Thursday, 31 May 2018

Buy-to-Let Investment: 5 Things you Should Consider

Buy-to-let investments can feel risky. Whether it’s rates or rebellious renters, a great deal of turmoil can come of your efforts. After all, managing property can be stressful, leaving many people wishing for a way to avoid all the stress that comes with it. In any event, you need to have your wits about you, and consider a great deal before moving forward with buy-to-let investments.

Consequently, we’ve provided a round down of things to be mindful of when dealing with this kind of property management. Here’s what you should consider.

Pension Alternative

When many people reach retirement age, their income becomes a top priority. After all, there are multiple ways to accept and utilise a pension, and a variety of schemes to choose from can dilute the certainty of this process. Nevertheless, the money shouldn’t be trickling in, but pouring in, and that’s where buy-to-let investments provide a helping hand.

Most might typically buy annuity from their workplace pension. Of course, this isn’t the most cost-effective solution, as it’s giving up all of their money in one go for smaller proportioned payments. If you die soon after the fact, all your money disappears down a vacuum for the sake of a few hundred pounds! Therefore, buy-to-let investments can potentially add more money and flexibility to earnings, without giving much up!

Investment for Youth

If you’ve got a lump sum to invest, traditionally, you would put it into a bank or building society. Of course, at this moment in time interest rates are very low, so there’s not an awful lot to be gained here. Consequently, it makes much more sense to invest it into a property. The rental can give you a very good yield, and once again give something back to you.

Of course, it doesn’t have to just go to you. Should you have or want children, your property can stick around the same way pensions (generally) don’t. With a buy-to-let property, you then have something tangible to pass on to your children or sell on again, leaving you with an investment spanning beyond your years that protects the financial future of your children. What more could you ask for?

Supply and Demand

It’s a cold fact, but property prices in the UK are soaring, leaving many young people scratching their heads with woe. Many young adults are desperate to move out, willing to claw and scratch their way to some semblance of independence. With desperation reaching fever pitch levels, it’s the perfect time to swoop in and save the day with your buy-to-let investment.

Put simply, there’s guaranteed interest despite the price hike. Therefore, if you price the property with an alluring figure too good to refuse, you could be well on the way to earning a great deal of money. What’s more, is that with the housing crisis, most of your tenants would certainly not leave for a good long while, giving you a consistent income instead of managing fleeting tenants.

 



from Finance Girl http://www.financegirl.co.uk/buy-to-let-investment-5-things-you-should-consider/

A friend asks: Should I put all my money into this can’t lose cryptocurrency venture?

Our passive investing logo: A slow and steady tortoise

When word gets around that you understand a little of the black art of investing, friends and family start to ask you about it.

Which is flattering, but it can also be rather scary and a little frustrating.

We’re not financial advisors for one thing. Also you’ll discover it’s a bit of lose-lose proposition.

People want two-minute solutions, not a reading list. They want to know how to get rich quick, not how to get comfortable in 30 years.

Some seem to believe you’re holding the good stuff back from them.

And even if your boring passive investing advice is implemented nothing good will happen quickly enough for most people to remember why you suggested it, whereas if a hot tip rockets to the moon and you swore someone off it they will remember that for the rest of your days.

Still, we get letters. Here’s a mildly re-jigged one I received very recently from a friend, who shall remain nameless, and my reply, which is more or less as sent.

(If this sort of thing is interesting perhaps we could make it a semi-regular feature?)

Hi [The Accumulator],

How’s life?

Anyway remember that time in The Fox and Duck when someone loud – probably [person X] but maybe [geezer Y] – went off about The Wolf of Wall Street and burning capitalists, and you sort of defended the bankers?

Which nobody expected, because most of the time you’re like us, but you sounded like you knew what you were talking about when it came to betting on the stock market.

WELL I was impressed anyway, and vaguely made a mental note to ask you if any opportunities came up.

