Check back here for replays of our live coaching calls:
Noni
I recently bought a 2016 car in April for £10 000 on finance with a 5 year period – it was a bad emotional decision 🙁 – I’m kicking myself as I write this. The settlement figure is £9300. The current valuation I am getting on the market is £7500 if I was to sell it to the dealerships etc. The ideal situation would be to sell the car on the private market and try to get “an above settlement amount” so I can buy a cheap second hand car but my worry is that wont get a buyer who will cover the settlement amount. So my question is: Should I
A: Part exchange it for a cheaper vehicle and get negative equity finance which will cover the balance as part of the financing
B: Keep it and pay it off
C: Wait and save the difference and sell it at the dealership
D: Is there an option I haven’t considered?
Jasmin – this was asked in Facebook also
Do you know of/have any useful tools and templates to keep a track of ‘side hustle’ income- for tax purposes?
I work full time and therefore pay tax through my job, but I also have a rental property so am registered for tax self-assessment for the income from my rental.
I would like one tool to keep a record of income from my rental property and the income I will (although not doing so yet) make from my second side hustle, a tool that will enable me to keep a record income and tax deductible expenses would be really helpful. Thanks in advance!
ANSWER:
Use bookkeeping software called Xero. https://members.financialjoyacademy.com/courses/track-your-budget-and-wealth-with-xero
Bolaji Aofolaju
What is the difference between Small self administered pension and SIPPs, also what are the advantages of each of them? Which one is better?
Daryl Howard
This is a bit of an odd question I suppose and one that might be a bit of a grey area in terms of advice as you’re not legally allowed to offer financial advice, however, I currently invest monthly into the vanguard life strategy 80% accumulation fund, it has done me well but I can’t help noticing the strong bias towards UK/US markets, which, with a recession now announced might not be bringing in quite as much as it other options available.
Now I have a few options, if the market falls due to the economic state of the UK, I could continue buying said funds at a lower price and hope to gain from a “Dip” so to speak? the average return has been roughly 6.66% over 5 years which is not so bad, but I’d like to diversify to avoid risk while also trying to hit 7%+ annual return over the long term if possible.
Having looked at other options, I have seen the “FTSE Global All Cap Index Fund Accumulation” and am wondering if this might be a better option to invest into, however, should I decide to invest into this, should I keep my current investments as they are and shift the monthly deposits into buying the alternative vs transferring or effectively selling and rebuying what I have? how would you approach this to diversify and get a good return while keeping risk as low as possible?
I also have the option of “ESG Developed World All Cap Equity Index Fund – Accumulation” which seems to have been doing particularly well over the last 5 years as well, while I know past performance is no indicator of future performance, I have a fair few years ahead of me being 33 years of age that I hope to take advantage of in order to (if all goes well and the government don’t ruin ISA’s) potentially become an ISA millionaire by my mid 50’s early 60’s which would do very nicely for helping out with retirement.
I currently only put £400 a month away, though I am looking to increase this to ~£1k a month as my financial circumstances allow me to do so at the moment without too much trouble, I am thinking that opening a lifetime ISA in stocks and shares for a retirement pot would also be a great idea as this, while inaccessible until later in life, guarantees a 25% yearly bonus from the government without considering the fluctuations of the markets which naturally beats anything offered out there and should the markets be net positive, there is potential for further accumulative gains over the long term.
I guess what I am looking for is an opinion on the options vs direct advice and some guidance as to what you would do in this position and why, is there anything I am missing that could become a potential risk or eat into my returns? this is primarily thinking solo vs with my fiancé, though should I be able to get her onboard too, then the potential additions to the investment pot may increase which would also be great.
I’m being careful not to stretch ourselves too thin, however, I have had times when the emergency fund is hitting 5 figures in each of our accounts and this should be more than enough to cover most scenarios, so figured we could put more away for investment, we have also recently overpaid the mortgage by another £10k (following the same when we first got our mortgage a couple of years ago) though given that is at 4.3% and was previously at 2.67%, perhaps that was silly as putting it into savings may have netted a greater return which could have then contributed to the same overpayment?
What’s done is done, and I’m currently looking for the best solutions in order to plan for the future long term (20-30+ years).
