Taking the plunge
Practice being better at the thing you want to do.
I joined a gym last January that has a pool. I used to swim a lot at school but that was ages ago, so I was starting from the bottom again. I didn’t want to jump in straight away, because I was pretty confident I would barely be able to manage a lap without gasping for air and needing a lie down.
Instead, I figured I’d spend time on the gym floor building up my fitness and that, when I was fit enough, I’d be ready to take on the pool.
18 months later (this week), I decided that the water looked too good to miss out on. So I went for it.
And, wow, was it hard! I barely managed 10 lengths and my heart rate was way up.
The ‘outside pool’ work I did might have helped a bit, but if I’d truly wanted to be better at swimming, it would have been far more effective to have… done more swimming. And to have not convinced myself that general fitness work would have magically translated to dolphin-like swimming skills.
When we want to become good at something, we tend to want to become better in adjacent areas first because the stakes are lower. And also because we feel that this approach enables us to skip past the beginner levels, and jump right in (pun intended) to intermediate. Which is, ultimately, less embarrassing.
To get better at swimming, I would have been better off literally jumping into the discomfort, and working my way up to becoming a better swimmer.
It makes sense that we would want to find the fastest way to get good at the thing we haven’t yet tried.
I see a parallel in investing. Someone might feel more comfortable reading, listening to podcasts, and playing around with a few different platforms. While doing this, they’re also gathering the confidence to take the leap and actually put money into an investment product.
But it’s time in the market that counts, and each day that your money remains in a savings account is another day where you’re missing out on building your wealth.
By now I could have been a pretty good swimmer. The reality is that I’m just at the start of my swimming journey. However it’s better than still being outside the pool. At least, from here, I can work my way up.
1. Two super relevant pieces of legislation that will be coming through in this next Parliament (as outlined in the King’s Speech)
Firstly, pensions - specifically workplace pensions:
Workers with many small pension pots will have them brought together
A ‘value for money’ test will be imposed, so any loss-making, or ‘meh’ pension pots will be flagged, and money will be moved out of them (not sure how this will work but it seems exciting!)
Pension schemes will have to offer their members retirement products so that when they stop work they have an income and not just a pot of money (this is pretty major!)
Secondly, leaseholds are getting a makeover of sorts:
Existing leaseholders will be given rights to extend their lease and buy their freehold (enfranchisement), and take over freeholders’ building management functions (right to manage)
The idea of commonhold (rather than leasehold) will be set up
The sale of new leasehold flats will be restricted
Ground rents for existing leaseholders will be regulated to help prevent unaffordable costs
Nothing in here about insane service charges, however…
2. Mobile phone, broadband and TV providers won’t be able to benefit from ‘greedflation’ for much longer
The current system allows these companies to introduce ‘mid contract price rises linked to inflation.’ This means that, when you’re comparing different deals, you cannot factor in any surprise increases, which means that you don’t know if the provider you’re going with is actually the most cost-effective option.
And they’ve not just been increasing in line with inflation (either the lower CPI or higher RPI number), but also adding 3.9% on top of this, just because they can!
Fortunately, this is going to change soon. From 17 January 2025, providers will have to tell customers upfront, in “pounds and pence,” about any expected rises throughout the duration of their deals. They’ll also have to say when the rises will happen.
3. Using plastic overseas? Always PAY IN THE LOCAL CURRENCY(even if it says 0% commission)
Use a debit or credit card abroad, either for cash from an ATM or in a shop, and you’re sometimes given a choice between:
Paying in the local currency
In this instance, your bank or credit card company will do the conversion for you, using the ‘wholesale rate’, typically without any additional, surprise fees included
Paying in pounds
The shop or ATM’s banking provider will do the conversion for you, and you cannot guarantee that they have your best interest at heart (they probably don’t)
If they say things like 0% commission, they’ll most likely have added additional fees into the base fee, which means that technically they’re not making commission, but are still making money (in a sketchy way)
✨ Other things! ✨
MONEY
Pret a Manger is ending its five-a-day coffee subscription (£30/month) and replacing it with half-price drinks at £10/month1
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority and the Payment Systems Regulator are looking into the benefits and potential risks of digital wallets (like Apple Pay)
LIFE
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Happy Full Moon! Here are some manifestation rituals if, like me, you’re into that sort of thing.
Know someone who would enjoy this in their inbox on a Sunday morning?
The old subscription was pretty great, especially if you split it with someone, like I did for a few months! But… Pret coffee? Not my fave