travel

My short break in Criccieth

My Short Break in Criccieth

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I recently returned from a three-night break in Criccieth. This is a village on the Llyn (or Lleyn) Peninsula in NW Wales. It was the first time I had stayed in Criccieth, although I have visited a few times before.

The place I stayed was a self-contained, self-catering apartment facing the sea-front. I booked it using the website Booking.com. I’ll say more about the accommodation below.

Criccieth is by the coast, roughly half way between Porthmadog (home of the Ffestiniog Railway) and Pwllheli (famed for its Butlins camp, now run by Haven Holidays). Here is a map of the area from Google Maps.

Accommodation

As mentioned, I stayed in a self-catering apartment in Criccieth. This was on the second floor, with a view of the sea from the kitchen/lounge. The owners’ name for the apartment is Foel Wen.

The main Criccieth beach was ten minutes’ walk away, but I was happy where I was. It was quiet, there was plenty of free parking on the road outside, and while it wasn’t the most stunning length of beach, there was a small promenade which was pleasant to walk along in the morning or evening. You can see a photo of the beach opposite my apartment below.

Criccieth beach

You can read more about the accommodation on this page of the Booking.com website. It had a lounge/kitchen at the front, a small bedroom with bunk beds in the middle (which I didn’t use) and the main bedroom at the rear. The bathroom was next to the small bedroom; it was quite compact but fine for a short stay. There was a good-quality modern electric shower but no bath.

The kitchen area was well equipped with an electric cooker, microwave, fridge/freezer, dishwasher, toaster, sink, and so on. On my first and last nights I cooked for myself (Criccieth isn’t exactly crammed with eating places) and on the middle night I got fish, chips and peas from a local takeaway, Castle Fish and Chips, which was excellent 🙂

The apartment had free wifi which worked perfectly during my stay (not always the case in my experience). The location was quiet and peaceful, and I slept very well.

Financials

As Pounds and Sense is primarily a money blog, I should say a word about this.

I paid £355 for my three-night stay, which works out to around £118 per day. I thought that was very reasonable bearing in mind the high standard of the accommodation and the convenience of the location. Obviously as this was self-catering no meals were included, but there was more space and better facilities than you would get in a comparable hotel or B&B.

Things to Do

I won’t give you a blow-by-blow account of what I did while I was there, but here are a few highlights.

Portmeirion

Portmeirion

This is about 15 minutes’ drive from Criccieth (or a short train journey to Minffordd and a ten-minute walk). I spent my first morning here.

Portmeirion is a beautiful Italianate village created by the architect Clough Williams Ellis. These days it is probably best known as the location for the 1960s cult TV series The Prisoner, starring Patrick McGoohan. It is a wonderful place to while away a few hours.

There is an admission fee to get into Portmeirion, At the time of writing (July 2022) this is as follows:

  • Adult £17.00
  • Concessions £13.50 (this applies to anyone aged 60+ or a student with a valid student ID)
  • Children £10.00 (5-15 years)
  • Children (under 5 years) Free

There are also discounted family tickets for various permutations of adults and children.

You can also get free admission (in the afternoon) by booking a minimum two-course lunch at Castell Deudraeth; this is part of the Portmeirion estate, a short walk from the village itself. Free admission to the village is also available if you book a spa treatment or afternoon cream tea there.

More information is available on the Portmeirion website. One thing you may need to know is that they don’t allow dogs (other than guide dogs) into the grounds.

Ffestiniog Railway

Ffestiniog Railway

This heritage steam railway has two separate lines, both of which run from Porthmadog.

The Welsh Highland Railway takes you on a scenic two-and-a-quarter hour trip through the heart of Snowdonia to Caernarfon, while the original Ffestiniog Railway takes you on a one-hour trip to Blaenau Ffestiniog. On this occasion I took the shorter journey, but I have done the Welsh Highland Railway trip before and highly recommend it as well. You can get more info on both (and book in advance) via the Ffestiniog Railway website.

The harbour station in Porthmadog has a small car park which quickly gets full, but there is a free car park for people travelling on the railway at the back of the public car park opposite (Llyn Bach). I used that myself on this occasion. There were plenty of spaces when I arrived at around 10 a.m. but I noticed it was full later. So my top tip if going by car is to book a ticket on a morning train rather than leaving it until the afternoon!

  • You can also travel to Porthmadog via the mainline railway if you wish. This is on the beautiful Cambrian Coast line which runs from Pwllheli at one end to Aberdyfi (and beyond) at the other.

Criccieth Castle

Criccieth Castle

My accommodation was literally five minutes walk from Criccieth Castle, so of course I had to pay it a visit.

The castle itself is a ruin but (as the photo shows) plenty of the walls are still standing. There is also a visitor centre where, as well as buying your ticket and guidebook, you can learn more about the history of the castle and see some relics that have been found there.

Arguably the best reason for visiting the castle, though, is the spectacular views. The photo below shows the main Criccieth beach. You can even see as far as Harlech Castle from here, although you might need binoculars!

Criccieth

Final Thoughts

As you may gather, I enjoyed my short break in Criccieth, and am happy to recommend both the village and the accommodation where I stayed for a short break.

Criccieth is a lovely place to relax and chill out. It has excellent road and rail connections, and – as mentioned above – there are also some high-quality tourist attractions nearby.

One thing I really enjoyed about this holiday was the number of casual conversations I struck up with other visitors, staff, locals and so on. This applied especially on my Ffestiniog Railway trip, where I ended up chatting with half the people in my carriage! I’d have to say it did help that only a small minority of people are nowadays wearing face-masks. That human contact is something I missed during the pandemic, and as a solo traveller especially it is great to be able to get back to chatting with strangers again 😀

As always, if you have any comments or questions about this post, please do leave them below.

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My Investments Update May 2022

My Investments Update – May 2022

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Here is my latest monthly update about my investments. You can read my April 2022 Investments Update here if you like

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 shows, my main portfolio is currently valued at £20,799. Last month it stood at £21,646, so that is a fall of £847.

Nutmeg Main Portfolio May 2022

Apart from my main portfolio, I also have a second, smaller pot using Nutmeg’s Smart Alpha option. This is now worth £3,166 compared with £3,286 last month, a fall of £120

Here is a screen capture showing performance over the last month.

Nutmeg Smart Alpha May 2022

Obviously the falls are disappointing (although they come after broadly similar rises the month before). As I’ve noted previously on PAS, you do have to expect ups and downs with equity-based investments, and certainly over the last few months there has been no shortage of volatility in world markets. And it’s also worth noting that since I started investing with Nutmeg in 2016 I have still enjoyed a total return on my main portfolio of 45% (or 64.25% time-weighted).

I should also mention that I selected quite a high risk level for both my Nutmeg accounts (9/10 for the main one and 5/5 for Smart Alpha). This has served me well generally, but I’m sure investors who selected lower risk levels will have seen smaller falls last month.

  • If you also have a Nutmeg portfolio and plan to withdraw from it in the next few months, there is certainly a case for switching to a lower risk level right now.

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 experience over the last six years, they are certainly worth considering.

If you haven’t yet seen it, check out also my blog post in which I looked at the performance of Nutmeg fully managed portfolios at every risk level from 1 to 10 (as mentioned, my main port is level 9). I was actually pretty amazed by the difference the risk level you choose makes. If you are investing for the long term (and you almost certainly should be) opting for a hyper-cautious low-risk strategy may not be the smartest thing to do.

I won’t go into detail about my Assetz Exchange investments this month. Briefly, though, 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 £51.50 in revenue from rental and £82.29 in capital growth, a total of £133.79. That’s a decent rate of return on my £1,000 investment and does illustrate the value of P2P property investment for diversifying your portfolio when equity markets are volatile. You can read my full review of Assetz Exchange here. You can also sign up for an account on Assetz Exchange directly via this link [affiliate].