Q) If I wanted to buy an existing business how would I start this process, where is the best place to start my research?
ONLINE MARKET PLACES:
BUSINESSES FOR SALE: https://uk.businessesforsale.com/
Flippa (https://www.flippa.com ): Flippa is one of the largest online marketplaces for buying and selling websites, domains, and mobile apps. It features a wide range of online businesses, from small niche sites to established e-commerce stores.
Empire Flippers (https://www.empireflippers.com ): Empire Flippers specializes in buying and selling profitable online businesses. They thoroughly vet the businesses listed on their platform, making it a reliable source for quality acquisitions.
FE International (https://feinternational.com ): FE International is a website brokerage firm that focuses on the acquisition and sale of established and profitable online businesses. They offer personalized service and guidance throughout the buying process.
Q) Someone asked me that if I were to give them one advise with making money with properties in this current economic climate with high interest rates and high property prices what would it be especially as they feel they missed out on low interest rates and fairly reasonably priced property buying in 2020?
Q) Where can I start from with my beginner investing ?
MARY:
We’d suggest investing via Passive Investing in Globally diversified index funds and ETFs
Go through these two courses at FJA:
https://members.financialjoyacademy.com/courses/investing-in-stocks
https://members.financialjoyacademy.com/courses/investing-in-index-funds-and-etfs
I am looking to improve my social media presence and monetise it, is this something that the academy can help me with?
KEN:
Yes, see our last coaching call (6th July – Coaching Call 88 at 2 mins 7 seconds) where we covered how to improve your social media presence and monetise it.
For the monetising part, you need to build an email list as one way to do it.
Check out these masterclasses at FJA to help you get started:
https://members.financialjoyacademy.com/courses/instagram-marketing-made-simple
https://members.financialjoyacademy.com/courses/master-email-marketing
https://members.financialjoyacademy.com/courses/rapidly-grow-your-email-list
01:21.8 Darling
My partner and I are thinking of getting our second home in 5years time. Because We would like more space for our kids.
03:39.8 Ratidzai
I’m not sure if this is the right platform to ask this question.
Several years ago I made a mistake by investing money into a company who it turns out was no longer authorised by regulators at the time the investment was made.
I have also since found out that the type of investment made at the time falls under (UCIS) unregulated collective investment scheme .
After several attempts to contact the company with no response. I raised a complaint with the ombudsman in 2021.
In summary after their own investigations they concluded that despite trying to get hold of the company& receiving no response they were unable to assist further as the investment was made at a time when MHCs ( the company) authorisation with the FCA ( financial conduct authority)had ceased.
The amount invested was approximately £18 000. I feel this bad experience has left me very risk/ investment averse . Once bitten twice shy.
Lydia Mungai
As a way of building my investment portfolio, I would like to explore Investment into Government Bonds.
Will really appreciate your guidance.
Andrew
Joana
I have a 30year mortgage where I put down 10% deposit with Barclays, with what am learning now I want to significantly reduce the years left on the mortgage.
I have a 2yr fixed contract at 3.25% that ends Aug 2024, this was a £862.38 monthly mortgage cost
I have been overpaying my mortgage and have put in 5,870 extra in total usually a £250 or £1000 overpayment every month
I called Barclays that I want my overpayment to reduce my years. They have then sent me a letter indicating that my monthly payment has been reduced from £862.38 to £819.66 in August ..followed by £835.86 until 31.08.24 and the letter indicates part redemption so it reduces balance and monthly payment.
My intention is not to reduce my mortgage payment but my years of payments.
I called the bank again on Saturday and they mentioned any payments more than 3 x times (i.e more than my monthly mortgage would be regarded as a par redemption c.£2,600 and above)
My aim was to gather an amount that is more than 3times to keep paying off…please what is best approach for my overpayment or am I miscommunicating to the bank on what I really want
The gentleman said once my mortgage is up it would revert to less years if I do nothing but with a part redemption it always keeps the number of years I originally had i.e 30yrs and reduces the monthly payments requir
Mimi
My goal is to build a following and community to eventually grow a mailing list to monetise on my blog. My target audience are millennial women and we give them tips on careers, finance, health and relationships. Twitter has proved frustrating with all of Elon’s changes and Instagram is proving tough with their constantly changing algorithms.
