Latest news with #SIPP
The Irish Sun
4 hours ago
- Lifestyle
- The Irish Sun
We save £2.2k a month on rent in one of the most expensive cities thanks to a hack & put it towards a house deposit
A COUPLE have revealed how they don't pay a penny of rent living in London thanks to a clever hack. The savvy pair behind the Advertisement 3 A couple have revealed how much they save from house sitting each month Credit: tiktok/@couch2castle 3 They don't pay a penny of rent or bills Credit: tiktok/@couch2castle The couple are able to save money on rent by house sitting and looking after people's pets while owners are away. This means they can live rent-free and bills-free in London, which is notoriously expensive. In a video which has racked up over 1,000 likes, they wrote: 'If we rented a 1 bed flat in London we'd easily spend £1,800 rent, £400 bills (council tax, energy, WiFi, water). 'What we actually paid to live in London this month: £0. Advertisement More on money-saving 'So where did that £££ go instead?' House sitting enables them to save the £2,200 from their jobs, and put £1,400 towards their house saving fund. They then save £400 for travel, £200 for driving lessons, £100 for Christmas and gifts, and £100 in their Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP). And instead of just seeing it as a money-saving chore, they love the process and get to look after a number of cute pets, including dogs and cats. Advertisement Most read in Fabulous Exclusive Exclusive Exclusive They also get to stay in a range of homes , from flats to houses. The couple added: 'This is how we are building our future , one Housesit at a time. I'm a mum-of-2 and was a broke teaching assistant on £840 a month - now I've made 46k doing a side hustle anyone can do 'House sitting means we can save thousands while living in lovely places and looking after cute pets.' They shared how they typically make bookings though Trusted Housesitters - a company that has listings all over the world - and they didn't need any experience to start. Advertisement Now that they have built up some good reviews, they have booked out their stays for the rest of the year. They shared: 'We plan pretty far in advance - we've had our schedule locked until the end of 2025 since like March. 3 They get to look after some cute pets in the process Credit: Getty What the couple manage to save each month £1,400 House savings fund £400 travel fund £200 driving lessons fund £100 Xmas & gifts fund £100 freelance SIPP 'We plan ahead for gaps to go on a trip or stay with friends and in a pinch we book a hotel! Advertisement 'We go back to lots of the same sits regularly and it's as lovely for us as it is the pets. 'You can housesit for people who don't have pets - but for us pets are our fave part.' They said they keep the majority of their belongings in a small storage unit, but don't have many material items and have downsized since they started their nomadic lifestyle. The couple added: 'It's a bit mad but it's working for us.' Advertisement Many people were impressed, with one saying: "Such a brilliant idea." Another added: "How cool." How much can you earn as a house sitter in the UK? THE amount a house sitter can earn in the UK varies depending on a number of factors. However, the national average salary for a house sitter in the United Kingdom is £23,952, according to Glass Door. The rates can depend on factors such as: Location Length of stay - some long-term assignments of three months or more can charge a lower fee than shorter assignments. Pets - if the owner has animals that you need to look after the fee may be higher, particularly for dogs which require more work than cats Property size - the bigger the property the more care and upkeep may be required, depending on the terms.
Scottish Sun
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
We save £2.2k a month on rent in one of the most expensive cities thanks to a hack & put it towards a house deposit
Plus, the site they use to get their bookings HOUSE ABOUT IT We save £2.2k a month on rent in one of the most expensive cities thanks to a hack & put it towards a house deposit A COUPLE have revealed how they don't pay a penny of rent living in London thanks to a clever hack. The savvy pair behind the @couch2castle account said their trick allows them to save £2,200 each month, which they are putting towards a house deposit. Advertisement 3 A couple have revealed how much they save from house sitting each month Credit: tiktok/@couch2castle 3 They don't pay a penny of rent or bills Credit: tiktok/@couch2castle The couple are able to save money on rent by house sitting and looking after people's pets while owners are away. This means they can live rent-free and bills-free in London, which is notoriously expensive. In a video which has racked up over 1,000 likes, they wrote: 'If we rented a 1 bed flat in London we'd easily spend £1,800 rent, £400 bills (council tax, energy, WiFi, water). 'What we actually paid to live in London this month: £0. Advertisement 'So where did that £££ go instead?' House sitting enables them to save the £2,200 from their jobs, and put £1,400 towards their house saving fund. They then save £400 for travel, £200 for driving lessons, £100 for Christmas and gifts, and £100 in their Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP). And instead of just seeing it as a money-saving chore, they love the process and get to look after a number of cute pets, including dogs and cats. Advertisement They also get to stay in a range of homes, from flats to houses. The couple added: 'This is how we are building our future, one Housesit at a time. I'm a mum-of-2 and was a broke teaching assistant on £840 a month - now I've made 46k doing a side hustle anyone can do 'House sitting means we can save thousands while living in lovely places and looking after cute pets.' They shared how they typically make bookings though Trusted Housesitters - a company that has listings all over the world - and they didn't need any experience to start. Advertisement Now that they have built up some good reviews, they have booked out their stays for the rest of the year. They shared: 'We plan pretty far in advance - we've had our schedule locked until the end of 2025 since like March. 3 They get to look after some cute pets in the process Credit: Getty What the couple manage to save each month £1,400 House savings fund £400 travel fund £200 driving lessons fund £100 Xmas & gifts fund £100 freelance SIPP 'We plan ahead for gaps to go on a trip or stay with friends and in a pinch we book a hotel! Advertisement 'We go back to lots of the same sits regularly and it's as lovely for us as it is the pets. 'You can housesit for people who don't have pets - but for us pets are our fave part.' They said they keep the majority of their belongings in a small storage unit, but don't have many material items and have downsized since they started their nomadic lifestyle. The couple added: 'It's a bit mad but it's working for us.' Advertisement Many people were impressed, with one saying: "Such a brilliant idea." Another added: "How cool."