Another property platform I have investments with is Kuflink. They have been doing well recently, with new projects launching almost every day. I currently have over £2,150 invested with them, a significant proportion of which comes from reinvested profits. To date I have never lost any money with Kuflink, although 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. At present all my Kuflink loans are performing to schedule, with several due to mature in the next few months.

Kuflink recently announced that they were ending their cashback incentive for new members. This used to pay up to £4,000. I know several PAS readers availed themselves of this offer. It’s obviously disappointing it’s now ended, but in a way it’s good news as well. It demonstrates that Kuflink is thriving and they don’t need to offer ‘bribes’ to bring in new investors. As they themselves said in a recent email, ‘We feel now is the right time for us to move away from these campaigns [cashback and refer-a-friend] and utilise the funds within the business to make further enhancements to our products and the platform.’

Even without the cashback incentive, I do still recommend Kuflink and will continue to invest with them. You can read my full Kuflink review here. They offer a variety of investment options, including a tax-free IFISA paying up to 7% interest per year with built-in automatic diversification. Alternatively you can now build your own IFISA, with most loans on the platform being IFISA-eligible.

Another platform in which I have a modest investment is the European crowdlending platform Nibble. This has continued to perform as promised. Several of the loans I invested in have matured and each time I have reinvested the proceeds.

Nibble recently added a new loan category to their offering. This is in the debt collection market; Nibble describe it as their Legal Strategy. This involves investing in loans that are overdue and facing legal action for recovery. Nibble buy these loans at a fraction of their value and then attempt to recover as much of the outstanding debt as possible.

Nibble investors can buy portions of these loans for prices starting at 100 euro (about £84). The company say that investors will receive annual interest rates of between 8 and 14.5% according to how successful their recovery efforts prove. But in any event they offer a ‘buyback guarantee’ that even in the worst case you will receive 8% interest and return of your original investment. I will be trying this out myself soon and also updating my original review, which you can read here if you wish. You can also sign up directly on the Nibble website if you like [affiliate link].

Also this month I wanted to mention that the under-the-radar matched betting opportunity I have described a few times on PAS has closed. My contact there tells me the bookies have tightened up so much on their offers that it is no longer feasible to go on running a free service that makes money for both clients and the company. Final payments went out by the end of April to all existing members (which of course include a number of PAS readers). Again this is obviously disappointing, but I have seen myself that it is getting harder and harder (though not yet impossible) to generate profits from matched betting, especially once you have exhausted the welcome offers.

Anyway, the better news is that the guys behind the business have a new project in the pipeline that will make use of the clever software they developed for the matched betting service. It will work a bit differently from the original programme, but again will be free to join and entirely risk-free for members. They say they expect it to work over a three-month period and generate a one-off payout of between £500 and £1500 per person. In addition, because the new programme will work differently, it will also be open to people who do matched betting themselves (or have done in the past). I will share more details on PAS when I have them – but for now if you would like to be put on my priority list for info, just drop me a line with your email address via my Contact Me page.

Another bit of news is that I have temporarily suspended withdrawals from my Bestinvest SIPP, which is now in drawdown. This is partly in response to volatility in world markets caused by the war in Ukraine and inflation fears (among other things). But also I don’t need the money as much at the moment, as I am now receiving the full state pension. With my other income streams as well, continuing to draw an income from my SIPP would have generated a tax liability, so I thought it better to let the money grow tax-free in my pension fund until I really need it. My personal financial adviser Mike agrees and approves, incidentally 🙂

Lastly, I enjoyed my short break in lovely Llandudno a week ago. I was reasonably lucky with the weather, although it was quite windy. But it was great to see the resort almost back to normal after the lockdowns and other disruptions of the last two years. There were plenty of people out and about enjoying the spring sunshine, as this photo taken at the end of the pier shows 🙂

One other thing that struck me in Llandudno was how widely cash was accepted and indeed welcomed. In the Midlands town where I live most businesses don’t seem to want cash any more and insist on payment by card. I actually had to go to a cashpoint in Llandudno to draw more money. I can’t remember the last time I did that at home!

That’s enough for now, so I’ll sign off till next time. I hope you are keeping safe and well, and making the most of the better weather and lifting of Covid restrictions. If you’re planning any UK holidays yourself, don’t forget I have a list of places I have visited and recommend here 🙂

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.

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How to Cut Your Motoring Costs

How to Cut Your Motoring Costs

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Today I’m looking at some ways you may be able to cut the amount you spend on motoring.

Right now, as I’m sure you know, the cost of motoring is rising fast. Fuel prices are obviously a major issue, with the war in Ukraine and economic sanctions on Russia driving up prices that were already increasing anyway.

But in addition, drivers are having to contend with ever-rising road taxes, congestion charges, insurance premiums, repair and servicing bills, and more. And while these costs keep going up, many of us are also having our incomes squeezed.

So today I thought I would share some tips and ideas for cutting your motoring costs…

Travel Light

The more weight you carry around in your car, the worse the fuel economy is likely to be. So empty your boot as much as possible and remove the roof rack if you’re not using it. The latter will also aid fuel economy by reducing air resistance.

Check Your Tyres

According to the RAC, tyres under inflated by 15 psi – a difference you might not notice visually – can use 6% more fuel. Not only that, under-inflated tyres wear out faster, meaning you will need to replace them sooner. 

You can check your tyre pressure at most filling stations or buy an electric pump (like this one maybe). The correct pressure for your tyres will be in the owner’s manual or handbook.

Drive for Fuel Economy

There are many ways you can improve the fuel economy of your car. One of the best and simplest is to avoid braking and accelerating sharply. That means reading the road, anticipating changes in gradients and traffic conditions, and making any necessary adjustments in good time. A good satnav (see example ad below) can help with this.

 

Another tip is to keep your speed moderate. According to government statistics, driving at a steady 50 mph rather than 70 can improve fuel economy by 25%. For most cars the sweet spot is between 50 and 60 mph. Once you get much over this, fuel economy starts to drop rapidly.

Finally, having lots of electrical devices running – from heating to aircon – can reduce fuel economy as well, especially at lower speeds. So try to keep this to a minimum, but without of course compromising your comfort or safety.

Shop Around for Petrol

Clearly driving miles out of your way to save a penny a litre isn’t likely to be cost-effective. But if you have a choice of local filling stations, it is well worth monitoring them regularly to see which is cheapest.

There are also various websites that can help you check prices locally, though you may have to register with them to view full details. Two to try are Petrolprices.com and GoCompare.

Don’t Fill Your Tank

Petrol is heavy, and the added weight will reduce your car’s fuel economy. Ideally don’t fill your tank more than half-way, though of course this may not always be practical.

Don’t Rev the Engine When Starting

This is something that until recently I was guilty of myself, having grown up in the days when you had to do this to prevent a cold engine from stalling. 

But with modern cars, many of which have computer-controlled ignition systems, it is no longer necessary. If (like me) you still do this habitually, train yourself to turn the ignition and keep your foot well away from the accelerator pedal. This will save petrol and help with fuel economy.

Consider Car Sharing

Car sharing can work well if someone else you know is travelling the same route as you, ideally on a regular basis. You can split the fuel costs and (if you both agree) the driving duties. And as fans of Peter Kay’s Car Share will know, you can make new friends and enjoy some stimulating conversations too!

For one-off journeys, you could try ride-sharing. The website BlaBlaCar lets you search for other drivers who are making a similar journey and have space for you in their vehicle. Alternatively, if you are planning a long journey you can help defray the cost by offering to take one or more paying passengers. Fees are paid in advance via the website, so there is no awkward passing over of cash on the day.

