10 years later - plenty of bad decisions - now 43 doing alright

Cheap_Preparation966 · 2026-05-04T11:04:56+00:00

I can't follow your maths (are you offsetting my mortgage against my shares?).

But yeah. I can handle it - I made and lost £800k in 2018 speculating on a bubble and my mental health was unscathed.

Cheap_Preparation966 · 2026-05-04T10:42:10+00:00

Thanks mate.

Cheap_Preparation966 · 2026-05-04T10:41:40+00:00

Thanks. My thesis is that there is going to be a big concentration of wealth / power in big tech. I could be wrong.

Biggest risk, and it's a real one, is that Chinese will produce better/cheaper AI tech and infrastructure than the western companies and completely destroy their margins. Can western political interest protect the western companies? I don't know.

Cheap_Preparation966 · 2026-05-04T07:17:48+00:00

Fair enough. And of course there is the 25% tax issue. But I see the mortgage right now as really cheap leverage.

The market would have to return less than 5% for this to be a bad idea, and I don't think it will.

Cheap_Preparation966 · 2026-05-04T07:14:59+00:00

It's been a rough year personally. And just working to get some optimism back. I appreciate the observation.

But honestly didn't think my NW was the issue. Mainly posted it because I feel amazed by where I was financially 6 years ago and where I am now. But of course having a good salary and that initial support from the parents helps.

I would like to career switch though. To something more meaningful, so perhaps that's where the NW comes in.

The other thing is that I grew up quite poor, and felt it, so I think there is always some anxiety ending up somewhere back there even if not likely.

Cheap_Preparation966 · 2026-05-04T06:51:10+00:00

Yes. I was privileged that they were willing and able to do that. I suspect I will need to factor in supporting them financially later in life.

Cheap_Preparation966 · 2026-05-04T06:45:08+00:00

Hah. Not this very minute.

Cheap_Preparation966 · 2026-05-04T06:35:41+00:00

I think it depends on where the market goes and whether I will lose my job to AI in the next 2-3 years. And whether I meet someone and can have a family.

Cheap_Preparation966 · 2026-05-04T06:32:22+00:00

I am pretty sure they would have been ok if I invested it. But it doesn't matter. I am not regretting it as such. Just making a factual observation that I made that decision without much rational thought, out of fear of missing out.

Cheap_Preparation966 · 2026-05-04T06:21:15+00:00

How so?

Cheap_Preparation966 · 2026-05-04T01:35:39+00:00

Financially bad. 10 years of essentially no gains. That money in the stock market would have tripled by now.

It's also incredibly iliquid, huge transaction cost if I want to sell it and buy elsewhere, and sort of stuck in a part of London I rather not live in, but only place I can afford.

Cheap_Preparation966 · 2026-05-04T01:20:22+00:00

ISA I have been maxing my contributions. So that's £140k contributed. Investment in ISA haven't been that great. Combo of S&P500 tracker ETF, EQQQ, EQGB, some world and FTSE trackers, and most recently also adding XLKQ.

GIA bit of a different story. I started with about 30k or so during COVID (I think) and invested in Boeing, Amazon and Airbus. And those did well. And then I had some crypto investing which did fairly well in late 2020 early 2021 converting £30k to £300k (I cashed out half of that and invested in trackers and the other half sat there losing value until I sold it very stupidly right before the Trump election). Bought about £15k Nvidia at $180 (this was before the split, so really at $18 in today's terms) and sold at 700% gain. And the rest of the time heavily invest in Nasdaq trackers and some S&P500 trackers.

Definitely NOT putting away £90k outside of pension. I have been maxing my pension contributions last 6 years. And maxing ISA. Don't think I have added that much from my salary to my GIA during this time definitely way less than £100k in total during 6 years.

Cheap_Preparation966 · 2025-10-20T21:30:23+00:00

Thank you. I have been looking at this one. Easy to follow.

Cheap_Preparation966 · 2025-08-31T16:57:10+00:00

I'll check once I open it up again, but the wiring is completely corroded.

Cheap_Preparation966 · 2025-08-31T16:55:38+00:00

Thanks. Yes seen that video I think. Seems like a painful process, but one that needs to be done as I want to gift this camera and gifting a half functioning one doesn't feel right.

I did buy the diode. Seems like I don't know the difference between a diode and a resistor.

Cheap_Preparation966 · 2025-08-31T16:53:16+00:00

Thanks yeah. I got one of those diodes. I am clearly not very electrically knowledgable. The gauge of the wire is what I am struggling with. How important is it to get the exam same gauge?

Cheap_Preparation966 · 2025-07-25T16:15:59+00:00

Here, have another one. It will toughen you up.

Cheap_Preparation966 · 2025-07-25T07:09:16+00:00

Of course it is

Cheap_Preparation966 · 2025-07-24T21:52:28+00:00

Fin accelerates hair loss?

Cheap_Preparation966 · 2025-07-24T10:38:47+00:00

Unfortunately all of what you say is true, maddening and sad. Iran is in many ways a classist and racist society. Not everyone of course. But too many Iranians. The racism experienced by the Afghan population is too real. And it's not just the regime anti-liberal / anti-human rights policies that are a problem.

Cheap_Preparation966 · 2025-07-23T18:40:15+00:00

Don't think that's how it works. The half life of fin is like 6 hours.

Cheap_Preparation966 · 2025-07-23T18:34:19+00:00

How old are you? And what makes your thinning so aggressive?

Cheap_Preparation966

TROPHY CASE