Introduction First the good news. None of the leading world stock markets on which we report in this Bulletin fell in April. With just one exception – China – all the markets made gains, with the German DAX index leading the way. Generally the world breathed a sigh of relief as relations between the US […]
A study found in 2018 that one in four adults have no savings. Many residents in the UK wish that they had cash to save, however high monthly outgoings and debt clearance seem to take priority. Saving for the little curveballs that life throws your way is a good way to maintain a sound mind, […]
Benjamin Franklin famously said, ‘In this world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes’. And if your estate is valued at over £325,000, everything above this figure will be taxed at 40% when you die. Even in death there’s no relief from taxes! However, there are certain steps you can take […]
Equity release is no longer the niche lending area it once was. More and more homeowners over 55 are choosing to release cash tied up in their homes and there are few signs of this trend subsiding. Lending in 2018 increased by 27% compared to the previous year and is now nearly double what it […]
Introduction We have commented before on the difficulty of ‘hitting a moving target.’ Sometimes in writing this commentary you run the risk of what you write being overtaken by events, and that has never been more true than this month. In the short time between us publishing notes and you reading them it is possible […]
With your capital tucked away in savings accounts, investments and mortgages, you’d assume that there is some kind of protection in place. But exactly how safe are your savings in the event of, for example, an authorised financial services firm going bust? That’s exactly what happened during the 2008 banking crisis, and UK taxpayers had […]
People simply aren’t saving enough into their pension funds. Despite the relative success of the auto-enrolment rollout and the increase of minimum contributions from 5% to 8%, there’s still a culture of misunderstanding surrounding pensions. With a reported 51% of the public believing that the minimum contributions are in line with the recommended rate of […]
The rules around ISAs (or individual savings accounts) change relatively often and different types of ISA rise and fall in popularity depending on where savers consider the most competitive place to put their hard earned money. ISAs are a great way to save because of their tax efficiency. You don’t pay income tax or capital […]
Introduction February was another month when all the important news seemed to happen in the last week of the month. President Trump delivered the annual State of the Union address on February 6th and announced a second meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un. The two duly met up in North Korea three weeks later, only […]
Many clients who have just begun working with us are surprised by how our planning process starts. We don’t begin by talking about pensions and investments, or how much you’re regularly saving. Instead, we begin by talking about you, not your money. Putting your life before your financial plan. As Lifestyle Financial Planners, our process […]