There are also ‘car pool’ companies like ZipCar that offer members the opportunity to hire a car from their fleet when needed for a modest price. If you only require a car now and then, this could be a cost-effective alternative to owning a car yourself.

Shop Around for Motor Insurance

It’s easy to fall into the habit of renewing every year with the same insurer, but there are big savings to be made by shopping around. 

Use a price comparison service such as Go Compare or Confused.com to get quotes from a range of insurers, therefore. But also check cashback sites such as Top Cashback and Quidco, which have some good offers too. For example, Top Cashback are currently offering up to £20 cashback on car insurance from the AA.

One other top tip is to get a quote for fully comprehensive insurance, even if you normally opt for third party, fire and theft (TPFT). Surprisingly, because of the way insurance companies’ algorithms work, comprehensive insurance often comes out cheaper, even though you are actually getting better cover.

Go Electric

Finally, if you haven’t done so already, you could consider going electric (or hybrid).

Electricity prices are going up at the moment too, but you should still save a lot compared with buying petrol or diesel. Electric cars are obviously expensive but prices are starting to come down and there is a growing second-hand market as well. This article from the Buyacar website includes a useful round-up of the pros and cons of electric cars.

If you have any comments or questions – or any other tips for saving money on motoring – please do leave a comment as usual.

 

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My Investments Update - October 2021

My Investments Update – October 2021

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As regular readers will know, I recently started posting monthly updates about my investments. These (partly) replace the ‘Coronavirus Crisis Updates’ I was posting from March 2020. You can read my September 2021 Investments Update here if you like

I’ll begin as usual with my Nutmeg Stocks and Shares ISA, as I know many of you like to hear what is happening with this.

As the screenshot below shows, my main portfolio is currently valued at £21,046. Last month it stood at £21,690, so that is a fall of £644. That is obviously disappointing, but as the value rose by £675 the previous month, I am not going to lose any sleep over it. Most equity-based investments had a rocky ride in September, with my BestInvest SIPP also taking a hit. Stock market investments in general should be regarded as medium- to long-term, and you have to expect some ups and downs in the short term.

Nutmeg Main Portfolio October 2021

Apart from my main portfolio, I also have a second, smaller pot using Nutmeg’s new Smart Alpha option. This pot also fell in value in September. It is now worth £2,633 compared with £2,710 last month. That’s a fall of £77, though again the value is still higher than it was two months ago. Here is a screen capture showing performance in September 2021.

Nutmeg Smart Alpha portfolio Oct 2021

As I said above, September was a disappointing month for stock market investors generally, and Nutmeg is far from alone in seeing falls. I make no claim to being an expert on the markets, but from what I read this has resulted from various developments that have worried investors, including the withdrawal of fiscal stimulus packages as we come out of the pandemic and a rise in the inflation rate.

The drop in September is still nothing like what happened in March 2020 – at the start of the pandemic – when the value of my Nutmeg portfolio fell by a third in just a few weeks. On that (admittedly worrying) occasion, the value of my investments swiftly bounced back and turned into a good overall profit for the year. I remain optimistic that something similar will happen again as the UK and world economies get back on a more even keel.

So, especially if you are a new investor, I would strongly advise you not to panic. Remember that if you sell up you are simply crystallizing any losses rather than giving the markets a chance to recover. Personally I am considering investing more in my Nutmeg account now while valuations are down. Obviously I am not offering that as financial advice, just sharing my own thoughts and plans at this time.

Anyway, you can read my full Nutmeg review here (including a special offer at the end for PAS readers). If you are still looking for a home for your 2021/22 ISA allowance, based on my experience they are certainly worth considering. If you haven’t yet seen it, check out also my recent blog post in which I looked at the performance of Nutmeg fully managed portfolios at every risk level from 1 to 10 (my main port is level 9). I was actually pretty amazed by the difference the risk level you choose makes.

As regular readers will know, this year I am using Assetz Exchange for my IFISA. This is a P2P property investment platform that focuses on lower-risk properties (e.g. sheltered housing on long leases). I put £100 into this in mid-February and another £400 in April. Touch wood, everything has been going well, so in June I added another £500, bringing my total investment on the platform up to £1,000.

Since I opened my account, my portfolio has generated £20.79 in revenue from rental and £87.14 in capital growth, for a total return of £107.93. Here is my current statement:

Assetz Exchange October 2021

As I have noted before, Assetz Exchange has had a big influx of new members, meaning all available investments were quickly snapped up. At the same time, some of the new projects that were due to launch were delayed. Only a small number of new projects went live on the platform in the last month, so I haven’t added any more to my portfolio.

To control risk with all my property crowdfunding investments nowadays, I am investing relatively modest amounts in individual projects. I don’t therefore put more than around £100 into any one project. As you can see, I have a well-diversified portfolio with Assetz Exchange comprising 21 different projects. This is a particular attraction of AE in my view. You can actually invest from as little as 80p per property if you really want to proceed cautiously.

My investment on Assetz Exchange is in the form of an IFISA so there won’t be any tax to pay on profits, dividends or capital gains. I’ve been impressed by my experiences with Assetz Exchange and the returns generated so far, and intend to continue investing with them. You can read my full review of Assetz Exchange here if you like. You can also sign up for an account on Assetz Exchange directly via this link [affiliate].

Another property platform I have some investments with is Kuflink. They appear to have been doing well recently, with new projects launching almost every day. I currently have just over £2,000 invested with them, quite a large proportion of which comes from reinvested profits. To date I have never lost any money with Kuflink, though some loan terms have been extended once or twice. On the plus side, where this happens additional interest is paid for the period in question.

My loans with Kuflink pay annual interest rates of 6 to 7.5 percent. As mentioned above, these days I invest no more than around £100 per loan (and often less). That is not because of any issues with Kuflink but more to do with losses of larger amounts on other P2P property platforms (such as this one). My days of putting four-figure sums into any single property investment are behind me now!

  • Nowadays I mainly opt to reinvest the monthly repayments I receive from Kuflink, which has the effect of boosting the percentage rate of return on the projects in question

You can read my full Kuflink review here. They offer a variety of investment options, including a tax-free IFISA paying up to 7% interest per year with built-in automatic diversification. Alternatively you can now build your own IFISA, with most loans on the platform being IFISA-eligible.

I’d also particularly draw your attention to their revised and more generous cashback offer for new investors. They are now paying cashback on new investments from as little as £500 (it used to be £1,000). And if you are looking to invest larger amounts, you can earn up to a maximum of £4,000 in cashback. That is one of the best cashback offers I have seen anywhere (though admittedly you will need to invest £100,000 or more to receive that!).

Moving on, I have another article on the always-excellent Mouthy Money website. This was for their Meet the Blogger feature. They asked me a number of thought-provoking questions, including what personal finance tip I would give a younger version of myself and what I would do if I was made Chancellor for the day! You can read my answers here.

Finally, it’s not investment-related, but I did just want to mention an act of kindness that saved me several hundred pounds last month, and a lot of anxiety too 🙂

I drove up to Yorkshire for a family reunion with my sisters Liz and Annie (and Liz’s family, who live there). I went just before the fuel crisis broke, and found myself marooned when all the local petrol stations closed after running out of fuel.

I was staying at Hewenden MIll Cottages near Bingley (the cover image shows the bungalow I booked this time). When I explained my predicament to the owners, they immediately said I could stay as long as I liked free of charge until the situation improved. I don’t mind admitting I was almost reduced to tears by the unexpected kindness. I ended up staying for three extra days – double the length of time I originally booked (and paid for).

So I wanted to take this opportunity to publicly thank Janet and Susan and family for their kindness, and give Hewenden Mill Cottages another plug. As some of you may remember, I last went there two years ago and was bowled over by the quality of the accommodation and the stunning location (see sample photo below).

