A quickie today spotlighting a site that I know will be of interest to many readers of this blog. Coincidentally, it’s run by a near-neighbour of mine in south Staffordshire.
As the name suggests, Over 60s Discounts lists discounts, deals, vouchers and concessions for people in the UK aged 60 and over. Many of these are exclusive to Over 60s Discounts.
Over 60s Discounts operates on a membership basis, but the good news is that it is free to join. Once you are registered, you will be able to browse the latest discount offers on the website and also have them sent to you by email. If you see an offer you like, all you have to do is click ‘Get Code’. You will then be provided with a voucher code to use at checkout on the brand’s website. Printable vouchers and e-vouchers, which you can use in-store, are also provided.
There are some great deals on offer, as you can see from the sample selection below.
If you’re 60 or over, I highly recommend checking out Over 60s Discounts. It’s a new website and obviously still evolving, but already it offers an impressive range of deals, discounts and concessions. If you’re looking to make your money go a little further in the current cost-of-living crisis, it will definitely help you achieve this.
As always, if you have any comments or questions about this post, please do post them below.
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I’ll start 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 £20,945. Last month it stood at £21,188 so that is a fall of £243.
Apart from my main portfolio, I also have a second, smaller pot using Nutmeg’s Smart Alpha option. This is now worth £3,295 compared with £3,325 a month ago, a fall of £30. Here is a screen capture showing performance since the start of this year.
The net value of all my Nutmeg investments has fallen this month by £273 or 1.11% month on month. That’s obviously a bit disappointing, but both pots are still comfortably up on where they were at the start of the year. Their total value has risen by £1,320 (5.76%) since 1st January 2023.
Of course, all investing is (or should be) a long-term endeavour. Over a period of years stock market investments such as those used by Nutmeg typically produce better returns than cash accounts, often by substantial margins. But there are never any guarantees, and in in the short to medium term at least, losses are always possible.
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) 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 £2,000 invested with them in 15 different projects paying interest rates typically around 7%. I also have just over £100 in my cash account after another loan was recently repaid.
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.
As mentioned last time, Kuflink recently changed their terms and conditions. As from Monday 21st August there is 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 the option to ‘test the water’ with a small first investment has been removed. It will also make it harder for small investors (like myself) to build a well-diversified portfolio on a limited budget. As mentioned, my current portfolio of £2,145 comprises 17 different investments ranging from £50 to £200. If I was starting out again now, that same amount of money would only stretch to four deals!
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. The rates on offer from August 1 2023 are shown in the graphic below.
As you may gather, 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 £141.06 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, 2 are breaking even, and the remaining 16 are showing losses. My portfolio is currently showing a net decrease in value of £31.41, meaning that overall (rental income minus capital value decrease) I am up by £109.65. 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.
Obviously the fall in capital value of my AE investments is 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 have chosen to reinvest 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.
My original investment totalling $1,022.26 is today worth $1,193.36, an overall increase of $171.10 or 16.73%. in these turbulent times I am quite happy with that.
I thought it might also be interesting to update you on how my eToro virtual portfolio is faring (I wrote about my virtual portfolio a few weeks ago in this blog post). Overall, this is down by $2558 in value, largely due to some big losses experimenting with commodity trading (I decided this wasn’t for me). It is very interesting to see which investments in my virtual portfolio have been doing well and which poorly, though.
I can’t get all of the investments in this port into a single screen capture, but here are the top performers…
And here are the worst-performing ones…
As you can see, the best performing investment in my virtual portfolio is Oil Worldwide. This continues to forge ahead since it was rebalanced in July by eToro. The second best is my copy trading portfolio with Aukie2008. I am obviously glad I have both of these in my real money portfolio as well!
By contrast, the two renewables smart portfolios I hold, Golden Energy and Renewable Energy, are currently showing substantial (thankfully virtual) losses.
Renewable Energy has actually lost over 35% in value since I notionally invested in it. This certainly does seem to confirm that investing in renewables is risky and by no means a guaranteed route to profit, despite all the green energy hype at the moment. I am tempted to suggest that Just Buy Oil might be a better strategy 😉
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 September on the excellent Mouthy Money website. The first was Will a Heat Pump Save You Money? The government is pushing heat pumps hard as a method for achieving its Net Zero target, but do the sums add up for hard-pressed consumers? In this article I took a ‘deep dive’ into the pros and cons of heat pumps and set out my personal views on whether or not they represent good value for money.
I also wrote Get Your Will Written Free of Charge in October. For those who may not know, October is Free Wills Month, when some solicitors in England and Scotland offer members of the public aged 55 and over the chance to have their wills written or updated free of charge. In my article I explain how the scheme works, and also explain why I believe everyone should have their will drawn up by a qualified solicitor.
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
I also published two new posts on Pounds and Sense in September (I was away quite a lot last month, which didn’t leave much time for blogging!).
The first was a revised and updated guest post by my friend and near-neighbour Sally Jenkins titled Make Money From Public Speaking.
Sally is a successful author and makes a steady sideline income speaking about writing and related subjects (including a little while ago to my local U3A group!). I added a few thoughts of my own at the end of the article. There is definitely money to be made in this field; so if it’s something that might appeal to you, do check it out.
My other post last month was a review of a new money-saving shopping app called JamDoughnut. This app lets you earn cashback on gift vouchers from over 150 shops and restaurants, for which you get up to 20% cashback. You can then use the gift vouchers as money at the retailer concerned and pocket the cashback. Read Save Money on Your Shopping With JamDoughnut for more info (and a special bonus offer!).
The opportunity to get a free share worth up to £100 by signing up Trading 212 is now closed (for the time being anyway). I hope you took advantage if eligible and your free share is doing well. The opportunity to Get a Free ETF Share Worth up to £200 with Wealthyhood is still open. 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 was raised recently from £20 to £50 – but on the plus side, they now guarantee that your free ETF share will be worth at least £10.