BLOG PLATFORM
Alicia
Weebly vs WordPress – i have read that weebly is much more user-friendly than wordpress whic good functionality – it is a good alternative? Or is there anything to bear in mind when using weebly? Thanks
BLOGGING
Stella Jackson
Not a question but I couldn’t find Sue’s masterclass on wordpress – has it been uploaded or is it stored somewhere else? I searched masterclass but couldn’t see it.
BRICS
Nadeem Islam
1) What are your thoughts on BRICS, what is the likehood of it happening, and it is does can we protect ourselves from any adverse impact.
2) What’s the best way to invest in Gold as a hedge against inflation, can it help deal with the impact of BRICS.
TAXES
Bogdan
How do I calculate and pay my taxes if I sell some shares from my previous employer and make a small profit?
I used to be part of the sharematch plan with my previous employer. The HQ was in Spain and I was based in the London office. The local tax obligations in Spain were covered by the company but I was told it’s my responsibility to make sure any tax obligations in the UK are covered. If I sell the shares now, I will make a small profit (around £7k). How do I begin to deal with this? Where do I go?
DEBT MANAGEMENT
Ratidzai
Thank you for the last session 21st June . Following your advice i have reviewed my student loan balance which i had never really looked at closely because i have always thought of it as a ‘kind/forgiving loan’ …. what a shock to see the figures in print!
My current balance is £5 800.00
interest rate now a whopping 7.1%
Total interest paid 06/04/22 – 04/04/2023 – £378.81
Plan PGL
Interest March @6.9% was £35.00
At an interest rate of 7.1% this is my most expensive loan – as my mortgage interest is 2.44% .
I have at least 5000, 00 in a very low interest account ( – my question is does it make more sense to pay off student loan? OR overpay my mortgage – as my fixed rate deal ends in March/April 2024? and interest are likely to be much higher interest rate ( My current LTV is 27%)
PROPERTY
Bolaji Aofolaju
How do I structure a tax-efficient buy-to-let/property business?
02:32 – Sarah
What tips can you give to set up a business so it is scalable, and how to put together a pitch deck to make your business more attractive and investable?
Link shared by Ken during the call: https://thehumblepenny.com/funding-ideas-for-online-business-growth/
PAYE
12:53 – Thando
Hi guys. I took your advice from my last question when you encouraged me take more risks as a new parent and have switched from employee to contracting. Now I‘m in a very different position financially as my total comp is over £125k.
At this time, my contract is ‘Inside IR35’ meaning I’m treated as a PAYE under an umbrella company for payroll rather than me working within my own LTD company.
2 questions:
1- any tips on tax advantages I could capitalise on to reduce my tax bill?
2- SIPP – Being technically PAYE means I’m looking for a SIPP which allows salary sacrifice PAYE contributions and have found that PensionBee offers this. I know you’ve worked with them in the past and was wondering if you’d recommend them for my situation?
Thank you!
JOB MOVE
22:20 – Joana
Thanks for advice last week – I have landed a new offer – quick question if the new company is not profitable – making losses is it wise to make that move… salary is c. 15k increase pensions almost matched it is hybrid (currently fully remote)
PROPERTY
28:30 – Bolaji Aof
How can I use the social media to advertise my property business?
DEBTS
Athena Corbin
Have non-priority debts which are on payment plans which I keep up with, do I class this as short term or long term debts as I am taking the quiz about the money journey to clarify what step I am on. Equally how to I categorised the ones that are priority but are on payment plans? What about my student loan also?
HIGHER TAX BRACKET
Halima Nakato
Hi ken and Mary,
I wonder if you can help, and if this is the right platform to ask for help.
I have recently been hit with a significant Overpayment charge from my work, I work part-time and subside my income with Locum shifts when I can. With my job, I am already on the high tax bracket and I have just found out that any extra work I do it’s taxed separately at >40%.
Do you have or know any accountants who specialises in healthcare especially for doctors. I am not sure if MimiGom deals with this kind of thing, I completed her master class months ago and I had planned to speak to her about my taxes and pension, but life happened and I didn’t.
