November 28, 2024

Here’s Why I Changed My Mind About EDF Energy’s ‘Sunday Saver’ Challenge

Nick Saving Money events, reviews, energy 15 Comments

In this post a few weeks ago I discussed EDF Energy’s ‘Sunday Saver’ challenge. I explained why I had some reservations about the scheme and wasn’t therefore taking it up.

The post attracted a lot of interest. It actually generated more comments than any other post I have made on Pounds and Sense. Various people (especially Harry and KenM – thanks, guys!) posted in some detail about their experiences with the scheme. As a result I changed my opinion somewhat and decided to sign up when the opportunity arose the following month.

In this update I thought I would talk about why I changed my mind and the results I have achieved myself over the last few weeks. But first, a word of explanation…

What is EDF’s Sunday Saver Challenge?

This scheme is intended to reward EDF customers for switching some of their energy usage away from peak times.

The way it works is that you’re given targets to shift your electricity consumption on weekdays away from peak hours (4pm-7pm). When you hit your weekly target (which is set individually for each user by EDF), you earn free electricity the following Sunday.

EDF say, ‘The more you shift, the more you earn – reduce your weekly peak usage by 40% and you could earn up to 16 hours of free electricity per week.’ The challenge takes place monthly, starting on the first Monday of each month.

Why Did I Have Reservations?

As I said above, I had various reservations about the scheme prior to signing up. I have copied below the relevant paragraphs from my original post.

To benefit from this scheme you have to cut your daily energy usage every weekday between 4pm and 7pm. That’s quite a long period (three hours), and coincides with when I would normally be cooking my evening meal. To have any realistic chance of cutting my energy use during this time, I would have to eat either ridiculously early or significantly later than normal. For various reasons, including my health, I prefer to eat between 6 and 7 pm and no later. So that in itself is a big ask and would impact drastically on my normal routine.
Free electricity on Sunday sounds great, but the devil is in the detail. EDF say that you will get ‘up to 16 hours’ of free electricity if you meet their targets, but are very vague about what this means in practice. Specifically, they don’t explain how your energy-saving targets are calculated, how any reduction in usage translates to free hours, or when on Sunday you will be able to use the free electricity awarded.
In addition, they say there are ‘fair usage’ limits to how much free electricity you can have. Again, they are vague about what this means in practice. The obvious way to use your free electricity would be to charge your EV, and I strongly suspect limits would be placed on this. As for me, I don’t have an EV and don’t want one, so my options for benefiting from the free electricity would be limited. I could shift use of appliances like my washing machine to Sunday but doubt if I could save more than a few kw/h this way (obviously the exact number would depend on how many free hours I was allocated, which is anyone’s guess). That means my free electricity would likely benefit me by no more than a pound or two.
Lastly, as a solar panel owner I already get some free electricity anyway. My panels obviously generate less in the winter, but during daylight hours they still produce something. That means any benefit from free electricity on Sundays will be reduced, especially if (as is likely) the free hours are in the day rather than at night.

So What Changed?

The comments and info posted by readers who had signed up for the challenge and (in general) had benefited from it changed my views somewhat. They also addressed some of the doubts I had expressed in my original post.

As regards the free hours on Sunday, depending on how much you reduce your usage you can get anything from 4 hours to a maximum of 16. The free hours always start at 8 am and go on until as late as 12 midnight if you achieve the full target saving.

There are indeed ‘fair usage’ limits for the free hours you are awarded. They are as follows: 11.25 kWh with 4 free hours; 22.5 kWh with 8 free hours; 33.75 kWh with 12 free hours; and 45 kWh with 16 hours. EDF say these amounts are subject to change.

I still don’t know how exactly the saving targets are set, but here is a screen capture showing the ones I was set last week and the results I obtained.

As you can see, that was a successful week! I’ll talk more about my personal experiences with the Sunday Saver challenge below.

I also realised that, while I don’t have an EV, I could use a fair-sized portion of my free electricity charging my home storage battery from the grid. This wasn’t something I had done before (I got my battery mainly to store power generated by my solar panels) but obviously I knew it was possible. As things turned out (see below) it wasn’t without its challenges. But without doing this I’m not convinced I could have used enough free electricity to make the scheme worthwhile.

I do, incidentally, still think that EDF should make the terms and conditions of the challenge clearer prior to signing up. But anyway, based on info received from my readers, I felt it was worth giving it a try. So here’s a bit about my experiences with the November challenge.

So What Happened?

When I decided to do the EDF Sunday Saver challenge, I was clear I wasn’t going to cause myseff a ton of hassle cutting my electricity usage to the bone (I live on my own these days, incidentally). I decided I could probably defer starting my (electric) cooking till 7 pm. That was a minor inconvenience, but so far anyway I’ve been getting around it by eating meals that are quick to cook (yesterday I had gnocchi with pesto and spinach, for example). I’ll admit I’ve had a few microwave meals as well. I did also do some healthier batch cooking on one of the Sundays to produce meals I could quickly heat up during the week.

