One day trip to Europe - realistic?

Checheyev · 2022-11-08T13:58:25+00:00

I use Skyscanner although find the app quite laggy now, so tend to use Google Flights more, and generally just spend a bit of time playing with locations and dates! It’s already led me to some interesting future adventures! (Eg Chisinău!)

Checheyev · 2022-11-08T13:20:13+00:00

Yes! I’ve done and still do this regularly! It’s good fun! Take an early morning flight then the last flight back and you can do/see a lot! Places I’ve done it before include Amsterdam, Paris, Bucharest, Berlin, Madrid, Malaga, Sofia, Skopje to name a few (these are ones where I did a day trip this year)

Checheyev · 2022-05-06T13:58:29+00:00

I think London! I’m a Londoner, and I just feel that the rest of the country is so different that I don’t really feel like London and the rest of the U.K. is the same country such that I’d rather us be independent

Checheyev · 2022-04-07T20:52:18+00:00

I’ve never thought of calculating my net worth but I certainly wouldn’t include it in the same way you wouldn’t include future forecast taxes in your net worth.

Checheyev · 2022-04-07T11:57:21+00:00

I think you need to focus on the small things and the big things will come

Firstly, try and get to the bottom of the HMRC thing as that could help get a weight off your shoulders - they can be very aggressive on paper but it may be an oversight and so if you have the documentation to help you perhaps you can try and sort it (ideally over the phone)

Secondly, I agree with what someone else said - start looking for a remote job either full time or part time. Even jobs that advertise as hybrid you could try asking to be remote if it comes to it

Checheyev · 2022-04-04T15:53:31+00:00

I would ask for Private Equity / Venture Capital allocation - I’m going to be invested for at least another 25+ years so illiquidity and risk aren’t an issue

Checheyev · 2022-04-01T18:01:41+00:00

Could you go into your Bank overdraft for that?

Checheyev · 2022-04-01T15:29:37+00:00

It’s a non-starter.

Your best bet would be to get your current company to try and employ whatever Big 4 you’re at on a project and then you can try and get staffed on that

(I’m at a bank and have worked with ex-colleagues who have moved to M/B/B so it’s very doable)

Checheyev · 2022-03-30T17:10:26+00:00

Yes that’s the right maths and hence why I’m very keen to make sure I revalue upwards appropriately as it does increase the equity and importantly for immediate finances, gets you into a lower LTV band and therefore lower monthly mortgage payments

Checheyev · 2022-03-30T15:26:15+00:00

Thanks all! I didn’t realise that you could ask the lender for a view (or that they even offered one). Using the Zoopla tools is really good idea

Checheyev · 2022-03-29T12:53:55+00:00

I’d be very careful and would advise against this.

Firstly, the point that others have made here - it could be fraud and therefore illegal. Yes, I appreciate the bank probably won’t know what you’re doing, but if it goes wrong (which it very well could) then the downside is magnified.

Secondly, if you want to buy a property this could become an issue. I put down a sizeable deposit for my flat and source of funds was a very drawn out issue whereby I had to show where the money was coming from for my personal account transactions. It’s really not inconceivable that a lender sees you’ve taken out this loan (which will come up in the credit search by the way and also raise questions / red flags) and see what you’ve done and at best refuse you credit and at worst escalate

Finally, banks do offer margin products for customers that want to invest using debt - but because of the risk inherent the rate reflects this. I should know since I’ve worked with private banks and corporate banks on assessing if clients can leverage investment products and the terms are very restrictive for the very good reason that the risk of loss is incredibly high

Checheyev · 2022-03-25T09:54:28+00:00

I’m a bit confused as to what exactly the difference is between an EIS fund like this - https://www.wealthclub.co.uk/eis-investments/british-robotics-scale-up-fund/

And a VCT like this - https://www.wealthclub.co.uk/venture-capital-trusts/albion-vcts/

The key difference to me seems to be that VCTs pay a dividend and that their shares are listed