Hewenden Mill

You can read my original review of Hewenden Mill Cottages here. It is the best self-catering accommodation I have ever stayed in, and I am obviously even more impressed now. If you want a short break (or longer) in beautiful Bronte Country, I very much doubt you will find anywhere better. They also host some retreats and residential courses.

As always, if you have any comments or questions about this post, please do leave them below.

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Four Ways Mobile Tyre Fitting Can Make You Savvy

Four Ways Mobile Tyre Fitting Can Make You Savvy

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Today I have a sponsored guest post for you on behalf of Fife Autocentre. The post sets out four advantages to using a mobile tyre-fitting service for tyre replacements and repairs.

 

Taking good care of your tyres is crucial to maintaining your car’s longevity and performance while keeping you safe. The best way to do this is to engage mobile tyre-fitters to get your tyres repaired, fixed or fitted.
  • Cost-effective
    Why waste time and money trying to get to a garage for tyre replacements and repairs? Mobile tyre-fitting provides an ideal, cost-effective solution. An expert fitter will attend at your preferred location and provide a professional service when conducting repairs and replacements. You will therefore avoid the expense (and risk) involved if you do the job incorrectly yourself. For mobile tyre-fitting, check with the experts at Fife Autocentre.
  • Increased safety
    Why risk damaging your tyres even more when you can be served by a mobile tyre-fitting service at your home or workplace? Attempting to take your car to a garage on damaged tyres is extremely dangerous, as you may end up broken down in the middle of nowhere or even having an accident. A mobile tyre fitting service will immediately respond and act accordingly.
  • Supremely convenient
    Why stress to get tyre problems fixed if you can be reached and attended to at your convenience? Mobile tyre fitters will serve you without disrupting your day’s activities. Just call for help, then carry on with your day as normal.
  • Instant emergency service
    Getting stranded due to tyre problems is a driver’s worst nightmare. So reaching out to a mobile tyre-fitting service is the best solution. Simply contact them and they’ll send someone directly to your location to offer the most effective solution wherever you may be. By this means you can avoid unnecessary delays and be back on the road again in the least time possible.

Final Thoughts

Mobile tyre fitting is the modern way to approach your tyre problems as it is affordable, swift and effective.

 

I’d just like to add my own endorsement to the advice above. Early on in the first lockdown my car had a puncture and I made the mistake of driving to a tyre and exhaust fitting centre to have it repaired.

Even though I reinflated the tyre before departing, it quickly went flat again. By the time I got to the centre the tyre was flat as a pancake and the wheel had gone out of shape as a result. Instead of paying a small fee for a puncture repair, I therefore had to shell out for a new tyre. So I am very much on board with the advice to use a mobile tyre-fitting service in this situation!

As always, if you have any comments and/or questions about this post, please do leave them below.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for which I am receiving a fee.

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My Short Break in Llanbedrog

My Short Break in Llanbedrog

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I recently returned from a three-day break in Llanbedrog. This is a village on the Llyn (or Lleyn) Peninsula in NW Wales. It was the first time I had been to Llanbedrog, although I have holidayed in North Wales quite often.

This was also the first time I had stayed at an Airbnb property. I did try last year but was scuppered by the pandemic, so had a refund voucher I needed to use up. The place I stayed was a room/apartment attached to a private house, but self-contained with its own front door. I’ll say more about it below.

Llanbedrog itself is by the coast, roughly half way between Pwllheli (famed for its Butlins camp, now run by Haven Holidays) and trendy Abersoch. Here is a map of the area from Google Maps.

Accommodation

As mentioned, I stayed at an Airbnb property in Llanbedrog. Under Airbnb’s rules I’m not supposed to reveal exactly where it was, but the location was certainly convenient. It was about 100 yards from the main road and 150 from one of the two local pubs. The beach was around ten minutes’ walk away.

You can read more about the place I stayed on this page of the Airbnb website (you can also read my post about booking a holiday with Airbnb here). It consisted of a large bedroom-cum-sitting room, along with a bathroom with excellent walk-in shower. There was also a kitchenette area with a toaster, fridge, sink, coffee-making machine and so on, but no actual cooking facilities (there wouldn’t have been room for them). For a short stay that wasn’t a problem, though. On two nights my Airbnb host, Jem, kindly cooked main meals for me for a modest extra fee. And on the other night I went to the local pub, which was very good as well 🙂

My room had a stunning view across the hosts’ beautiful garden with the sea in the background (see photo below). Another thing I enjoyed was that the garden was home to a colony of wild rabbits. They looked very cute and provided an entertaining all-day cabaret!

Llanbedrog01

The apartment had free wifi which worked perfectly during my stay (not always the case in my experience). The location was quiet and peaceful, and I slept very well.

Financials

As Pounds and Sense is primarily a money blog, I should say a few words about this.

I paid a total of £344.98 for my three-night stay. This was made up as follows:

  • £91.67 x 3 nights = £275
  • Cleaning fee £20
  • Service Fee (which goes to Airbnb) £49.98

I was charged an initial deposit of £112.50, with the balance taken from my card a fortnight before my visit. As mentioned, some of the cost was covered by a refund from a booking I made with Airbnb in 2020 which had to be cancelled.

So the total price worked out to £115 a day. Obviously that’s not cheap, but prices across the board have risen due to Covid and the additional cleaning and other precautions property owners have to take. I thought it was very reasonable bearing in mind the high standard of the accommodation and the convenience of the location.

Things to Do

I won’t give you a blow-by-blow account of what I did while I was there, but here are a few highlights.

Plas yn Rhiw

This National Trust property is about 7 miles from Llanbedrog. It’s pretty remote, and I was glad to have my satnav to guide me. At one point I drove through a tiny hamlet and some children waved at me as I passed. That was a first for me!

Plas yn Rhiw is a 16th century manor house (with Georgian additions) overlooking the sea. Unfortunately due to Covid only the ground floor was open to visitors. This was basically three rooms, all roped off so you had to look at them from a distance. As you may imagine, it didn’t take me very long to go round. I did though have a nice chat with the National Trust lady who was in the kitchen. She told me about the paraffin cooking range from the 1950s (see photo below). There must have been quite a smell in the house when this was going!

llanbedrog02

The house also has some beautiful formal gardens (see photo below). And, naturally, there is a tea room. I enjoyed an excellent cappuccino with a jam and cream scone here. As I chose to sit inside (it was raining a bit at this point) I had to complete a Covid tracking form. That was no great hardship, of course.

llanbedrog03

Overall I enjoyed my visit to Play yn Rhiw even though the restrictions were frustrating. I would like to go back there again when things are more normal and see the rest of the house.

Oriel Plas Glyn y Weddw

This gothic-styled mansion built in 1857 is in Llanbedrog and was five minutes walk from where I was staying.

Nowadays the building is used as an art gallery and museum. It also has an excellent cafe attached which I visited twice during my stay. It’s free to enter and certainly worth a visit if you are staying in the Llanbedrog area. The gallery hosts a permanent collection of Welsh porcelain (said to be among the finest in Wales) along with exhibitions of works by local artists.

Oriel Plas Glyn y Weddw also has some beautiful gardens and an outdoor theatre, which had some shows advertised for later in the year (though not during my visit). In the grounds there is also this carriage from the horse-drawn tramway which used to run from Pwllheli to Llanbedrog. Apparently this was a popular tourist attraction until the track was damaged by a heavy storm in the 1930s and subsequently abandoned.

llanbedrog04

Llanbedrog Beach

As mentioned, the beach (see cover photo) was about ten minutes’ walk from my apartment. It was sandy and quiet, and offered a perfect place for children to play. The beach huts were well maintained and picturesque. There was also a beach bar serving drinks and snacks all day (though not in the evening). I didn’t go here in the end as it was quite small and I felt a bit awkward about taking up a table on my own when families were queuing up. I did hear good reports about it, though, and it was certainly a lovely location (see photo).

llanbedrog05

Final Thoughts

As you may gather, I enjoyed my short break in Llanbedrog, and am happy to recommend both the town and the accommodation where I stayed for a short break. Llanbedrog is a lovely place to relax and chill out, and with its beautiful beach could also be a good destination for families with young children. Older children and teenagers might find the lack of other entertainments a bit limiting though.

