Let’s be honest. Seeking advice on how to look after your money may not be as fun as the immediate thrill of spending it, but it could be a rewarding decision in the long run.

Benefits of financial advice

If you’re interested in investing for the future, a carefully thought out financial plan can make a difference. You might think professional financial advice is only necessary when it comes to complex investments or pension planning or for those with lots of money. But even a seemingly straightforward...

After seeing their six-year-old son’s birthday list, Liz and Dan have realised it’s high time they started teaching Archie about the value of money. It’s true they both have reasonably well-paid jobs and only the one child but, even so, a Saint Bernard puppy, a quad bike, a horse and a life-size dalek don’t come cheap. So, what can Liz and Dan do to ensure Archie doesn’t end up bankrupting them before he goes to high school?

Pocket money

Archie is nearly seven - the age when most parents star...

Matt was delighted when he landed his dream job as a football coach. He got to do what he loved every day. Life was good until, one day, he fell down the stairs and everything changed. Matt seriously hurt his back in the fall and now struggles to stand for any length of time. As a result, he needs regular physio and hasn’t been able to work since the accident. Managing the pain and being unable to do the job he loves is hard enough but his situation is made worse by the fac...

After a prolonged period of speculation, the new Prime Minister Liz Truss has announced preliminary details of how the government plans to deal with the energy price crisis.

In late May this year, the then Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced a range of measures to reduce the impact of the anticipated October 2022 Ofgem utility price cap increase. Mr Sunak’s announcement followed an earlier assistance package revealed in February, ahead of the April 2022 Ofgem price cap increase from £1,277 to £1...

Market performance in July was strong, as a ‘bad news is good news’ dynamic appeared to take hold.

Many investors are reflecting on the year so far, which saw the largest falls for the S&P 500 index over the first six months since 1970. The MSCI All Country World Index (which tracks the largest companies around the world) also suffered falls and its worst opening six months since its creation in 1990.

However, not all industries have performed in the same way. For example, the energy sector held up relatively well due to high crude oil...

Pete has just inherited £35,000 from his grandma and he’s thinking about investing in a buy-to-let property but has no idea where to start. So, what are the key things Pete needs to know?

Is the buy-to-let market a good investment?

Some of Pete’s friends have warned him that the buy-to-let market is still reeling from the effects of the covid pandemic. They claim, with more people working from home, there has been a population shift away from major towns and cities - reducing the demand f...

Rachel is a 35-year-old charity administrator. When she started her current job nearly six years ago, she was automatically enrolled into her workplace pension. Auto-enrolment for workplace pensions was introduced in the UK to encourage more people to save for retirement. It means employers have to enrol into a pension any workers who are:

• Not already in a pension
• Between the ages of 22 and the state pension age
• Earning more than £10,000 a year
• Working in the UK

Rachel was...

Markets experienced some June gloom in the wake of further interest rate hikes and lower economic growth forecasts.

Global growth is set to slow to 3% this year and 2.8% in 2023, according to the organisation for economic development (OECD). [1] The ongoing war in Ukraine has added to the slowdown, along with high inflation following the pandemic.

Supply chain issues caused by lockdowns in China are also having an effect on the global economy’s ability to bounce back and are predicted to co...