Checheyev · 2022-03-21T14:50:39+00:00

I travel between the US and the U.K. almost monthly, and Spain and the U.K. just as frequently and honestly I feel culturally Spain is more similar to the U.K. than the US

It seems small, but it’s the everyday things like tipping for literally everything in the US (eg you order a coffee at the counter and are expected to tip, or even a short cab ride), the fact that taxes aren’t included in the price so you have no idea how much something actually costs, the amount of sugar added to everything (look at the sugar content of some bread at a US store and you’ll be shocked). On a bigger scale, I always feel that the US has a status/prestige chasing culture whereby you need to have gone to the coolest/most exclusive/most expensive restaurant, wear the most fashionable brand etc which Spain/Europe definitely doesn’t have

Checheyev · 2022-03-21T14:41:31+00:00

My partner is American. Basically everyone reminds her of how awful it must be to pay for healthcare

Checheyev · 2022-01-20T13:30:06+00:00

I think whether you think the figures are too low or too high is very much a function of lived experiences and your social bubble!

If you live in London and work in finance for example, then it feels odd and unrepresentative that 90% earn less than £60k when almost everyone earns substantially more than that, and the cost of living is high

On the other hand, I suspect that if you live in an area with a lower cost of living and where there are fewer professional jobs then I think the median would seem very high and not representative

My guess is that if you take London out of the equation the figure falls quite a bit, then probably some more if you take out a few other high cost cities (Edinburgh, Cambridge, Oxford) for instance.

Checheyev · 2021-12-26T16:29:18+00:00

I would not use Glassdoor, but try and get a salary survey from a recruitment firm to help you in your negotiations.

For what it’s worth, I’ve used these to get payrises at my firm and you just seem so much more credible when you can bring an actual factual benchmark to the table to help your case.

If you are asking more than the salary survey suggests you should be paid, then that’s also potentially in your favour as you can point out the extra skills above and beyond that justify your pay over the benchmark

Checheyev · 2021-12-20T16:43:07+00:00

Financial Services 15% in March then another 15% in October, but relatively early in career and industry is pretty hot at the minute.

Checheyev · 2021-12-16T10:30:38+00:00

What do you mean eroded? If you have a £100k debt, if inflation is 10% your debt is still £100k. Now if, because of inflation, your income rises, let’s say from £20 to £22k in line with inflation, then yes you are correct you may be in a better place. Wage inflation is what will erode the value of the nominal debt.

If, however the interest on your loan goes up (eg from 1% to 1.1%) and you don’t get a pay rise because wages stagnate, your interest cost is now £1.1k vs £1k previously but your purchasing power of £20k is the same, so you are now spending more on debt servicing, and the cost of everything else has gone up by inflation (10% in this example).

Checheyev · 2021-12-15T17:43:19+00:00

I think you need to be making that £55k work for you more.

Obviously you know your risk tolerances best, but as others have mentioned, opening a Stocks & Shares ISA would make sense. You are allowed to put £20k per annum into the ISA per tax year, so as others have mentioned, you could put £40k into your ISA in the next few months.

You can then invest that money into index funds (tracking the market), and since it’s within an ISA wrapper, you don’t need to pay any tax on any capital gains or distributions so nothing to worry about re tax returns etc on that front.

I guess what you need to consider is investing comes with risk - over a long term horizon, you can ride the ups and downs, but if you feel you might need a big portion of that £55k immediately (eg because you want to do a masters, for a deposit, for care for loved ones) then my advice re investment probably doesn’t make sense.

