the most popular copy traders and also those whose copier numbers are currently growing the fastest (probably due to good recent performance). Here’s a screen capture showing part of this page at the time of writing:
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You can also use the search facility to search for popular investors according to where they are based, what they invest in, and how much profit they have made within a certain period.
Once you’ve found an investor you want to copy, click on the green ‘Copy’ button on their profile page. A pop-up box such as the one below will then appear. Enter the total amount you want to invest at the top.
You also have to choose whether you want to copy all existing open positions as well as new ones. ‘Copy Open Trades’ is the default, and if you want to do this you should leave the box in question ticked. If you uncheck the box, only new trades opened after you start investing will be copied.
One drawback with copying all open positions is that you’ll be investing in these trades at the current price, whatever it is, instead of the price when the trader concerned opened their position. If the price has gone up since then, the profit potential may be less. On the other hand, if you opt only to copy new trades, it may be some time before your money is fully invested. There are pros and cons either way, but ultimately the longer you stay invested, the less difference this decision is likely to make.
Another choice to make here concerns the CopyTrader Stop Loss (CSL). If your copy value falls by that amount, the CSL will automatically terminate the copy relationship and return the remaining money to your eToro balance. You can set this figure anywhere between 5% and 95%. My advice is not to set it too high, as even a brief ‘wobble’ will then trigger the stop loss and crystallize your losses (see tips, below).
If any of the above sounds at all daunting, note that everyone on eToro also gets a $100,000 virtual portfolio to practise with. You can copy trade using this virtual money to see how the process works and what returns you make.
My Experience of Copy Trading
In June 2022 I invested $500 (then about £412) copying a Netherlands-based eToro trader called Aukie2008 (real name Mike Moest). I chose him for various reasons, including his eToro profit record and the number of followers he had already.
On his profile page he came across as a likeable, straight-talking individual, as well as being an experienced and knowledgeable trader. He posted regular updates on his strategies and on investing generally. I also liked the fact that he always took the trouble to answer questions posted by his followers. His recommended minimum starting investment was $500.
Unsurprisingly in these volatile times, my investment has been up and down, but it is currently (after 18 months) about $125 (25%) in profit. All things considered I am very happy with that.
In due course I may top up my copy trading investment with Aukie2008. I may also diversify my investments, either by following another approved trader or perhaps via another themed smart portfolio. As regular PAS readers will know, a few months ago I invested $500 in the Oil Worldwide smart portfolio. As the screen capture below shows, this has done okay, though not as well as my copy trading investment. It’s still early days, though.
Top Tips for Copy Traders
Here are some top tips to help you make the most of the copy trading facility on eToro. These are based partly on my own experiences, but also on other comments and advice I have seen.
As mentioned above, check the minimum recommended investment for any trader you are thinking of following and be sure to invest this amount of money or more.
Note also the risk score assigned by eToro. Each approved trader is allocated a score between 1 and 10, with 1 representing very low risk and 10 the highest. Scores are based on the number, size and type of trading activities they engage in. If you are just starting out you might prefer to begin with someone relatively low risk (say 5 or lower) and work up from there as you gain experience on the platform.
Other things being equal, when following a trader I recommend choosing ‘Copy Open Trades’. This will ensure all your money is put to work immediately. As mentioned above, it does mean some positions may not have the same profit potential as when they were opened, but the longer you remain invested, the less this will matter overall.
Also, as mentioned earlier, don’t set your CSL too high. Doing so will mean even a slight wobble may trigger your stop loss and crystallize your losses. Personally I wouldn’t set this figure any higher than 70%, but it’s your decision, of course, based on your tolerance for risk.
To keep currency conversion costs to a minimum, I strongly recommend opening a separate eToro Money account. This will allow you to deposit instantly to your eToro account without paying currency conversion fees or charges.
Remember one key principle of successful investing is diversification. You should therefore consider copying a number of traders with different investment strategies rather than just one. In addition, eToro offers a range of other investment opportunities as well, including individual company shares and themed portfolios.
Even though you’re following an approved trader, you should still monitor his/her results carefully and be prepared to switch if it seems they are losing their touch.
I recommend reading all the updates on the trader’s profile page too. Not only do these provide valuable background about their strategies, you can also learn a lot about the thought processes of professional traders.
Finally, don’t forget that everyone on eToro also gets a $100,000 virtual portfolio to practise with. You can use this to try out copy trading or any other type of investment without risking any real money.
Closing Thoughts
If you’re looking for an interesting (and somewhat unusual) investment opportunity, copy trading on eToro is certainly worth considering.
In effect, your portfolio is managed on your behalf by an experienced professional trader, whose expertise you get access to at no direct cost to yourself. There are plenty of approved traders to choose from, and you can study their past performance and personal updates via their profile pages before picking one (or more) to follow.
As always, if you have any questions or comments about this article, please do post them below.
Disclaimer: I am not a qualified financial adviser and nothing in this blog post should be construed as personal financial advice. Everyone should do their own ‘due diligence’ before investing and seek professional advice if in any doubt how best to proceed. All investing carries a risk of loss.
Note also that this post includes affiliate links. If you click through and perform a qualifying transaction, I may receive a commission for introducing you. This will not affect the product or service you receive or the terms you are offered.
This is a fully updated version of my original (2022) blog post about copy trading on eToro.
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I’ll begin as usual with my Nutmeg Stocks and Shares ISA. This is the largest investment I hold other than my Bestinvest SIPP (personal pension).
As the screenshot below for the year to date shows, my main Nutmeg portfolio is currently valued at £22,292. Last month it stood at £21,282 so that is an increase of £1,010.
Apart from my main portfolio, I also have a second, smaller pot using Nutmeg’s Smart Alpha option. This is now worth £3,501 compared with £3,351 a month ago, a rise of £150. Here is a screen capture showing performance since the start of this year.
Finally, at the start of December I invested £500 in one of Nutmeg’s new thematic portfolios (discussed further below). This has now grown to £523, an increase of £23 or 4.6%. That would equate to an annual interest rate of just over 55%. Naturally I don’t expect that to happen in reality!
December was obviously another very good month for my Nutmeg investments. Excluding my new thematic portfolio, their total net value rose by £1,160 or 4.71% month on month. That represents an increase of £2,872 (12.53%) since 1st January 2023. If you add in the increase in value of my thematic portfolio as well (£23), that gives a total increase of £2,895 since the start of the year.
This is obviously a much more positive outcome than appeared likely just a few months ago. It clearly demonstrates the importance of taking a long-time view where investing is concerned and not panicking when the inevitable downturns occur.
As regards thematic portfolios, I discuss these in more detail in my full Nutmeg review. Personally I opted for Resource Transformation. Nutmeg’s description of this portfolio is copied below:
As the global population has risen, so has our demand for energy and resources. In recent years, the way we use resources has also shifted to meet changing consumer demands and national policy shifts towards a lower carbon future.
This theme aims to provide exposure to companies that will participate in these changes and service our energy and material needs in the future. This includes the next generation of energy production, which includes renewables and non-renewables, the mining of metals and materials needed for mass-market electrification, and the treatment and transportation of water.
This appealed to me for various reasons. Clearly energy production will be crucial in the coming decades as the world attempts to transition away from fossil fuels. But I also like the fact that the portfolio includes both renewable and non-renewable energy providers. Realistically we are still going to require fossil fuels for many years, not least to keep the lights on when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine.
The Resource Transformation portfolio offers plenty of diversification, with all investments in the form of ETFs (exchange traded funds). In addition, only a maximum of 20% of your investment will be in ETFs specific to the theme, with the other 80% more broadly diversified. Actual percentages depend on the risk level you choose. I went for the highest (10/10), so 20% of my investment will be in RT-themed ETFs. But if I’d opted for a lower risk level the proportion of my investment dedicated specifically to the theme would have been less (down to 10% for the lowest risk level, which is 5 for thematic portfolios).
If you are new to thematic investing and want to dip a toe in the water, it does seem to me that Nutmeg thematic investments could be a good, relatively low risk way of doing so, with plenty of diversification. Though of course there are never any guarantees where investing is concerned and you can always lose money when doing this.
You can read my full Nutmeg review here (including a special offer at the end for PAS readers). If you are looking for a home for your annual ISA allowance, based on my overall experience over the last seven years, they are certainly worth considering. They offer self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs), Lifetime ISAs and Junior ISAs as well.
I also have investments with the property crowdlending platform Kuflink. They continue to do well, with new projects launching every week. I currently have around £1,600 invested with them in 10 different projects paying interest rates averaging around 7%. I also have around £300 in my Kuflink cash account, after a couple of other loans were paid off with interest. I will probably withdraw this to help pay for a holiday in 2024 🙂
To date I have never lost any money with Kuflink, though some loan terms have been extended once or twice. On the plus side, when this happens additional interest is paid for the period in question.
There is now an initial minimum investment of £1,000 and a minimum investment per project of £500. Kuflink say they are doing this to streamline their operation and minimize costs. I can understand that, though it does mean that the option to test the water with a small first investment has been removed. It also makes it harder for small investors (like myself) to build a well-diversified portfolio on a limited budget.
One possible way around this is to invest using Kuflink’s Auto/IFISA facility. Your money here is automatically invested across a basket of loans over a period from one to three years. Interest rates currently range from 7% for one year to 9.83% gross for a three-year term.
You can invest tax-free in a Kuflink Auto IFISA. Or if you have already used your annual iFISA allowance elsewhere, you can invest via a taxable Auto account. You can read my full Kuflink review here if you wish.
Moving on, my Assetz Exchange investments continue to generate steady returns. Regular readers will know that this is a P2P property investment platform focusing on lower-risk properties (e.g. sheltered housing). I put an initial £100 into this in mid-February 2021 and another £400 in April. In June 2021 I added another £500, bringing my total investment up to £1,000.
Since I opened my account, my AE portfolio has generated a respectable £155.08 in revenue from rental income. As I said in last month’s update, capital growth has slowed, though, in line with UK property values generally.
At the time of writing, 7 of ‘my’ properties are showing gains, 1 is breaking even, and the remaining 19 are showing losses. My portfolio is currently showing a net decrease in value of £42.61, meaning that overall (rental income minus capital value decrease) I am up by £112.47. That’s still a decent return on my £1,000 and does illustrate the value of P2P property investments for diversifying your portfolio. And it doesn’t hurt that with Assetz Exchange most projects are socially beneficial as well.
As mentioned last time, I recently reinvested £40 of my rental income from Assetz Exchange in a house for asylum seekers in Sunderland. This property is being managed by Mears on behalf of the Home Office, so I think the chances of them going into default are pretty remote! My £40 investment in this property has already increased in value by 54p and I have received 22p in revenue. It all helps 🙂
The overall fall in capital value of my AE investments is obviously a little disappointing. But it’s important to remember that until/unless I choose to sell the investments in question, it is largely theoretical, based on the most recent price at which shares in the property concerned have changed hands. The rental income, on the other hand, is real money (which in my case I’ve reinvested in other AE projects to further diversify my portfolio).
To control risk with all my property crowdfunding investments nowadays, I invest relatively modest amounts in individual projects. This is a particular attraction of AE as far as i am concerned (especially now that Kuflink have raised their minimum investment per project to £500). You can actually invest from as little as 80p per property if you really want to proceed cautiously.
Last year I set up an account with investment and trading platform eToro, using their popular ‘copy trader’ facility. I chose to invest $500 (then about £412) copying an experienced eToro trader called Aukie2008 (real name Mike Moest).
In January 2023 I added to this with another $500 investment in one of their thematic portfolios, Oil Worldwide. I also invested a small amount I had left over in Tesla shares.
As you can see from the screen captures below, my original investment totalling $1,022.26 is today worth $1,224.88, an overall increase of $202.62 or 19.82%. In these turbulent times I am very happy with that.
eToro also recently introduced the eToro Money app. This allows you to deposit money to your eToro account without paying any currency conversion fees, saving you up to £5 for every £1,000 you deposit. You can also use the app to withdraw funds from your eToro account instantly to your bank account. I tried this myself and was impressed with how quickly and seamlessly it worked. You can read my blog post about eToro Money here.
I had two more articles published in December on the excellent Mouthy Money website. The first is How to Make Money Teaching English Online. As I say in the article, this can be an excellent home-based money-making opportunity which offers great personal satisfaction as well. Prior teaching experience isn’t necessarily required, though if you have some it will certainly help.
Also in December Mouthy Money published my Christmas Gift Guide for Older People. Obviously Christmas has now passed. But if you are looking for gift ideas for older friends and relatives (maybe for birthdays or anniversaries) you may still find this a good source of inspiration 🙂
As I’ve said before, Mouthy Money is a great resource for anyone interested in money-making and money-saving. I particularly like the ‘Deals of the Week’ feature compiled by Jordon Cox (‘Britain’s Coupon Kid’) which lists all the best current money-saving offers for savvy shoppers. Check out the latest edition here.
Mouthy Money are also currently running a competition to win one of five free copies of Freedom: Earn It, Keep It, Grow It by Robert Gardner (see Amazon image link below). Visit this page of the Mouthy Money website for further info and to enter.
I also published several posts on Pounds and Sense in December. I won’t bother mentioning those that are out of date now, but the others are listed below.
I guess My Top 20 Posts of 2023 is self-explanatory. The posts are chosen based on comments, page-views and social media shares. They are in no particular order and I excluded any that were no longer relevant. I hope you may enjoy revisiting these posts, or seeing them for the first time if you are new to PAS.
On other matters, the opportunity to get a free share worth up to £100 with Trading 212 has reopened. If you haven’t done this before, you can get a free share worth up to £100. You just have to sign up on the website and deposit a minimum of £1 into your account. This offer is running till 27 January 2024. See Get a Free Share Worth up to £100 with Trading 212 for more info.
You can also still Get a Free ETF Share Worth up to £200 with Wealthyhood. This DIY wealth-building app is aimed especially at people new to stock market investing. The minimum investment to qualify for the free share offer is £50 – but on the plus side, they now guarantee your free ETF share will be worth at least £10.
I wanted to mention as well that I am still using and getting good results from the cashback app JamDoughnut. You can see my review of JamDoughnut here, along with a referral code that will get you a £2 bonus when you sign up. To be honest I’m a bit surprised more PAS readers haven’t taken advantage of this opportunity. Not only can you get discounts of up to 20% using the app, they also hold regular contests and promotions offering additional bonuses and discounts.
Finally, a quick reminder that you can also follow Pounds and Sense on Facebook or Twitter/X. Twitter/X is my number one social media platform these days and I post regularly there. I share the latest news and information on financial (and other) matters, and other things that interest, amuse or concern me. So if you aren’t following my PAS account, you are definitely missing out!
That’s all for today, so I will close by wishing you a very happy and prosperous new year. As always, if you have any comments or queries, feel free to leave them below. I am always delighted to hear from PAS readers
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I also published several posts on 
