Hopefully, the worst of the COVID19 pandemic is now over and those who have survived it can now get on with rebuilding their lives and their livelihoods. Part of the transition to the “new normal” will have to involve dealing with the financial consequences of the Coronavirus. The financial-services sector will have a role to play in this and mortgage-lenders in particular will need to think carefully about how they balance flexibility with risk management. The challenge of managing the UK’s flexible workforce Flexibility may be great for many employers and it can work well for many individuals, but it can pose a huge challenge to risk assessors. The basic issue is that flexibility is effectively the opposite of predictability. This makes it much harder for risk assessors to do their job of making educated guesses of what the future might hold for someone. In these situations, the cautious approach is to play safe and either refuse to lend at all or lend on very strict terms. To a certain extent, this protects both lenders and (potential) borrowers. The problem is that lenders need to lend to stay in business and borrowers often need to borrow to buy key assets such as houses. This means that being over cautious can actually wind up harming both parties. The growing number of flexible workers There has been growth both in the number of self-employed workers and in the number of workers on zero-hours contracts. Putting the two together they account for almost a fifth of the UK’s workforce. Additionally, there are occupations where people may earn a baseline salary, but have the opportunity to earn extra money as a part of their job. For example, people in sales roles may earn commission, people in leisure roles may earn tips and people paid on an hourly wage rather than a salary may work overtime. Depending on the nature of the job, these extra payments could be anything from a “nice to have” to a significant source of extra income. While some of these people may be happy to rent, others may want to buy. Mortgage lenders will therefore need to work out a fair way to deal with them. Options for helping flexible workers Possibly the single, biggest step mortgage lenders could take to help flexible workers is to take the time to understand each person’s situation on an individual basis, rather than relying on broad-based rules. One way to implement this could be to have applicants initially go through a standard screening process to see if they can meet the usual acceptance criteria.  If they cannot, however, then applications from flexible workers could be referred to humans for further analysis rather than being rejected outright.  This would not mean that the application would necessarily be accepted.  It would just be a recognition that standardised processes do not always do justice to people in non-standard situations. Another option would be to offer products which had some degree of in-built flexibility, albeit with reasonable safeguards. For example, lenders could look to offer offset mortgages which allowed borrowers to make overpayments during “feast” periods, knowing that they could withdraw some of them money if they needed access to it during the “famine” periods. Lenders could place limits on how much could be withdrawn to ensure that a minimum level of repayment was met. These measures could entail both extra work and some degree of extra risk for lenders. To counterbalance this, lenders could look at insisting on larger deposits and/or charging higher interest rates. Lenders might also want to place restrictions on the type of property which could be bought with these mortgages and focus on properties which have clear potential to be sold on (relatively) quickly and easily, even in slow markets. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. The FCA does not regulate some forms of buy to let mortgages

There are basically two reasons to live in a city. The first is because it’s where you want to be and the second is because it’s where you need to be for your work. Similar comments apply to “commuter-belt” areas. For people in the second category, the COVID19 pandemic may have served to push companies into offering home working as standard, at least for part of the time. If this did happen, then it could open the door to a mass “escape to the country”. Will companies offer home-working as standard? Arguably this is the key question and it's harder to answer than it may sound. In the short term, companies may have very little option if they are to manage safety in a post-Coronavirus environment. If workers needing to be socially-distanced becomes part of the "new normal" then economic and practical realities may force companies to use home-working to make that happen. Even if it doesn't, companies might still be interested in promoting home-working to reduce the amount of office space they need and hence reduce their costs. On the other hand, companies have a duty of care towards their employees. This includes providing them with a safe working environment. If/when companies can enforce social-distancing in an on-site environment (or if the social-distancing requirements are removed), they might feel more comfortable having employees on-site. This allows the company to take direct care of all practicalities and provide supervision. If, however, companies start cutting back on their direct employees and making greater use of freelancers, then remote working could basically emerge as, if not a standard, then at least a common practice. What would an upswing in home-working mean for the housing market? An upswing in home-working might not necessarily mean that everyone would immediately rush out and look for a home in the remotest area they could find. It would, however, mean that anyone who worked from home regularly would need to find an appropriate workspace. Some people might be willing and able to make existing rooms do double-duty, especially if they were rooms which were used fairly infrequently (e.g. dining rooms and guest bedrooms). Other people, however, might want or need a dedicated home office. In fact, this might even be a requirement for working from home to meet standards in background noise (or lack thereof) and data security. These requirements might favour moving further out from the city centre. If, however, people also need a robust broadband internet connection, then a truly rural area might not be the best option, at least not yet. The government has committed to improving the availability of high-speed broadband. It is, however, arguably, very hard to predict how quickly improvements will be made, given that the UK is still dealing with the turmoil of the COVID19 pandemic while also heading into what should be the final stages of the Brexit process (assuming the government and the EU stick to the established timetable). What does this mean for the mortgage market? Mortgage lenders need to be able to assess the market value of a property to make an accurate judgement of the risk of a potential loan. If consumer sentiment moves away from prioritizing location with the result that people are less willing to pay a price premium for homes in certain areas, then mortgage lenders may have to rethink their traditional valuation models, at least to some extent. It will be interesting to see if the “remote” trend takes hold and if so to what extent. For example, in addition to home-working, there’s also the prospect of home-schooling right up to university level. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

