"I wanted an easy answer, a magic way of making money that I didn’t have to work for or wait ten years for compound interest to deliver. I wanted a fast buck.”
Stuart (not his r... read more
Grace Groner1 was a hundred years old when she died leaving an estate of seven million dollars. A humble secretary, she never married and lived modestly, investing some of her income into the stock... read more
The investment industry has done a brilliant job of convincing us that investment is difficult and requires unique (and expensive) expertise. The evidence does not support this view.
“We know... read more
How retire two years earlier…
A fifty year old has built up a pension pot of £200,000. The fund is doing well and generating an average return of 6%pa compound. Having done hi... read more
What if, with a little consistent effort, you could:
Know how much you can spend each day without guilt
Eliminate short term debt
Know you are saving money for your future
Know you can... read more
Can't watch the video today? Read the blog below!
Let's discuss the common problem of talking about money and the communication difficulties this creates between men and women. Lots... read more
Sassy, hard working, thirty and living in Manchester Thea, my brilliant daughter, is doing very well in IT Recruitment. So well in fact that she pays a lot of income tax and has ‘spare’... read more
This week Spring has been in the air. Each morning I open the kitchen window and smell fresh air and the bouquet from the huge bunch of daffodils on the window sill. The smell of daffodils is Sprin... read more
Welcome to Episode 1 of my Baby Boomer series.
Not able to watch the video today? Why not read the transcript below instead:
We are going to be starting right at the end by looking... read more
Eighteen years ago today, on April 9th , my father died. My brother Simon, my mother and myself stood at his bedside in Intensive Care as his breathing faded. I remember the moment clearly.
... read more
Everyone knows that money can't buy you happiness... right? Obvious! The evidence is overwhelming – lottery winners who end up in a dreadful mess despite their millions, successful busine... read more
The British have a unique and deeply neurotic relationship with property, houses especially, places we call home. We are a nation of homeowners. When house prices are rising we feel good. We feel s... read more
Being a child of the fifties I pretty much missed the 'Summer of Love'. I was twelve at the time (1967) and 'free love' was a vague (although appealing) concept to me. Reading that... read more
When was the last time you sat down and methodically went through your finances? Do you know what you are worth? What you owe? How much tax you pay? Do you know how much your pension is worth? Do y... read more
Yes. They are completely different.
Financial advice is about recommending a course of action, usually investing in a financial product such as an ISA, a pension plan or a life assurance p... read more
I love being a grandparent. The joy of children without the 24/7 responsibility of being a parent. Or as one of my clients so eloquently put it, “You can hand them back at the end of the day.... read more
Do you want more money?
Daft question.
We immediately say yes, without thinking.
Of course.
If we are asked what we want to do with this money we'll probably say: go on holiday, buy... read more
Most people don't, alas.
There are three big life changes when people usually think about speaking to a financial professional:
1. When they need a mortgage to buy a house
2. When they... read more
In my work as a financial planner I invite people to engage in a simple three part process.
To Create a Budget – so that they know what is coming in, where it is being spent and what, if... read more
If you don't want to watch the video today, why not read the transcription below instead?:
It's 2015, I am sixty this year and I thought it would be fun to do a series of short blogs... read more
I ask the question because the NHS has launched a controversial calculator which predicts when you will have a heart attack or stroke – and compares a person’s heart age with their biol... read more
Unable to watch the video today? Why not read the transcript below:
Our thirties are all about getting the balance right. Very often this is an intense period of our lives. Most of us... read more
Don't want to watch the video today? Why not read the transcript instead:
Now that I am sixty I have decided to send a little note to myself in my twenties, thirties, forties and... read more
As part of my Lenten journey this year I spent five days living in a Benedictine Monastery at Worth Abbey. I have always been drawn to the simplicity of a monastic way of life and this was an... read more