New Year’s Financial Resolutions
New Year’s resolutions. They probably take 5 days on average to break. It’s probably because they are made with a bloated stomach and zero blood in your alcohol stream, but with little real drive or belief for the actual benefit at the end. If a real benefit was that you worked for four days and […]
Banks’ Contrived Combination Investments
I have seen some advertisements for combination investments with Barnsley Building Society and Yorkshire Building Society. They offer a high interest rate, but it appears that I don’t get their savings rate, unless I go into another investment plan. Most banks and building societies have been ‘found out’ over the years and are left wanting in terms […]
Beware Christmas Fat Cats’ APR 29.9%
‘Christmas is coming and the financial companies are getting fat, please put your entire wealth, and that of your kids in the old man’s hat’. I love Christmas, don’t get me wrong, everyone’s happy, saying happy things to each other like ‘happy Christmas’ and ‘seasons greetings’. It’s just great. Shopping, however …. Well I have […]
£960m in savings lost in fake stocks and shares
I have been contacted by a financial adviser who wants to sell me some shares which are apparently ‘under the radar of the stock market’ and are ‘set to fly’. Do you have any thoughts? I can let you know the name of the two shares they have said are well worth it. The financial […]
Festive money saving tips from Worldwide Financial Planning
Worldwide is offering free advice on how to stop the credit card from taking too much of a battering this Christmas. It has been estimated that 3.8 million people will get into debt over Christmas, while other consumers will be dipping into their savings to pay for the festive period. 29 percent of households have […]
Understanding the markets
It used to be really easy to understand the markets. You could read sentiment and marry that with reasonable economic data but today it’s a great big bun fight that makes it complicated for some. Why do we have inflation when most countries are fighting their way out of a depressive state, when the world’s […]
How much should you be insured for?
In an all too complicated world, life insurance is one of my least written about areas but it is fundamentally one of the most important tasks a family should make sure they ‘get right’. In the last year I have had three people close to me pass away, all under the age of 50, and […]
Structured Products and Guaranteed Products – Are They Worth the Risk?
Following on from last week’s introduction to structured products/guaranteed products, I’ll answer a few questions we have been asked by readers, namely, how transparent they are, what are the charges, and how risky they really are. Structured products are as transparent as Wayne Rooney’s contract negotiations. Unlike most investments where the value of your portfolio […]
How guaranteed/structured products lose you money
We are asked perenially about structured investment products and no wonder; they are products that many people have strong views on. These are the products you will see listed in bank windows or sold over the phone or by direct mailers. They are sold as protecting you from the downside of investing your money with […]
Funds – Track or Trade?
There is often a wonderful argument delivered by the different sides in relation to the argument ‘do I invest in a tracker fund or a fund that is actively managed?’. Those last two words will catch most of you out as you will of course believe that your pension funds, endowments and bonds are all […]
How healthy is your pension?
I remember back at the age of 22 I was told to make a Will and start a pension. Nothing could have been further from my mind. Either way, I did it. Back then, the costs of setting up a pension contract were extortionate. My first two years’ pension contributions disappeared in commissions, and one […]
Long Term Care – Save Thousands
A financial adviser at the bank has told me to take out long term care insurance and I wonder if it’s a bit of a waste of money. My husband died recently but I am worried that my estate might disappear in long term care costs. This is a reasonably technical answer but stay with […]