My Weekly Top 5: On Here, Over There (and Over To You)--16 May 2015 (UPDATED)

Another week has gone and it is time for my weekly round up of various posts around the web that caught my eye as well as the most read here on The Dividend Drive

As usual, the summary last week saw a lot of interest from you so hopefully again there is plenty in here to catch your interest.

Also, in related news, I have added a separate Top 5 section in my page which includes Every(ish) Post on this site. So, if you want to look at past ones, have a trot over to that page.

As always, this is going to include your favourite articles "On Here" (that is on The Dividend Drive) and my favourite articles "Over There" (that is, on other personal finance sites I read).

And "Over To You"? Well that is an invite for you to highlight any articles you came across that you found interesting and not included in the list below.

Anyway, here goes my list for 16 May. Enjoy!

"On Here"

NOTE: The "On Here" list is purely quantitative. It is the posts with the most unique reads that week (not including other Top 5 lists).When marked "New" it means they were not on last week's list not necessarily that were published this week.

As is invariably the case, the two new articles on the Dividend Drive take prominent spots. This week is unusual though in that they are both related to new additions to my portfolio. One is a direct buy and the other an arrival after an acquisition. Both are interesting additions for different reasons though!

Outside of these new posts my April dividend income and trading update was popular again as was my little post on the fee-free broker, RobinHood, and its international expansion.

For the first time ever, however, we have a joint 5th place with one--on my 5 cheap US brokers who accept foreign investors--entering the top 5 for the first time ever in its life after a surge in interest this week (possibly stimulated by my RobinHood post)

Anyway, without any further ado, here is my breakdown for the week beginning 9 May 2015:

1. New: BUY: AstraZeneca--Healthy Future in Healthcare?
2. New: I'm Exposed in the US! XL Group Joins My Portfolio After Catlin Acquisition
3. Loved By the Good? Fee-free Broker RobinHood Looking to Expand Internationally--Anyone Used Them?
4. April 2015: Dividend Income and Trading Activity
5. This month something a little bit special. A joint 5th place!
1. 5 Cheap US Stock Brokers who accept UK-resident Account Holders
2. I'm Bringing FTSE Back: Linking My Portfolio Yield Goal to the FTSE 100 Yield

"Over There"

NOTE: The "Over There" nothing like the "On Here" list. It is qualitative through and through and is simply chosen by me from what I read (and mostly commented on) during the week. It is not really a ranking but a motley bag of (excellent) items.

So what about articles published elsewhere. Here is a little list of what caught my eye.

This again is a wonderful mix of fascinating articles. From asking how much are your possessions worth to you and what would you replace if they were are lost or destroyed to a new free Open University course on investments which started this week.

Hopefully you enjoy reading them as much as I did.

Budgeting and Frugality

• New free OU course on Managing My Investments (Simple Living in Suffolk)--Quietly Saving highlighted this some time back. I have not yet got to look at the course material properly yet. But it looks good.

FIRE (Financial Independence/Retiring Early) Planning and Strategy

• Why selling to lock in FTSE 100 profits may not be the best investment strategy (UK Value Investor)
• Can You Afford Not To Save? (Early Retirement Guy)--A quite striking tale of a forum post which used a simple picture to tell a complex but important story and ERTs musings on it.
• Of savings rates, metrics and goals (Simple Living in Suffolk)--Do you set strict goals and strictly quantify your portfolio. Here's the view from the other side of the divide.
• Will Low Investment Returns Wreck Retirement? (Think Advisor)--Contributed by dearieme via Cerridwen.

FIRE (Financial Independence/Retiring Early) Progress

• Quitting My Full-Time Job: One Year Later (Dividend Mantra)--Inspiring (as usual) run down from DM on his progress and activities since quitting his job.
• Win for Life (No More Waffles)--Have you won the lottery? No? Oh well, you can still effectively do so with a little patience and hard work.

Investing

• Why Do Utilities and Telecoms Offer Higher Yields than Other Stocks? (No More Waffles)
• Finsbury Growth & Inc. Trust - Interims (DIY Investor UK)
• Recent Trade – Sell JD Sports (There's Value)
• Think Like a Business Owner (Sure Dividends)
• A Logical Investment Strategy (DIY Investor UK)--A run down of DIY Investor UKs general investment strategy. A good read.
• The FTSE 100 at 5,000 or 10,000: Which is more likely in the next 5 years? (UK Value Investor)--A really thorough breakdown on the question--so cogently put in the title. Well worth a read and share your views and thoughts! Thanks to M from There's Value for highlighting this for me.

General Personal Finance

• How much are your possessions worth? (Under the Money Tree)--Would you replace all the stuff you have in your house if it was lost or damaged? No? Should you be insuring it then?
• What credit score do you need to buy a house? (First Quarter Finance)--Particularly interesting is whether anyone knows any similar "rule of thumb" for UK residents.

Misc (who doesn't like a good "Misc" category?)

• Happiness is a warm "hygge" (Keeper of the Cauldron)
• Forum Etiquette (or not) (Quietly Saving)

"Over to You"

Anyway, that is it for this week. And here, as promised an age ago (or rather a few lines above), the "Over to You" bit.

What did you read this week that you found really interesting related to investing, personal finance or financial independence?

Make a comment below and include a link. Then we can all take a look!

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