Beating debt psychology
AT the end of last week’s column, I briefly mentioned the impact of debt on our psychology – here is the detail. If you know of someone in debt, share this as it will give them hope. If you’ve ever carried debt, you’ll know it’s not just numbers on a spreadsheet or a balance to clear. […]
Making New Year’s financial resolutions sticky
ANOTHER year, another set of New Year’s financial resolutions? We tell ourselves we’ll save more, spend less, and tackle that heap of debt, but by February, the gym is empty, and so are our savings accounts. Why? Because vague goals and willpower alone aren’t enough. Financial success doesn’t come from grand gestures; it’s built on small, […]
Stubborn debt: How to tackle it like a leaky bucket
LET’s start with the motivation: any movement in you, no matter how small, towards improvement, is stronger than any storm you will face, as it’s an expression of hope, of desire and of your control. Tie your laces and tackle stubborn debt like a leaky bucket. Stubborn debt, like a dripping tap or a leaking bucket, […]
Christmas presents or Christmas presence?
Christmas presents or Christmas presence? I asked my three daughters if they had remembered my mum who had passed away at age 59. “She did stuff with us. She spent time with us. We made spiders out of pipe cleaners once. It was cool”. ‘Do you remember any of the presents?’ I asked. ‘No’ was their […]
Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief: The Farmer’s Lifeline at Risk
ON a management course 30 years ago, the coach was trying to ascertain how to set goals and asking that if money was no object and you were unconstrained, how would you think and what would you do. His question was: ‘If you won a million pounds, what would you do’? A farmer responded: “I’d […]
Pensions, inheritance tax, the budget
THE changes in pensions in the budget really are a smack in the face with an old wet fish for financial planning. Tabled as altering ‘loopholes’ they are pretty brutal in their measure in terms of bringing pensions under the scope of Inheritance Tax. The changes do not come into effect until 2027, and there is […]
Downsizing your home: Unlocking the door to your next chapter
ARE you thinking about downsizing your home? I wrote about downsizing in last week’s column as a way in which you could release capital from your home instead of ‘equity release’. So, I thought I would go into more detail to explain what downsizing means while pinpointing other things you need to be thinking about. […]
Paying my mortgage off in retirement
WE covered how equity release should work last week, and we had a few reader queries around how homeowners, who still have a mortgage after retirement, might be able cope. I’ll lay out options here to help you decide. Nearly 500,000 people still have a mortgage after retirement and research shows they have a home worth […]
How equity release should work
EQUITY release, or, lifetime mortgages, are often badly misunderstood with the consequence of someone not taking action, and someone acting on half information or misinformation. It can be that situation where the person advising is only paid if you take out a plan, so the motivation can creep in to push a river up a […]
Donald Trump and the impact on your money
I HAVE been asked about how Donald Trump will impact people’s money. Naturally I don’t get excited at the ‘charade’ of democracy that is called the USA elections. Overall spending surpassed $3.9bn in this election, and that’s what was spotted. That’s not a democracy, that’s a ‘monetocracy’. Emotionally trapped between inflation and real hardship, voters were […]
‘Secret loan’ commissions may cost billions in compensation
MANY of us will be paying attention to the secret loan commissions outcome this week and as the saying goes ‘every penny counts’. I covered the most cost-efficient way to buy a car in this column a couple of months back, and it’s quite apt that the appeal courts have just sided with consumers over […]
How is the mortgage market supporting house prices?
OVER the last two weeks I covered the housing market and this column is about why the market has turned and how rates are misunderstood. At the beginning of this rate rise, we were clear they wouldn’t rocket as the mainstream press said, and we explained that in this column. They haven’t. Borrowers tell us […]