Spring Clean Your Finances
Posted by siteadmin on Thursday 31st of March 2022
There’s plenty of advice and ‘life hacks’ on how to make spring-cleaning less of a chore. A quick Google search will throw up hundreds of random tips – like using cola to clean the toilet, lemon to clean the taps and vinegar to clean just about anything!
When you’ve finished scrubbing your worktops with baking soda and polishing your windows with newspapers, why not try spring-cleaning your finances? Here are some handy hints to get you started:
Throw away unnecessary spending habits
Look at your bank statements for the last couple of mon...
Volatility and Long-term investors
Posted by siteadmin on Thursday 31st of March 2022
As the conflict in Ukraine escalates and Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine major stock markets have fallen dramatically. But what does this mean for your investments?
Stories about stock market falls are guaranteed to make headlines like the financial crisis of 2008 and the stock market lows of March 2009. And for many they are still fresh memories but it’s worth noting that an investment then in global stocks would have grown more than twofold a decade down the line*.
That might be an extreme example with those kinds of returns nev...
Spring Budget 2022
Posted by siteadmin on Thursday 24th of March 2022
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, delivered his 2022 Spring Statement on 23 March, confirming implementation of the politically contentious 1.25 percentage-point rise in most National Insurance contributions, though with revised thresholds to mitigate the impact. He declared that his overall plan "builds a stronger, more secure economy for the United Kingdom.” The fiscal update included a number of specific measures and a new ‘Tax Plan’ which the Chancellor said would help families with the cost-of-living squeeze. Mr Sunak ...
End of the tax year checklist
Posted by siteadmin on Tuesday 22nd of March 2022
Make more of your money with your adviser, before the end of the 2021/2022 tax year on 5 April 2022.
As the end of the tax year approaches, there’s still time to take advantage of your annual tax-free allowances if you’ve not already done so. This is one of the best ways to make your money work harder and grow, especially with interest rates on the rise. We can guide you through the best ways to use your allowances – depending on your needs.
ISAs
The maximum you can invest across your ISAs (if it’s a cash ISA, stocks and shares ISA or innov...
Online trending what you need to know
Posted by siteadmin on Monday 21st of March 2022
Although online trading has become more accessible, is it best to leave things to the experts?
Not so long ago, if you wanted to invest you’d have to go through a stockbroker or a financial adviser. Now, investors can use a DIY investing platform to trade from the comfort of their own homes with a laptop or a mobile phone. But is it worth the risk?
What is online share dealing?
An online dealing platform allows you to buy and sell shares from companies that are listed on the stock exchange. Many platforms also include readymade portfol...
Getting Mortgage Ready
Posted by siteadmin on Monday 7th of March 2022
Whether you’re a first-time buyer, a second-stepper or further up the housing ladder, buying a home is always a big move and can feel a bit like a roller coaster ride at the best of times. With 60% of buyers reporting being put off moving because they find the idea overwhelming, here are some tips that can help you navigate the process as smoothly as possible.
Save up
You will need to have saved a deposit - in most cases the bigger the deposit you can put down, the lower your interest rate is likely to be. Open a dedicated savings or investm...
Talking About Money
Posted by siteadmin on Monday 7th of March 2022
While, for many, discussions about money can be extremely uncomfortable, experts have long stressed the best approach to financial issues is invariably to talk about them. Indeed, perceived wisdom suggests the more open and honest people are about money, the better their life and relationships tend to be.
Finance: the last taboo
There’s a wide variety of reasons why people don’t like to discuss their finances. In some cases, money is simply viewed as a vulgar subject to talk about, while many individuals lack financial confidence and therefo...
Investment Update - A Volatile Period for Markets
Posted by siteadmin on Wednesday 2nd of March 2022
High inflation, disappointing earnings results from some tech companies and Russia’s invasion in Ukraine caused turbulence for the financial markets.
The reality of armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine pushed down leading stock market indices during February. Since the start of the year, conditions have been volatile owing to concerns about persistently high inflation and central bank interest rate rises. Geopolitical tensions added further uncertainty, with rapidly changing events causing markets to slide around the world.
Oil p...
Junior ISA
Posted by siteadmin on Thursday 24th of February 2022
In the Autumn Budget in 2021, it was revealed that the Junior ISA spending limits would remain at £9,000 for the 2022/2023 tax year. The JISA limit was last changed in early 2020, when it was doubled from £4,500 to its current level.
JISA and CTFs both benefit
JISAs replaced Child Trust Funds (CTF) in 2011, but those who still hold CTF will continue to benefit from the increased allowance. Both JISA and CTF are a tax efficient way to build up savings for a child. It is not possible to have both a JISA and a CTF.
Savings for children
A juni...
Wreckless Cautious is Costing Savings?
Posted by siteadmin on Monday 14th of February 2022
New research from The Openwork Partnership, one of the UK’s largest and longest established financial advice and investment networks, shows more than 11.6 million are keeping all their money in cash despite ongoing low rates.
Its nationwide study found 22% of adults prefer to keep all their money in cash while the same number will not consider stock market investments despite potentially higher returns as they don’t understand it.
The Openwork Partnership is warning about the risks to savers of reckless caution – the cost of missing out ...