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
How much do you need in a SIPP to aim for a £3,000 monthly retirement income?
When it comes to investing for retirement, few investment vehicles come close to the power of a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP). Not only does it eliminate the tax burden of capital gains and dividends, but the vehicle also provides tax relief that can supercharge the wealth-building process. So let's say someone's aiming for a £3,000 retirement income to combine with the British State Pension. How much do they need to invest? Let's explore. Breaking down the numbers Since this is a retirement portfolio, we're going to follow the classic 4% withdrawal rule. That means every year an investor draws down 4% of the value of their investments to live on. And if the goal is £3,000 a month, or £36,000 a year, then a pension pot will need to be worth roughly £900,000. It goes without saying that's a pretty large chunk of change. But thanks to the power of a SIPP, in reaching this goal just £750 each month could take slightly over 25 years – perfect timing for someone who's just turned 40. Let's say someone's paying the Basic income tax rate. That means they're eligible for 20% tax relief on all deposits made into a SIPP. Suddenly, a £750 monthly deposit is automatically topped up to £937.50, courtesy of the British government. And investing £937.50 at an 8% annualised return for just over 25 years translates into a pension portfolio worth £900,000. What if 25 years is too long? Sadly, not everyone has the luxury of a long time horizon. The good news is, stock picking offers a potential solution. Instead of relying on passive index funds, investors can opt to own individual businesses directly. There's no denying this strategy comes with increased risk and demands far more discipline. But it's also how investors can stumble upon big winners like 4imprint Group (LSE:FOUR). Over the last 15 years, the marketer of promotional merchandise has delivered a massive 1,685% total return, averaging 21.2% a year. And at this rate, the journey to £900k is cut to just 13.5 years. Still an opportunity? With its market-cap now just over £1bn, 4imprint's days of delivering 21% annual returns are likely behind it. But that doesn't mean it's not capable of surpassing the market average of 8%. The firm has established itself as a leader within the small business community, controlling an estimated 5% of the highly fragmented promotional market. And with a highly cash generative business model and practically debt-free balance sheet, the stock continues to garner a lot of favour with institutional investors. Five out of six of them currently rate the stock as a Buy or Outperform. However there are, of course, risks to consider. Ongoing economic pressures and supply chain disruptions make an unfavourable operating environment. And it's why the shares have actually fallen by 38% over the last 12 months. This volatility perfectly highlights the group's sensitivity to the economic landscape. And should unfavourable conditions persist longer than expected, order intake's likely to suffer, keeping the stock on its current downward trajectory. However, with a solid track record of navigating such market conditions, I think 4imprint might still be worth a closer look for long-term SIPP investors. The post How much do you need in a SIPP to aim for a £3,000 monthly retirement income? appeared first on The Motley Fool UK. More reading 5 Stocks For Trying To Build Wealth After 50 One Top Growth Stock from the Motley Fool Zaven Boyrazian has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended 4imprint Group Plc. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Motley Fool UK 2025 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
How much should a 40-year-old invest in an ISA to earn a monthly passive income of £1,000
One of my favourite ways to target future passive income is by investing in shares. More specifically, investors can make use of tax wrappers like a Stocks and Shares ISA, or SIPP, to achieve future income. Within these, it's possible to own a range of managed funds, exchanged-traded funds (ETFs), or individual shares. Please note that tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in future. The content in this article is provided for information purposes only. It is not intended to be, neither does it constitute, any form of tax advice. Readers are responsible for carrying out their own due diligence and for obtaining professional advice before making any investment decisions. Targeting £1,000 of monthly passive income If an investor wanted to target a £1,000 monthly income, that equates to £12,000 a year. A commonly used withdrawal rate of 4% means that this investor would need a pot worth £300,000. That might sound like a chunky sum to save, but when broken down over many years, it's far more manageable. For instance, I calculate that a 40-year-old would just need to invest £500 a month over 20 years to build such a pot. Some eagle-eyed readers might note that this just adds up to a total investment of £120,000. That's because I'd expect the remaining £180,000 to appear from investment gains over time. The assumption here is that it grows by 8% a year. And given long-term investment returns have been around 8%-10%, I think that's a reasonable assumption to make. Of course, by targeting greater returns (and accepting greater risk), an investor could reach their goal far quicker. One way that I aim to do that is by selecting individual shares and holding them for many years. Rewards from long-term investing One such FTSE 100 share that I've owned