Investment Review - June 2016

Here's an update of the combined portfolio as of today, the last day of June :-

Overall, we made very good progress during the last quarter, with new portfolio highs being recorded at the ends of April, May and June, despite the market uncertainties before and after the Brexit referendum.  

Slow Start in the Garden this year ....

It's taking a long while for things to get going in the garden this year, mainly due to the cold we've experienced for much of April.

this is the problem, very cold, especially at
night even inside the greenhouses....

Investment Review - March 2016

Well, the first quarter of the year's gone already.   Here's the current Combined Portfolio position, as on the last day of March :-

Click on it for a larger image, although I think you'll need to click on '..read more..' first.

Financial Planning - 2016 Review

It's been three months since my last post - things were very quiet on the work front at the turn of the year, but in the second week of January a great design and build project came along and I was very busy on that for around three weeks either side of a fortnight's holiday in sunnier climes.

And just when I thought I was in the clear, another project followed immediately afterwards and there's been more design and analysis works in parallel.  Let's hope I can get them all out of the way before the warmer weather really kicks in - there are gardens to tend and golf to play !

It's the Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) on Monday for that first build project, with the client in attendance, so fingers crossed...

Anyway, back to the subject.   I'm now three years into the 'Grand Plan' (for an explanation and last year's end-March review, see this link), and so here are the updated graphs ....

2016 Goals - Remember, trying is the first step towards failure...

With an acknowledgement to Homer Simpson, for the excellent piece of lifestyle advice in the title.

It's the time of year when many bloggers are writing detailed reviews about their last year's personal and lifestyle goals, and either congratulating themselves or indulging in self-flagellation depending on their degree of success.  

And then setting out even more ambitious plans for the year ahead.   Some I've read mention up to 25 goals for the year - that averages out at two per month.  

Cut yourself some slack, FFS !  

Investment Review - December 2015

I've just compiled the latest Combined Portfolio position, as shown in the graphic below.  Click on it for a larger image.

I've included the column from the previous post for comparison, as usual, but there's also an extra column from this same time last year, i.e. at the end December 2014.

I've shown this because, in spite of the quite poor market performance over the year, and in particular the rout in commodities stocks in which I'm heavily overweight, all is not doom and gloom and the year-on-year overall position doesn't actually look bad at all.  

Annual Spending Review - 2015

It's that time of the year, yet again....  I know there's still a few days to go until the end of the year, but I'm highly unlikely to spend anything further unless the ground dries up sufficiently to get a game of golf in on Wednesday afternoon...

Here's a breakdown of where all the money went in 2015, and compared to the previous two years' spending ... click for a larger image.

The columns are ranked highest-to-lowest from left-to-right, based on the 2015 spend.   Basic ground rules are generally as last year's post, and a few points of note are listed below :-