First-Time Buyers Guide to Saving For a House Deposit
Posted by JSCFinancial on Monday 20th of March 2023
First-time buyers guide to saving for a house deposit
When preparing to buy your first home, saving for a deposit can be a difficult process. As house prices, inflation and the cost of living increases, it can be challenging trying to save a large sum of money. It’s also important to consider all the other costs that are involved in buying a property – conveyancing, legal fees, insurance policies and moving to name a few.
How much do I need to save?
A 5% deposit of the property value is the minimum amount you are able put down, howe...
Mortgage Affordability
Posted by JSCFinancial on Friday 17th of March 2023
How to improve your chances of passing a mortgage affordability assessment
Getting on the housing ladder can feel like one of the hardest and longest processes in the world and the cost of living crisis is probably not helping. You need to come across as attractive buyers for lenders to consider you, but there are many factors that can reduce how much lenders are willing to let you borrow for your home.
How do lenders decide whether to offer you a mortgage?
If you’re applying for a new mortgage, remortgaging or increasing your curre...
Considerations for first-time buyers
Posted by JSCFinancial on Friday 17th of March 2023
Being a first-time buyer can be daunting. Not only are you about to make one of the biggest financial decisions in your life, but you’ll probably also have family members and friends offering their ideas on the right house, mortgage, lender conveyancer and even removal company for you.
We’ve put together some ideas to try and take away some of the stress and confusion and give you confidence to move through the home buying process as smoothly as possible.
Get the right advice
Of course, we’re going to say that - it’s what we do! We’ll rev...
Spring Budget 2023 - Winners and Losers
Posted by JSCFinancial on Thursday 16th of March 2023
Spring Budget winners and losers
The Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has delivered the next part of his plan: “a Budget for long term and sustainable growth”. Read on to find out who were the winners and losers from the 2023 spring Budget.
Winners
Over-50s returning to work
In his speech, the Chancellor said that “older people are the most skilled and experienced people we have”. So, he announced steps to make it easier for those over 50 to work for longer.
Firstly, the government announced an enhancement to the “midlife MOT” strategy – of...
5 ways to protect your money in the cost of living crisis
Posted by JSCFinancial on Tuesday 14th of March 2023
With inflation at its highest level in 41 years and energy prices skyrocketing, the cost of living crisis has dominated headlines since inflation began to creep up from historic lows in mid-2021.
While the Covid pandemic began the inflationary increase, this was further exacerbated by the war in Ukraine pushing up energy and food prices even further.
Following such an extended period of price rises, you may be concerned about your household finances and long-term plans. So, here are five ways to protect your finances during the cost of liv...
What does the cost of living crisis mean for your retirement savings?
Posted by JSCFinancial on Monday 6th of March 2023
With inflation at its highest level in 41 years and energy prices skyrocketing, the cost of living crisis has dominated headlines since inflation began to creep up from historic lows in mid-2021.
While the Covid pandemic began the inflationary increase, this was further exacerbated by the war in Ukraine pushing up energy and food prices even further.
Following such an extended period of price rises, you may be concerned about your household finances and long-term plans.
Rising inflation affects everybody differently depending on their cir...
Why having an emergency fund matters and where to hold extra cash reserves
Posted by JSCFinancial on Monday 6th of March 2023
Having ready cash on hand is an essential part of any successful financial plan.
When investing, it’s important to hold an emergency fund. This readily available cash will mean you’re prepared to protect yourself against the unexpected and also plays a vital role in maintaining your financial wellbeing.
It’s generally advised to keep between three and six months of household expenditure in an easy access account – more if you work in a particularly volatile sector. If you’re approaching retirement, you may want to keep even more of your we...
Think twice
Posted by JSCFinancial on Monday 6th of March 2023
Think twice: Why cancelling your financial protection during the current cost of living crisis could be a bad idea
Centuries ago, Benjamin Franklin announced that “By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail”.
This is especially true when it comes to ensuring your personal finances are protected from the rainiest of days. However, with the rising cost of living likely putting pressure on your spending, you may be considering cancelling your cover, even when this could leave you more vulnerable than before. Read on to discover som...
Use them or lose them
Posted by JSCFinancial on Monday 6th of March 2023
Here’s a guide to your annual tax allowances, including ISAs, pension contributions and gifts – and why it’s important to make the most of them.
At this time of year, one of the most beneficial things you can do for your money is to review your annual allowances. Make sure you’re using those that are available to you so you don’t pay more tax than necessary. The end of the tax year is on 5 April 2023 and it’s not possible to roll over most of these allowances to the following year, so if you don’t use them, you lose them.
Personal al...
Make the most of your tax wrappers
Posted by JSCFinancial on Monday 6th of March 2023
It’s a good idea to know how your investments are taxed when selling them. Here are some of the ways you can organise your assets to make them tax efficient.
One of the worst things about earning money is that you have to pay tax. Whether it’s your salary or the interest you’ve earned on your investments, the taxman will almost always take a chunk. If you sell stocks or bonds for a profit, you may need to pay capital gains tax (CGT). The good news is that if you put your investments in a tax wrapper you can shield them from the taxman...