So that day has come and I wondered if you had heard much about this block chain stuff…?

A mate was saying he’d already made a few thousand and that his next move was going to be into [obscure cryptocurrency venture redacted to protect the innocent] and I have to say investing in it sounds like a one way ticket to The Sunday Times Rich List

But maybe it’s not… and perhaps that’s where you come in!?

What do you reckon? Deal or no deal?

Cheers,

[A friend]

Dear [friend],

Please be very careful when you get these kind of tips. One-way trips to El Dorado are mirages 99.9% of the time.

Blockchain is hot. As in, off the back of Bitcoin, cryptocurrency is big news and everyone thinks they’ll make out like bandits.

Unfortunately, it’s more like a gold rush. A few early movers make it big and mostly everyone else gets buttons.

This sort of thing happens regularly. The process relies on a compelling story along these lines: investors believe that a particular section of the economy has excellent prospects and so bet big on firms that operate in that sector.

Early investors see success, latecomers get jealous and double or triple down. A few converts even ‘bet the farm’. (Luckily for our stomachs mostly farmers are less flighty folk).

Recent examples include green energy, robotics, 3D printing, and bitcoin. Back in the day it was gold, computing firms, and telecoms.

Go back far enough and it was railroads.

This kind of bet has historically been a bad one for most regular Joes.

Precisely because everybody thinks there’s huge profits to be made in a particular technology, firm, or sector, capital floods in.

This raises share prices. Share prices get so high that even fairly solid future returns can’t justify the prices paid. And so returns in the future are low, flat, negative, or CRASH.

Also, all the capital that’s pumped in is gladly accepted and put to work by those operating in the hot space. Most of them spend the millions as fast as they get it in an effort to outdo their rivals who are doing the same.

Competition is intense, but capital is wasted. There’s often plenty of innovation – but not enough to justify the gazillions pumped in. Bubbles can be good for humanity, but they’re bad for most investors.

This sort of thing happened in railroads, airlines, computing, the Dotcom crash of 2001 and most recently in crypto-currencies.

Essentially you have too much cash chasing the shares because of over-optimism about future prospects. The smart money identified the trend and got in early. The dumb money comes in later and gets burned.

The dumb money is ordinary mortals like you and me who can’t compete with the inside knowledge, research, analysis and computing power of the 24/7 City players that are the smart money.

It’s very hard to compete with people who were incredibly lucky, too. Buy your friend a congratulatory pint, but I’d talk about the football or the theater, not about his next hot tip.

High returns depend on the unexpected, not the expected. For example, everyone expected Facebook to soar into the distant future. Its share price was bid high.

When the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke, the share price fell because there was seen to be an increased chance of politicians imposing regulation on Facebook. That was unexpected news and the market for Facebook shares moved on it.

Today, some regulatory fear is in the price. How much? Haven’t the foggiest. But if you buy Facebook now then you’ll do well if that regulation does not happen – because some sort of regulatory cost to the company is expected. Conversely, you’ll do badly if the regulation has a bigger impact on Facebook’s prospects than predicted by the market.

There’s no sure way of predicting that outcome. That’s why everyone with experience diversifies. It’s also why a company can report amazing profits but the share price falls if they’re lower than expected. It’s fresh news and changing expectations about the future – good or bad – that truly moves the share price.

Over the very long-term it’s often unfashionable and boring sectors – for example tobacco companies – that have done well because nobody expects anything from them. Everybody was too busy throwing cash at the hot sectors. The unfashionable shares fall further than is warranted and strong profits can be made.

Academics have made careers out of showing we humans pay a premium for the new and shiny and overlook the unloved that’s available on discount.

Because we can’t predict, and to confound our natural inclinations, it’s generally better to spread your money across every sector, including all the snore-fests. That is, to invest in a total market index fund which basically buys and holds everything.

With an index fund you have exposure to hot sectors (they may do even better than expected after all) but also you’re snapping up bargains among the unfashionable sectors, too.

