How cutting back could help you get your finances into shape

Saving can seem hard, but small cut backs can add up to big savings that could make a real difference to your financial future.

When you look at your monthly outgoings it can be hard to see where you could cut back to save for your future, to finance a big new purchase such as a car, to help your children or to pay off debts.  But it can be easier than you think. 

Every little helps

Looking to make big economies can be hard.  But often it’s the little purchases that you make without thinking about them – precisely because they are so small – that add up to sums that could make a real difference to your financial future.  Buying one app at just 99p a week mounts up to £361.35 a year.  Buying a £2.50 coffee every day on your way to work, comes in at £650 a year.  You probably wouldn’t miss the apps, and you could take your own flask of coffee to the office – bingo!  More than £1,000 a year saved effortlessly.  

Compromise

Of course, it’s still nice to have a treat.  But turning those optional extra purchases into real treats, rather than every day or weekly occurrences, can mean you enjoy them even more.  Spending £30 a week on takeaways for you and your partner costs a staggering £1,560 a year.  Spoiling yourself once a month, rather than every week, would still give you an extra £1,170 to play with by the end of the year.

Work it out

To see how quickly your small cut backs could add up to real savings, use the ‘quick cash finder’ calculator on the Money Advice Service. 

You don’t have to make huge economies to make a big difference to you financial future: cutting back the little things can give you more options than you dreamed of.

For expertfinancial planning advice, call Graham on 07740 192505 or email gkinns@coreifa.co.uk to book a no-obligation consultation at our expense 

Financing your car: how much does it really cost you?

The secret to successful financial planning is budgeting – and that means understanding the true cost.

With some things, that’s simple: you buy a designer handbag and the cost is the price tag.  But with other purchases, the cost is much more than the upfront payment.  This is more true of cars than most things.  As well as the showroom price, there are so many running costs, all of which can determine whether you can really afford the wheels you have set your heart on. 

The cars we drive say a lot about us.

Alexandra Paul

Across the globe, cars are seen as a status symbol.  But before you rush out and buy a new car with your heart, take some time to think it through with your head.  To get a true idea of what your dream car will cost you to run each year, you need to add your petrol costs, servicing and maintenance, car tax, insurance and depreciation.  The final sum can be quite eye watering, even for a modest car.

The Money Advice Service has a great car costs calculator, which enables you to compare the running costs of different cars, whether you are looking at a new purchase or running an older model.

When you know the annual running costs of the model you like, it’s easy to work out how much money you will need each month to keep it on the road to see if it really is the car for you.  

For expert financialplanning advice, call Graham on 07740 192505 or email gkinns@coreifa.co.uk to book a no-obligation consultation at our expense 

Savings made simple

Saving a small amount regularly is the key to successful saving, but how much should you be saving?  Fortunately, there are simple tools that can help you work out exactly how much you need to save to meet your financial goals. 

                           

Know your goal

How much you need to save depends on what you are saving for: a blow-out wedding, because the roof is going to need repairing next year, university fees for your children, a new car, or just to have more financial freedom in the future.  How much money you need is the first element of how much you need to save.

Know your timescale

The second thing that will affect how much you need to save is how long you have before you need the money.  If that dream wedding is next year and you don’t have anything stashed away, you may need to tighten your belt so you can squirrel away a lot over the next few months.  But if you’ve only just become a parent and are thinking about being able to help your child onto the property ladder when they are older, small regular amounts will get you there.  So working out how long you have to save is the second thing you need to know.

Know your budget

For savings to be successful, you also need to know how much you can realistically afford to put by each month.  If paying for your dream wedding next year is going to mean you struggle to pay your mortgage, you probably need to scale back your plans a bit. 

Do the maths

When you’ve worked out your goal, your timescale and your budget, you can then calculate how long it is going to take you to reach your target and how much you need to be putting by each month.  Fortunately there are some simple online calculators available online to make the maths really easy: I especially like the one from the Money AdviceService.

Achieving your financial dreams is much easier with a bit of planning. 

For expert financialplanning advice, call Graham on 07740 192505 or email gkinns@coreifa.co.uk to book a no-obligation consultation at our expense 

The financial implications of the Tories’ election victory

It was the general election outcome that no-one expected.  But what did the Conservative win mean for the financial world – and, more importantly, your investments?

Essentially, the financial markets reacted positively to the news the Conservative Party had won a slim majority in May’s General Election.  The markets like certainty, and while David Cameron may only have a slim majority, it’s enough to mean he should be able to bring in his policies. 