Finally, a quick reminder that you can also follow Pounds and Sense on Facebook or Twitter (or X as we have to learn to call it now). 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!
If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:
Today I’m reviewing an app called JamDoughnut which can help you save money on your shopping.
Table of Contents
What is JamDoughnut?
JamDoughnut is an instant cashback app that allows users to earn cashback when they spend money with over 150 leading supermarkets, restaurants and shops (see sample screenshot below).
Rather than cashback on specific purchases (as with sites like Quidco), you get cashback of up to 20% when you purchase gift cards from retailers on the app. These gift cards can then be used just like money, both online and in-store (in most cases).
How Does It Work?
The first step is to download the JamDoughnut app to your mobile phone from Google Play for Android or the Apple iStore. Open the app and follow the instructions to create an account (don’t forget to enter my referral code GBGN to get a 200 points [£2] bonus – see below). This should only take a couple of minutes.
Then check the list of retailers on the app and find one you shop with regularly. Most of the big supermarkets (with the exception of Waitrose) are included, for example.
You can even get cashback on Amazon gift cards, though admittedly only at a rate of 1% at the time of writing.
Once you have found a suitable retailer, buy a gift card for that retailer using the app. This is straightforward and you can get cards of up to £100 in value.
Once your gift card purchase has gone through, cashback will be credited to your account in the form of points (100 points = £1). In my experience this normally happens instantly. Once you have earned 1000 points, representing £10 cashback, you can withdraw the money to your bank account.
Note that there is a standard 30p transaction fee when making a withdrawal via bank transfer, and more than that if you use Apple Pay or Google Pay (so I don’t recommend doing that). So it may be best to let cashback build up a bit before withdrawing, to reduce the impact of the transaction fee. Alternatively you can withdraw in the form of a gift voucher (e.g. an Amazon voucher). In that case no charges are payable and you also get bonus points added to your account 🙂
In most cases, as mentioned, you can use gift cards either online or in-store. In the latter case, you can show/scan the code on your mobile phone at the checkout, or you can take a printed version with you and use that.
You can use gift cards for full or part payment. If you don’t use the whole amount on the gift card in one go, you can use what remains towards another purchase at a later date.
Other Benefits
Another attraction of JamDoughnut is that you can use the app in addition to your existing cards and loyalty programme points, allowing you to earn and/or save even more.
In addition, JamDoughnut offers a range of other benefits. These include a daily £100 (10 x £10) giveaway, free competitions, ‘Jammy Deals’, double discounts, and more. These are all listed on the ‘Daily Doughnut’ page of the app (see below).
Finally, if you’re so inclined, you can invite friends and relatives to join JamDoughnut using the ‘refer-a-friend’ scheme. If someone signs up using your referral code (see below), not only will they get an extra 200 points (worth £2) when they buy their first gift card, you will receive a bonus as well when they cash out for the first time (400 points, equivalent to £4).
Special Bonus Offer
Speaking of which, if you download the JamDoughnut app via this blog post and enter my referral code GBGN when requested, then (as mentioned above) you will get an extra 200 points (£2) when you use the app to buy a gift card for the first time – bringing.you that much closer to receiving your first £10+ cashback payment!
Closing Thoughts
In summary, I think JamDoughnut is a great little app and I have been pleased to add it to my armoury of money-saving tools and resources.
I do most of my grocery shopping at my local Morrisons, which is currently offering 4% cashback on JD gift card purchases – so in effect I am getting a 4% discount on all my shopping there.
And I am still getting all the benefits of my Morrisons Card too, including special discounts and regular £5 vouchers. In these challenging times, this really does help my money go a little bit further 🙂
As always, if you have any comments or questions about this JamDoughnut review, please do leave them below.
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Public speaking can be a good paying sideline for retired and semi-retired people. As well as the financial benefits, it can offer an enjoyable opportunity to talk about your hobbies and interests, or your current or former career. I’ve also known people who have done public speaking as a method of raising money for charities or other causes close to their heart. Although the pandemic and lockdowns temporarily put paid to most public speaking work, as life has returned to normal the opportunities are definitely out there again.
Over to Sally then…
Wouldn’t it be great to make extra money by following your passion? A hobby that pays makes ‘working’ a pleasure. Unfortunately, things like stamp-collecting, rambling and local history rarely turn a profit, but there is a way to make them pay: share your specialist knowledge with others.
Community organisations such as the WI, Probus and independent Leisure and Learning clubs struggle to find speakers for their meetings. I speak about novel-writing at many such groups and am always asked if I know of any other speakers open for bookings. These are paid gigs. How much you charge, how far you travel and what type of bookings you take are all up to you. Depending on the policy of the organisation, these events may also give you the opportunity to sell produce from your hobby. For example, I sell copies of my books, but a creator of conserves might sell jam and marmalade or an artist, his paintings.
Below are some tips for starting a speaking career:
Collate enough material for a 45-minute talk and sort it into a logical sequence. Include stories that will capture the listener rather than a lot of heavy facts.
Refine the material into minimal bullet-pointed notes. It’s important to talk freely around each bullet point rather than read from a manuscript. Reading makes eye contact with the audience difficult and hand gestures to illustrate your words are almost impossible.
Think about any visual aids; these add variety and colour to a talk. When I talk about thriller-writing I produce some ‘murder weapons’ – a rolling-pin, a (blunt) knife and a packet of tablets. The conserve creator might show her jam pan and specialist thermometer. The artist might have a range of brushes to discuss.
Practise! Producing a successful talk is like an iceberg. At least 90% of the work is in the preparation beforehand. However, once you’ve perfected your performance, you can give that same talk many times to different groups.
Don’t be surprised if you are handed a microphone to use. This often happens in large halls or where several audience members are hard of hearing. Hold it at a consistent distance from your mouth and don’t turn your face away from it. Practise at home by holding a wooden spoon – this will give you an idea of what it’s like to talk with only one free hand.
