LM portfolio as at 12/12/2025:
| Code | Sector | Date Bought | Cost | Value | Gain/Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LM079 LM079-2 LM079-3 |
No Specific Industry | 22/02/2024 16/10/2024 03/12/2024 |
£4310 | £5730 | 32.97% |
| LM086 LM086-2 LM086-3 |
Banks | 02/12/2024 10/02/2025 10/09/2025 |
£4570 | £6510 | 42.62% |
| LM090 LM090-2 LM090-3 |
Aerospace & Defense | 06/01/2025 23/04/2025 10/09/2025 |
£4560 | £6380 | 39.72% |
| LM091 LM091-2 LM091-3 |
Basic Materials | 12/09/2025 17/11/2025 01/12/2025 |
£4560 | £5500 | 20.59% |
| LM093 | Services | 29/09/2025 | £1520 | £1390 | (8.73%) |
| LM095 | Services | 01/12/2025 | £1520 | £1460 | (3.89%) |
Great news!
I've been doing my sums, making notes, updating various spreadsheets and I think - I think - I might be able to put in the full £4,000 into the LISA this year.
In the last-but-one update I was talking about paying off debt early because it is annoying to have this debt hanging over me all the time. But I sat back and thought about it and came to the conclusion that I would get a better return by just paying the minimum on all my debts and then saving as much as possible to try and build up enough to max out the LISA contribution by April.
And I suspect I can do it.
All my debts are at 0% for several months yet... and the only debt I have, aside from a mortgage, that attracts any interest is my loan - but that is going to finish in March.
I can live with that.
Plus I think the interest is pre-loaded so paying it off early would be great but I don't think would save me any money (and if it did it would be far less than the bonus I would receive from the LISA).
So that's the plan, pay the minimums, gather up all the cash I can from all the nooks and crannies of my life, pile it up and hope that is enough to qualify for the full £1,000 bonus.
Going forward into 2026/2027 I should be OK to pay the full amount in. My loan will be gone and therefore I can re-direct that monthly payment straight into the LISA. Brilliant.
And what good timing it is to be in this position - the LM fund is finally over £30,000 and made another ALL-TIME HIGH on Friday. See the table above for the current positions and along with those shares there is also have just over two units' worth of funds in cash.
The LISA pays out a bonus to anyone between the ages of 18 and 50. Unfortunately I am far nearer the second figure than the first and therefore I think I can still get a further £4,000 in bonuses if I can pay in the maximum for the next 4 tax years.
Betting Update
The horse racing systems are ticking over, trading in a range as it were. I haven't been able to take any profits out since May for one setup and July for the other although I am confident that I can do some profit-taking at the end of this year.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, the maths of the system means that provided you can get the bets on you will make money over the long term. The issue is with the bookmakers, who are terrible sports and will start to refuse to take a reasonable bet when the mood takes them.
It's very frustrating as cowardly bookmakers like Ladbrokes and Paddy Power are able to restrict your stakes whenever they like, without having to justify their decision and without any method of complaint. You would think that a condition of their licence would be that they HAVE to take a reasonable stake from any punter for any price they offer but no, there's nothing forcing them to.
Bookmakers make millions from losing punters and refuse to take bets from those who can actually make a profit. It's so corrupt it's ridiculous.
Happily over the years I have taken them for tens of thousands of pounds so I don't get too stressed when they limit me down to pennies on a 10/1 shot horse.
The other system, the "football one" is down 50% since the beginning of the season. Disappointing, yes, but I don't take it too seriously at the moment.
Like with buying shares, I use money management on the Betfair system so that when it is not performing - when the results are at their worst - I am risking the least money. Again, look at the table above. 4 winning trades and 2 losing ones but the winning ones have three times as much capital invested in them because I drip-feed the money in only when they are already winning. The losing ones are still in the "test phase" and will only have more invested into them once they show a profit. If they don't, they are closed at a maximum 20% loss.
If you lose all your chips you can't bet so you need to limit your losing trades/bets or there won't be any chips when you need to trade tomorrow.
Christmas and the New Year
There's no telling whether I'll do any more updates prior to the big day, it depends on how busy I am at work next week. Hence I will take this opportunity to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
As always a contact email is below and it would be great to hear from anyone who reads these updates - even if it's years in the future. My hope is to keep this website online and updated up to its 20 year anniversary (in 2040) and far beyond that. Should everything work out I'll have hit the million quid mark by then but (a) still be investing for further growth and (b) detailing how I'm spending my 7 figures.
Not to boast, obviously, but hopefully to inspire...