Shifting my main cooking time has undoubtedly done more than anything to reduce my peak-time energy use. Apart from that I have done little. I wouldn’t normally be hoovering or using the washing machine at peak times anyway. I have made a point of turning off my desktop computer by 4 pm (something I should probably have been doing anyway). I’ve also been a bit more careful about switching off lights when I don’t need them. And obviously I don’t use any electric heating during peak hours (thankfully I have gas central heating and a separate gas fire in the lounge). And that’s it really. For the first three weeks of the November challenge I achieved my targets fairly easily, earning the maximum 16 hours for two of them and 12 hours for the other.

I saved all my hoovering and clothes washing for Sundays to make use of the free electricity. In addition, as mentioned above, I set my home battery to charge from the grid that day. Unfortunately because I hadn’t done this before – and the software isn’t as intuitive as it should be – the first time it didn’t work at all. The following Sunday I got it working but somehow must have set it to charge every day in the evening. So on the Monday the battery started charging at the maximum rate (6 kw/h) at 5 pm. Unfortunately I didn’t notice this until around 6 pm, so that drove a coach and horses through my weekly energy-saving target. At the time of writing, my weekly dashboard shows that I am currently using 97.5% of my electricity during peak hours and – unsurprisingly – am ‘not on target’ to achieve the 14.9% set for me. Obviously, then, I will have to write off this week. I just hope that my poor performance will encourage EDF to set me generous targets in December!

Closing Thoughts

Overall, my experiences have been positive enough to want to continue the Sunday Saver challenge. I will have saved some money by doing it, which will be credited to my account in December.

It will be interesting to see what usage targets EDF set me next month, especially after I messed up the final week of the challenge. But in any event, EDF have also let me know that anyone signing up for the December challenge will get an automatic eight hours of free electricity on Christmas Day regardless of any energy savings they make. So that is another incentive to sign up for December (which I have already done),.

So those were my experiences with the EDF Sunday Saver challenge in November. I’d be interested to hear how you got on if you did it too, and whether you will be continuing the challenge. Also, if you are on a similar scheme with another energy company, I’d love to hear how that’s going for you. Please post any comments below as usual, not forgetting to allow me a few hours to approve them.

As I have said before on PAS, I can offer anyone switching to EDF £50 off their bills if they use my refer-a-friend link at https://edfenergy.com/quote/refer-a-friend/sunny-koala-9462 when applying. I will also get £50 off my bill if you do this (£75 till 12 December 2024), which is duly appreciated

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eToro virtual portfolio update November 2024

November 21, 2024

Update on My eToro Virtual Portfolio – November 2024

Nick Investing events, reviews 0 Comments

A little over a year ago I published this update about my eToro virtual portfolio and some lessons I had learned from it. I originally reviewed eToro in this blog post.

I thought PAS readers might be interested to see an update about how my eToro virtual portfolio is doing today and any further lessons to be learned. As you may know, I already publish monthly updates on my real investments and how they are doing, the latest of which you can read here.

Let’s start with the basics, though…

What is eToro?

eToro is a Israeli fintech company based in Cyprus. The company also has registered offices in the UK, US and Australia. It is a hugely popular platform with 25 million customers from over 140 countries across the world.

eToro is regulated and authorised in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). That means if eToro were to go bust any deposits with them up to £85,000 would be protected. Of course, the FSCS doesn’t protect you if you lose money simply due to your investments performing poorly.

eToro offers a wide range of investment products, from individual shares to cryptocurrencies, commodities to ETFs, currency pairs to copy trading, and thematic investing via smart portfolios. Today, though, I’m focusing on a feature that doesn’t require any outlay at all. This is the facility to operate a $100,000 virtual portfolio on the platform, to familiarize yourself with how it works and test out trading and investing strategies.

I have been an eToro investor for nearly three years now. I started with a virtual portfolio, but I have also invested some real money. I do still use my virtual portfolio, however, and continue to learn valuable lessons from it. So today I thought I’d set out some of these.

I’ll start by showing you some data on how my virtual portfolio has been performing as of November 2024. As I have quite a lot of different investments in my VP, I have taken two separate screen captures showing first the best performing and then the worst performing. As a matter of interest, I am now up by over $17,000 overall. Obviously I can only wish that was real money!

Best Performing Investments

Worst Performing Investments

Some Lessons Learned

I hope you found the screen captures of my virtual portfolio interesting. They include most of my current investments apart from one or two in the middle. I can’t discuss every investment in detail here, but as promised here are some of the lessons I have drawn from my experiences to date.

Time in the market really does matter

As my financial adviser, Mike, often reminds me, one of the main keys to successful investing is time in the market. As long as you have a good-quality, well diversified portfolio, over time the inevitable peaks and troughs will even out, and the likelihood of making a good long-term return will increase (though, of course, with all investing there is never any guarantee).

