Under The Money Tree

Author: Under The Money Tree

  • 2013 Year End Portfolio Review

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    Under The Money Tree
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    Well, i’m a bit late but I thought it’s about time I reflected back on my achievements (or lack of) over the last 12 months, particularly in the financial sense. Good Bye Mortgage By diligently following the mortgage over payment rules I’ve managed to pay off a whopping 22% of the total outstanding balance from…

  • The Dividend Investing Rules

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    Under The Money Tree
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    Dividend investing forms an integral part of my plan to grow my money tree. According to the investment bank Morgan Stanley 42% of stock market returns since 1930 have come from dividends. For the long term investor then, it is crucial to consider how dividends affect the value of your portfolio over time and to utilise…

  • What Is Your Net Worth?

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    If you want to increase your wealth it is always a good idea to know what your current status is. If you’re buying shares in a company hopefully the first thing you look at is the balance sheet. The balance sheet is the financial thermometer that tells you the health of the company. At the…

  • Ageing Investments Look Tempting

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    Under The Money Tree
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    After cycling over 180km at the weekend maybe i shouldn’t be surprised that I felt like an old man when I got out of bed this morning. At 35 I’m certainly not over the hill and I pride myself on being pretty fit for my age. That said judging by the way i grabbed my…

  • The Hidden 60% Income Tax Rate

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    Under The Money Tree
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    I’ve been debating over the last few weeks about how much contribution to make to my personal pension. As with most of the unlucky under 40’s in this country, I’m on a defined contribution pension scheme. Up until now i’ve not made any contributions of my own, instead i’ve been focusing on diverting my cash…

  • The Buy To Let Rules

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    A core part of the Money Tree portfolio is made up of buy to let properties. I’ve been in the landlord game for a little over 11 years now and currently manage a modest portfolio of 3 buy to let properties. Over those 11 years I’ve encountered most of the common problems, issues and surprises a landlord is likely…

  • The Mortgage Over Payment Rules

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    Under The Money Tree we don’t like debt so we have been diligently over paying the mortgage on the home we live in over the last 3.5 years. With interest rates so low, the tracker loans we’re on being cheap  (see below) and having a reasonable amount of disposable income, we’ve seized the opportunity to make…

  • Investing in Mobile Money

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    I’ve been struggling recently to come up with new investment ideas. While I’ve made my fair share of bad investments over the years I’ve also made some good ones. I’m a big fan of focusing my search initially on a theme, trend or idea. While my favorite shares tend to be reliable dividend paying, income…

  • Only Misers Love Money For Its Own Sake

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    Under The Money Tree
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    I recently read an article over on Monevator’s blog where he suggested that in order to remain motivated to achieving your financial freedom you need to know what your saving for. While I agree on one level with this he suddenly proclaimed that ‘only misers love money for its own sake’. That’s when it hit…