I’m always interested in saving money and increasing my discretionary income. I bought six bottles of wine from Asda this week to get the 25% off! I like good food as well so I went on the BBC good food website and learned a bit about cooking by braising. I might have a go at braised duck at the weekend.
The Stock Market
Beazley released its results this week, and they were disappointing. An investment they made went bad, and that affected their results. Their share price fell dramatically as a result. However, that will be a one-off, so they are still worth buying. Investors are nervous about buying Taylor Wimpey as high-interest rates subdue the market. I can see TW recovering well when interest rates stabilise and their share price making £2.00 when interest rates fall. I regret selling Rolls Royce; I shouldn’t have paid that “burning platform” rubbish in any regard. I sold RR to buy Centrica, which might still be the better choice. Banks are still reasonable, despite losing money due to bad debts. Standard Chartered is favoured now that China is getting back to normal.
GBP:USD
The exchange rate between the pound and US dollar is worth watching. Today it is $1.1984 which favours our exporters but it is a bellwether for the whole economy. The pound has recovered a little since it hit $1.08 after the Kwarteng catastrophe of last September but is still too low for me to consider buying dollar-denominated assets. I’m confident that the Prime Minister won’t do anything really stupid for a while but I don’t see much economic growth this year.
Dividends
Dividends are always welcome, and I like to hear of share buybacks too. Dividends soon include NatWest, who go ex-dividend on 16th March, STAN on the 2nd of March, and BEZ on the 9th. April continues the trend with GSK, TW and LLoyds going ex-dividend.
Cost of Living Crisis
The cost of living crisis will likely continue for a year or two, so we have to try to add a few pounds to our discretionary income and save a few pounds here and there to enjoy a beer or a glass of wine now and then. We can also enjoy a fine meal of braised duck with a glass or two of pinot noir if we get 25% off the wine and cook it ourselves!
A Zillion Ideas 
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