INDEX FUNDS
Jayachandra
Hi Ken and Mary, I hope you guys are well.
After watching FJA videos on index funds and ETFs, I have taken the initiative to begin investing in two passive index funds through a systematic investment plan (SIP) in the below two funds. My intention is to remain invested in these funds for the next twenty to thirty years. Please share if there are any additional tips.
1) FSTE Developed World ex-UK index fund Accumulation and
2) Vanguard U.S. Equity Index Fund Accumulation
FIRST TIME BUYER
Jayachandra
My next step is to buy a house as a first time buyer. My questions are
1) I am currently residing in Epsom, Surrey, and work remotely. The average price for a desirable three-bedroom house is approximately £400,000 in Kent. I want to know whether it would be advantageous to invest in a residential property in Kent or explore the option of relocating to Nottingham or Birmingham, where a three-bedroom house can be purchased for only £250,000 and then get a buy-to-let property valued at £200,000 with a £50,000 deposit. I am seeking insightful guidance to help me make a prudent decision that aligns with my financial independence goals.”
2) Given the current market conditions, would it be more advisable to purchase an old build or a new build house?
05:35- Bridget
It’s a question on starting a side hustle for an industry I love and I’m passionate about but haven’t got the skills and experience to go into it. Recently met a franchise opportunity to start but very nervous to commit the amount of money required to start it as it will also require a lot of time input at the start.
SEO COURSE / BLOGGING
18:19 – Mimi
I completed your Grow with SEO course. A great course! SEO is such a minefield that it was very well explained in bitesize chunks.
CAREER MOVE
33:54 – Joana
BLOGGING
48:09 – Stella Jackson
I have a question re; blogging tools.
Just keen on getting your thoughts as i get my head round the potential start up costs.
Thanks,
51:3 – 4OPEN Q&A and COMMUNITY FEEDBACK
Nathan
This question is regarding WordPress. I was wondering if you could show me your process of writing a very small article, or just something to show me how to use the WordPress editor.
My problem is that every time I write a post and then go onto “Edit with Elementor” the words don’t have any spaces between them. Then I go through the process of making spaces so the text is easy to skim… then after I update and go back to the WordPress editor and it comes up with “attempt block recovery” because there is invalid code.
Joana
Joana
Please can you kindly educate us on protecting our investments for our children or family – in relation to wills, ensuring they don’t have huge inheritance tax and having access to bank accounts and the likes as we are building all these portfolios but family might not know and especially if you have young children.
Anything you have learnt on this… for example I hear people talk about trusts when you buy a house…insight to this would be great from your experience or what you have done. Thanks
Stella
I have a couple questions re; investments – ive just finished the courses and trying to finalise my investment plan. Context – I’ve been investing for roughly 2 years and making amendments to my strategy based on what I’ve learnt.
The UBS fund is 0.09%, which is higher than the same fund at Vanguard at 0.07%. It is also a much smaller fund at £749m (Index fund) vs Vanguard’s £3.3bn (ETF).
Stella
Thanks so much
Link shared by Ken during the call: You can see on this link that the VUSA is Full replication (for example).
https://www.hl.co.uk/shares/shares-search-results/v/vanguard-funds-plc-s-and-p-500-etf-usdgbp
Joana:
I have savings but with the recent interest rates hikes I want to be paying an extra amount of money to pay off my mortgage quickly –
My brother is living with me in my family home. He’s saved £12k for a deposit but was told he needs to have been in the UK for 5 years before buying. Is this the case?
Joana
Secondly, I have actually converted my personal facebook to a professional one and I share reels of gospel inspiring music with different things like lovely meals, lovely landscapes etc and I have happened to gain a number of views 2.6k being my highest so far.
Catherine:
On the subject of mortgages, I’m currently on Mat leave and due to go back to work in July and considering to go back to work part time (but going to use my accumulated leave in first few months to be doing part time hours but still full time). Hubby is self employed and has been since 2020. We believing to get a mortgage by the end of the year so I wanted to know if it’s best for me to stay full time until we secure a mortgage.
I’m a key worker too, do we know if there are any schemes out there currently?
Any advice would be much appreciated.
41:52 Stella: Bonus and commission – put it on net pay?