As for me, this was the first time I had been away since last autumn. After many months of lockdown, I really appreciated the sea air and (mostly) sunshine, and of course the much-needed change of scene. I definitely plan to return there before too long.

As always, if you have any comments or questions about this post, please do leave them below.

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October Update

My Coronavirus Crisis Experience: October Update

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Regular readers will know that I have been posting about my personal experience of the coronavirus crisis since the original lockdown started (you can read my September update here if you like).

As previously I will discuss what has been happening with my finances and my life generally over the last few weeks, while trying to avoid being too repetitive!

As always, I will start with the money side of things.

Financial

As I’ve done before, I’ll begin with my Nutmeg stocks and shares ISA. This has gone up and down over the last few weeks, but currently stands at £16,578. That is over £500 up on last month, so I’m happy with that! Here is a screen capture covering the last three months…

Nutmeg account October

You can read my in-depth Nutmeg review here if you like.

My two Buy2LetCars investments are still delivering the promised monthly returns without any hassle. To recap, investors with Buy2LetCars put up the money to finance a car for a key worker such as a nurse or police officer. They then receive 36 monthly capital repayments followed by a final balancing payment of interest and capital. The original (new) vehicle I bought pays me £250 a month, and the more recent (pre-owned) vehicle pays £165 a month. My first investment matures in spring next year, when I am due to receive a final payment of £8,429. Again, if you’d like to learn more, you can read my review of Buy2LetCars here and my more recent article about the company here.

My Property Partner and Kuflink investments are still both ticking along satisfactorily. Property Partner has resumed paying dividends on some properties, which is appreciated. The five-year sales process has also resumed. There is a backlog, though, so it will probably be longer than five years till the properties I hold shares in can be sold at the current, independently-assessed market price (or retained, of course).

There is nothing really to report about The House Crowd. I assume that the sales of the two properties in which I hold £1,000 shares are progressing, but can understand that it is a slow process at present. At least rental payments are still accruing, which should help to defray some of the selling costs.

There has been no further word either regarding my investments with Crowdlords. As I said last month, I have two remaining investments with them, Kennington Road eco-houses and Trent House. I was told they hope to have exit options for these properties by the end of the year, but I’m not holding my breath. On the plus side, they are paying 6 percent interest on my Trent House investment, which is quite generous in these days of ultra-low interest rates.

Finally, I was pleased to hear from my sister Annie that she has now received her first £50 payment in respect of the matched-betting opportunity mentioned in previous updates. Annie tells me that in the end she had to give up on Barclays Bank, as their online security measures made it impossible to operate. Instead she created an account with Metro Bank which worked with no problems at all. So obviously she (and I) strongly recommend using Metro for this purpose! If anyone else would like a free, no-obligation invitation to this no-cost, no-hassle, money-making opportunity, just drop me a line including your email address via my Contact Me page 🙂 Remember, this opportunity is only open to people who are trustworthy and have no more than two online bookmaker accounts open already.

  • My sister Annie just sent me the following comment about her experiences: ‘I’d recommend [name of business] to anyone who is happy to go through the process of opening an online account and liaising with Gavin to get everything set up. Once the initial ground work is done, you just sit back, let Gavin’s clever software do all the hard work, and then enjoy a little windfall into your account each month! Gavin is eminently approachable and very helpful with any initial teething problems to get the account up and running. He is happy to be contacted by phone, text or email and is quick to respond in all cases. My only word of caution is – don’t use Barclays as your nominated bank account! Metro Bank is far more user-friendly and it is much, much easier to navigate the online process with them.’

Personal

It’s been an eventful few weeks one way and the other.

As mentioned previously, I had booked a short break in Llandudno (see cover image) near the end of September. Thankfully I was able to go. If I had left it just a few days later I would have had to cancel, as the Welsh Assembly has decided to lock down the whole of the Llandudno and Conwy area due to rising infection rates. That means no-one can currently go in or out of the area without a compelling reason (and having a holiday booked there doesn’t count).

Anyway, I enjoyed my visit. I stayed in a self-catering apartment, which turned out to be a good choice in most respects. It was on two floors, with a lounge and well-equipped kitchen on the lower floor and a double bedroom and bathroom on the upper. The location was central but quiet, yet just five months’ walk from the sea. The only drawback was that parking was on the street and finding a spot was a bit of a lottery. I was lucky to get somewhere close when I arrived, but later in the holiday had to park on another road half a mile away, which was a bit of a pain. I paid £255 for my three-night stay via Booking.com, which I thought was reasonable. By comparison, the seafront hotels I checked out were charging over £600 for three nights’ bed and breakfast.

Not surprisingly Llandudno was quieter than usual for the time of year, but there were still plenty of visitors, and many of the small hotels and boarding houses had ‘No Vacancies’ signs in their windows. While some places and amenities were closed, many others were open, and I was pleased to find that the pier was fully operational (see photo below). Professor Codman’s famous Punch and Judy show on the promenade wasn’t running, though – a shame, as there were lots of young children who might have enjoyed it.

Llandudno

On my first day I left my car at the apartment and took a couple of bus tours. The first was the open-top bus that takes a circular route between Llandudno and Conwy and includes a running commentary. I have done this trip before and noticed that the recorded commentary hasn’t changed this year. Mind you, that may be just as well, as a post-Covid commentary would have had to include details about all the hotels and other places that have closed due to the virus, the seafront theatre that became a Covid field hospital, and so forth…

The other trip was on a vintage bus (see photo) around the Great Orme, one of the two promontories at either end of Llandudno’s seafront. This had a knowledgeable driver/guide, who provided an interesting – and up-to date – commentary. I must admit I particularly enjoyed seeing ‘Millionaire’s Row’ at the far side of the Orme. There are some amazing houses here, owned by people who like to preserve their privacy. Obviously the coach passes from a distance, but it was still a good opportunity to gawp at how the super-rich live. I particularly enjoyed hearing about the house that has its own private lift down to the beach!

On the second day of my visit I drove to the medieval walled town of Conwy, which is about three miles away. I booked a ticket online to see Plas Mawr, a restored Elizabethan town house (photo below). It was fascinating, and I was glad I took the option of borrowing one of the free electronic guides. You use these to scan a QR code in each room and it provides a commentary on the room itself and various interesting historical tidbits associated with it.

Plas mawr

As with my visit to Dunster Castle near Minehead earlier in September, all the usual anti-virus measures were in place. I had to wear a face covering throughout, and staff ensured that there were no more than two households in a room at any one time. It worked pretty smoothly, although you had to follow a set route and there was no possibility of returning to a room once you had left it.

  • In case you’re wondering, the photo in my cover image shows the Haulfre Gardens Tearoom on the lower slopes of the Great Orme. It’s one of my favourite places in Llandudno, and I was pleased to find it was still open. I enjoyed afternoon tea in their lovely garden on both days of my visit. As you can see, I was pretty lucky with the weather!