Tips from mates are dangerous because we trust our mates. But they’re usually acting on the same duff information and compelling story as anyone else is.

If you’re inexperienced and operating on the basis of a this-is-amazing story then that’s a massive red flag. It typically means you’re shark food for somebody else.

If you do venture into this then put in no more than you can afford to lose. And by that I mean if the entire investment went to zero. I am not saying it will. I’m stressing it could.

Even if block chain is a success as a technology (that’s not totally clear at the moment), nobody can predict whether this company will eventually be the Amazon of Blockchain or just another failed start-up that’s crushed by whatever company does become the Amazon of Blockchain.

Start-ups go to the wall all the time. The Facebooks and Googles of the world are very rare. The ratio of new companies touted as The Next Facebook or The Greatest Opportunity Since Google to, well, Facebook and Google would be similar to the ratio of many thousands of stars you can see on a clear night sky – with binoculars – to the lonely sole moon.

Single investments in individual companies are extremely dangerous to your wealth for this very reason. If it goes bust you lose all the money you put in.

If you must do something, think of it as like having a punt down at the dog-track rather than an investment. Bet a fiver, not your pension.

Take it steady,

The Accumulator



from Monevator http://monevator.com/a-friend-asks-should-i-put-all-my-money-into-this-cant-lose-cryptocurrency-venture/

Wednesday, 30 May 2018

4 Ways Students Can Keep A Job Without It Affecting Their Education

Leaving school and taking up further education can be expensive, particularly if you go down the university route. Successive governments have made it much harder for students to attend university without running up debt thanks to ever-increasing tuition fees. Then there is the cost of living while you are working on your degree. Some students are lucky enough to have parents who can afford to give them money to live on, but there are more whose parents are not that wealthy. Do you need to work while studying? Here are four ways students can keep a job without it affecting their education.

Apprenticeships

With apprenticeships, you are paid a salary while you are being trained. You will have to take part in on-the-job and off-the-job training, but at the end of your time, you will have a highly thought of qualification. In fact, these days, apprentice qualifications are considered to be as good as a degree. It is not by accident that this has happened. Trusted names such as City & Guilds have worked hard with employers to raise apprenticeship standards, and a browse through their site at cityandguilds.com/apprenticeships will open your eyes to all the available options.

Apprenticeships no longer just relate to practical skills such as construction trades or car repairs. They now cover a very wide range of sectors, and you should check them all to see if there are apprenticeships in your chosen career.

Online Courses

Most universities offer online courses, and this can sometimes be the best way to get a degree. The beauty of an online course it that it lets you study at times to fit in with your lifestyle. You can hold down a job and study at the same time, and that flexibility is making online courses ever more popular.

Distance learning, as online courses are sometimes called, matches the high academic standards you would expect at a physical university. As technology has evolved, so have things like virtual classrooms where you can join with other members of the course and chat with the tutors to ask questions and discuss your coursework.

Part-Time Jobs

Part-time jobs can help a student to financially get through their studies, but they need to be careful that the hours they have to work do not clash with lectures. This is why many students take jobs in bars or restaurants, as the working hours tend to be in the evenings.  It can be good for students to get some experience of workplaces, and no matter what the work is, it shows initiative when it appears on your CV.

Finding part-time jobs is not always easy though, so you may have to look in various places, such as the university job shop or local adverts.

Freelancing

There are many opportunities for freelancing. If you have a skill, you can offer it to other people and charge for your services.  There are many websites offering work to freelancers, including work for web designers, graphic artists, SEO experts, and much more.

You will usually have a time frame within which the job needs to be completed, but as long as you meet the agreed deadline, you can choose what hours you work. As you gain more experience in freelancing, you will be able to build a profile of yourself, and that will hopefully bring in more offers of work. Most freelance work is carried out remotely, so you could find yourself completing tasks for people from all parts of the world.