43:44 Stella: re Salary sacrifice & budget for life spreadsheet. Do i need to include it?
PENSIONS – EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS AND TAX
46:27: Eladio – Pensions – My employer gave me choices about pensions. The max they can give us is 9% and I can also put in 9%. How will that impact my tax. IS the 18% free of tax?
Catherine – DO I need to set up a Limited company? Starting a blog and have been asked by my friend to do a paid work which is audit and supervision, so will earn outside of my job. Whata do i need to do so that I don’t get in trouble by the taxman.
FINANCIAL PLAN FOR CHILDREN
Thando
Hi Ken & Mary,
Lindie and I are having our first baby and he is due next month (hence my silence in the last 8 months as it’s been a journey for us). I’d like to pick your brains about putting money aside for him. The plan is to put around £100 every month until he is of age (18? 21? 25?). I know there are Junior ISAs, Junior SIPPs and regular children savings accounts but I haven’t looked into these in great detail in some time.
PROGRESSING BLOG
Davina
Hi Ken & Mary, I hope you are well. I am just starting my blog but am a little stuck in two areas.
My niche is personal finance and self-improvement, by self-improvement I mean reading, learning, productivity, time management etc I believe the two-go hand in hand.
I understand that in order for google to build trust with my blog I need to write about my niche consistently.
Sorry if my questions aren’t clear I will be on the call so can give more context if necessary. Thanks a lot Davina
FINANCIAL INVESTMENT
Jayachandra
Hi, I hope you guys are well. I currently work in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) industry, and I prefer to change jobs every two to three years for career maximisation. Due to this, I have to move from one city to another very often.
I assume getting a residential mortgage makes it difficult to move between cities as the bank expects you to stay in that house until you pay off the mortgage, and you are not allowed to let it to anyone. My personal opinion is to invest in stock market (index funds and ETFs) and just rent a house wherever I move.
BUSINESS START UP
Sarah
This question pertains to my husband’s business idea of establishing a company that aids Black autistic individuals in becoming software developers. However, he is currently grappling with the challenge of structuring the business in a manner that would enable it to attract an international audience. As a result, he seeks guidance on the best approach to achieve this objective.
LANDING PAGE REVIEW
Sarah
Hi, I still working on my blog, this is the landing page and its in draft mode, please can I have feedback on my landing website so far
YOUTUBE CHANNEL
Nadeem
What question would you like us to answer during the next live session?
Hello Ken / Mary, I hope you are both keeping well. I wanted to ask if you can help with the following question. It is for my son rather than myself, he has his own YouTube channel, in the last couple of days he has received two emails. They are requesting for raw filming content and the cost of licensing one of his YouTube shorts, both are payable. I wanted to ask if you can advise how he can maximise both opportunities and how best to respond. The request for content is from Huel and the cost of licensing is from a production company in South Africa. I appreciate my son is not an FJA member, but I’m sure this discussion would be of interest and benefit to other FJA members who are creating their own YouTube channel. I have posted both emails below:
I hope this email finds you well.
I work for a production company in Cape Town, South Africa and we are currently editing a documentary about gender based violence in South Africa and the director would like to make use of one of your videos in the edit of the documentary.
We would like to know if it would be possible to license this footage and how much it would cost. At this stage, the documentary will only be show at festivals with a view to finding distribution.
The video we would like to license: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Z57uENVP4T0
Many thanks and kindest regards”
How are you doing? My name is Darcy, I work for Huel. I was wondering if you would be interested in making some content for us? We are looking for some students to create some YouTube content for us to use on our paid social media channels. You would not have to post this on your own channel. We would also edit the footage for you, you would just need to send us the raw clips!
Kind Regards
Nadeem
05:50 – Heleana Blackwell
We’re setting up our website and are looking to start a mailing list. What are the advantages of using convertkit over mailchimp in your experience? The list is for a publishing and edting services business – we don’t know if we’ll end up using the landing pages, but it seems that Convertkit offers us more flexibility if I want to set one up in future.
40:57 – Manda – best way to grow my nailing list?
47:00 – Feedback on ways in which Manda can build her mailing list?
55:38 – Ideas for Print on demand products in order to scale my business?
