FourNinesFine

Thanks @GoldDiggerDave I agree with all of these principles. I think to a lesser or greater degree, most people would. It's a big part of the reason I even found this forum. On the other hand, it's difficult to fight the conditioning... "Put something into a pension, you'll need it when you're older". I suppose I just want my money working for me, rather than the other way around. Perhaps it just comes down to this one sentence in the end. Not called @Minimalist for nothing, eh? FNF.

That's an interesting one. Doesn't this mean it disadvantages the self-employed? #askingforafriend

Love it.

Thanks @Minimalist. That's certainly one of the things under consideration when I said, "Honestly, I don't even know if pension contributions are the correct vehicle. What's the benefit of a pension over any other form of investment?" I assume your advice is dead-serious and not intended for levity. It's certainly one to ponder. But therein lies the 'eggs in one basket' issue - no?

Hello knoweldgable folk! I'm pretty new to the forum and have just started my stacking journey. For the same reasons I'm now stacking PMs, I'm looking at my pension arrangements (which I'm roughly 20 years from). I've been hunting down some of the old forum posts on personal investments and I have found lots of interesting tid-bits, but alas, they tend to assume at least some prior knowledge. I'm ashamed to say that I know next to nothing about pension arrangements, though I am keen to rapidly change that. I do have a pension from my ex-workplace that I paid into for 20 years, so I know there's that. But I've not made any pension contributions at all for that last 6 years and I'm keen to start again. But I've nevver held my own voluntary pension so don't know where to start. Of course, I'm doing some external research, googling like a mad-man etc. But, just like learning how to play Monopoly, it's easier to hear from someone who knows how to play, than it is trying to read the rule book cover to cover. I know that @Stacktastic has commented on ISAs and @Pete quite extensively on SIPPs previously and I hope you don't mind me tagging you. (I was a hairs-breadth from private messaging you but I thought may have been creepy, so here we are in public). So please let me know if there's any basics that can be shared, or links to useful resources (impartial advice, not beholden to selling me a sepcific product or fund etc). Honestly, I don't even know if pension contributions are the correct vvehicle. What's the benefit of a pension over any other form of investment? Thanks in advance. As I say, I'm not trying to outsource my own thinking, just to shortcut to the good stuff. Hope that makes sense. FNF.

Removing the 1p coin would create absolute chaos in the retail industry. They'd have to start selling products for £20.00, instead of £19.99. And there's no way I'm paying £20 for something I could have bought for £19.99 last week. Bloody inflation.

I received my first forum purchase today, thanks to @entsor. This one has helped keep 'Mrs FNF' happy as she thinks it's adorable! I picked this up because I wanted at least one A.S.E. in the stack. It's surprised me just how much I like it 'in hand'. Wasn't expecting that reaction but it's a glorious thing. And this a picture of the back. Which is a long-established numismatic word, defined officially as: "Pertaining to the opposing side of the front; often used by those who aren't sure of the correct application of the labels 'obverse' and 'reverse'.

Interestingly, snooping around the Bairds website, I got my first glance at retail Rhodium. Considering picking up a kilo! 🤡

Thanks @NeutronJack that's really helpful.

Well, I hate a bandwagon of any description... but I do not like the type 2. And it's more about the branch than the wing.

Seems sensible. And they are pretty. Funnily enough, the posty delivered my first ever Silver Eagle today. I picked one up just so I'd have at least one in my stack. I wasn't expecting anything from it other than that, but goddam is it a good looking thing. Big in hand too. Cheers my friend. FNF.

It was exactly this 'max value' potential that piqueed my interest in rounds originally. I know from some US-based stackers that their rounds 'tend' to have a much lower premiuum, but this may be being warped currently simply by virtue of the astronomical premiums on ASEs. I'm with you in the main - sticking to the government minted stuff, but I will look out for anything that seems like a bargain - again, sticking to the more recognisable stuff. Cheers GB.

Welcome to the latest instalment of 'Four Nines Fine proves he's a novice' - thanks for tuning in. 😇 My question concerns silver rounds in the UK and whether there's an 'established' round? Using the US as a comparison - you have the sovereign (government backed) American Silver Eagle or any number of available silver rounds, (Engelhard prospectors, Silver Towne Rounds, Sunshine Mint etc.) and I know that they're produced by a whole variety of different mints, both federal and private. It seems to me (noob status notwithstanding) that the 'Buffalo' or 'Indian Head' rounds have established themselves as the 'de facto' round in the US, and I just wondered if there was a UK equivalent? I appreciate that the Royal Mint puts out 476 new limited edition sets every other week, such as the James Bond, Music Legends, Lunar year of ... etc., but from what I can see, these are mostly coins with an associated denomination. The only other things I could find from a rudimentary google search were the occasional 'medal' but these were generally sterling rather than 999 and again, part of one-off sets rather than an evergreen cycle, minted each year. On that basis, I'm guessing the answer is 'no' - but I thought I'd ask. (I know that coins are CGT exempt so would make sense to stack these even if rounds were available - just curious as to the status of a UK round. Thanks, FNF.

That looks amazing. I suppose I'll just have to have an actual Kit Kat instead. Congrats! 👌

Shocker. Insured yes, but that doesn't make up for the hassle to you or the buyer! 😡

Thanks for the info, and well done on the sale! Well deserved.

That's some ex-shell-ent pouring right there. You should conch-ider me a fan! Joking apart, they look lovely. I presume from what you say about hallmarking that the price for assaying gold is different from silver then? I presume the process is exactly the same, but a higher service premium on more expensive metal? I know absolutely nothing about the process, just curious as to some of the behind-the-scenes costs.

That's a different way of looking at it. Thanks. 😀

Welcome aboard chum. (Just a little shark-based humour to break the ice. 😁 )

Welcome to TSF.

Welcome!

Thanks for all the input and responses. I think this pretty much confirms my initial thinking, so don't expect to see me in the trade section hawking the latest RM special release any time soon. Cheers folks! FNF.

My primary interest is stacking. Moving funds from the FIAT system, into PM. Since being on TSF, my eyes have been opened to the vast world of 'collecting' and the numismatic side of silver. Now, it's not something I'm interested in from a collecting perspective; that's just not an itch that I need to scratch through the medium of PM. However, I'm keen to learn more about it from a 'flipping' point of view. Buying a piece in a pre-sale for instance, holding it for 6 / 12 months and flipping it for a profit, sounds like good sense. That way, I retain the margin for investing in my true stack. Now, a couple of things strike me here. For some of the members on here, I appreciate this will be a whole business model and I'm not pretending that I can just rock up and boom!, I'm 'mister buy-and-sell' overnight. Similarly, I appreciate that if it was as simple as 'buy X', wait 'y' amount of time, sell to 'z'... then every man-jack would be doing it. But that said, I'm sure there must be some basic good practice and / or things to avoid. I'll level with you, there's no denying that I've come late to the party when it comes to investing in PM. With that in mind, I've been looking at how to maximise the opportunity, now that I'm on this road. My initial strategy has been to reduce wastage and unnecessary household spend in order to create a sensible investment budget. Step 2 is 'side hustles'. Exploring opportunities to increase income streams, even if only on a modest scale, that I can channel into my stack. Picking up the odd numismatic coin with a view to flipping is something I thought may fit the bill. It may turn out to be an unsuitable venture. If the only real gains are based on bulk buying and economies of scale, that's just not where I am at the minute in terms of available funds. Similarly, if an in-depth knowledge is required, then I'll happily step aside and leave it to the experts. (At which point I'll pursue my dream of opening 'Maritime Metals Insurance' to help those poor souls that lose their stacks at sea.) If any of you do have any pointers that would set me on the right path, I'm all ears. Thanks in advance. FNF.

Welcome to the forum. That sounds like a nice, clean and interesting stack you're building.