As a blogger I read a lot of online posts and articles about personal finance. A newish trend that has popped up a lot is people writing about financial independence, the FIRE movement. FIRE = financially independent retire early. There are many stories of people who have built up enough savings/investments to generate passive income…
Tag: sad face
Like giving crack to a cocaine addict: my life with a 110% subprime mortgage
In 2005, I was given a 110% mortgage by a mainstream lender. For a feckless 29 year old with a history of bad debt, it was like pushing crack on a cocaine addict. Perhaps that’s a bit strong – but that “free” money can be financially lethal, if not literally so. To this day, I see it as one…
How I got hooked on matched betting and why I will never do it again
There was a time when my blog Mrs Mummypenny was not generating enough cash. Way back in my first year of running it as a full-time job I made very little money. A good thing perhaps to not focus heavily on monetising the blog, it was more about creating lots of brilliant content – but…
This might sound weird but…start saving for Christmas 2019 now!
Have you dared to look at your Christmas spending yet? Has the credit card bill come in yet, so you can face what Christmas cost you? I have faced mine and it’s scary. This year I am starting to save for Christmas right now. I have a credit card that I pay off in full…
How to avoid a financial hangover this Christmas
With Christmas just around the corner, the season to be jolly is upon us. Whether you’re a festive fiend or little bit of a scrooge, there is no getting away from it… Christmas costs money. If you’re anything like me, you make your Christmas budget, and then promptly blow it. ‘It’s Christmas’, we say, ‘let’s…
Parcels gone astray? Letters lost? How to claim compensation
Still reeling from a frustrating experience with a UK parcel delivery service, I’m in the process of filing a claim for compensation. My urgent parcel, required at its destination before its recipient needed to catch an international flight, was posted using a popular 48-hour service costing £12.98. Sent on the Monday via the Post Office, it had…
Sometimes you’ve just got to close your business baby down
As a business owner, there is the initial thrill of setting something new up. The creative side of things, getting business cards printed, designed a website, getting that first order or client. It’s a lot of work, but it’s your baby. Sometimes, that baby doesn’t work and, while it’s hard to step away from something…
Financial security vs personal integrity
As rents, property and travel fares rise, so does the pressure to earn more money. But what are the costs to your integrity when you do? How much are you worth? One of my temping agencies woke me up the other week asking me to work on reception that day. Within seconds, I was pulling…
Brexit means…what, really?
‘Brexit means Brexit’ doesn’t really mean anything that I can make sense of. Like many, my heart sank on hearing the result of the EU referendum. For losing our union membership and all the ties with our European neighbours, for what it might mean for people from Europe who have made the UK their home and…
Let’s talk about earnings inequality, Theresa!
Theresa May has been Prime Minister for just over six months, and when she took over the country’s top job, she inherited a lot of baggage. The most hefty case she was given to lug was Brexit which, if you were in any doubt, means Brexit. One of the suggested contributing factors to the Brexit…