00:49: SETTING UP BUSINESS
Dec John Coffey (Dec)
04:10: How often does an accountant work with anyone’s business – i.e. Is it a constant thing where they are in touch weekly/monthly or is it just when you need to have documents checked that would be the time you would hear from them?
06:09: TRADEMARK
Joshua Akinbohun
I am looking to trademark my company name “Kilolu” and was wondering how to go about selecting relevant classes?
07:13: TRADEMARK
This is an add on to my last question I submitted. (see below) ( after research I discovered that the .com domain was £13,000 – looks like I am sticking to .co.uk)
My question is this :
When do I know that it is the best time to start trademarking my blog? Is it best to do it straight away? Or should there be a number of things set in place first? (E.g a certain level of traffic and monetisation etc)
09:46: .COM DOMAIN
Aidan
Hi both,
Im looking for some advise on how to go about getting a patent/ copyright for my blog.
I have a .co.uk domain name. The.com domain isn’t operating and is up for sale (requesting $500)
it it important that I buy the .com? Or can I move forward with getting a patent with my current domain?
11:22: SUBSCRIBER
Anu
How do I build my first 10 email/new subscriber list.
Friends and family are not my audience niche because I am tailoring my Content to new to almost new immigrants.
So aside social media what others ways do I explore to build that base?
14:56: TAX YEAR
So-so
With the end of the tax year coming up, I’ll be maxing out my allowance for my stocks and shares isa. I’ve been told that one can only have one isa account per tax year. Is this still the case? I can’t keep my stocks and shares isa and also open a cash isa? Could you confirm please. Thanks.
SIPP PENSION
Jessenia
Hi Ken and Mary ,
My question is regarding investing. With the vanguard company pension SIPP.
I understand that i can pay up 40k of my business profits into my pension and not pay tax.
I have money in my business account, when do I transfer that money into my vanguard pension ?is it immediately or at the end of the tax year ?
And how much do I have to be making per month or per year to declare to HMRC?
Hope this makes sense.
WEBSITE
Richard
Ken mentioned in a few videos the importance of having a website as a focal point of your business (completely agree) . This was also covered on the masterclass “perfectly planned websites that coverts”.
I have a website which I am looking to outsource for improvements. It was created on squarespace and domain name is .co.uk.
Q1. Do you recommend I purchase a .com domain name or stick to the co.uk domain name?
Q2. Should I keep squarespace as my hosting platform or move? I ask this question because i also want to link a blogging page on my website and I am not sure if squarespace is the best platform to use.
Website link
https://www.pinchofwestafrica.co.uk/
OPEN Q&A:
25:37 Heleana: I am mid validating my idea for my membership. Should i run ads to get people to sign-up?
32:02 Eladio: Eladio: invest my money into debt,ISA or Business?
45:27 Salome: LTD company – When you start a Limited company and you start to pay for things, camera, laptop etc, I started using my personal money at the beginning, but am i supposed to put the money to my business account first to mayke the payment?
MORTGAGE OVERPAYMENT
01:38 – Michael Glassock
Hi there,
Apologies if this is a bit to niche for this setting, only recently joined so still getting to grips with everything 🙂
Question:
– After completing the Net worth exercise, I have 2 forms of liabilities; Mortgage and Uni Fees. As a past UK student you only pay a nominal amount towards these fees which don’t even cover the monthly cost / interest therefore the total sum increases each year.
ACTION PLAN
04:10 – Bena
As a very new member of FJA, I do not quite understand how the “Success Month” activities should be done.
Many thanks
SIDE HUSTLE
Sarah Olaifa
PENSION
Sarah Olaifa
OPEN Q&A
Joba Mogaji
I am currently on a 1.7% mortgage with 18 months left. However, I want to move home and want to port (transfer) the existing mortgage to the new home purchase.
My current provider (Halifax) said the only way to port the existing rate is by selling the existing property but I want to rent out the current home, take equity from it (and additional savings) as a deposit for the new home.
From my research, I can either create an SPV ltd company and sell my home to the company so that I can port the existing mortgage rate OR
Re-mortgage to a buy-to-let or use a let-to-buy mortgage but this will push me to a higher tax bracket due to the rental income counting as personal income which I don’t want.
What will be your advice?