As mentioned above, I was very glad to be able to make my trip before the current lockdown would have made it impossible. I feel very sorry for people who booked after me and were unable to go, especially as I have heard that some are now having problems getting their money back. But I am sorry also for the hotels and other businesses who have been left high and dry by the lockdown. I really hope for their sake it doesn’t go on too long 🙁

Moving on, I had an experience I would rather not have had in the last few weeks too. At a routine eye examination my optician saw something she didn’t like the look of in the retina of my left eye. So she packed me off to the eye clinic at Queens Hospital, Burton. The doctor there told me I had a perforation of the retina, and gave me laser treatment then and there. It wasn’t painful but it was obviously nerve-racking. The doctor did say it was a good thing my optician had spotted the problem, as it could have led to a detached retina if left untreated, which is clearly more serious. I have to go for a follow-up check this weekend, but touch wood the problem has been repaired. I guess if nothing else this does show why it’s so important to have your eyes checked regularly even if you don’t think there is anything wrong with them. That applies doubly to older people and those who (Iike me) are very short-sighted, as we are especially susceptible to this sort of thing.

On the Covid front, clearly most of the news hasn’t been good recently. Mind you, in most parts of the UK hospital admissions and deaths remain a lot lower than at the peak of the pandemic in the spring. I have seen the current situation described as a ‘casedemic’, which seems a pretty apt description. Clearly it’s important to protect the elderly and vulnerable at this time. Young people don’t typically suffer severe reactions to the virus, however, so I do wonder if some of the more extreme measures aimed at them are fair or necessary. Personally I am taking what I consider reasonable precautions but still trying to live my life as normally as possible. I volunteered for the UCL Virus Watch panel a few weeks ago and fill in a weekly questionnaire saying whether I have any possible Covid symptoms (none so far). They have also just asked me to take a blood test to see if I have any antibodies or other natural resistance to the virus. I’ll be interested to see the results of that!

As regards masks and such matters, I have been wearing a half-face shield in supermarkets (as a mask sceptic I’m not going to other shops till masks are voluntary again, though I might make an exception if the shop clearly states that they welcome non-mask-wearers). I find this better than the full face shield I was wearing before, as it doesn’t interfere with my vision. Shields are also much easier to breathe through than cloth masks, and I haven’t yet been challenged by any staff members or self-appointed mask police. In case you are interested, here’s an Amazon ad (affiliate) for some half-face shields similar to the type I am now using.

Well, I guess that’s enough for now. I do hope you and your loved ones are staying safe and well. As always, if you have any comments or questions about this post, please do leave them below.

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My short break in Minehead

My Short Break in Minehead

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I recently enjoyed a three-night break in the North Somerset coastal town of Minehead.

It was actually my first visit to Minehead. Early this year, before the pandemic struck, I booked breaks in a few places I hadn’t been to before. Minehead was the only one I didn’t have to cancel 🙁

After some online research, I had booked a room at the Channel House Hotel. This is on Minehead’s North Hill (see cover photo), on the opposite side of the bay from the Butlins holiday camp. Here’s a map by courtesy of Google.

The Channel House Hotel had excellent reviews and a great location near the harbour. It had its own car park as well, which is always a plus with seaside hotels!

Here’s some more information about my stay…

The Hotel

The Channel House Hotel is a small country-house hotel with eight bedrooms. They don’t accommodate dogs or children under the age of 15.

I had Room 7, on the top floor. I had been hoping for a sea view, but due to a line of trees I couldn’t really see it from my room. I could at least hear the waves, though! The hotel is in a quiet, peaceful location, and I slept very well on all three nights.

As you would expect in these strange times, various anti-virus precautions were in place. I had my temperature checked on arrival, and hand sanitizer was available by the front door and on all the tables in the dining room.

I opted for breakfast and an evening meal, although you can book bed and breakfast only. Other dining options near the hotel appear limited, though, especially in these times of Covid.

There was a good choice of breakfast options for a small hotel. As well as the full English (which you can customize as you wish) you could also have Eggs Benedict in three different variations or smoked haddock with poached egg. You could also have a plate of mixed fruit, cereal and/or yogurt, plus the usual toast and hot drinks. I’m not sure what the normal arrangements for breakfast are, but obviously at present they can’t have a self-service buffet, so most meal options are brought to your table.

There is a choice of starters and main meals in the evenings, with guests asked to say what they would like after breakfast. Fair enough in my view, as there is obviously no point in the hotel preparing meals nobody wants! That applies especially at the moment with visitor numbers so low – partly due to the virus and partly (I understand) as a deliberate policy to help preserve social distancing. During my stay, there were never any more than six guests including me.

Evening meals are served at 7.00 pm, with pre-meal drinks in the small bar from 6.30. Although the latter is obviously optional, I did find this an enjoyable way of meeting and getting to know my fellow guests. There was one couple and all the others were solo ladies around my age or older. We all got along well. I enjoyed hearing what they had been doing during the day, as most of them knew the area better than I did.

The evening meals were very good. They comprised five courses: starter, main, dessert, cheese and biscuits, and coffee. That may sound a lot, but the portions were sensibly sized, so I didn’t feel too guilty!

Fish seems to be a speciality and I particularly enjoyed the sole I had on the first night. One thing that surprised me, though, was that the menu never included any vegetarian main courses. They do cater for veggies and those with special diets, so I’m sure if I’d asked I could have had something. For three nights I was perfectly happy with what was on offer. But as I eat vegetarian quite often at home, it might have been nice to have that option on the menu as well, some nights at any rate!

My twin-bedded room was more than adequate for my needs. It had a small (by modern standards) wall-mounted TV, but that was fine for a short visit. The WiFi worked well once I sorted out a bit of confusion over the password, and I was able to use it in my room as well as the communal areas. The bathroom was a good size and had a bath with a modern electric shower over it. My bed was comfortable and there was plenty of storage space. I was well looked after and had an enjoyable and relaxing stay.

Financials

As Pounds and Sense is primarily a money blog, I should say a word about this.

I paid £360 for my three-night stay (including breakfasts and evening meals) at the Channel House Hotel, which I thought very reasonable. If I had chosen bed and breakfast only, the price would have been £285. As you may gather from this, the hotel charge a fixed price of £25 for their five-course evening meals.

You can check current prices and availability on the Hotels.com website. You can book this way (which I did) or directly with the hotel. The latter method may or may not work out cheaper.

Things to See and Do

Inevitably at the time of my visit a lot of places and attractions were either closed or not operating normally.

I was particularly disappointed that the West Somerset Railway – said to be the longest heritage railway in England – was not running. At the time of writing there is still no indication when it will reopen.

I was though able to visit Dunster Castle, which is owned by the National Trust. As a Trust member I was able to get free admission, but had to book a ticket in advance on the website. They are doing this to ensure that visitor numbers are controlled, to help maintain social distancing.

Dunster Castle

Dunster Castle goes back to at least Norman times, with an impressive medieval gatehouse and ruined tower providing a reminder of its long and sometimes turbulent history. The castle became a lavish country home during the 19th century for the Luttrell family, and the furnishings and decor are largely from that time. The castle is surrounded by a terraced garden displaying varieties of Mediterranean and subtropical plants. Below this is a riverside woodland garden leading to a historic working watermill (unfortunately closed at present).

Due to anti-virus measures, visitors have to follow a long and winding route through the gardens to get to the castle, so my top tip is to allow longer than you would expect to arrive at your allotted time. Bear in mind also that you will be expected to follow a similarly circuitous route afterwards to get back to the car park. This means there is a lot of walking before and after you see the castle itself. I was okay with that, but I suspect some older visitors might struggle.

Anyway I duly arrived at the castle entrance and, after giving a phone number for track-and-trace and using a hand sanitizer, was allowed to enter (wearing a face covering, of course). Only certain parts of the castle were open to visitors, not including the kitchens for some reason. On the plus side, though, with so few visitors there was plenty of room to see everything on view. Although entry is by timed ticket, once in you are allowed to stay for as long as you want (or at least for as long as you can stand wearing a face covering).