Whatever your chosen career, there is a likelihood that you will need a qualification of some sort. Whether it is a degree or some other qualification you need to study for, you need to be able to survive financially while you are completing the course. We hope these four suggestions help you to achieve that.



from Finance Girl http://www.financegirl.co.uk/4-ways-students-can-keep-a-job-without-it-affecting-their-education/

Tuesday, 29 May 2018

Martin Lewis: The 5 changes needed to improve the current student finance system

The following is a summary of my/MSE’s full submission to the Government’s Augur review of higher education.



from Martin Lewis' Blog https://blog.moneysavingexpert.com/2018/05/martin-lewis--the-5-changes-needed-to-improve-the-current-studen/

Friday, 25 May 2018

How Our Credit Scores Affect Our Lives

There are a lot of advantages to having good credit. A good credit score means you can get a car without a cosigner, get a loan with good interests rates and the same with credit cards. Many people don’t understand the importance of having a good credit score until it’s too late.

It is very important to understand how credit scores affect our lives. People often take credit for granted then find themselves in holes they have a difficult time digging their way out of. You are judged by your credit score. It may seem unfair, but that’s the way it is. No one wants to take a chance on you if they believe you aren’t going to pay your bills. If you have a number of defaults or charge-offs on your credit report, your score will plummet. The repercussions are severe. Here is a listing of what can happen if you have a low credit score:

  • High interest on credit cards/loans – If you are deemed a risky borrower, the credit card company is going to charge a high-interest rate. This could actually lead to more trouble and landing you in even more debt.

  • Not being approved for a loan – If you have bad credit, the likelihood of you being approved for a loan is slim. While options exist such as payday loan alternatives for bad credit, the interest rate will be higher and loan amounts capped at well below $5000, usually in the $1000-$2000 range.

  • Housing application denial – Most apartments managers and landlords make a decision on whether or not to rent to you based on credit score. If you have a poor credit score, they may not deny you, but you will definitely have to pay a hefty security deposit.

  • Added security deposit – This is the same with utility companies. They also check credit scores and if yours is low, they will tack on a security deposit.

  • Denied employment – Some employers, depending on the job, will look at your credit history. If it is filled with bankruptcies, high debts, and bills, they may deny you.

And this is just a short list of what can happen. The same applies to getting auto insurance. If your credit history is poor, your premiums could be very high.

If you are ready to get your credit back on track, there are ways to do it. Bad credit repair companies claim that they can help you. But beware, there is only a handful out there that are legitimate. You can go to websites like wwww.annualcreditreport.com or www.creditkarma.com to get free access to your credit reports.

Once you find out what you’re dealing with, you will need to follow through on the necessary steps to build good credit. The first thing you should do with your credit report is scrutinize it for inaccuracies. If you find them, dispute them. If you have some small bills on your report, pay them off as soon as possible. This will tick up your credit score. People have no idea how much they can raise their score by paying off 3 or 4 bills under $100.

Going forward, make an effort to pay your bills on time. And don’t take on any additional credit. Concentrate on clearing up your current credit. Once you start paying off bills and keeping things current, you will see your credit grow.



from Finance Girl http://www.financegirl.co.uk/how-our-credit-scores-affect-our-lives/

Thursday, 24 May 2018

Facebook launches searchable archive of U.S. political ads

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc on Thursday launched an archive of U.S. political ads that appear on the world's largest social network, showing who paid for them and other details, after an outcry over Russians' alleged purchase of such ads during the 2016 elections.


from Reuters: Top News http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-facebook-politics/facebook-launches-searchable-archive-of-u-s-political-ads-idUKKCN1IP37I?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

Global shares sink as U.S.-North Korea meeting axed, trade fears hurt autos

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's move to cancel a planned June meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent global share markets sharply lower on Thursday before they regained some footing, while auto stocks continued to decline on tariff fears.


from Reuters: Top News http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets/global-shares-sink-as-u-s-north-korea-meeting-axed-trade-fears-hurt-autos-idUKKCN1IP02I?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