Two years on from when I opened my eToro virtual portfolio, here’s a snapshot of how it’s doing overall…

As you can see, currently my inexpertly-picked portfolio is showing over $17,000 of profit. In my last VP update in July 2023, it was showing a loss of over $3,000. Since then I haven’t made any major changes to the portfolio, but over the last year there has been an impressive turnaround. Apart from my unsuccessful (okay, disastrous) experiments investing in commodities, the profit would be significantly bigger than this. And, as you may have noticed, there has been one other thing holding overall performance back…

Renewable energy companies have performed surprisingly poorly

You might assume that with climate change and the manic quest (in the UK at any rate) to achieve Net Zero, investing in renewables should be a profitable strategy.

I used to think so too, so in my eToro VP I invested in two smart portfolios in this sector. One is called Renewable Energy and the other Golden Energy. As you can see from my second screen capture, both have performed poorly and are at the bottom of the table. Golden Energy (which invests in gold and energy companies) is down by almost 17%, while Renewable Energy is right at the bottom, having gone down in value by nearly 45%. Obviously I am glad I don’t have any real money in these smart portfolios.

In a somewhat ironic twist, my investment in a smart portfolio called Oil Worldwide is actually showing a profit of around 16%. Regular readers will be aware that I also have some real money in Oil Worldwide.

I don’t really know why companies in the renewable energy sector should be under-performing so badly. But it does make the point that what may appear to be ‘nailed-on’ profitable investments can still end up losing money. As I said earlier, there are never any guarantees!

You can read my blog post here about smart portfolios, which allow you to invest thematically on eToro.

IT companies generally have done well in the last two years

As you can see from my first screen capture, my top three virtual investments have all been in the information technology field. At the top is In the Game, a smart portfolio focused on the gaming industry. This has delivered a staggering 68% profit. Not far behind is the Shopping Cart smart portfolio, devoted to online shopping technology, which has delivered a 61% return.

And in third place comes the Four Horsemen portfolio, which incorporates shares in the four leading global IT companies, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and Google. This has generated a 42% profit, partly due to their involvement in the fast-growing AI field.

Obviously there is no guarantee that this trend will continue. But if you are looking for sectors in which to invest, information technology has certainly been delivering impressive returns recently.

Health is another sector worth watching

As you can see, one of the best performing investments in my virtual portfolio was Cancer-Med (25% profit). I had personal reasons for wanting to invest in this, as my partner Jayne died from cancer and I have been treated for prostate cancer myself. Obviously a lot of research money goes into cancer, and successful treatments can prove extremely lucrative for the companies concerned.

I also invested some of my virtual funds in Diabetes-Med. This is a smart portfolio covering companies in the field of diabetes care, treatment and prevention. Again, as someone who has previously been diagnosed prediabetic, I had a particular interest in this. And with diabetes on the rise across the world, it did seem to me it was a sector with good profit potential. It has also delivered a profit for me, albeit a relatively modest 7%.

Copy trading can be profitable

Also among my best-performing investments have been two copy trading portfolios. As you can see, the most profitable has been Aukie2008 (Mike Moest). Following him has generated a profit of around 16% over two years for me. Regular readers will know that I also invested some real money following this trader and have done pretty well from this also.

Also in my VP I am following two other copy traders, Nezatron and ioatri. Nezatron is showing a modest net profit (for me) of around 8%, while ioatri has made a rather more impressive 23% return, putting him in the top section of my performance table.

I am obviously a fan of the copy trading feature on eToro, though naturally some traders do better than others. Please read my blog post about copy trading on eToro for more information about this feature.

Final Thoughts

So those are five more lessons I have learned from my eToro virtual portfolio. I don’t claim any of them are particularly earth-shattering or that they represent deep universal truths. But I have found all of them valuable in different ways and they will certainly inform my investing in future. Obviously bear in mind that the results quoted above are based on my experiences over the last two years since I opened my VP. Over other time periods, the numbers would no doubt be different.

If you are interested in investing and/or trading, I do therefore recommend setting up an eToro virtual portfolio and trying different strategies with it. I shall continue to do so myself, alongside my real investments in eToro and elsewhere.

To remind you, you can read my article about setting up an eToro account – which automatically includes a $100,000 virtual portfolio – here. You can also read how my actual (real money) investments with eToro are performing in my monthly investment updates, of which this is the latest.

As always, if you have any comments or questions about this article – or eToro more generally – please do post them below.

Disclaimer: I am not a professional financial adviser and nothing in this post should be construed as personal financial advice. You should always do your own ‘due diligence’ before investing, and seek professional advice if in any doubt how best to proceed. All investing carries a risk of loss.

Please note also that posts on Pounds and Sense may include affiliate links. If you click through these and make a purchase or investment, I may receive a commission for introducing you. This will not affect in any way the price you pay or the product/service you receive. In some instances bonuses and other promotional incentives may only be available if you click through my link.

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November 19, 2024

What Are the Best Video Calling Tools for Older People?

Nick Everything Else events, reviews 6 Comments

Christmas will soon be here. Touch wood, it looks as though it will be more ‘normal’ than the last few years. But even with memories of the pandemic fading, many older people especially will still be understandably cautious about how much face-to-face socializing they do at this time.