for several years is Games Workshop (LSE:GAW). Its share price has soared by over 1,200% since I first bought it back in 2017. If an investor had spent £500 a month on just this share since then, they'd be sitting on a pot worth over £210,000 already. That's a phenomenal achievement in just eight years. It would also likely result in a much earlier passive income than planned. But there are a few things to bear in mind. First, I would never suggest that anyone invest everything in one stock! Second, Games Workshop wasn't large enough to be in the FTSE 100 back in 2017. It was a much smaller business. Smaller companies can often grow much faster than giant, mature businesses. As UK small-cap investor Jim Slater famously quipped, 'elephants can't gallop'. It also traded at a much lower price to earnings ratio. Today, it hovers around 30, but back in 2017 it traded as low as 10 times earnings. It's not as cheap as it used to be. Still a great business Looking ahead, I still consider Games Workshop to be a high-quality business with ample potential. It operates in a niche market that is difficult to replicate. That gives it a competitive advantage. In turn, it earns a chunky double-digit profit margin and an incredible 70% return on capital employed. In recent years it has partnered with Amazon to bring some of its vast character universe to movies and TV shows. And this licencing revenue has much more room to grow in my opinion. A long-term investor could consider this and similar prospects. And although much can go wrong with individual shares, by selecting a diversified group of 10-20 names, it would spread the risk. The post How much should a 40-year-old invest in an ISA to earn a monthly passive income of £1,000 appeared first on The Motley Fool UK. More reading 5 Stocks For Trying To Build Wealth After 50 One Top Growth Stock from the Motley Fool The Motley Fool UK has recommended Games Workshop Group Plc. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Harshil Patel owns shares in Games Workshop. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Motley Fool UK 2025 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Up 68% but still yielding 7.1%, I've been loading up on Aberdeen shares
After hitting an all-time low back in April, Aberdeen (LSE: ABDN) shares have been on a tear. The mammoth dividend yield of 11.6% may have gone, but there aren't many large, well-known stocks out there that continue to offer market-beating returns. Improving numbers The asset manager is due to report H1 results next week. Should the positive momentum seen in Q1 continue, then we could be on the cusp of a major recovery in its share price. Last quarter, its direct-to-consumer offering, interactive investor (ii) continued its strong growth momentum. Total customer numbers were up to 450,000. This included 88,000 high-value SIPP accounts. ii has been very successful in tapping into a growing trend – the increasing importance of private investors to markets. With the spread of online investment forums, YouTube, and the like, individual investors have more power to move markets than at any time in history. Last quarter, during the tariff-induced selloff, ii saw record levels of engagement with an average of 24,000 trades per day on the platform. In the first half of April, it saw four of its highest trading days ever, as private investors swooped to buy stocks on the cheap. Fund outflows For all the success of ii, the reality is that a sustained recovery in Aberdeen's share price will only occur if it can get a grip on falling assets under management. Over the last few years, its Adviser business has simply haemorrhaged funds. The business is working hard to regain the trust of independent financial advisers, who recommend funds for their clients to buy. In Q1, Adviser saw outflows of £600m. This was its 'best' performance over the past six quarters. A couple of years back, outflows were in the billions. By 2026, it's aiming for greater than 70% of its total funds to beat a benchmark index. I certainly expect it to achieve that with its bond funds, which regularly hit over 90%. But I'm less confident that equity-only funds will achieve that milestone. It's not just Aberdeen equity funds that struggle to beat a benchmark; this is an industry-wide problem. Over the last few years, unless a fund manager was invested in the Magnificent 7 stocks, it had zero chance of beating the S&P 500, the most tracked index. Structural trends If it can get its Adviser business back to profitability, then the opportunity is massive. Despite recent blunders, like the ill-fated 'abrdn' fiasco, I still view the asset manager as one of the most respected in the industry. The UK wealth industry is growing. Over the next 25 years, over £5.5trn of wealth will be passed on by the baby boomers. In the more immediate future, over the next three years, the number of people retiring annually is estimated to be about 750,000. Now more than ever people are beginning to wake up to the fact that the State Pension will no longer fund the kind of retirement they want. With deep expertise in long-term financial planning, Aberdeen looks well placed to provide innovative retirement solutions. Over the last few months, I have been loading up on the stock at every available opportunity. I think my future self will thank me. The post Up 68% but still yielding 7.1%, I've been loading up on Aberdeen shares appeared first on The Motley Fool UK. More reading 5 Stocks For Trying To Build Wealth After 50 One Top Growth Stock from the Motley Fool Andrew Mackie owns shares in Aberdeen. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Motley Fool UK 2025