I spent around an hour in the castle, after which I was ready for some refreshments. I am not sure if the castle has a coffee shop normally but if so it was closed. They did though have a pop-up cafe in the gardens (you can just see this to the left of my photo above). I had a hot chocolate and a slice of coffee-and-walnut cake here, which I very much enjoyed even though it wasn’t exactly a healthy option!

Dunster Castle was the only formal visitor attraction I visited during my stay, and I do recommend it, so long as walking isn’t a problem for you.

In fact, I did a lot of walking throughout my break. That included along the seafront, from the harbour to the Butlins camp, and also up North Hill, which takes you to the edge of Exmoor. On the walk up North Hill, I stopped to admire the 16th century St Michael’s Church (also sadly closed).

St Michaels Church

Near the church is an area called Church Steps, where there are some beautiful thatched cottages.

Thatched cottages

I would like to show you the view across the bay from the top of North Hill, which I am told is quite spectacular. When I got to the viewing area, however, a closed and padlocked gate barred my way, with a forbidding warning notice about Covid-19. Having made the not-inconsiderable effort to walk up the hill (most people drive), this was pretty disappointing. I sat at the roadside for a few minutes collecting my thoughts before heading down again. That was probably the low point of the holiday!

On my last day in Minehead I took a short stroll to Blenheim Gardens, a well-tended and attractive public park. The cafe was closed as well, but I wandered down to the harbour and enjoyed a takeaway cream tea there 🙂

Closing Thoughts

Overall, I enjoyed my visit to Minehead, though obviously the fact that so many places were closed did spoil it a little. I had an enjoyable, relaxing time, with plenty of healthy fresh air and exercise (just as well in view of the cakes and five-course dinners!). I will hope to go back again when things are more normal.

As always, if you have any comments or questions about this post, please do leave them below.


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How to save money on foreign currency transfers before or after retirement

How to Save Money on Foreign Currency Transfers Before and After Retirement

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A great number of people today need to transfer currencies, or receive transfers from abroad, for many different reasons. As globalization extends, this need has become more frequent as geographical borders become less relevant.

For example, our parents couldn’t even dream about services like eBay or Alibaba, where you can buy anything and have it delivered from a dozen countries away. And the whole thing might be cheaper than buying it in your local store!

But here is where the matter of foreign currency transfers becomes important. Paying for something abroad or getting money sent to you might not be cheap. That’s because not only do you have to pay bank fees for the transaction, you also lose money on currency exchange, which is often a mandatory step in cross-border transfers.

Luckily, today there are alternative money transfer services that allow you to cut these costs. You’ll need to look into them if you require regular foreign currency exchange (FX or forex) services.

Why You Might Need to Make Foreign Currency Transfers

One reason you might need to make a large money transfer abroad is real estate. Buying property is an important part of the retirement planning process and many Britons choose to retire abroad. For example, the latest data indicates that there are about 466,000 British pensioners living in the EU. There are even more among the 5.5 million Brits living worldwide.

Even if you don’t plan on moving or buying a vacation home on some tropical beach, you might consider investing. Investing in real estate is one of the less risky methods for growing your fortune. Of course, the coronavirus crisis has heavily affected this industry. But there are still some very promising prospects for the residential housing market.

Also, today you’ll need to make international payments when booking your holiday accommodation. So, if you plan to travel at all, you’ll need to look for cheap money transfer solutions.

Anyone involved in international business also needs to make and/or accept international payments. This also includes the simple process of buying goods through one of the many e-commerce platforms.

In addition to those reasons, if you are an expat or a traveller, you’ll need to exchange money regularly. The same goes for dealing with transfers like inheritance or even accepting dividend payments from your investments.

All in all, living in the modern world makes you exposed to foreign currency exchange and transfers in many ways. Therefore, the knowledge of how to save money on these transactions is sure to be useful.

How Much Do Foreign Currency Transfers Cost in a Bank?

The cost of an international bank wire transfer is a very complicated issue. First of all, you need to understand that banks will advertise, and sometimes even show you, only the transfer fee. In the UK those range from £8 to about £40. That doesn’t seem too bad, especially for large transfers, right?

However, the truth is that banks are deceiving customers most of the time. If they were fully transparent, you would understand that what truly matters is the FX rate margin. That’s the amount that the bank charges per currency conversion on top of the mid-market exchange rate.

Simply put, high FX margins are why you lose so much money on currency conversions. Different banks use different margins and that’s why they offer different exchange rates. But if you compare the options offered by top UK banks, you’ll see that they are all very close.

Therefore, you don’t have much of a choice.

Also, there might be additional fees involved in a cross-border money transfer. The recipient bank might charge its own fees. If there are any intermediary ‘stops’ along the way, more fees will come.

All things considered, the real cost of an international money transfer can go up to 3-10% of the transfer amount. This cost will be higher for exotic currencies and transfers to remote locations. It will go down a bit for large transfers because banks might offer better terms to VIP clients.

However, the total will always be quite high.

Leading Money Transfer Service Alternatives From the UK

With bank transfer costs so high, a necessity for an alternative emerged. The solution came in the form of FX brokers and money-transfer companies. These businesses offer services similar to banks, but they have much lower overhead costs. Therefore, they are able to keep both the margins and fees very low.

In fact, many companies charge no transfer fees at all for the majority of transactions. However, they use different margins that often depend on the transfer size. Thus, you should always compare foreign currency transfers before choosing a service. This won’t be difficult as all top companies in the industry offer free quotes. They also have transparent pricing schemes.

On average, a transfer with one of these companies will cost you 1-3% of the total. Industry leaders even offer options that allow you to cut costs below 1% for large transfers.

The most notable UK-based FX companies today are TransferWise and WorldFirst. There are other notable businesses as well. However, they cannot compete with these two giants that have multi-million funding.

TransferWise

TransferWise launched not even a decade ago and it has already become a major disruptor in the banking industry. It took over the FX money transfer industry rather fast as well. The main selling point of this company was offering not merely cheap transfers but also a fixed margin scheme.

This means that TransferWise managed to offer its customers consistency and a chance to save a great deal of money. Because of the fixed margins, its services were the most affordable in the industry. The company is now valued at over $3.5 billion and it’s expanded to many countries, including the US.

WorldFirst

WorldFirst is another veteran in the FX transfer industry. This company built a solid reputation for its reliability and trustworthiness. Launched back in 2004 literally from a basement, WorldFirst became one of the industry leaders within a few years.

In 2019 this fintech business was purchased by Ant Financial of the Alibaba Group. This allowed WorldFirst to launch a major change in pricing. It had already been one of the top companies, but it could not compete with TransferWise in affordability. However, the new pricing scheme with fixed margins that go below 0.55% makes WorldFirst a cheaper alternative even to TransferWise. At the moment, there is no cheaper option for foreign currency transfers in the UK. Also, WorldFirst has a very wide reach due to its association with Alibaba, though it’s not yet available in the US.

In Conclusion: Do Your Research for Saving Money on Foreign Currency Transfers

FX money transfer companies today offer great opportunities for money saving. However, do not forget that the lowest cost doesn’t necessarily mean the best offer. These companies have a number of requirements and additional services that you should research. For example, some have a minimum transfer limit. Others offer FX hedging tools that will be essential for reducing risks for businesses and investors.

Thus, be sure to compare all options you have available and research them thoroughly. Watch out for scammers, and choose only those businesses that have a good standing in the industry.

This is a sponsored post.

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My September Update

My Coronavirus Crisis Experience: September Update

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Regular readers will know that I have been posting about my personal experience of the coronavirus crisis since lockdown started (you can read my August update here if you like).

As previously I will discuss what has been happening with my finances and my life generally over the last few weeks. I will try to avoid being too repetitive, as I have obviously published a few of these updates now and not everything changes that much from one update to the next!