In addition, this year we have a cost-of-living crisis. And many pensioners are even more cash-strapped than usual due to the removal of Winter Fuel Payments for all but the very poorest. Add to that bad winter weather (snow is currently falling here). And, of course, there will be the usual congestion (and worse) on many roads and motorways.

All this means that potentially there may still be less face-to-face socializing this festive season, especially where older people are concerned. Of course, it’s true they are more likely to suffer severe consequences if infected with respiratory viruses such as flu or Covid, so a measure of caution is understandable. But many have been seeing other people less often for several years now. And a lack of human contact – at this time of year especially – can lead to loneliness, depression, and other health issues (physical and mental).

While not a complete solution, video calling can provide a lifeline for older people. In particular, it can provide a means for them to keep in touch with distant friends and family, and especially with children and grandchildren.

So in this post I thought I’d look at some of the main options available. I hope this will help if you are an older person yourself, or if you have older friends and relatives.

What Do You Need?

At the risk of stating the obvious, if you’re going to make video calls, you will need a device with a camera and a microphone.

The good news is that all modern smartphones, Apple or Android, have good-quality cameras built in. These devices can be great for video calling, as you can hold them comfortably in your hand, move around with them, and point them at yourself or at anything you might want to talk about. The one drawback with smartphones is that the screen is relatively small, but for one-to-one conversations they are perfectly adequate.

Other good options are a tablet, a laptop or a Chromebook. All of these devices generally have a front-facing camera that is ideal for video calling (and indeed designed for it). As the screens are larger you will be able to see the other person (or people) more clearly. And group video calls with two or more other people (should you want to do this) are more feasible.

If you’re using a desktop computer it’s not quite as simple. In this case you will need to activate the built-in webcam or else buy a separate webcam (e.g. from Amazon). Standalone webcams normally plug in via a USB port. They may come with third-party software designed to help you control and make the most of them.

The other thing you will need is a video-calling app. There are lots you can use, but in this post I’ll focus on four of the most popular: Skype, FaceTime, WhatsApp and Messenger. All of these are free to download and use on wifi. If you are using them with a mobile data service they will eat up your allowance and you may end up paying extra, so it’s best to stick with wifi if at all possible.

There isn’t much difference in call quality in my experience, so it really comes down to personal preference which one you choose.

One other thing to note is that the person you are calling will need to use the same app as you are.

1. Skype

Video calls on smartphones? Yes

Video calls on tablets? Yes

Video calls on Windows? Yes

Video calls on a Mac? Yes

Skype was originally designed for making free voice calls over the internet, but then added video calls too. It’s seen as a little old-fashioned in some circles, and isn’t quite as easy to install and configure as some of its newer rivals. Nonetheless, it still works well, and you can use it for one-to-one or group calls.

If you have a modern smartphone or tablet it’s quite likely that Skype will be installed already, but otherwise you can download it from the Play Store (Android), Apple Store (Apple) or Skype website (PC or Mac). You will need to set up an account before you start using it, for which you will need to provide either your mobile number or your email address.

To make a Skype video call to a new contact, use the Search Skype box at the top left to search for the person’s real name, Skype name, or email address. If your friend has a common name, you may find there are a number of people to choose from in the list that pops up. Use the profile pictures to find the person you’re looking for, or click on the name to view their profile information. Anyone you talk to will automatically be added to your Skype contact list. Select your contact and click Call. With your audio call running, select the video camera icon to open the camera. During a call you can mute/unmute your microphone and switch your camera on/off by clicking on or tapping the appropriate icon.

Here is a link to a more in-depth article on making a video call with Skype.

2. WhatsApp

Video calls on smartphones? Yes

Video calls on tablets? No

Video calls on Windows? No

Video calls on a Mac? No

WhatsApp is owned by Facebook. It is primarily used for text chats and sharing photos and videos, but you can make video calls on it as well.

If you have a modern smartphone it’s quite likely WhatsApp will be installed already, but otherwise you will need to download it from the Play Store or Apple Store. To create an account, open the app and work through the set-up assistant. You will need to provide certain permissions to allow the app to access your camera and microphone and to import your existing phone contacts.

WhatsApp then works in a similar way to Skype. To place a video call, tap the contact you want to talk to, and tap the video camera icon next to their name. The other person can answer the call (swipe up the blue button), reject the call (swipe up the red phone button), or reject the call and send a text instead (swipe up the message button). If they answer, you’re good to go. You can toggle between the front and rear cameras on your phone by tapping on the appropriate icon if you wish.

Here is a link to a more in-depth article on making a video call with WhatsApp.

3. FaceTime

Video calls on smartphones? Yes – iPhones only

Video calls on tablets? Yes – iPads only

Video calls on Windows? No

Video calls on a Mac? Yes

FaceTime comes pre-installed on most Apple devices, so if you and the other person both have devices from Apple, it’s an easy option.

Making a call is (again) very simple. Just open the FaceTime app and tap the ‘+’ button, then type the phone number or email address of the person you want to call. Select audio (the microphone icon) or video (the camera icon) and you’re all set. If you have Apple’s voice assistant Siri you can also just say ‘Contact [Name]’. You can also tap ‘Recents’ to call people you have called recently and/or add your regular contacts to a Favourites list.