Taken by surprise

Investors, like all the pollsters, had generally been expecting another hung parliament and therefore financial markets had not really factored in the possibility of an outright majority.  As a result, share prices rose with relief as the predicted uncertainty of coalition negotiations was removed.  In particular, the news provided a boost for share prices in the banking, energy and house building sectors, which had all been expected to come under pressure from a Labour government.  Labour had promised to enforce further regulation on the banking sector and to impose new regulation on the energy and property markets.

Short-term confidence boost

For now, at least, the election result has provided a certain amount of clarity amid hopes by the markets that current government policy will remain in place. This clarity is expected to deliver a short-term confidence boost for investors and is also likely to provide support for business investment in the longer term.

Future uncertainty

Although the General Election result removed the immediate uncertainty that would have been caused by a hung parliament or a minority government, there is plenty of uncertainty on the horizon to keep the markets on their toes.  The thorny questions of the UK’s role within Europe and Scottish independence mean the potentially shifting political landscape will continue to impact on investments.

Looking ahead to the unknown is part of the service offered by Core.

For expert financial planning advice, call Graham on 07740 192505 or email gkinns@coreifa.co.uk to book a no-obligation consultation at our expense 

Financial planning for parents-to-be: creating a secure financial future

Becoming a parent is the biggest life-change most of us go through.  It’s hugely enjoyable – but it’s also a huge responsibility.  And part of that is making sure that your family is provided for, no matter what the future holds. 

Becoming a parent can be a big wake-up call.  Living for the day and not worrying about tomorrow is no longer an option.  So, if you haven’t already, now is the perfect time to make sure you are looking ahead and have successful financial planning in place so that your family is taken care of, no matter what.  Here are my top tips to secure your baby’s future:

Start saving early

Little and regularly is the key.  Finding £5,000 to invest in a lump sum is a push for most of us, but squirrelling away £100 a month is not only manageable, it’s best practice.   The small sums soon add up to create a significant pot so you can help your child in the future – maybe with university fees or to help them onto the property ladder – and make sure they will be provided for should anything happen to you.

Sort out life insurance

If you already have it in place, review it to make sure it is adequate for your changed circumstances.  If you don’t have any life insurance, get expert advice about what’s available to find the best option for you and your family.

 Make or review your will

Again, if you already have a will, now is the time to review it to make sure it would cover your baby’s needs should anything happen to you; at the very least, you will probably want to consider who should be appointed as your baby’s legal guardians if you are no longer around to care for her.  And if you don’t have one, take one out.  No-one likes think about worst-case scenarios, but thinking about it now will mean your baby will be well looked whatever the future holds.

Becoming a parent means new responsibilities on all sorts of levels, and securing your baby’s future is an essential part of this.

For expertfinancial planning advice, call Graham on 07740 192505 or email gkinns@coreifa.co.uk to book a no-obligation consultation at our expense 

Financial planning for parents-to-be: spend wisely

How much is your new baby going to cost you?  The answer is ‘how long is a piece of string?’  But before you go waving your credit card around, I’ve pulled together some great ways of making your money go further. 

If money is no object you can blow a fortune on designer babygros and custom-made cots.  But for most of us, there is a budget.  The good news is that there are some great ways to get the equipment you need for your new bundle of joy without taking out a second mortgage.  Here are some of my favourites:

·         Accept pre-loved: Lots of new parents only want brand new things for their baby.  While your baby won’t know the difference, she will pick up on your stress if you are worrying about money.  So consider pre-loved items from friends and family.  Every penny you save is money you can put towards enjoying your fantastic new life as a family. 

·         Look for recycling groups in your area: There are lots of local recycling communities who pass on quality items so they can enjoy a new lease of life.  Freegle are one of the best-known

·         Look for second-hand sales of quality baby equipment and clothes: Babies grow out of their clothes and equipment really quickly, so you can pick up some really good quality items at second-hand sales.  Look up your local NCT group for details of sales in your area or have a look on parents’ websites such as NetMums.  You can also get some great bargains in online auctions such as e-bay

·         Bag a bargain: Your baby won’t mind if her Babygro is in this season’s must-have colours or not, so look out for bargains in the regular high-street sales and buy when the price is right.

Spending wisely will mean you can make your money go further, to enable you to have more fun with your baby and plan successfully for her financial future.

For expertfinancial planning advice, call Graham on 07740 192505 or email gkinns@coreifa.co.uk to book a no-obligation consultation at our expense 

Financial planning for parents-to-be: budgeting for your baby

Wow! You’re expecting a baby!  It’s easy to get carried away with the excitement, planning your ideal nursery and shopping for gorgeous outfits.  But before you go mad, it’s a good idea to take a step back and work out what you can and can’t afford, so you don’t start your new life as a parent with a headache of debt. 