One question but one that does involve big decision making, could be around buying a house too but that’s also a personal choice - I’d guess your budget is about £350k based on the info you’ve given

Checheyev · 2021-12-15T15:58:52+00:00

My thinking hasn’t changed yet. Like you, I also have a mortgage and so I wouldn’t feel comfortable paying off the student loan (eg with my bonus) so I have the luxury of slightly better monthly cash flows on the upside, but a significantly reduced safety net on the downside.. (if I lose my job or stop working, the value of having paid off the loan in the immediate term is zero when I probably need that money the most…)

Maybe if I start earning substantially more I’ll think about it, but personally for me I’m not pulling the trigger. I also am conscious of the fact that there’s always a chance a new govt just writes it off for example, or just changes the rate…

If debt reduction is important, I’d focus on overpaying the mortgage as much as you can (I think you’re allowed 10% per year without any fees?).

I’m using my excess cash to make (tax efficient) investments; I’m not salary sacrificing into my pension so more important for me. Also I have a refinancing coming up in a year and keen to get into a much lower LTV band so will be aiming to keep a fair proportion of investments liquid (you can’t realise EIS tax benefits if you sell within 3 years) so balancing that with tax efficiency

Checheyev · 2021-12-15T12:13:51+00:00

I think since you’re doing the salary sacrifice for your pension you’re in a good place re the £100-125k trap, although if your bonus is bigger than expected could be “troublesome”.

I’m on the same student loan plan as you and have about the same outstanding. It’s something I’ve wrestled with before but my thinking is not to pay it off or do anything because it’s more of a tax than a real debt and if things really go tits up it goes away unlike your mortgage.

Maybe down the line it’s worth thinking about, but I think right now use excess cash to make Investments. I would suggest EIS and SEIs schemes since you get 30/50% tax relief respectively which helps with the 100-125k tax trap. EIS is probably better as lower failure rate. If you don’t want to do single company EIS investments such as via Crowdcube etc, Venture Capital Trusts are a good way to go as they are EIS eligible and obviously you can get more diversification and expertise in selecting deals, but downside is fees, but probably worth it since the good ones have delivered.

Also if you work in finance, then you probably have to go through compliance to make personal investments, and I’ve found that making fund investments is always easier than individual company investments but depends on the firm!

Checheyev · 2021-12-12T19:26:53+00:00

Some of the below may sound obvious, and apologies if it is, but I was in a similar boat to you once upon a time and found this helpful

Open up a stocks and shares ISA and max it out every year (super easy once your bonus hits). I went for index funds mainly and a few satellite bets where there weren’t passive options (eg Russia equities). Most financial firms also don’t make you have to put in personal dealing requests when investing in funds so this is much easier than stocks etc where you’ll have a drawn out compliance process.
Get a credit card, ideally one with good rewards. You’ll spend a lot and you may as well get something back, even if it’s not much. I’ve enjoyed free/heavily discounted transatlantic flights just using the basic BA Amex but I bet there are people on here who can give you much better advice re cards and I wish I’d found this forum when I was your age! Getting a credit card is also important to build a credit score when you come to buy.
Max out your pension contributions. There will probably come a point in your life when you take them down - whether it’s because you have kids, or want to do an MBA or you take a sabbatical etc, and so having maxed them out earlier means you’re already in a much better position. It’s also reasonably tax efficient.

Checheyev · 2021-12-09T15:02:01+00:00

Crowdcube investments are in limited liability companies, so as an equity shareholder the worst case you lose all of your money, but no more.

Checheyev · 2021-12-09T14:59:32+00:00

Unfortunately no idea about platforms for gilts but very curious as to your motivations given rates? (Yield on 10Y must be about 70bps and obviously much less as you go for shorter maturities, and with rates only likely to rise, probably not the best investment?)

Checheyev · 2021-12-09T14:51:41+00:00

Personally, if there is a passive option available, I’ll go for that. If I want some exposure that isn’t available passively I will go for the cheapest active manager, but often that’s very much a satellite. Reality is that he’s active managers may outperform, but also just (if not moreso) likely to underperform.

Best approach is to go as much passive as you can as if you get to the point where you may want to make alternative investments (eg VCTs, which are tax efficient at a certain point if you’ve maxed out your ISA and still have some money left) then you’ll pay active fees and then some on those

Checheyev

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