After the A-level results fiasco, students can now focus on starting university. But while this year will be different than they expected, with much of the teaching being carried out online or in smaller groups, one thing remains the same: the cost.
Category: Financial Planning
Scammers targeted pension pots large and small, with individual losses ranging from under £1,000 to as much as £500,000. The average victim was described as a man in his 50s – but this could happen to anyone, so what can you do to avoid it happening to you?
Category: Financial News & Events, Retirement & Pensions
Your New Year’s Eve celebrations may seem a distant memory, and for many of us when we start a new year we commit to some resolutions; goals that we’d like to accomplish in the following twelve months, things that are important to us, and will bring us happiness. However only a minority accomplish what they […]
Category: Goal Setting
Our tax system is notoriously complex. Take income tax for example: the headline numbers, as a general rule, are that the first £12,570 of our income is tax-free; the next £37,700 is taxed at 20%; and income over £50,270 is charged at 40%. There’s a higher rate of 45% for earnings over £150,000, we pay […]
Category: Financial Planning
I frequently quote that we are physical beings run by our emotions: the way we feel affects our actions. That’s certainly true when it comes to investing, as historical data shows only too well.
Category: Saving & Investing
With interest rates rising and the economy being so uncertain, now more than ever you need to be financially secure. A great way to increase financial security is to repay your debt, but it’s not easy, is it. I’ve been fascinated by human behaviour for as long as I’ve been a financial planner. The two […]
Category: Debt Repayment
Things are getting serious when it comes to our money; inflation is the highest in forty years, interest rates are rising in an attempt to curb inflation meaning our mortgages and debts are costing us more, energy and fuel prices have increased, it’s tough out there and we are all feeling the pinch. Therefore it’s essential you know your numbers, money isn’t as complicated as you might think. The hardest step is the first one – so where should you begin?
Category: Financial Planning
We are living in a time of extreme uncertainty and the anxiety that comes along with it. Against the backdrop of war, humanitarian crisis, and economic hardship, it’s natural to wonder what effect these world events will have on our long-term investment performance.
While these challenges certainly warrant our attention and deep concern, they don’t have to be a reason to panic about markets when you’re focused on long-term investing.
Category: Financial News & Events, Saving & Investing
I think we all agree that time flies. For me it seems like only the other week that we were celebrating the new year, then on our own in lockdown… when this month we’re halfway through 2021 already. Before we know it, summer will be over and we’ll be planning our Christmas celebrations.
It’s our decisions in life that will shape our future, not our knowledge or our conditions. Find out the 2 things you can do to get yourself on track.
Category: Goal Setting
Inflation, as measured by the consumer prices index, has hit nine per cent, which is a 40-year high and the prospect of it rising higher and reaching double digits before the year-end is very likely. Inflation is normal, we shouldn’t be afraid of it, but when its momentum builds it can get out of control and skyrocket, which typically means things become more expensive quickly, but what does it do to your savings?
Category: Financial Planning, Saving & Investing
It’s the one debt most of us are happy to take out and it seems almost second nature to do so; for the majority, it takes nearly our whole working lifetime to repay it. So how can you join the 60% or so of householders who own their homes outright? Discover how repaying your mortgage earlier or more frequently can really make a difference.
Category: Debt Repayment, Financial Planning, Money Management
As a certified financial planner, a vital part of what I do is ensuring catastrophes like premature death are considered now, so there is a plan in place before an eventuality may occur. Managing risk is an important part of that. A way of transferring the risk away from your family unit to an insurance company is by buying life assurance. It doesn’t always have the best reputation, but ask a widow or widower who benefited from it and they’ll tell you a different story. We insure our cars and our home; it’s a natural step to insure our lives. read this article to find out why it’s worth considering.
Category: Financial Planning, Financial Protection
Many people often think that if they had more money, all their worries would go away. But (and while I am sure you’d prefer to find this out for yourself), I can tell you that for most people, more money just means different types of worries.
Most people live to their means, and some for various reasons live beyond their means. When your budget begins to stretch and you start borrowing for day-to-day spending, your money worries can quickly grow. For some people, small worries can easily escalate rapidly into bigger problems and cause mental health issues that can paralyse our decision-making process. Just thinking about money, your bills and credit card statements can bring a shudder over you, bringing on a sense of helplessness and a lack of hope.
Category: Debt Repayment, Money Management
This week I read a great blog by one of the people that helped me as he celebrated 40 years in business. David Booth is the founder of Dimensional Fund Advisers and a genius in the investment world, so I wanted to share his thoughts and mine so you too can benefit from his wisdom. Read this article to discover what I believe to be 4 important things when it comes to investing.
Category: Saving & Investing
Why our tax year starts on 6 April is a tale for another time, but what’s important is that you make the most of your money and tax breaks and to get off to a good start this new tax year.
Category: Financial Planning
So many of us are our family’s goose. We wake and go to work all day, we bring home our golden egg each month in the form of our pay cheque. But if we couldn’t work for some reason, what would happen to our income?
Category: Financial Planning, Financial Protection
In his Spring Statement the Chancellor’s main focus was on measures to help those hit hardest by the rising cost of living. The annual inflation rate in the UK increased to 6.2 percent in February from 5.5 percent in January and above market forecasts of 5.9 percent. It is the highest inflation rate since March […]
Category: Financial News & Events, Money Management
With the cost of living increasing and our electricity bills looking more like Elton John’s florist bill, I thought it even more pertinent to ensure we are claiming what we can to maximise our savings. With many people still working from home, and energy costs rising, it’s even more important that employees are claiming the […]
Category: Financial Planning, Money Management
When I started in financial planning back in 1995, the biggest obstacle I heard to investing was ‘I’m buying bricks and mortar, that’s my pension’. However, there are logical reasons why I believe equities make better investments than property, but we don’t buy with logic, we buy with emotions, justifying our decisions with the logic that will back up the choice we made.
Category: Saving & Investing
After touching record highs in early January, many world markets have pulled back from their highs, and investors have been confronted with worrisome headlines in the financial press regarding record inflation and more recently the Russian invasion of the Ukraine.
Is rising inflation and Russia’s invasion a negative for equity investors? Do large losses in a handful of popular stocks signal a downturn ahead for the broad market?
Category: Financial News & Events, Saving & Investing
Effective budgeting should be transformative, not draining
November 10, 2023
Step by step is the way to get on top of your money matters
January 15, 2023
Change up your money habits in 2022
January 6, 2023
Looking back on 2022 to move forward in 2023
December 27, 2022
A gift your grandchildren won’t forget
December 18, 2022