There’s no getting away from it: babies are expensive.  There’s not only all the equipment they need – and they need a lot of equipment – plus an extra mouth to feed, there’s also the prospect of financing these increased costs on a potentially reduced income.  If you are planning on taking extended maternity or paternity pay, or reducing your working hours so you can have more time with your baby, you are likely to have to pay more attention to your household budget than you did previously.  Plus long-term planning may become more of a priority for you: making sure you have financial measures in place should the worst happen is crucial when you have dependents. 

All of this means that good financial planning is essential for expectant mums and dads.  And the starting point for this is to work out what you can afford. 

Here is a guide to the likely costs of your baby’s first year:

ITEM	BUDGET	LUXURY
Moses basket/crib	£60	£360
Cot	£95	£700
Nursery furniture	£100	£1,000
Buggy	£80	£600
Baby car seat	£80	£220
Child car seat (Stage 2 seat)	£100	£300
Other equipment	£105	£660
Clothing	£465	£2,000
Nappies	£330	£460
Milk	£50 (breast only)	£450 (bottle)
Food	£100 (homemade only)	£520 (bought only)

You can get an instant total by entering your budget figures in this online calculator.

Working out a budget – and sticking to it! – is a great move to make sure that you get your life as a new family off to a secure financial start.  But look out for my other tips on planning for your family’s long-term financial future to make sure your loved ones are provided for, no matter what the future holds.

For expert financialplanning advice, call Graham on 07740 192505 or email gkinns@coreifa.co.uk to book a no-obligation consultation at our expense 

Financial planning for parents-to-be: check what you are entitled to

Expecting a baby is one of the most exciting things in the world.  It is also one of the most expensive!  But there is lots of financial help for new parents, if you know where to look.  So follow my guide to make sure that you claim what you are entitled to so you can give your baby the best possible start in life.     

Having a new mouth to feed at a time when your household income may well be reduced can be a difficult juggling act.  That’s why there is lots of support for new mums and dads – but you need to know where to look.  So I’ve pulled together a round-up of the benefits that you may be able to claim to ease the financial pressures and enable you to enjoy your little of bundle of joy to the full. 

Check what you’re entitled to

You are unlikely to qualify for all of the potential benefits for new parents, but knowing what is available and where to find out more information gives you a great head start to make sure you and your family get the help you’re entitled to.

1. Talk to your employer about Statutory Maternity or Paternity Pay, plus any additional paid leave your employer offers.   Contact Jobcentre Plus or the Jobs and Benefits Office if you’re self-employed or on certain benefits.
2.  If you’re a pregnant woman or new mum, you are entitled to free prescriptions and dental treatment until your child’s first birthday.  Ask your doctor or midwife to issue the relevant MATB1 certificate.
3. Claim Child Benefit – you can apply for this as soon as you’ve registered your child’s birth.  You can download a form here.
4.  If you are on a low income or under 18, you are entitled to free vitamins and healthy start vouchers.  Ask your doctor or midwife about them.
5. You may be entitled to Child Tax Credits or Income Support, depending upon your income, the number of children you have, their ages, the hours you and your partner work and your childcare costs.  You can get more information through HM Revenue and Customs.
6. If you are studying, you may be entitled to help with childcare costs, Discretionary Learner Support or help towards your course costs.  You can find out more here. 
7. If you are widowed, you may be entitled to Widowed Parent’s Allowance if your spouse or civil partner had paid enough National Insurance contributions.  Get more information here.

Getting the financial support you are entitled to is the first step for successful financial planning for your family.  Look out for my other tips for financial planning for new parents to make sure you build a solid foundation for your family’s future.

For expert financial planning advice, call Graham on 07740 192505 or email gkinns@coreifa.co.uk to book a no-obligation consultation at our expense 

The benefits of regular savings

Working out where to invest your money in a world of uncertainty can be a risky business.  But there is a way to help ride out the ups and downs of the markets – and that’s by saving regularly.

Unfortunately, none of us have a crystal ball.  If we did, we would all be very rich (and I would be out of a job!).  We would all know which start-ups are going to become household names, which markets are going to crash and which economies are going to emerge as the tigers of the future.  In other words, we would know exactly where to put our investments to safeguard our futures:  we would know what to invest in and, crucially, when to pull our money out of the market. 

But without the ability to see into the future – or the benefit of hindsight – there is a way to try and protect against the ups and downs of the market, and that is to invest regularly.  The technical term is 'pound-cost averaging'.

The benefits of investing small amounts regularly

• Reduced risk: Putting smaller amounts of money into a fund or other investment regularly reduces the overall risk of investing at the wrong time. Compared with investing one large sum in a single transaction, the risk is mitigated by the fact that, over a period of time, your smaller, regular sums will be invested at a variety of prices.
• Affordable: Regular saving is a great way to build up a lump sum from almost nothing. Setting aside a lump sum of £5,000 is a tall order for plenty of people. However, putting aside £100 a month from your income might be less of an issue – and the addition of investment growth or interest means that you could quickly build up a reasonable amount without necessarily noticing. And the longer you can leave that growing amount alone, the more impressive it potentially becomes.
• Different options: Most investment products offer regular savings as an option, including investment funds, Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs), life assurance and pension plans. 