Enquire at your local church hall about community groups who meet there and use speakers.
Do a couple of small bookings for free and ask for feedback from the audience. Once you’re confident, don’t make a habit of speaking for free (unless it’s a charitable cause) because that makes it harder for other speakers to ask for a fee.
Receiving a cheque at the end of a talk is good but public speaking brings other benefits, such as the opportunity to meet new people and share your knowledge. It will improve your everyday confidence as well. When you can speak in front of an audience, complaining in a shop or restaurant is less daunting, putting your point of a view in a meeting is easier and making small talk with strangers at a party is no problem.
Many thanks to Sally Jenkins (pictured) for an interesting and inspiring article. Although as I said to her, I hope she never gets stopped by the police on the way to one of her public-speaking gigs and asked why she has all those ‘murder weapons’ in her bag!
I have done a bit of speaking myself, both for work reasons (in the long-ago days when I had a proper job) and to talk about writing or blogging. I always get nervous beforehand, but once I start I normally enjoy it and get a buzz from doing it.
I would maybe add one more tip to Sally’s list and that is to compile a list of topics you can speak about (with appropriate visual aids, of course). You can then offer potential bookers a ‘menu’ they can choose from. This has the benefit that if they don’t like one idea, they may well go for another. It also means you can potentially get repeat bookings, maybe on a regular basis, speaking on a different subject each time. This certainly happens with some of the speakers who are booked by my local U3A.
As always, if you have any questions about this article, for Sally or for me, please do post them below.
This is a fully updated version of an original post from 2019.
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I’ll start 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 £21,188. Last month it stood at £21,548 so that is a fall of £360.
Apart from my main portfolio, I also have a second, smaller pot using Nutmeg’s Smart Alpha option. This is now worth £3,325 compared with £3,383 a month ago, a fall of £58. Here is a screen capture showing performance since the start of this year.
The net value of all my Nutmeg investments has fallen this month by £418 or 1.68% month on month. That’s obviously a bit disappointing, but both pots are still comfortably up on where they were at the start of the year. Their total value has risen by £1,592 (6.95%) since 1st January 2023.
Of course, all investing is (or should be) a long-term endeavour. Over a period of years stock market investments such as those used by Nutmeg typically produce better returns than cash accounts, often by substantial margins. But there are never any guarantees, and in in the short to medium term at least, losses are always possible.
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) 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 £2,145 invested with them in 17 different projects paying interest rates typically around 7%. I also have just over £100 in my cash account after another loan was repaid. I am currently considering whether to withdraw this money or (in due course) reinvest it.
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.
As mentioned last time, Kuflink recently changed their terms and conditions. As from Monday 21st August there is an initial minimum investment of £1,000 and a minimum investment per project of £500. I wondered if this would also apply to their secondary market and this does indeed seem to be the case. When I checked just now, there was only one loan on offer for under £500 (£413) and all the others were £500 or more.
Kuflink say they are doing this to streamline their operation and minimize costs. I can understand that, though it does mean the option to ‘test the water’ with a small first investment has been removed. It will also make it harder for small investors (like myself) to build a well-diversified portfolio on a limited budget. As mentioned, my current portfolio of £2,145 comprises 17 different investments ranging from £50 to £200. If I was starting out again now, that same amount of money would only stretch to four deals!
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. The rates on offer from August 1 2023 are shown in the graphic below.
As you may gather, 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 £134.95 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, 9 of ‘my’ properties are showing gains, 1 is breaking even, and the remaining 16 are showing losses. My portfolio is currently showing a net decrease in value of £28.83, meaning that overall (rental income minus capital value decrease) I am up by £106.12. 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.
Obviously the fall in capital value of my AE investments is 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 have chosen to reinvest in other AE projects to further diversify my portfolio).
Also, as I noted last time, the recent high inflation rate has actually been beneficial for Assetz Exchange investors. That is because properties on the platform generally have an annual review when rentals are increased in line with inflation. That means from the end of the financial year in April, rentals have increased in most cases by around 10%. Assetz Exchange recently published a blog post about this which is worth a read.
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 capture below, my original investment of $1,022.26 is today worth $1,198.50, an overall increase of $176.24 or 15.05%. in these turbulent times I am very happy with that.
In the last month my copy trading portfolio with Aukie2008 has fallen in value, though I am not too concerned about this as the investment is still well up overall. My Tesla shares have again done well (thank you, Elon Musk). I am also pleased that Oil Worldwide continues to forge ahead since it was rebalanced in July by eToro. Looking at my eToro virtual portfolio, I can see that Oil Worldwide is still doing much better than the two renewables smart portfolios I hold, which are currently showing substantial (thankfully virtual) losses. Make of this what you will!
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 three more articles published in August on the excellent Mouthy Money website. The first was Can You Make Money From Holiday Lets? This is a dream for many people, and there is no doubt you can make a valuable extra income this way (not to mention the opportunity to enjoy cheap holidays at the property yourself!). In my article I set out some key things you need to be aware of.
I also wrote How to Become an Amazon Vine Reviewer. This is a subject close to my heart. I’ve been an Amazon Vine reviewer for over ten years and in some ways it’s been the most profitable sideline I’ve ever had. You don’t get paid for Amazon Vine reviews, but you do get to keep the items concerned (my most valuable so far being a £1200 gaming laptop). In my article I spill the beans on how the scheme works and suggest how you might get an invitation to become a ‘Vine Voice’ yourself.
My third article was Play Your Supermarket Loyalty Cards Right. In this article I explained why stores use loyalty cards and their pros and cons for customers. I also described the leading loyalty cards in the UK (including Tesco Clubcard, Nectar, Morrisons, Boots, and so on), covering how they work in practice and how to get the most from them.
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
I also published several new posts on Pounds and Sense in August. The deadlines on some of these have now passed, so I hope you took advantage at the time! You might, however, still want to check out What is U3A and Is It For You?