Here is a link to a more in-depth article on making a video call with FaceTime.

4. Messenger

Video calls on smartphones? Yes

Video calls on tablets? Yes

Video calls on Windows? Yes

Video calls on a Mac? Yes

Messenger is owned by Facebook but it is a separate app. If you don’t have it on your device already you will need to download it from the Play Store or Apple Store or via the website for PC or Mac.

To use Messenger you will need to have a Facebook account, but this does have the advantage that you won’t need to register the app separately and can start using it straight away. Messenger will automatically connect with all your Facebook friends.

To make a Messenger video call, tap the pencil icon at the top right of the app screen. Enter the name of whomever you want to contact and tap on their picture. You can then tap on the video camera icon to start a video call.

Here is a link to a more in-depth article on making a video call with Messenger (or Facebook).

Making Group Video Calls

All the apps above also allow you to make group calls. These can be great for connecting with multiple friends and/or family members. The number of contacts you can have in a call varies between apps. I have put details for the four services discussed in this post below.

Skype: Up to 100 contacts. In an ongoing conversation click the ‘+’ icon to add more contacts.

WhatsApp: Up to 32 contacts. In an ongoing call, select ‘Add Participant’.

FaceTime: Up to 32 contacts. During a FaceTime call, select ‘Add Person’.

Messenger: Up to 50 contacts. In an ongoing video call, tap on the ‘+’ icon.

Note that video calling apps compete fiercely for dominance, so the maximum numbers set out above may increase.

Finally, you will probably have heard about the group video-calling app Zoom. This is really a meetings app for businesses, but in the last few years it has become very popular with younger people especially. You don’t need any special software to take part in a Zoom chat – just click on the link you receive by text or email and the Zoom (meeting) will open in a browser window.

Zoom is very easy to use, and its Gallery View in particular has made it very popular. You can have up to 100 participants on a free call (there are also paid options for larger meetings of up to 1000 people). Concerns have, however, been raised about some privacy/security issues. One other drawback is that the free version only allows you to chat for 40 minutes at a time, although you can then reconnect in a new chat if you wish. You can read more about Zoom here.

Using a Smart Speaker

Another increasingly popular option is to use a smart speaker with a video display, e.g. the Amazon Echo Show [affiliate link]. In fact both parties don’t even need an Echo Show device, as you can make and receive calls to an Echo Show using a smartphone.

To make a video call using the Echo Show, first ensure the person you want to speak to has the Alexa app set up on their mobile phone or also owns an Echo Show. Then say, ‘Alexa, video call [contact name].’ You may be asked to confirm details of the person you’re trying to reach. Then wait for the person to answer. If you can’t see yourself on the screen, check the camera shutter on your device isn’t closed, or the ‘camera off’ icon isn’t selected. All being well, you can then start chatting to your friend or relative. At the end of the call click the red hang-up button or say, ‘Alexa, end video call.’

For more detailed information about using an Echo Show to make a video call, click through to this useful article on the popular Tom’s Guide website.

I hope you have found this article helpful. As always, if you have any comments or questions about this post, please do leave them below.

Note: this is a fully revised update of an annual article.

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November 13, 2024

Are You Ready for Amazon’s Black Friday Sale?

Nick Saving Money events, reviews, shopping 0 Comments

Amazon’s Black Friday Sale is almost with us. This year it extends over 12 days, from Thursday 21 November to Monday 2 December.

Black Friday itself is on Friday 29 November, with the final day, Monday 2 December, being known as Cyber Monday.

Amazon say they will be offering 12 days of epic deals from leading brands including Philips, Tefal, Fossil, Logitech, Oral-B, Braun, Ghd, Bose, Microsoft Surface, Bosch, Shark, and more.

Some of the best deals will no doubt be reserved for Amazon’s own products, such as their Kindle e-book readers, Amazon Echo smart speakers and Ring video doorbells and security cameras. Discounts of up to 60% will be on offer for these products.

What to Expect in the Black Friday Sale

1. Early Deals and Extended Sales
Amazon often kicks off its Black Friday sales early, sometimes starting a week or two before the big day. This year is no different, as early deals have already begun appearing at the time of writing. More will no doubt launch in the coming days, leading into Black Friday itself and extending through till Cyber Monday. Keep an eye out for daily flash deals and special discounts leading up to the main event.

2. Discounts Across Popular Categories
Amazon’s Black Friday sale usually includes heavy discounts across a wide range of categories, including:

Tech and Electronics: Expect significant price cuts on Amazon devices (such as Echo speakers, Fire tablets, and Kindles), as well as popular brands in laptops, smartphones, and TVs.
Fashion: From top brands to Amazon’s own Essentials line, you can expect deals on clothes, shoes, and accessories for every season.
Home and Kitchen: Look for discounts on everything from coffee makers to robot vacuum cleaners.
Toys and Games: With Christmas around the corner, Black Friday is a great time to pick up gifts at a discount.