FOR EXPERT ADVICE ON SAVING FOR YOUR FUTURE, 

call Graham on 07740 192505 

or email gkinns@coreifa.co.uk 

to book a no-obligation consultation at our expense 

“From austerity to prosperity”?

We all knew that George Osborne’s last Budget in March would have two eyes firmly on the forthcoming general election.  But with polling day just around the corner, what does it mean to us, the tax payers (and voters)?

The Budget is the Chancellor’s major political platform of the year – even more so when his announcements are made weeks before the country goes to the polls.  So it was no surprise that the coalition government’s 2015 Budget managed to hail economic recovery and gloss over spending cuts.  But it also served up a raft of measures designed, among other things, to support savers and first-time house-buyers.

Changes for individuals

• ‘PersonalSavings Allowance’ that will enable basic-rate taxpayers to earn up to £1,000 each year in savings interest, free of tax.
• More flexibility for Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) that will allow savers to withdraw money and replace it – in the same tax year – without forgoing any of their tax-free ISA allowance. At present, however, this provision will apply only to cash ISAs.
• ‘Help-to-buy’ ISA for first-time house-buyers: The government will add a bonus of 25% to money saved by house buyers for their deposit, to a maximum of £3,000 on £12,000-worth of savings. 
• Pensions annuity changes: From April 2016, pensioners who have already purchased an annuity will be able to sell that income to a third party in exchange for a lump sum that will be taxed at their marginal rate, instead of the “punitive” 55% rate.
• Lifetime Allowance for pension contributions to be cut: From April 2016 it will be reduced from £1.25m to £1m. 
• The personal tax-free allowance to go up: It will rise from £10,600 in 2014/15 to £10,800 in 2015/16 and to £11,000 in 2016/17.
• Higher-rate tax threshold to rise: It will go up from £42,385 to £43,300 by 2017/18.

What might change

• Deeds of variation: Schemes to avoid inheritance tax through deeds of variation will be reviewed.

Changes to economic planning

The Chancellor also signalled that – if he is still in control at the Treasury – he intends to end the squeeze on public spending earlier than expected.  From 2019/20, he plans to let public spending rise in line with economic growth. 

This upbeat note came about as a result of encouraging economic statistics, signalling that the UK economy may have turned a corner.  Factors that influenced his thinking include:

• Economic growth: The UK economy expanded more quickly than any other major advanced economy during 2014, registering growth of 2.6% (although this was still lower than the 3% growth forecast in December 2014).
• Improved forecasts: The Office for Budget Responsibility raised its forecast for economic growth to 2.5% in 2015 and 2.3% in 2016 (although its forecast for 2017 was cut to 2.3%).
• Reduced national debt: Debt as a share of GDP is falling more quickly than previously forecast.

Of course, which of these measures come to fruition will depend a lot on the outcome of the general election on 7 May.  I will keep you posted as to what the outcome means for you and your financial future!

FOR EXPERT FINANCIAL ADVICE:

call Graham on 07740 192505 

or email gkinns@coreifa.co.uk 

to book a no-obligation consultation at our expense

Pension lump sums

The changes to pensions announced in the Autumn Statement came into effect this month.  Among them are significant changes to the taxation of pension lump sums.  This is what they mean, in plain English!

• Then: Previously, you could only take one lump sum from your pension.  You were allowed to take 25% of your pension pot free of tax; the remaining 75% had to be put into a drawdown account and any money that you took out of this was taxed at your marginal rate. 
• Now: You can now withdraw a series of lump sums, instead of only one.  What’s more, you can enjoy the first 25% of each new lump sum tax free, without having to enter into a drawdown policy; the remaining 75% will be taxed at your marginal rate.  

The political spotlight on pensions

Pensions have been at the centre of political attention for a while.  The March 2014 Budget introduced measures to allow retirees to spend their pension pot as they choose, rather than having to buy an annuity while, six months later, it was announced people are to have the freedom to pass on their unused defined contribution pension to any nominated beneficiary when they die.

Pensions saving is now clearly a major focus for politicians – we can expect this to continue no matter who wins at the general election on 7 May.  This means the pensions landscape is likely to continue to change, so it’s more important than ever to get expert advice on your individual circumstances. 

FOR EXPERT PENSIONS ADVICE:

call Graham on 07740 192505 

or email gkinns@coreifa.co.uk 

to book a no-obligation consultation at our expense