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My Financial Journey Breakdown

Being open and honest with your finances is something that is hard to do in this day and age. It can be embarrassing and awkward at whatever level you are at. It's about knowing your audience. Talking about how much you earn can be a driving factor to other people in your industry or friendship group, but also if not handled with care can come off as gloating and even in some cases could be unsafe. It’s definitely not a good idea to tell people where you’ve buried your treasure!

Despite this, I believe that talking about what you're doing, how you're doing it, what's worked and what hasn't is vitally important at the moment. It's getting harder and harder for the average person to become truly financially independent. So, in the interest of learning about the good, the bad and the ugly of personal finance, I thought I’d put my money where my mouth is and give you a full breakdown of my journey so far.

My Story So Far

Stage 1: The Hard Truth.

I used to treat my finances in a completely different way when I got my first proper job. I started doing an automotive apprenticeship in 2015, and as soon as the money would go in, it would come straight back out on stuff that means absolutely nothing to me now. I just spent and spent and spent without a care in the world. It took a stern word from my dad, who has always been very diligent with tracking his spending, and a helping hand to create my first personal finance spreadsheet to really start changing the way I looked at money for the better.

Stage 2: Changing My Outlook.

From a simple graph tracking my progress and some ‘tough’ spending habit cuts, I started to get more enjoyment in watching my savings increase than having things. Paired with this, I set a goal to buy a house as soon as I finished my apprenticeship. Having this goal, something to aim for, made making hard decisions for the good of my future a lot easier. Unfortunately this led me into a part of my journey which I am less proud of.

Stage 3: Over Correction.

I became very very tight with my money. I was constantly calculating, never wanting to lend money, cheaping out on meals and experiences which led me to not enjoy my late teens as much as I should. It took a lot of arguments, some awkward situations and a great deal of self reflection to get to a point where I could save well, but also enjoy life.

Stage 4: The Balance.

Once I found a balance between spending and saving, the time flew by. 2 years past like a breeze. I was putting away a decent amount of money, but also managing to go on some nice holidays and visit my friends at uni every other weekend.

Stage 5: Reaping the Rewards.

Because of my diligent saving, once I was offered a full time role at the end of my apprenticeship, I had enough money to put a 15% deposit down on a house with 6 months worth of outgoings left over as a relief fund. 2 months later I officially moved into my first home.

Stage 6: Looking to the Future.

I now had the bug. I thought after getting my house, I’d chill out and maybe regress back to a stage of just living day by day while keeping up with my bills. As you can probably guess by now, I did not. With the ability to now go for more risky ways of making money instead of just using a normal savings account and a Lifetime ISA, I started to research and try new ways of making money from money.

The Pros and Cons of My System

Pros

Between 1-3% cashback on household bills
Profits from investment accounts (24.62% in 2021)
Points or Cashback from Tesco and Amex Credit Card Spending
- My 2021 total was around £500 worth of vouchers.
No fees on overseas spending or cash withdrawals
Almost perfect exchange rates on overseas transactions
Credit card protection
Breakdown cover
Phone insurance
Travel insurance, including winter sports and Covid cancellation.
2 free airport Amex Lounge visits per year
Investments with utility (Paintings used as home decoration)
Paying of credit cards in full every month improves credit score
Comprehensive overview of spending and saving using Emma.

Cons

Multiple accounts is more complex then just using one
Potential loss of profits from investments
£15 monthly fee from Flex Plus and 123 Lite.
Extra £140 a year if I decide to keep Amex Gold

Here is how I achieve this.

My Current Account Structure

I will update this weekly to keep you up to date with the success and failures of my finances.

Accounts that I currently use

MONEY MANAGEMENT

Nationwide Flex Plus Current Account
- Why: Nationwide at the time were offering a regular saver which offered 5% interest, so I switched to them. I then decided to utilise the Flex Plus account for £13 a month which gives me breakdown cover, phone insurance and travel insurance (includes basically all Covid related cover). I have used the travel insurance and the breakdown cover and found both of these to be very easy to claim.

Nationwide Flex Direct Current Account
- Why: This account offers no bonuses and charges no fees, the only reason I have it is its an effective way of segregating your finances into household bills or debits, and weekly disposable spending.

Santander Current Account
- Why: I got this recently to utilise the 123 lite account for cashback on household bills, as well as a £125 switching bonus.

Nationwide Savings ISA
- Why: I use this account as a hold for easy access savings. Having a sum of money ready to access quickly is very important. I transfer money in and out of this all the time.

INVESTMENTS

Nutmeg Investment Account
- Why: Nutmeg was highly recommended due to its ease of use and low cost on its algorithm managed funds. I have 3 accounts with them with varying amounts of risk to spread my exposure.
- Mistakes: I tried to buy out in the Covid stock dip and missed out on potential growth of buy too early.
- Yearly Average Profit: 7.82%
- Total Profit: 17.75%
- Referral Link: Use this link to 6 months of no management fees. T&Cs apply. This is NOT financial advice and I recommend doing your own research as well as evaluating what is best to do with your finances in your current situation. Click Here To Apply.