U3A stands for University of the Third Age. It is a non-profit organization offering a range of leisure activities for retired and semi-retired people. I recently joined my local U3A myself, and in this post set out my experiences and impressions, for the benefit of anyone else who might be interested in joining now or in future.
In other news, the Trading 212 free share offer is back. 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 September 2023. See Get a Free Share Worth up to £100 with Trading 212 for more info.
The opportunity to Get a Free ETF Share Worth up to £200 with Wealthyhood is also still open. Wealthyhood is a DIY wealth-building app aimed especially at people new to stock market investing. As from June 2023 they changed their fee structure to make it (even) more attractive to small investors. They have increased the minimum investment to qualify for the free share offer from £20 to £50 – but on the plus side, they guarantee that your free ETF share will be worth at least £10.
Finally, a quick reminder that you can also follow Pounds and Sense on Facebook or Twitter (or X as we have to learn to call it now). 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!
As a matter of interest, I recently paid £100 for Twitter/X premium membership. Although I do like the snazzy blue tick, my main reason was to get continued access to the scheduling tool Tweetdeck (now called X-pro) which became subscriber-only last month. I was accused the other day of ‘selling out’ to Elon Musk for doing this. But personally I don’t begrudge the money, as the extra tools and features make working with Twitter much easier and more enjoyable. And if my money helps keep the platform afloat, that’s an additional benefit in my book.
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!
If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:
Yes, it’ s time for another exciting giveaway on Pounds and Sense. This one has a ‘back to school’ theme. In most parts of the UK, of course, this occurs in early September. Scottish schools generally return a little earlier, around mid-August.
Again I have clubbed together with some of my fellow UK bloggers to provide a smorgasbord of great prizes. And the best news is, it’s entirely free to enter. The giveaway is open now and will close on August 30 2023.
The prizes have been hand-picked for children and young people returning to school this autumn, so they should be ideal for your children or grandchildren. But if you want to keep any for yourself, we promise we won’t tell!
This event has (again) been organized by Rowena Becker, who blogs at My Balancing Act. No small amount of effort has been involved in arranging and co-ordinating it, so many thanks again to Rowena for her hard work and dedication.
Without further ado, then, I’ll hand you over to Rowena to introduce the giveaway…
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Back to School Giveaway
With only a couple of weeks left until the start of the new school year, some of the top UK bloggers have come together to offer one lucky winner an amazing bundle of prizes to send their kids back to school in style. This is not only a giveaway but also a great Back to School Guide to help you get ideas and inspiration for your kid’s new school year.
The Prizes
Microsoft Surface Go 2 Intel Pentium Gold from Tier1
Tier1, refurbishers of laptops, desktops and tablets and more, are the perfect solution for parents looking to equip their kids with great but affordable technology as they head back to school. Tier1 take pre-owned devices and put them through a rigorous process of testing, cleaning, and repairing to ensure they are in excellent working condition. Not only do these devices offer significant savings compared to buying brand new, but they also provide a reliable and efficient way for students to engage in online learning, complete assignments, and explore educational resources.
With Tier1, parents can find high-quality laptops and tablets that meet their children’s needs without breaking the bank, allowing them to invest in their education without compromising on affordability. We have the Microsoft Surface Go 2 Intel Pentium Gold from Tier1 for our lucky winner. Right now, Tier1 have their summer sale on, making those back to school savings even greater!
Futliit LED Backpack
Introducing the Futliit LED Backpack, the perfect accessory for those walking or cycling home after school. Safety is paramount, especially when it comes to being visible in the dark. Are you worried about your kids walking home in the dark? Don’t worry! The Futliit LED backpack is here to keep them visible to passing traffic, ensuring their safety.
Equipped with two strands of LED lights and reflective panels, the backpack guarantees maximum visibility on your journey. But that’s not all – the backpacks come loaded with features. With a spacious main compartment, a padded device sleeve, and ample storage space, your kids can keep all their school essentials secure.
Don’t miss out on this chance! Enter our giveaway for an opportunity to win the Futliit LED Backpack. Ensure your kid’s safety and embrace the #BeFutliit movement!
Premium Start-Rite School Shoes
‘Motivate‘ and ‘Encourage‘ deliver the very best protection Start-Rite has to offer, and here’s your chance to win either style of your choice! These robust shoes are packed with the best Start-Rite intelligence, from Air Rite technology to biomechanical soles, reflective tabs, toe and heel bumpers, padded ankles, dyed through leather and adjustable rip-tape fastenings.
The durable designs of these two new styles launched by Start-Rite, in collaboration with ‘The Daily Mile’, strengthen the joint ambition to support healthy development and physical activity for all school children.
‘Motivate’ – available size S10 – L4 (Standard and Wide width fitting)
‘Encourage’ – available size S9 – L2 (Standard and Wide width fitting)
Keep your kid’s art and crafts supplies organised when they go back to school with the Create-A-Space™ See-Thru Storage Caddy from Learning Resources. The set comes with 4 very handy see-through storage bins on a portable base with a carry handle. It’s the perfect caddy for creative kids, and we have one to give to our lucky winner!
SMASH Lunchbags and Water Bottles
Going back to school with SMASH means you’re going back in style! Our lucky winner can grab their kids the following lunchtime accessories:
The water bottles have an easy carry handle and a fast-flow straw sipper. The lunch bags are not only super cool and super stylish but they are also fully insulated with an anti-bacterial lining. Oh, and super easy to clean too! If you can’t wait to see if you’re a winner, these affordable lunch bags and water bottles are all available from Dunelm.
Brainstorm Toys E2001 Light Up 2 in 1 Globe Earth & Constellations, Multicolour
Help your kids learn when they go back to school with Brainstorm Toys Light Up 2 in 1 Globe of the Earth and constellations. The Earth and Constellation Globe is two globes in one with a day-time and night-time view. In the daylight, the 22.8 cm diameter globe shows political boundaries, oceans, equator, longitude and latitude lines, country names, capital cities and other major cities for each country in the world. By night the illuminated star map shows constellations with their common names. The globe is at a scale of 1:55,900,00, and it sits on a sturdy, stylish silver stand with a matching graduated meridian.
The Earth and Constellation Globe has an automatic light sensor, so when the globe is turned on and the surrounding area is dark, the globe will transform into a beautiful glowing globe showing the star constellations. It is a great learning tool for geographers and astronomers, but also a great feature for your child’s bedroom. And we have one for our lucky winner!
The Bloggers
In order to be able to bring you this incredible giveaway, some of the UK’s top bloggers got together and contributed. A massive thank you to our bloggers! The bloggers taking part are:
You can enter the Giveaway by completing as many Rafflecopter widget entry options below as you like. All entries will be collected and one winner will be randomly chosen. Good luck!
The giveaway will run from 7 pm 20th August 2023 to 11.59 am 30th August 2023.
The winners will be notified by email from rowena@mybalancingact.co.uk
The winner will have 7 days to respond after which time we reserve the right to select an alternative winner.
This prize draw is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, BlogLovin or Pinterest or any other social media platform.
Prize open to over 18s only. Age verification may be required to receive some prizes.
If any prizes are out of stock then we will do our best to find a suitable replacement but cannot guarantee it.
Anyone who unfollows before the giveaway ends or doesn’t complete the required entry action will be disqualified.
The prize is non-transferable, non-refundable and cannot be exchanged for monetary value.
We may be using a parcel service or Royal Mail for some of the prizes and their standard compensation will apply in the event of loss or damage.
Some items may be sent directly by the supplier and we do not have responsibility if these go missing and we cannot replace these.
In the unlikely event one of the companies withdraws a prize, we cannot offer an alternative.
The winner’s name will be stated on some or all of our bloggers’ websites and announced on Twitter/X and other social media channels. It will also be displayed on the Rafflecopter Entry. By entering this prize draw, you give your permission for this.
Please note the winner may have the same name as you, so if you see your name displayed, be aware that you are not the winner unless you have been notified by us. There may be some delays in receiving prizes.
Good luck, and I hope a Pounds and Sense reader wins this fabulous prize bundle!
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Today I’m spotlighting Mintos, a European crowdlending platform based in Latvia but open to people in the UK. You may have seen my earlier post on Investing Basics for Beginners, which was sponsored by MIntos.
With Mintos, your money is invested in loans to businesses and private individuals arranged by Mintos’s partner lending companies around the world. Mintos act as intermediaries between lenders and borrowers. They aim to ensure that both groups act responsibly and loans are repaid in a timely way.
Currently Mintos offer the opportunity to invest in agricultural loans, business loans, car loans, car rentals, invoice financing, mortgage loans, personal loans, pawnbroking loans and short-term loans.
You can begin investing with just €50 (around £43). Since 2015, investors with Mintos have earned a 9.54% net return per year on average. Of course, past performance is no guarantee of how any investment platform will do in future. Currently, however, interest rates on the platform are averaging around 12.50%.
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What Guarantees Are There?
To ensure security, Mintos provides a return-on-investment guarantee. If a loan instalment remains unpaid 60 days after becoming due, Mintos say they will repay the investment at face value with any accrued interest.
Mintos further insist that all lenders on their platform maintain 5-10% of any loan on the platform themselves. This means that in the event of a default, the lender will lose some of their own money also. So they have ‘skin in the game’, as the expression goes 🙂
The other main risk, of course, is the collapse of the platform itself. While this could happen, it’s worth noting that Mintos is licensed and supervised by Latvijas Banka, the central bank of Latvia, and a member of the Latvian national InvestorCompensation Scheme. If Mintos fails to provide investment services, retail investors are entitled to compensation of 90% of the irrevocable loss resulting from the non-provision, up to a limit of €20 000.
In addition, as is generally the case with crowdlending/P2P platforms, your assets are held quite separately from Mintos’s assets.
Investing in Euro
As Mintos is a European operation, you will need to invest in euro and your returns will be paid in this currency. That obviously adds a layer of complication for UK residents, but there are various ways round this. If you have a UK bank account you will normally be able to make (and receive) payments in euro, but may be charged a transaction fee.
You could use your own bank to fund your account initially, but if you become a regular investor with Mintos you might want to use a service/account that charges lower fees. You could use a money transfer service such as Paysera or Wise (formally TransferWise). These will enable you to transfer funds between Mintos and your own bank account with (potentially) lower charges and a more favourable exchange rate.
Another option would be to open a euro account with a provider such as Starling. This will allow you to receive and make payments in both sterling and euro, again at a lower overall cost.
Opening an Account
To open a Mintos account, your first step will be to click on Create Account at the top of the Mintos homepage. There are then certain preliminary steps you will need to take…
Verify your identity and answer some questions about yourself
This is necessary to comply with anti-money laundering laws and KYC (Know Your Customer) requirements.
Take the Suitability & Appropriateness assessment
As a licensed investment firm, Mintos are required to ensure that the products they offer are suitable and appropriate for investors. Based on your answers, they will make certain methods of investing available to you and set a responsible investment limit for your account. You can retake the assessment at any time if your situation changes.
Transfer funds to your Mintos account (see above)
Once this has been done, you can start investing. You have various options here. The simplest is to use one of Mintos’s automated strategies. These work as follows:
Choose a strategy that matches your preference: Diversified, Conservative, or High-yield.
Your strategy will buy small fractions of many different loans or Sets of Notes from different lending companies around the world.
You will be shown the weighted average interest rate of available investments before you invest.
Mintos can (if you wish) reinvest your returns so your money can work continuously and earn even more interest.
You can get your investment back any time by cashing out funds from your Mintos strategy.
You can start or stop your strategy at any time.
Your exposure is capped at 15% per lending company.
Alternatively, you can use a custom strategy, where you choose from a huge range of available investments yourself. You can filter by more than 20 different investing criteria and diversify your portfolio according to your preferences. You can do this entirely manually or create a custom automated investing strategy based on the rules you set.
When you want to withdraw money, your Mintos Core portfolio will automatically sell investments in your portfolio to other investors. Selling may take from a couple of minutes to a few days, depending on demand from other investors at the time. Note that loans which are in default cannot be cashed out this way, and you will have to wait until the loan in question is back in good stead or the 60-day guarantee (see above) kicks in. In some circumstances you may be able to sell loans which are unavailable for cashing out on Mintos’s secondary market, for which a 0.85% fee will be charged. This article on the MIntos website has more information about the cashing out rules and restrictions.
Special Bonus!
Until 30 November 2023, if you click through any link to Mintos in this article and invest €1000 or more, you will get a €50 instant bonus and a 1% bonus of your average investment in the first 90 days.
If you invest €5000, for example, in addition to the returns advertised (currently averaging 12.5%), you will also receive a €50 instant bonus and a further 1% bonus of €50 after 90 days. Effectively that’s an extra 2% bonus. Remember, this special offer closes on 30 November 2023.
If you have any comments or questions, as always, please do leave them below.
Disclosure: I am not a registered financial adviser and nothing in this article should be construed as personal financial advice. You should always do your own ‘due diligence’ before investing, and if in any doubt seek advice from a registered financial adviser before proceeding. All investing carries a risk of loss.
This post includes affiliate links. If you click through and make an investment (or perform some other designated action) I may receive a commission for introducing you. This will not affect the product or service you receive or any charges you may pay. Note also that the special bonus referred to in this article is only available if you click through one of my links. It will not apply if you go to the Mintos website directly.
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A quickie today to let you know that until the end of August 2023, you can get a massive 25 percent off the cost of a new English Heritage membership if you pay by annual direct debit. This applies to all types of membership, including Over-65s (which is already discounted).
English Heritage looks after nearly 400 historic sites and buildings across England, including Stonehenge, Hadrian’s Wall, Dover Castle, the Iron Bridge in Telford (see cover photo), and more. Members get free admission to all properties. Other benefits include free parking in car parks owned by English Heritage, free or reduced-price admission to hundreds of special events, and free entry to properties for up to six children per member. You also receive a free members’ handbook and a magazine (published three times a year).
A further attraction of joining English Heritage is that they have reciprocal arrangements with Scottish Heritage and CADW in Wales. Members therefore get reduced or free admission to most properties owned by these organizations as well.
You can get current membership prices from the English Heritage website. Family, Joint, Individual and Lifetime memberships are available. To claim the current special offer discount, you have to enter the code IMAGINE50 on the online form when applying.
In my case I qualified for Over-65 membership. This would normally cost £63 a year, but with my 25% discount it was reduced to £47.25. Of course, the discount price is for one year only, but you can always cancel the direct debit before it’s due to renew if you wish.
There are various English Heritage sites near where I live. Later this week I am planning to visit Boscobel House in Staffordshire, which is only around 30 minutes’ drive from where I live. Although I have only just joined, I received a temporary membership card by email prior to my full membership pack arriving in the post. So I will be saving at least £11 straight away!
I duly visited Boscobel House on Thursday 18 August. My temporary membership was accepted without quibble, so I saved £11 on admission and also £3 on parking. I also discovered another benefit of English Heritage membership which I couldn’t see mentioned on the website. Once you have been a member for a year or more, you qualify for a 10% discount on any purchases in their shops or tea rooms.
English Heritage obviously has some similarities with the National Trust, but it’s an entirely separate organization and only operates in England (though see my comments above about reciprocal arrangements with organizations in Wales and Scotland).
I know from messages on social media that some people have been deterred from joining or rejoining the National Trust due to their controversial stance on some current issues (see this article, for example). So far anyway, English Heritage seem to have stuck to their core remit of looking after heritage sites and properties and avoided divisive political messaging. For those who have resigned from the National Trust or no longer wish to join, English Heritage may therefore offer an attractive alternative. Of course, there is nothing to stop you joining both if you wish!
As always, if you have any questions or comments about this post, please do leave them below.
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As regular PAS readers will know, I recently joined U3A, a non-profit organization offering a range of leisure activities for retired and semi-retired people. I thought I would set out my experiences and impressions here for anyone who may be interested in joining U3A themselves, either now or in the future.
But first, here’s a bit more info about the organization itself…
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What Is U3A?
The University of the Third Age (U3A for short) is an international organization providing educational and social opportunities for retired and semi-retired people, typically aged 50 and above.
The primary goal of U3A is to encourage lifelong learning, personal development, and social engagement among older adults. Unlike traditional universities, U3A doesn’t offer formal degrees or certifications. Instead, it focuses on informal, peer-led learning and skill-sharing.
U3A groups offer a wide range of classes, workshops and activities, covering subjects such as arts, literature, history, science, technology, languages, fitness, and more. These activities are typically organized and led by the members themselves, with individuals who have expertise or interest in a particular field volunteering to share their knowledge with others.
U3A promotes active ageing, mental stimulation and social interaction. It aims to help older people stay engaged, connected, and mentally sharp. It also seeks to foster a sense of community, where members can continue to learn, explore new interests, and make new friends in a supportive and non-competitive environment.
My U3A Experience
I joined the U3A in Lichfield, Staffordshire, early in 2023. I am 67 and (as you may know) semi-retired. I live on my own nowadays and am conscious of the need to stay mentally and physically active as I get older and build new connections and friendships, in real life as well as online 🙂
I am actually now a member of two local U3As. I joined Lichfield originally, but then discovered there was another, smaller U3A in the town where I live (Lichfield is about four miles from me). It’s no problem belonging to two or more U3As and I am by no means alone in this. People generally join one local group first, then sign up to another as an associate at a lower cost. More about this later.
