Friday 29 December 2017

Trusting the internet ratings?

In one brilliant take on TripAdvisor, a legendary joke will place someone's shed in 1st place restaurant in London.

Read here

Saturday 23 December 2017

About patience

Motto: "Surrender is the inner transition from resistance to acceptance, from no to yes."
- Eckart Tolle -

I remember when i discovered from first time the financial independence concept, and i was so hyped up, that i would probably calculate my net wealth twice per day when i will receive some income or pay few bills. Same with the shares trading account, and lately with the cryptocurrency account, i would check them at least twice per day, once in the morning and once before sleep, to see if something changed. Oh, the times of the beginning, and how i will never learn. I made few wrong decisions based on rush, and i probably lost the opportunity to make at least 10-15 thousands more. But i improved with time, and i gradually increased my checks to one week, and to one month after. Now, after most of my trades happen automatically, i should probably do it every six months, in order to avoid the internal noise taking control of my thoughts inside my mind. I learned to be in the present moment, and to live life fully (I do it few times a day, and i am improving). I learned that once the investment done, i should set some limits, and then i should just let it go, and check again at the end of the term ( i try, i really try, but sometime i need reassurance, and i go online to check the numbers and to confirm myself that i am on the right way).

In order to achieve results, we should let the time to help us. We should be consistent with our saving and investing strategy, but to avoid to do decisions in the rush of the moment. Retrospectively, if i would let any major decision to be done after one good night sleep, the results should improve with some degree. So now and then, every time when i find myself in the same situation, i am just switching of the computer and try again in the morning. It is for the best, at least in my case.

How are you dealing with the fear of missing out and other kind of crisis? What are your strategies?

Monday 18 December 2017

Bitcoin and other flying piglets

As someone who dealt with this option extensively and has 20% of investments in cryptocurrencies (I know, i know, i aim to 10% on the long run, but they got value very, very fast), i would like to point few directions:
- You can can rich over night, but this will happen only if you have a lot of luck or knowledge. For us mere mortals, we only need to learn about it and invest diligently.
- Learning about it, this is critical, and you need to have a basic knowledge of a block-chain, what is the difference between Bitcoin and Ethereum in terms of utility, how many transactions per second will be added by lightning technology or why Dash and Zcash serve the same purpose, but differently. Investing in some coin because your taxi driver made some bucks of it is very often a way to loose a big part of your investment. Never forget the golden rule, invest only in what you understand and see and utility. Be a trader, not a speculant. 
- Scams: as in any lucrative business, scammers appear and try to take money from the uninformed ones. As you know, if it is too good to be true, it isn't. I would estimate that more than 50% of the offers are scams, but some experts go as up as 90%. Beware at the very higher returns.
- You can use this as a store of value, and invest a minimum amount that you are fine losing it completely, if you like to experiment. If you do not know what a cryptocurrency is and how it is working, do not do it. Stick with what you learnt.

Hope it helped!

G.

Friday 1 December 2017

November 2017 - Monthly report

November 2017 - Monthly report

My Overview

Total portfolio: £32328(+5772)
Debt: £6305(+6110)
External funds: ZERO
Car: No
Net Worth: £28023(+1652)

Investments UK: £18193(+7381)
Investments overseas : £4160( Same)
Cash: £3262 3126(-1218)
Pension: £7747 8263(+74)

Total Income: £2099 2212(+113)
Passive income: £865 (39.10%)
Savings rate: 20.52%

Side hustle 2 value: £1.50
Side hustle 3 value: £446 (Profit October = 318)
Side hustle 4 value: £384 (Funds:6511)

How shall i start? I am recovering after all the moving/renovating/improving house storm. I had a decent income, given the zero hours done on my second job (part time one). Almost 40% passive income, which is great, doing a temporary investment/speculation for as long as it is sustainable. I had no time for side hustle 2, again, but i supported the no.3 nicely (matched betting from time to time). I started to create a cloud mining cryptocurrency  portfolio, with very good result on Bitcoin, decent returns on Ethereum and Litecoin and loss on Zcash and Dash (which is only 3% of my portfolio for both of them). I ride the bubble for as long as is worth it. I took a loan, hopefully it will be paid in 3-4 months, but it is also covered by some Housecrowd  investments (around 6000 plus interest - to be paid in December-January.

Our future rental house is getting painted at the moment, with carpet changed and new curtains to be done after. I will probably change the furniture/elements in the bathroom. With a bit of luck, it will be rented before our January Holiday. Or at least until the end of the month. The main goal next year is to fully pay all the mortgage and put £200 every month in the Account - help to buy ISA.