Actor Morgan Freeman accused of inappropriate behaviour, harassment - CNN

(Reuters) - At least eight women have accused actor Morgan Freeman of inappropriate behaviour or harassment while working with them on film sets or at promotional events, CNN reported on Thursday.


from Reuters: Top News http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-people-morgan-freeman/actor-morgan-freeman-accused-of-inappropriate-behaviour-harassment-cnn-idUKKCN1IP316?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

Trump scraps North Korea summit, warns Kim that military ready

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday called off a historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un scheduled for next month, citing Pyongyang's "open hostility," and warned that the U.S. military was ready in the event of any reckless acts by North Korea.


from Reuters: Top News http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-northkorea-missiles/trump-scraps-north-korea-summit-warns-kim-that-military-ready-idUKKCN1IP1RU?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

Irish border Brexit progress 'elusive', EU says after talks

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - British and EU negotiators have made little progress this week on efforts to avoid a post-Brexit hard border in Ireland, a senior EU official said on Thursday.


from Reuters: Top News http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-elusive/irish-border-brexit-progress-elusive-eu-says-after-talks-idUKKCN1IP2YF?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

North Korea setback, sterling weigh on FTSE but mid-caps shine

LONDON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's decision to cancel a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un weighed on British shares in afternoon trading, while gains in sterling prompted by better retail sales data also bruised the internationally-exposed FTSE 100.


from Reuters: Top News http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/north-korea-setback-sterling-weigh-on-ftse-but-mid-caps-shine-idUKKCN1IP1AH?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

No extra time; UK says Brexit transition will end in December 2020

LONDON/DUBLIN (Reuters) - Britain will end its implementation period with the European Union after Brexit in December 2020, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday, denying a media report that the government was seeking a new transition until 2023.


from Reuters: Top News http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-transition/no-extra-time-uk-says-brexit-transition-will-end-in-december-2020-idUKKCN1IP18J?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

Trump scraps Kim summit, cites North Korea's 'open hostility'

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday called off a historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un scheduled for next month, even after North Korea followed through on a pledge to blow up tunnels at its nuclear test site.


from Reuters: Top News http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-northkorea-missiles/trump-scraps-kim-summit-cites-north-koreas-open-hostility-idUKKCN1IP1RU?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

Trump cancels summit with North Korea scheduled for next month

SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday called off a planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, even after North Korea followed through on a pledge to blow up tunnels at its nuclear test site.


from Reuters: Top News http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-northkorea-missiles/trump-cancels-summit-with-north-korea-scheduled-for-next-month-idUKKCN1IP1RU?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

Investigators identify Russian military unit in downing of flight MH17

BUNNIK, Netherlands (Reuters) - A missile system from the 53rd anti-aircraft brigade of the Russian Armed Forces was used to shoot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014, prosecutors investigating the disaster said on Thursday.


from Reuters: Top News http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ukraine-crisis-mh17/investigators-identify-russian-military-unit-in-downing-of-flight-mh17-idUKKCN1IP0UC?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

Investors attack Lloyds Bank over mistreatment of customers

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Lloyds Banking Group faced a barrage of allegations of poor customer service and withholding misconduct compensation on Thursday, laying bare the task of rebuilding customer trust after years of reputational damage.


from Reuters: Top News http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-lloyds-agm/investors-attack-lloyds-bank-over-mistreatment-of-customers-idUKKCN1IP27C?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

French couple convicted of murdering nanny in London and burning her body

LONDON (Reuters) - A French couple were found guilty on Thursday of murdering their nanny and burning her body in their back garden in London after what police said was months of mistreatment, threats and physical abuse that left her a virtual prisoner.


from Reuters: Top News http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-murder/french-couple-convicted-of-murdering-nanny-in-london-and-burning-her-body-idUKKCN1IP1ZO?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews