Ethical ISAs, TikTok fads and train travel for less
Green(er) finance, TikTok and trains - some of the things I love all in one place.
“Less than a third (31%) of women feel confident about investing their money, compared with 44% of men, according to a new survey.
“What’s more, 34% said they don’t have enough savings to invest, while 63% of the women polled admitted they wouldn’t know where or how to start the process anyway, the research by HSBC UK found.”
Stats like this make me groan. Hearing this over and over again just helps to perpetuate stereotypes, and it doesn’t explore the nuances that explain why it happens - nor does it try to find solutions.
This is why Money Brunch exists. And it’s why you should come to the next event on Saturday 23 March :)
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1. How to pick an ethical ISA in the new tax year
Straight out of the gate, we’ve got an ISA story! 🎊
And it’s about ethical ISAs - a type of ISA I personally love.
Why?
Money held in investments finances different organisations
It could be in emerging market companies, tech companies, the biggest companies in a certain list (e.g. S&P 500, FTSE 100)
Therefore where you choose to put your money is a political decision - without money, companies struggle; those with backing will thrive
Ethical ISAs (and ethical pension funds) are a way to ensure your money is going to fund 'better’ corporate players, i.e. those that are concerned with running their businesses in a ‘good’ way
But this is based on what the companies say they’re doing, and is easy to ‘greenwash’ their way into seeming moral and responsible
The ethical claims of many companies has come under fire, as has how they are measured
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK is introducing new measures to combat greenwashing, but it’s unclear how effective these will be tbh:
An anti-greenwashing rule, to make sure sustainability-related claims are fair, clear and not misleading, will come into force from 31 May
Investment product labels to help investors understand what their money is being used for will start coming into effect from 31 July
Interested in an ethical ISA? Here’s what to do:
Look at independent guides - like Ethical Consumer - to point you in the direction of better products
Do your own research
Go for it!
2. The 100-envelope challenge - another TikTok budgeting fad
“The 100-envelope challenge involves purchasing or making special money-saving binders with 100 envelopes. Each envelope has a target amount ranging from £1 to £100. The idea is that by filling up the binder over the course of the year, you'll eventually save £5,050.”
This feels like something that’s just good for social content, and isn’t actually a budgeting tool:
Firstly, LOL at the fact that it involves purchasing a binder and 100 envelopes. Before you’ve even started, you’ve made a loss 🤦🏾♀️
Money in cash is losing value to inflation, and not accruing interest - so that’s another loss
It works out to a savings target of £420.83 each month which feels like a lot of money, especially considering that the average take home income in the UK is £2,297 (this would be 18% of that amount)
As with anything, if it works for you in a meaningful way, great! If not (and it’s likely that most people will fall into this camp), that’s where the issues arise.
3. How to travel by train without spending all of your money
It’s more environmentally friendly - and more luxurious and hassle-free - than driving or flying. But train travel in the UK is exorbitant. AND it went up by 4.9% last month, following a 5.9% increase in March last year 😒
There are a few things here that are going to be relevant to Money Brunch readers.
Get a railcard if you can
If you’re under 30, get a 26-30 Railcard - for just £30, save 1/3 on most rail fares to travel across Britain for a year
If you’re in the South East of England, the Network Railcard gets you 1/3 off rail (i.e. not Tube or Overground) fares in London and the South East
Try the Gold Card trick (it’s fiddly but might work out for you)
Annual Gold Cards are season tickets that give you discounts on other journeys in the Gold Card area - that means TfL and National Rail are both covered
You have to buy an annual season ticket - the cheapest you can get is going to cost £204
Then you get the Gold Card added to your Oyster card, and get a 33% discount on all fares in the Gold Card area, which is most of southern England (including London) - on travel after 09.30
You need to work out if this is actually worthwhile for you; if you work from home a lot, and don’t travel on public transport much, definitely not worth it!
Book in advance
Typically, train operators release tickets 12 weeks before the date of travel - so look then for the best fares
The exception is LNER which goes to 24 weeks
If you miss this window, the next best time is 12 hours before (!) - this would cause me to break out in hives as I am NOT a last min kinda gal, and would rather pay more for certainty of travel and a forward-facing seat!
Getting two singles rather than a return is often cheaper
Split tickets
The big train ticketing platforms will do this for you, and charge varying fees, so worth comparing a few:
Claim for delays!!
Delay Repay is a nationwide scheme aimed at making it easier for people to get compensation for delayed train journeys
Keep your train ticket (or take a photo of it) as you may need it for proof
It’s a cumbersome process, but worth persevering
FYI if you’ve bought a split ticket, when there are serious delays, you can only claim for the delay for the bit of the journey you were travelling on at the time
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