When creating a financial plan, you often start with your goals. After all, setting out your aspirations first lets you create a plan that’s tailored to you. Yet, understanding your numbers is just as crucial for successful financial planning and they could help you understand the effect of your decisions. So, which numbers are the key ones you should know? Which numbers you may want to track will depend on your goals To keep your financial plan on track, monitoring key numbers can help you assess your progress and identify potential gaps. Read on to discover which numbers could be important in two different scenarios. Ensuring your family’s financial security If you have a family, a key priority might be... Read More

Retirement can be an exciting milestone, but one that you might feel nervous about too. Setting out how to achieve the retirement lifestyle you want could help put your mind at ease. One of the first things you may have to consider is how you’ll retire – would a phased retirement suit you? Over the next few months, you can read about key considerations if you’re nearing retirement, from contemplating the emotional side of stepping away from work to how to access your pension. Read on to discover if a gradual retirement transition could be for you. A retirement transition period could help you create a work-life balance that suits you Not too long ago, many retirees followed the same... Read More

What makes you happy? Watching cute animal videos and indulging in your hobbies may brighten up your day, but new research suggests that genetics have more to do with your happiness than you think. TV presenter Richard Madeley’s daughter recently described her father as having a “talent for happiness”, which could be true. Think of the people in your life who seem naturally sunnier than everyone else. Are their lives truly perfect, or do they have a genetic advantage? Read on to discover how much of your joy is hereditary, and what you can do to improve your life today. How can genes affect happiness? Research reported by the Independent found that wellbeing and life satisfaction – two important factors... Read More

It’s the season for giving. This Christmas, you might be thinking about how you could improve the security of your loved ones by gifting them money or assets. Read on to discover five potentially useful allowances that you might want to consider if your estate could be liable for Inheritance Tax (IHT). Some gifts are considered immediately outside of your estate for IHT purposes, and are known as “potentially exempt transfers”. They may be included in your estate when calculating IHT for up to seven years after they are given. So, if reducing IHT liability is one of the motivators for gifting assets, considering tax-efficient allowances could be valuable. In 2023/24, the nil-rate band is £325,000. If the entire value... Read More

Jeremy Hunt delivered his second Autumn Statement as chancellor on 22 November 2023. While the headline news was cuts to National Insurance rates for employees and self-employed workers, there may have been less attention-grabbing changes that could make your finances easier to manage. Read on to discover how ISA and pension changes might be useful to you. 1. ISAs are set to become simpler ISAs were launched in 1999 to promote saving and investing in a tax-efficient way. Statistics suggest they’ve achieved that goal – according to the government, in 2021/22, 11.8 million ISAs were subscribed to, with around £66.9 billion added to accounts. Yet, over the years, ISAs have become more complicated. New ISAs have been launched, including the... Read More