Time for my first portfolio review. Having just started my investment journey in earnest only two months ago I won’t be reporting a huge income. But I can report a huge mental shift. This is important because my focus on my new financial goals has gone a long way in broadening some aspects of my mindset. I’ll come back to this later but right now let’s get an overview of my portfolio and my financial goals.

Portfolio Review

Peer2Peer Lending

Stocks and Shares

Experienced a slump with these in the last month. They are still in positive territory but the overall worth of my stocks and shares went from +€183 down to +€36. When I started with personal finance Degiro was my first platform, before I got into Peer2Peer. I was excited by stocks and shares at first but now after some time I think I would rather invest more money into Peer2Peer.

Rent a Room (House Hacking)

A new tenant has joined the house in the last month so now both rooms are rented out. I am pleased to say that for this portfolio review I am earning as much as I planned from the house. I also made progress with the “adding value” plan with a DIY upgrade to the front garden.

Savings Towards Deposit for Investment Property

This goal is somewhat grey right now. I had been saving a minimum of 200 each month and I had worked up €15,000 in savings. However I took €5,000 of this and decided to put it to work via peer2peer investing with Mintos and the like. My timeframe for buying an investment property is around September 2019.  I will need to get a good understanding of the implications of Brexit. This may allows me to get a good deal on a property in Belfast or another UK city.  Until then, I will probably be taking the money I would been “saving” and investing it. Investments are not without risks so I can’t really say that I am saving this money. I left €10,000 in my credit Union account as per Old Man Ramsey’s preachy advice. Many things remain uncertain about the investment property.

• Where I will buy? Ireland – Meath/Louth. Uk – Belfast, Scotland, Manchester, Liverpool.  These are all on the radar.
• Will Brexit affect my decision? Almost certainly.  I’ve even been watching YouTube videos about a united Ireland. Shocking stuff.
• Will I even be able to get a mortgage? I have work to do here on my employment contracts and I am making myself look better on paper over the next 6 months. I am also overpaying my current mortgage

Let’s Talk About Tax

So I obviously had to start thinking about this even though my income from investments is tiny. It is still income and I will hopefully get to the stage where I will be earning enough from passive income sources that it becomes an accounting task. My plan for the coming month is to start reading the revenue website and ascertain what I need to know. I am predicting this to be complicated and difficult but I know it is necessary.

Have My Financial Goals Changed in the Last Few Months?

When I started this journey I talked about the importance of defining your financial goals. But I know that circumstances change and goals can too. I defined my goals at the end of this post and I can say that they have not changed yet.

The Mental Shift

At the start of this portfolio review I mentioned an important mental shift. A few things are happening here. Mainly forcing myself to write and publish my goals has allowed me to be more focused. While it does feel daunting it also grows your confidence a little. Publishing goals online creates a real sense of accountability, I have a lot of work to do. This is my first portfolio review and it is almost entirely for my own benefit.  I am providing myself with a milestone and a reference point. Every step I take is something I can look back at and reflect on to help me make better decisions in the future.