Etoro Investment Account
- Why: I wanted more control over what stocks I picked. I initially put money into Etoro due to a recommendation from a friend, but my aim was always to build wealth with a low upfront cost and high risk. Stocks I did well with when I started were NIVIDA, MASTERCARD, TESLA and BITCOIN.
- Mistakes: I did lose a lot of profit when BITCOIN first fell as I was pumping money into that, but I cashed out and still made profit. The BIG mistake I made was messing with leverage and stop losses shorting oil in 2021. I bet that it would go down over a day, which made me about £4,000 in one hour! The market then started to stabilise and I then ended up losing £5,000. This was a big wake up call for me. Here is the full article: I Lost £5000 in 1 Hour, Day Trading
- Yearly Average Profit: 23.16%
- Total Profit: 102.58%

Artwork and Memorabilia
- Why: This is an interesting one, and also a bit dangerous in ways you might not think. I am now attached to some of my paintings and f1 memorabilia, and will probably never sell them! None the less, they can still be a good investment, especially as art prices seem to be their own economy, they don't necessarily fall in price when the stock market does. When Covid hit, my painting actually went up in value while my stocks went down. They also look great on my wall!
- Mistakes: I bought a piece of f1 memorabilia which went for auction £100 less then I paid for it 1 month later. I am going to be keeping a closer eye on the auction houses.
- Yearly Average Profit 34.05%
- Total Profit 77.61%

Pension
- Why: People are living longer and longer and life is getting more expensive. It is never too early to start putting into your pension. Statistics vary, but they all point towards a large portion of people not having enough money to live into their old age. I pay into my workplace pension.

Total Average Yearly Over all Investments in 2021: 24.62%

Total Average Yearly Over all Investments in 2022 So Far: 20.94%

Change From Last Year: -3.68%

CREDIT ACCOUNTS

I do want to put a little warning on this, I pour over my cards to make sure they are paid off and that I can afford to do so. Credit cards are not for everyone. If applying for credit cards, do not apply all at once as it can damage your credit score.

Amex Gold Credit Card
- Why: Amex were offering a 30,000 point bonus if you spend £3,000 in 3 months. I already used to spend on my Amex Platinum due to it having the highest cashback of any cards at the moment. A couple of things to note. After the first year, the gold card will cost you £140 per year to have. I am yet to decide if I will be continuing or not at the end of the year. Also, if you get a card, PAY IT OFF IN FULL at the end of every month. Lastly, Amex cant be used everywhere, companies have to sign up to accept them.
- Referral Link: Spend £3,000 in the first 3 months for 34,000 points. T&Cs apply. This is NOT financial advice and I recommend doing your own research as well as evaluating what is best to do with your finances in your current situation. Click Here To Apply.

Amex Platinum Credit Card
- Why: Like with the gold, the platinum has a good cash back rate which beats most cards out there at the moment. This costs nothing a year, but again, PAY IT OFF IN FULL at the end of every month.
- Referral Link: Spend £1 for £30 cashback . T&Cs apply. This is NOT financial advice and I recommend doing your own research as well as evaluating what is best to do with your finances in your current situation. Click Here To Apply.

Tesco Credit Card
- Why: I shop at Tesco and have always found that the points I earn buying on it do me well when I want to book experiences and meals out. I started off using this for just petrol costs when I first started using cards, but as I got better at managing my money, I use it for everything the Amex wont accept now.

Barclays Credit Card
- Why: I use this card for overseas spending, it has no fees on spending at cash withdrawals abroad as well as 0.25% cash back IF PAID OFF IN FULL. Credit accounts are also safer to use abroad as they have better security measures if you run into any issues.

MONITORING PROGRAMS

Emma
- Why: Emma is a free service which monitors all your finances and categorises them. It is a brilliant way to look at all of you accounts and once, which with a savings plan or spreadsheet, is a perfect way to understand where your money is going. Click Here To Apply.

ACCOUNTS I DID USE

LISA
- Why: I used the government LISA to gain an extra £3,000 towards my first house. DEFINITELY WORTH DOING! It allows you to put in £4,000 every tax year and then rewards you 25% on top of that from the government. There are some restrictions though such as the value of the house, the access to the money and when you can use it.

Premium Bonds
- Why: Premium bonds are a bit of a risk, your money is safe, but you are basically betting the interest you would be getting from savings for a cash prize. Over 2 years I ended up winning £75, but in fact that was actually less than savings accounts at the time. I would recommend it for people who have excess money but don't want to put it into the stock market.

Seems Like a Lot Right? Here's How it Works

Are having so many accounts a nightmare to control? Not at all, in fact quite the opposite. Due to the way I set up my direct debits, I always have the right amount of money in each account to pay my bills on time, including the most important ones like my mortgage. Here is how it works. If it is still not clear, feel free to drop me a message and I will happily explain in more detail what I do and why I do it.

What I am Currently Looking Into and Why.

I am currently looking into a couple of things due to the added pressure of inflation sky rocketing, fuel prices going through the roof and the lack of action of banks to really push up the savings interest rate.

I'm first going to look back into Premium Bonds. With the stock market being a bit all over the place at the moment, and maybe even a drop coming, I am looking to transfer a bit back into premium bonds due to it being a safe place to put your money.
Looking more into Lego. It has shown great returns over the past 10 years, but could I do better elsewhere?
Investing Art with the Maddox Gallery. Their way of investing is not just you buy off them then its your responsibility to sell, they offer the whole buy, ownership and selling package, taking their cut at the sale. This means they have a joint interest in you making money.
NFTs, do I jump on the band wagon? Are there any utilities that could be good for me?

Disclaimer

I am not a financial advisor and opinions on any of the forums or blog posts are also not financial advice. Users should not rely upon this information to make financial decisions. All invested capital is at risk from fluctuating market trends. Refer to all terms and conditions of any credit, investment or banking account before submitting an application. If you have any doubts about anything stated on this site, you should seek advice from an independent financial advisor as I cannot give personalised financial advice.