What are the implications of gifting your house while you’re still living in it?
WHAT are the implications of gifting your house while you’re still living in it? Last week we covered the issue with house prices causing Inheritance Tax issues for property owners (well, their children to be fair). I’ve subsequently been asked about gifting your house, but you are still living there, and whether that is acceptable […]
Inheritance Tax – Are house prices causing inheritance tax?
INHERITANCE tax – are house prices causing inheritance tax? The last two years have shown a meteoric rise in the value of property. In a debt driven economy, such a rise creates ‘benefits’ to the economy through the perception of being more wealthy. If we feel we have more liquidity and space between the value […]
Being able to pay your mortgage isn’t a gamble. It’s security for your family!
CONCERN has arisen that the above ‘look through’ may be too optimistic and that inflation may be more widespread i.e. areas that may stick. The view was that this inflation was being created in areas that will ease off after the initial ‘freedom pop from lockdown’ occurred. In June, inflation hit 2.5%, far exceeding expectations, […]
Emotions and tax of potential redundancy
THE last 18 months has been a difficult time both financially and psychologically. Most of what matters to us emotionally has been taken away: needing to be with people; security; widening our experiences through travel and meeting people; looking after our friends and family and vice versa. I could go on for a while. Business […]
Passive investing losses from climate change
LAST week’s column on passive investing struck a few chords. It’s a subject we could write about for months. The problem with a lopsided view, is that it’s lopsided, and as such, unreliable. The financial services industry has its share of those that ‘sell’ products. The difficulty is, they can be sold by people who […]
Interest rates and inflation. What now?
INFLATION appears to be back, and if so, how long is it back for and what’s the likely impact on you, your mortgage, investments, oysters, chips, or prosecco? The Bank of England (BoE) stated their expectation of a 1.8 per cent inflation target for this month. That was blown away by a surge to 2.1 […]
Former Westcountry news editor appointed as Head of Brand Communications at WWFP
A FORMER Westcountry news editor and journalist has been appointed the Head of Brand Communications for Worldwide Financial Planning – a team of independent financial advisers with offices in Cornwall, Southampton and Northern Ireland. Eleanor McGillie is no stranger to the Westcountry as she worked in Torbay with the Herald Express as a senior journalist […]
Saving money in an inefficient way can leave you with a much smaller umbrella for that rainy day
THERE is no time like the moment when you, as a business or family, have no money on a rainy day, that you realise what saving for a rainy day actually means. Cashflow in a family or business is what ruins us, not the value of our assets. Similarly, saving in an inefficient way can […]
Financial scams can leave you scarred – avoid as best you can!
FINANCIAL scams leave victims scarred for life. As well as the financial loss, victims feel stupid and often hide their mistakes. Don’t. These people are very clever and only by reporting every scam, can we pull the net around them and close down the possibilities of more people being impacted. Contact the police immediately, and citizens […]
Inheritance tax – the flaw on your ISAs
WHILE it’s clearly one of the most tax efficient savings plans available, an ISA has one obvious flaw – inheritance tax. Inheritance tax is charged at 40 per cent on estates in excess of £325,000. There are many and varied methods of mitigating such a tax. Investors have built up significant tax-free savings within ISAs […]
Investment bonds or collectives? What are your choices?
WE had a number of calls from last week’s column asking about (onshore) investment bonds and their taxation. Many believe they are very tax efficient, but sadly that is not true, except in very specific circumstances – the obvious one being inheritance tax planning. This is almost a rewrite of a column from 20 years […]
UK value stocks’ rocketing value! So what is a value stock and why does that matter?
UK VALUE stocks have been as loved as a sneezing fit in a lift, or any confined space for that matter. So what is a value stock and why does that matter? Value stocks are stocks that are low because the market has simply priced them lower than they are currently worth for varying reasons. […]