Tips for Making the Most of Black Friday

1. Prepare Your Wish List
Creating a wish list is a great way to stay organized and track items you’re interested in. Go through your list the week before Black Friday to see if items are already on sale, then you can quickly check back on the day to see if the discount has increased.

2. Use Amazon’s ‘Watch This Deal’ Feature
For time-sensitive deals like Lightning Deals, the ‘Watch This Deal’ feature lets you get notifications when items you’re interested in go on sale. This can help you grab limited stock items before they sell out.

3. Compare Prices with CamelCamelCamel or Keepa
Websites like CamelCamelCamel and Keepa track price history on Amazon, which can help you see if the Black Friday price truly is the best deal. This is especially useful for high-ticket items where discounts may vary.

4. Sign Up for Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime members often get early access to some Black Friday deals. Plus, Prime includes fast delivery, which is ideal if you’re ordering gifts. You get a range of other benefits too, including Amazon Prime Music and Amazon Prime Video. If you’re not already a member, you can take advantage of Amazon’s 30-day free trial. You can always cancel once the Black Friday sale is over if you don’t want to pay for a subscription.

5. Be Ready to Check Out Quickly
Some deals, especially on popular items, sell out fast. To avoid missing out, make sure your payment information and delivery addresses are updated before the sale begins. If you’re ready to check out as soon as you find the deal you want, you’ll have a better chance of securing it.

6. Set a Budget
With so many discounts, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement and overspend. Set a budget before you start shopping and prioritize items that you’ve planned for.

7. Keep an Eye Out for Coupons and Vouchers
Amazon sometimes offers additional savings through coupons, which are either applied automatically or appear as check-boxes on product pages. Using a coupon can help you save even more.

Key Dates to Remember

Early Deals Begin: from mid-November
Sale Officially Starts: November 21st 2024
Black Friday: November 29th 2024
Cyber Monday: December 2nd 2024 (final day of sale)

Whether you’re looking for electronics, fashion or Christmas gifts, Amazon’s Black Friday sale is an excellent time to find deals on popular products. By preparing beforehand and keeping the above tips in mind, you can get the very most from your Black Friday shopping.

As always, if you have any comments or questions about this post, please do leave them below. I am always delighted to hear from Pounds and Sense readers!

Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission for introducing you. This will not affect the price you pay or the products or services you receive.

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November 5, 2024

My Investments Update – November 2024

Nick Making Money events, reviews 0 Comments

Here is my latest monthly update about my investments. You can read my October 2024 Investments Update here if you like.

I’ll begin as usual with my Nutmeg Stocks and Shares ISA. This is the largest investment I hold other than my Bestinvest SIPP (personal pension).

As the screenshot below for the year to date shows, my main Nutmeg portfolio is currently valued at £24,799 (rounded up). Last month it stood at £24,625, so that is an increase of £174.

Apart from my main portfolio, I also have a second, smaller pot using Nutmeg’s Smart Alpha option. This is now worth £3,988 (rounded up) compared with £3,954 a month ago, a rise of £34. Here is a screen capture showing performance over the year to date.

Finally, at the start of December 2023 I invested £500 in one of Nutmeg’s new thematic portfolios (Resource Transformation). In March I also invested a further £200 from referral bonuses. As you can see from the YTD screen capture below, this portfolio is now worth £789 compared with £781 last month, a small rise of £8.

As you can see, October was another decent month for my Nutmeg investments, though the last few days saw a bit of a dip. The overall value has risen by £216 or 0.75% since the start of October. They are also up by £3,261 or 11.62% since the start of the year.

You can read my full Nutmeg review here. If you are looking for a home for your annual ISA allowance, based on my overall experience over the last eight years, they are certainly worth considering. They offer self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs), Lifetime ISAs and Junior ISAs as well.

Note that I am no longer an affiliate for Nutmeg. That means you won’t find any affiliate links in my review (or anywhere else on PAS). And you will no longer see the no-fees-for-six-months offer I used to promote as an affiliate. However, the better news is that you can still get six months free of any management fees by registering with Nutmeg via my Refer a Friend link. I will receive a gift voucher if you do this, which is duly appreciated

Don’t forget, also, that the current tax year began on 6 April 2024. Despite some predictions to the contrary, you still have a full £20,000 tax-free ISA allowance for 2024/25. As from this year, you can now open any number of ISAs with different providers in the same tax year, as long as you don’t exceed your overall £20,000 allowance. So opening a stocks and shares ISA with Nutmeg won’t prevent you from also opening one with another S&S ISA provider (should you wish to) later in the financial year.

Moving on, I also have investments with the property crowdlending platform Kuflink. They continue to do well, with new projects launching every week. I currently have around £833 invested with them in 7 different projects paying interest rates averaging around 7%. I also have £40 in my Kuflink cash account.

To date I have never lost any money with Kuflink, though some loan terms have been extended once or twice. On the plus side, when this happens additional interest is paid for the period in question.

