As we prepare to bid a (fond) farewell to the year 2017, here’s a quick round up of the year’s main financial news. January While it wasn’t, strictly speaking, financial news, the inauguration of President Trump, was pretty much guaranteed to set the stage for some major changes in numerous areas, including financial changes. As […]
Advice
Helping your Children to Fly the Nest
Just as young adults may yearn for their independence, outside the parental home, so parents can be just as eager to speed them on their way, so that they can get on with their own plans for the future. The challenge for both sides is that houses are far from cheap. Assuming buying a property […]
Self Employment – Is It For You?
There’s a lot of plus points about being in paid employment and there’s a lot of plus points about self employment. It would be nice to say that which one you choose should be a matter of preference, but these days job-market forces mean that it can be a wise move to be at least […]
Were Your Parents Right When They Told You to Budget Your Spending Better?
Budgeting is the skill of making sure that your pay lasts the whole month, ideally with a little left over. Nobody ever said it was necessarily going to be easy, let alone fun, but it’s essential for peace of mind. Here are five signs that you may need to work on your budgeting and why […]
High Street Prices And What A Lower Pound Means For Your Purse
There are winners and losers in every change and this also holds true for changing currency values. In the most basic terms, a weak pound means that you need more pounds to buy other currencies and less of another currency to buy pounds. An effect of this is that in practical terms, it costs more […]
Interest Rates & Inflation
In principle, interest rates and inflation act a bit like a child’s see-saw. When interest rates go up, people are encouraged to save rather than spend. This reduces demand, which encourages suppliers to lower their prices, which results in lower inflation. When interest rates go down, the reverse happens. That, at least, is the general […]