As always, I will start with the money side of things.

Financial

As usual, I’ll start with my Nutmeg stocks and shares ISA. This has gone up and down over the last few weeks, but is currently at £16,041. At one point it was as high as £16,270, but it’s still over £400 up on last month, so I’m not complaining. Here is a screen capture covering the last three months…

You can read my in-depth Nutmeg review here if you like.

My two Buy2LetCars investments are still delivering the promised monthly returns without any hassle. I was pleased that Buy2LetCars also chose to feature me and my blog posts about the company in their email newsletter last month. That brought me a few more readers, so a special welcome if you are one of them! Again, if you’d like to learn more, you can read my review of Buy2LetCars here and my more recent article about the company here.

There is nothing particular to report about my Property Partner or Kuflink investments, both of which are ticking along satisfactorily. As regards The House Crowd, another of their properties in which I hold a share has just been sold, so that is around £2,000 in capital I am expecting back in the next month or two. Unfortunately I am not expecting to make any profit on these two investments, though I have of course received rental payouts – or dividends if you prefer – from these properties over the time I’ve held shares in them.

As regards Crowdlords – which I discussed last month – I wrote asking about two investments I still have with them, Kennington Road eco-houses and Trent House. I had received no information from Crowdlords about either of these projects since before lockdown in March, which I found disappointing.

I received a prompt and courteous reply from Crowdlords co-founder, Richard Bush. He told me that the properties in question were proving difficult to exit from and the situation had been complicated by the change in their FCA status. He added: ‘Prior to the FCA announcement we were about to launch new investments for both of these properties, giving those that wish to leave an exit option and others who like income-based investments to take over, alongside mortgages. This is still our plan, though at the same time we will also try and sell both properties…Once we’re back up and running with Equity and Mezzanine investments we will turn our attention to the BTL’s (including Kennington Road) and still hope to have an exit option available by the end of the year. In the meantime Trent House will continue to earn 6% p.a interest.’

So I guess that is somewhat reassuring, but I’m still not holding my breath about seeing any return from either of these projects any time soon. It’s a shame because I’ve always liked Crowdlords and had good returns from my other investments with them. But obviously these are unprecedented times and property markets generally have been struggling. I will wait to see what new offering the company comes up with, but it will have to be very enticing indeed to persuade me to invest with them again.

As mentioned last time, I applied for the second (and final) round of SEISS (Self Employed Income Support Scheme) payments in mid-August and duly received payment a few days latter. I haven’t seen any complaints or problems about the administration of the SEISS programme and think HMRC deserve a lot of credit for how smoothly it has run. I do know there were issues over eligibility, however, so my commiserations go to any self-employed people who – for no fault of their own – failed to qualify.

In any event, if you are self-employed and eligible for a SEISS payment, applications are open now, so don’t delay!

Finally, thank you to those of you who expressed an interest in the matched-betting opportunity I have mentioned in recent updates, and especially to those who actually took up their invitations. As you may know, one of those people was my sister Annie. She had a lot of problems getting her bank account with Barclays set up, mainly due to all their online security measures. Based on her experiences she says she wouldn’t recommend that anyone uses Barclays for this purpose! However, both she and Gavin (who runs the company) persevered, and she is now finally up and running and expecting her first payment soon. If anyone else would like a free no-obligation invitation to this no-cost, no-hassle, money-making opportunity, just drop me a line including your email address via my Contact Me page 🙂

Personal

In the last few weeks I have done a few things for the first time since lockdown in March. For one, I took advantage of the government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme to enjoy a couple of pub lunches (okay, one was more of a pub brunch). It was great to be doing something more normal again and catch up with old friends I hadn’t seen since the start of the year. And paying half-price was a nice bonus!

It was obviously a different experience from the usual. When my friend and I arrived for our pub lunch, we were met by a man at the door who checked our booking and showed us to our table (no chance to pick our own as we would normally). One thing I noticed was that no staff were wearing masks and only a few customers. As a mask sceptic this didn’t bother me, but again I was struck by the incongruity of a situation where you can be in a pub surrounded by other diners for a couple of hours with almost nobody masked, then go to a supermarket and be forced to put one on while there (unless you’re exempt, of course).

In any event, I really enjoyed my pub lunch and catching up with my friend. We couldn’t pay cash as we would normally – nobody wants cash nowadays in case it’s contaminated – so my friend paid on his card and I later forwarded my half to him via PayPal. That was a first!

I also went to Birmingham to meet another old friend for brunch at one of the Wetherspoons pubs there. It felt odd to be on the streets in Brum and see so many people wearing masks in the open. Nobody does this in the small town where I live, but I guess it’s a bit different in big cities. Anyway, my friend arrived before me and was directed to a table at the back of the pub. I then had to wander around the tables looking for him behind various protective screens, feeling like a voyeur or a spy. But thankfully I found him eventually!

The instructions on the table told us to order via the Wetherspoons app. That task fell to me, as my friend doesn’t have a smartphone. I managed to do it after signing in to the pub’s free WiFi. I saw several people struggling with this, though. They either ended up hailing a passing waitress or gave up and ordered at the bar.

Anyway, the app worked well for me, and I was impressed by the speed with which cutlery was brought to our table, shortly followed by our meals (two all-day breakfasts). We both also ordered coffee with limitless refills. I was pleased to discover that this was still on offer, though you are now supposed to ask a staff member for a new mug before going to the coffee machine again. I did this, but I don’t think anyone else did.

I have just returned form a short break in Minehead on the Somerset coast (my cover image shows the harbour with the Butlins camp in the background!). I won’t say too much about this here as I plan to do a separate post about it soon. But I will say it was an enjoyable and relaxing break, only slightly marred by the fact that many of the attractions were closed due to Covid. I did manage to visit the nearby Dunster Castle (pictured below), which is owned by the National Trust. Sadly only some areas were open to the public, with various restrictions due to the virus. But on the plus side, because visitor numbers were being limited, I had plenty of space to appreciate what was actually on view!

Dunster Castle

Going back to masks and such matters, I have been wearing a full face shield in supermarkets (I’m not going to other shops till masks are voluntary again, though I might make an exception if the shop clearly states that they welcome non-mask-wearers). I find this a good compromise as it is much easier to breathe through than a cloth mask, and I haven’t yet been challenged by any staff members or self-appointed mask police. I also recently obtained a half-face shield which covers you from the nose downward. That makes it more portable, and also means your vision isn’t impaired (shields are made of clear plastic, but with my eyesight I struggle a bit reading lists of ingredients through them). In case you are interested, here’s an Amazon ad (affiliate) for some half-face shields similar to the type I bought.

I am looking forward to another late summer break in a couple of weeks’ time. I shall be going to Llandudno in North Wales, one of my favourite UK holiday destinations. I shall be staying in a self-catering apartment and am looking forward to shopping for food without having to put a mask on (Wales so far having sensibly resisted the pressure to make masks mandatory in shops). More about that next time!

And that’s it really. Recent reports are indicating an uptick in the virus among young people especially, and of course the doom-mongers are out in force again. Nonetheless, I think there are still plenty of reasons to stay positive. Hospital admissions and deaths are thankfully still at very low levels. And in my personal opinion we are very unlikely to see a ‘second wave’ anywhere near as bad as the first. Of course, it’s important to continue taking sensible precautions such as hand-washing and using sanitizing gel, along with social distancing (if you can keep up with the ever-changing rules). Personally I think that any marginal benefits from wearing masks are more than offset by the way people misuse them in practice. But I’d better not go on any more about that!

I hope you and your loved ones are staying safe and sane during this crazy time. As ever, if you have any comments or questions about this post, please do leave them below.

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