There is now an initial minimum investment of £1,000 and a minimum investment per project of £500. Kuflink say they are doing this to streamline their operation and minimize costs. I can understand that, though it does mean that the option to test the water with a small first investment has been removed. It also makes it harder for small investors (like myself) to build a well-diversified portfolio on a limited budget.

One possible way around this is to invest using Kuflink’s Auto/IFISA facility. Your money here is automatically invested across a basket of loans over a period from one to five years. Interest rates range from 7% to around 10%, depending on the length of term you choose. Full up-to-date details can be found on the Kuflink website.

You can invest tax-free in a Kuflink Auto IFISA. Or if you have already used your annual ISA allowance elsewhere, you can invest via a taxable Auto account. You can read my full Kuflink review here if you wish.

Note that after this month I will not be including Kuflink in my monthly updates. I am gradually winding down my portfolio with them, as part of the de-risking process for my investments as i get older. As I’ve said above, I have no particular issue with Kuflink, though I do think increasing their minimum investment was unfortunate for the reasons stated above. But I still recommend them if their offering suits your investment strategy and risk appetite.

Moving on, my Assetz Exchange investments continue to generate steady returns. Regular readers will know that this is a P2P property investment platform focusing on lower-risk properties (e.g. sheltered housing). I put an initial £100 into this in mid-February 2021 and another £400 in April. In June 2021 I added another £500, bringing my total investment up to £1,000.

Since I opened my account, my AE portfolio has generated a respectable £215.02 in revenue from rental income. Capital growth has slowed, though, in line with UK property values generally.

At the time of writing, 13 of ‘my’ properties are showing gains, 4 are breaking even, and the remaining 17 are showing losses. My portfolio of 34 properties is currently showing a net decrease in value of £43.61, meaning that overall (rental income minus capital value decrease) I am up by £171.41. That’s still a decent return on my £1,000 and does illustrate the value of P2P property investments for diversifying your portfolio. And it doesn’t hurt that with Assetz Exchange most projects are socially beneficial as well.

The overall fall in capital value of my AE investments is obviously a little disappointing. But it’s important to remember that until/unless I choose to sell the investments in question, it is largely theoretical, based on the latest price at which shares in the property concerned have changed hands. The rental income, on the other hand, is real money (which in my case I’ve reinvested in other AE projects to further diversify my portfolio).

To control risk with all my property crowdfunding investments nowadays, I invest relatively modest amounts in individual projects. This is a particular attraction of AE as far as i am concerned (especially after Kuflink raised their minimum investment per project to £500). You can actually invest from as little as 80p per property if you really want to proceed cautiously.

As I noted in this recent post, Assetz Exchange is particularly good if you want to compound your returns by reinvesting rental income. This effectively boosts the interest rate you are receiving. Personally, once I have accrued a minimum of £10 in rental payments, I reinvest this money in either a new AE project or one I have already invested in (thus increasing my holding). Over time, even if I don’t invest any more capital, this will ensure my investment with AE grows at an accelerating rate and becomes more diversified as well.

My investment on Assetz Exchange is in the form of an IFISA so there won’t be any tax to pay on profits, dividends or capital gains. I’ve been impressed by my experiences with Assetz Exchange and the returns generated so far, and intend to continue investing with them. You can read my full review of Assetz Exchange here. You can also sign up for an account on Assetz Exchange directly via this link [affiliate]. Bear in mind that, as from this financial year (2024/25), you can open more than one IFISA per year.

In 2022 I set up an account with investment and trading platform eToro, using their popular ‘copy trader’ facility. I chose to invest $500 (then about £412) copying an experienced eToro trader called Aukie2008 (real name Mike Moest).

In January 2023 I added to this with another $500 investment in one of their thematic portfolios, Oil Worldwide. I also invested a small amount I had left over in Tesla shares.

As you can see from the screen captures below, my original investment totalling $1,022.26 is today worth $1,271.89 an overall increase of $249.63 or 24.42%.

You can read my full review of eToro here. You may also like to check out my more in-depth look at eToro copy trading. I also discussed thematic investing with eToro using Smart Portfolios in this recent post. The latter also reveals why I took the somewhat contrarian step of choosing the oil industry for my first thematic investment with them.

As you can see, my Oil WorldWide investment is showing 5.09% profit. That’s a bit underwhelming, but at least it’s a profit! Obviously my copy trading investment with Aukie2008 has been doing much better.

You might also notice that I have small holdings in Prosus NV, a Dutch internet group, and South Bow, a Canadian energy infrastructure company. To be honest I don’t understand how I acquired these, but I assume they are some sort of bonus I have been awarded. In any event, I am happy to have them in my portfolio!

eToro also offer the free eToro Money app. This allows you to deposit money to your eToro account without paying any currency conversion fees, saving you up to £5 for every £1,000 you deposit. You can also use the app to withdraw funds from your eToro account instantly to your bank account. I tried this myself and was impressed with how quickly and seamlessly it worked. You can read my blog post about eToro Money here. Note that it can also serve as a cryptocurrency wallet, allowing you to send and receive crypto from any other wallet address in the world.