Lichfield U3A – like most others – has a monthly general meeting where there is usually a guest speaker. Every U3A also has a wide range of smaller groups devoted to interests from music appreciation to rambling. These typically meet monthly or fortnightly.
The first general meeting I went to was on the subject of Schooldays Remembered. It was an icy cold day and I was impressed by the number of people who turned up at the meeting hall. I would say the average age was about 70, with women outnumbering men by about two to one. The female presenter was very professional and showed us a series of slides depicting (primary) school days in the mid-20th century. Up to a point I enjoyed it, but I had some reservations, e.g. when the speaker encouraged us all to join in a chorus of ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’. Considering that many U3A members are from professional backgrounds, including teachers, lawyers and medics, I did find the overall tone a bit patronizing. The speaker revealed that she also ran sessions in care homes and I couldn’t help feeling I was getting a preview of what may be in store for me in the future 😮
Afterwards we went for tea and biscuits. I got chatting with another new member, who I found shared my reservations. He told me he didn’t much enjoy his schooldays and didn’t especially want to remember them! As for me, I have only fragmentary recollections of primary school days. I remember my secondary school days a lot better – not with any great affection, but they weren’t awful either. Personally I would have preferred a more grown-up presentation about education and how it has changed over the decades. I don’t want to be too critical, though. Most people there seemed to enjoy the session, and it did have its entertaining aspects.
I have since been to a couple of other meetings which I enjoyed more. There was a particularly interesting one about the history of travel firm Thomas Cook & Sons. The speaker gave a very informative talk, including slides showing ads for early trips and excursions organized by the company (these were also available to browse afterwards).
As a side thought, there appears to be a circle of professional guest speakers who offer talks to groups on a wide range of subjects, for which they are paid a fee. Not a bad sideline to supplement your pension, I’d have thought! My friend Sally Jenkins – who does this herself – wrote an interesting guest post for PAS about making money from public speaking.
Beside the monthly meetings, I have also taken part in a quiz which was good fun (my team won – no particular thanks to me – so I took a bottle of wine home). I have also joined several interest groups. These include one for short walks (around 3-4 miles, quite sufficient for me). This has been good for getting some fresh air and exercise and meeting and chatting to other U3A members. The walks are all fairly local. One unexpected benefit has been discovering some beautiful locations I was unaware of, despite living in the area for over 20 years.
I also joined a play-reading group. This meets once a month in a local theatre, with members each taking a part to read. Currently we are reading Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime by Oscar Wilde (the stage adaptation). I was quite active in amateur theatre in my 20s and 30s, so it has been good fun getting back into this again.
I also joined a science and technology group. I’ve only been to one meeting so far, but this was a very interesting session about global weather patterns.
What Else Is On Offer?
Obviously I have only scratched the surface personally. There are dozens of other interest groups available. I have listed a selection below.
art appreciation
birdwatching
croquet
history
philosophy
photography
music appreciation
guitar playing
Mah-jongg
needlecraft
psychology
gardening
architecture
There are also quite a few reading groups. This is a very popular activity, so multiple groups are needed to keep the numbers at a meeting manageable. I haven’t joined one only because I am already a member of a local book club (nothing to do with U3A).
In addition, there are various one-off activities. I’ve already mentioned quizzes. Visits to local places of interest are also popular, as are concert and theatre trips.
Financials
As Pounds and Sense is a money blog, I should say a word about this.
I was actually surprised how inexpensive U3A is. I paid an annual membership fee of just £12 to Lichfield U3A. I also paid £6 to my nearest local U3A to join as an associate member. This gives me access to all groups and activities in both U3As.
Some interest groups do also impose a small charge at meetings. This is no more than a pound or two and covers room hire and/or tea and biscuits. One thing you may find as a U3A member is that you need to carry around a little more small change!
I should also mention that as a U3A member you will receive (at no extra cost) a print magazine titled Third Age Matters. This is published five times a year and contains a range of informative articles about U3A and issues affecting older people generally.
Thoughts And Impressions
It is obviously early days as far as my personal journey with U3A is concerned. But I have been impressed with the range of events and activities on offer. I should maybe add that most take place during the daytime rather than the evening, so you do need to have some time free in the day to benefit from your membership.
U3A is very much run by members, for members. Of course, that is how they keep the costs so low. It does mean that if you find U3A is for you, there is some expectation that you will get involved in helping to organise and run events as well, even if only preparing the tea and biscuits!
As with so much in life, the more you put in to U3A, the more you are likely to get out of it 🙂
If you want to find out more about U3A groups in your area, my recommendation is to search online for U3A plus the name of your nearest town or city. Most local U3As have a website using a standard template and hosting service provided by the national organisation. Here is a link to the site for my local Lichfield U3A, for example. As you will see, the website isn’t exactly cutting edge, but it does the job well enough. Groups often have open days which can be a great way to find out the range of activities on offer. In addition they typically have monthly general meetings, which again can be a good opportunity to learn more and sign up. Failing that, you can always contact the membership secretary of your local U3A group via the website.
I do think it’s a shame there aren’t more opportunities for U3A members to interact online as well as in real life. Ideally it would be nice if there was a members’ message-board, or at least a Facebook page, where members could chat, ask questions, share photos, and so on. But having run an online forum for writers for a number of years, I am under no illusions about how much work this can entail.
On the plus side, there are also some national and regional U3A events, including summer schools. You can find out about these through your local U3A and Third Age Matters.
I hope you have found this article interesting and it has given you some insights into U3A and what it has to offer. As always, if you have any comments or questions, please do leave them below.
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I’ll start 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 £21,548. Last month it stood at £21,044 so that is a rise of £504.
Apart from my main portfolio, I also have a second, smaller pot using Nutmeg’s Smart Alpha option. This is now worth £3,383 compared with £3,293 a month ago, an increase of £90. Here is a screen capture showing performance since the start of this year.