I had two more articles published in October on the excellent Mouthy Money website. The first is How to Cut Your Energy Bills This Winter. With the coldest winter months fast approaching, energy bills can quickly become a significant financial burden. So in this article I set out some tips to help you reduce your energy costs and keep your home warm without breaking the bank.

Also in October Mouthy Money published my article Always Wanted to be in the Movies? Let TV Studios Use Your Home for Money. As I explained in this, you definitely don’t need to live in a stately home to profit from this opportunity. A huge range of properties is required, so wherever you live there’s a chance it could be the perfect location for an upcoming project.

As I’ve said before, Mouthy Money is a great resource for anyone interested in money-making and money-saving. From the variety of articles published in October, I particularly enjoyed How to Prepare for a Frugal Winter by regular MM contributor Shoestring Jane. Jane writes mainly about money saving and frugal living. You can see all of her articles for Mouthy Money via this web page.

I also published (or republished) several posts on Pounds and Sense in October. Some are no longer relevant, but I have listed the others below.

In Here’s Why I’m Not Doing EDF Energy’s ‘Sunday Saver’ Challenge I set out my reasons for being dubious about this particular money-saving opportunity. This post has actually generated more comments than any before from readers sharing their experiences. If you’re considering doing this challenge (or a similar one from another energy company) I strongly recommend reading what others are saying about it. I must admit that having seen all the comments (those from Harry especially!) I am now more enthusiastic than I was originally, and will be giving it a try in November. Watch this space!

My post on How to Prepare for Winter Blackouts revealed my reasons for believing winter blackouts are increasingly likely in the UK, from government energy policies to the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. I set out a range of tips to ensure that you and your family are well-prepared should the worst happen.

In Will You Get the Warm Home Discount? I discussed this scheme which provides people on low incomes and/or certain means-tested benefits with a discount of £150 on their electricity bill. This is a one-off payment that will be credited to your electricity account by March 2025 (you won’t receive it in cash). The 2024/25 scheme has recently launched, and in this post I revealed who may be eligible.

In my post Should You Take a Lump Sum From Your Pension Now? I looked at the pros and cons of taking a tax-free lump sum from your pension. Retirees can typically withdraw 25% of their pension pot as a tax-free lump sum once they reach the age of 55. At the time I wrote this there was much speculation whether this tax-free allowance would be removed or reduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her budget. That didn’t happen, but you might still find this article informative if taking a lump sum from your pension is on your agenda sometime soon.

My Review of the Simba Orbit Weighted Blanket was a sponsored post. I was sent this product free of charge by my friends at Simba Sleep. In this post I revealed what I thought of it.

And in Twelve Great Christmas Gift Ideas for Older People (That Aren’t Socks) I set out 12 suggestions for presents for older friends and relatives that – based on my experience as an older person myself – should put a smile on their faces! If you’re struggling for ideas for gifts for older friends and relatives, check this out 🙂

Lastly – as referred to earlier – in October we had Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ first budget. This seemed a very long time coming and was the subject of much speculation – and no small amount of dread – beforehand.

My initial reaction was that it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Several of the possible measures that had been touted didn’t happen. That includes cuts to the £20,000 annual tax-free ISA allowance, the ending of the old person’s bus pass, and the scrapping of the 25% council tax discount for single-person households. The last two in particular would have been very bad news indeed for older people on top of losing (in many cases) their Winter Fuel Payment. Thankfully these things haven’t happened (yet).

Also on the plus side, the additional investment in the NHS is obviously welcome, though in my view this does need to be accompanied by structural changes to boost efficiency and productivity.

On the minus side, although Reeves presented this as a budget for growth, the rise in employers’ National Insurance contributions and other changes brought in by Labour seem more likely to have the opposite effect. They will discourage investment in the UK and potentially lead to job losses as well. Farmers were particularly hard hit by inheritance tax changes. These will potentially generate huge tax bills for family farms and may result in thousands having to sell up. Any farmers among my readers have my sympathy and support.

We will obviously see how things pan out over the coming months and years, but I can’t say I am particularly optimistic over the direction in which this country is heading. In particular – as regular readers will know – I have serious concerns over the effect the government’s reckless pursuit of ‘Net Zero’ will have on our energy security and standard of living. In my view, far more effort should be put into adapting to the effects of climate change, rather than wasting billions on pie-in-the-sky virtue-signalling schemes such as carbon capture machines and giant flywheels. Okay, I’ll get off my soapbox now!

As always, if you have any comments or queries about this update, feel free to leave them below. I am always delighted to hear from PAS readers

Disclaimer: I am not a qualified financial adviser and nothing in this blog post should be construed as personal financial advice. Everyone should do their own ‘due diligence’ before investing and seek professional advice if in any doubt how best to proceed. All investing carries a risk of loss. Note also that posts on PAS may include affiliate links. If you click through and perform a qualifying transaction, I may receive a commission for introducing you. This will not affect the product or service you receive or the terms you are offered, but it does help support me in publishing PAS and paying my bills. Thank you!

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