This has clearly been another good month for both my Nutmeg pots. Their total value has risen by £594 or 2.44% month on month. Since the start of 2023 the net value of my Nutmeg investments has grown by £2,010 or 8.78%. Compared with mid-October last year that’s an impressive rise of £3,118 or 14.29%.
Of course, all investing is (or should be) a long-term endeavour. Over a period of years stock market investments such as those used by Nutmeg typically produce better returns than cash accounts, often by substantial margins. But there are never any guarantees, and in in the short to medium term at least, losses are always possible.
Also, as you may know, both my Nutmeg pots have quite high risk levels (9/10 main, 5/5 Smart Alpha). If you haven’t yet seen it, you might like to check out my blog post in which I looked at the performance over time of Nutmeg fully managed portfolios at every risk level from 1 to 10 . I was pretty amazed by the difference risk level makes, with higher-risk ports over almost any period of three or more years in the last ten generating significantly better overall returns. If you are investing for the long term (and you almost certainly should be) choosing a hyper-cautious low-risk level might not therefore be the smartest strategy. The one exception is if you plan to withdraw your money soon and don’t want to risk losing too much if there is a sudden downturn.
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) 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 £2,185 invested with them in 18 different projects paying interest rates typically around 7%. 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.
Last month a couple of my Kuflink loans were repaid, so I got my capital back with interest. I decided to withdraw about half of the proceeds to help pay for a couple of big purchases. The other half I reinvested in short-term loans on Kuflink’s secondary marketplace.
I heard this month that Kuflink are changing their terms and conditions. Specifically, from Monday 21st August there will be 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 their reasoning, though it does mean the option to ‘test the water’ with a small first investment has been removed. It will also make it harder for small investors (like myself) to build a well-diversified portfolio on a limited budget. As mentioned, my current portfolio of £2,185 comprises 18 different investments ranging from £50 to £200. Once the minimum £500 per project limit applies, the same amount of money would only stretch to four!
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. The rates on offer from August 1 2023 are shown in the graphic below.
As you may gather, 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. Note that I haven’t updated the information there about minimum investments as yet, but will do so shortly. You can of course still invest smaller amounts than £500 until the August 21st deadline.
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 £128.32 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, 12 of ‘my’ properties are showing gains, 1 is breaking even, and the remaining 13 are showing losses. My portfolio is currently showing a net decrease in value of £17.46, meaning that overall (rental income minus capital value decrease) I am up by £110.86. 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.
Obviously the fall in capital value of my AE investments is slightly disappointing. But it’s important to bear in mind that unless and until I choose to sell the investments in question, it is largely theoretical. The rental income, on the other hand, is real money (which in my case I have chosen to reinvest in other AE projects to further diversify my portfolio).
I also spoke to the CEO of Assetz Exchange, Peter Read, recently. He made the point that capital values on the platform simply reflect the latest price at which shares in the property concerned have changed hands on their exchange. They do not represent objective or independent valuations of the properties. If you are investing long term with AE, the annual yield from rentals is really a much more important consideration.
Peter also made the point that the current high inflation rate has actually been beneficial for Assetz Exchange investors. That is because properties on the platform generally have an annual review when rentals are increased in line with inflation. That means from the end of the financial year in April, rentals have increased in most cases by around 10%. Assetz Exchange recently published a blog post about this which is worth a read.
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 capture below, my original investment of $1,022.26 is today worth $1,208.40, an overall increase of $186.14 or 18.20%. in these turbulent times I am very happy with that.
In the last month my Tesla shares and my copy trading portfolio with Aukie2008 have both done well. I am also pleased that my investment in Oil Worldwide is back in profit again. This has happened since the Oil Worldwide portfolio was rebalanced by eToro – which is, of course, as I hoped
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 recently and was impressed with how quickly and seamlessly it worked. You can read my blog post about eToro Money here.
My other article was How to Find Out What Your State Pension Will Be. The state pension is a very important component of most people’s income in later life (including mine). In this article I discuss changes to the state pension age and explain how to check when you will become eligible and how much you are on track to receive. I also discuss what options you may have if your projected pension is less than you hoped.
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 🙂
I also published several new posts on Pounds and Sense in July. One of these was Make a Sideline Income Renting Out Your Driveway. As I explain in the article, this is a money-making opportunity that – if you’re in a position to do it – can bring you a steady income for very little effort.
Also in July I published an article explaining why it was Time to Use or Exchange Your Old Non-Barcoded Postage Stamps. That deadline has now passed, but if you still have any ordinary non-barcoded stamps lying around, as the article explains, you can still exchange them using Royal Mail’s ‘Swap Out’ scheme.
Investing Basics for Beginners is a collaborative post with my friends at the European crowdlending platform Mintos. The article sets out some basic principles for anyone who may be considering investing for the first time (though it may also be of interest to more experienced investors).
Finally in July I published Five Things I Have Learned from my eToro Virtual Portfolio. Anyone with an eToro account gets a $100,000 virtual account to practise trading and investing with. I have found this interesting and enjoyable, not to mention educational. In the article I set out five lessons learned from my virtual account that have helped inform my real-life investing decisions. I am considering publishing a further update about my virtual portfolio and how it’s doing, if there is sufficient interest in this.
Lastly, I would mention that the opportunity to Get a Free ETF Share Worth up to £200 with Wealthyhood is still open. To remind you, Wealthyhood is a DIY wealth-building app aimed especially at people new to stock market investing. As from June 2023 they changed their fee structure to make it (even) more attractive to small investors. They have now increased the minimum investment to qualify for the free share offer from £20 to £50 – but on the plus side, they guarantee that your free ETF share will be worth at least £10.
That’s all for today. I hope you’re enjoying the summer, even though July has been a damp squib in Britain compared with June. If you’re looking for some ideas for short breaks, don’t forget to check out my blog post listing some of my favourite UK holiday destinations. Here’s hoping the warm, sunny weather makes a reappearance soon…
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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her public-speaking gigs and asked why she has all those ‘murder weapons’ in her bag!