Although the housing market and the mortgage market are related, they are not quite the same. You can buy a house without a mortgage. You can also take out a new mortgage without moving home. There is nothing particularly new about this idea, it will, however, be interesting to see if the remortgage market is impacted by COVID19. Could home-owners feel pressed to beat a market slump? As a rule of thumb, the less you are seeking to borrow relative to the market value of your property, the better a deal you are likely to get on your mortgage. If property prices fall, then the value of the home-owner’s equity will fall with them as will their options for remortgaging. In fact, in a worst-case scenario, the homeowner may find themselves in negative equity. This is not necessarily a catastrophe (as long as you can keep making payments), but it would certainly impact your ability to remortgage and could potentially impact your ability to sell your home if you found yourself in financial difficulty. With the UK only just emerging from the Coronavirus and heading towards Brexit, it may be that some home-owners may want to seal in a good remortgage deal as quickly as possible in case they struggle to do so later. Will low interest-rates spur home-owners into taking action? Right now the base rate is 0.1%. That may not be quite as low as it can go. In principle, the Bank of England could impose negative interest rates. It is, however, a historic low and, at present, nobody can know how long it is going to last. That being so, it could be that some home-owners will look to see if they can secure better deals, especially if they are looking for a fixed-rate product. Having said that, potential borrowers may find that deals available on fixed-rate products may be less generous than they had hoped, especially on longer-term fixes. Mortgage lenders may be wary of discounting too deeply in case interest rates rise again. Will home-owners look to fix their rates? If inflation rises, then the Bank of England may have little option but to raise interest rates. This could come as a nasty shock to mortgage-holders, especially if they are already stretched. Base rates have been below 1% for over a decade now, but over the past five decades, there have been regular periods of double-digit inflation, peaking at 17% in 1979. Even if the aftermath of COVID19 does not lead to higher inflation, the UK still has to navigate its way through Brexit. If the UK’s exit from the EU leads to Borrowers might, therefore, prefer the security of a long-term, fixed-rate deal, even if they have to pay something of a price premium for it. Will home-owners investigate offset mortgages? With an offset mortgage, you essentially bundle your savings and your mortgage together. The basic idea is that the interest you receive on your savings “offsets” the interest you pay on your mortgage. If interest rates go up, then you will pay more interest on your mortgage, but also receive more interest on your savings. If interest rates go down, you will receive less interest on your savings, but also pay less interest on your mortgage. The fact that you will not actually be receiving interest payments on your savings means that you will not need to pay tax on them. This can boost your overall savings even further. Your money remains accessible, although you would need to double-check the provider’s terms and conditions to see if access is instant or if a notice period is required. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

In these troubled times, I know that so many people are concerned with their mortgage. I am still working with my clients over the phone and now have access to lenders and their contact details. The Bank of England has slashed interest rates what does this mean for you? The Bank of England has cut the base rate to 0.1% following the Coronavirus outbreak. This makes the interest rate the lowest ever in the Banks 325-year history. It is hoped that the move by Andrew Bailey would “help to support business and consumer confidence at a difficult time, to bolster the cash flows of businesses and households, and to reduce the cost, and to improve the availability, of finance”. Following this, many lenders have reduced their rates, and I  am seeing some incredible low fixed and discounted rate products. You could now take advantage of the rate cut and potential to re-mortgage, this could mean lower monthly repayments. If you find yourself in financial difficulties because of the impact of Covid-19, and are unable to make your next mortgage payment, please get in touch. We can discuss whether options including a payment holiday on your mortgage might be suitable for you, although this will result in you paying back more interest on your mortgage overall. If you need advice, please do not hesitate to contact me. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage

The budget was expected.  The emergency meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England, by definition, was not.  Both had meaningful implications for personal finance. Interest rates were cut from 0.75% to 0.25% (and have since been cut again to 0.1%) The initial cut sent interest rates back to where they were in 2016 before the BoE started trying to push them back upwards again.  According to the BoI, the initial decision was taken to “help to support business and consumer confidence at a difficult time, to bolster the cash flows of businesses and households, and to reduce the cost, and to improve the availability of finance”.  It subsequently doubled-down on its policy and cut interest rates again. This means that anyone with a product (savings or loan) which tracks the base rate should see their finance charges going down per their bank’s standard schedule.  People looking to take out new products, especially fixed-rate products, such as some mortgages, should keep an eye on the market and be prepared to act quickly if they see lower-rate products become available. Inflation is forecast to be 1.4% in 2020-2021 and 1.8% in 2021-2022 The inflation forecast is relatively benign, however, the word “forecast” is essentially an alternative term for “guess”, possibly an educated one, but a guess nevertheless.  With interest rates so low, Sterling could potentially weaken against other currencies, thus making imports more expensive. Traditionally, this fact would be counterbalanced by the fact that exports would become more affordable and that inbound tourism would benefit as would domestic investment markets which benefit from international capital, for example, property.  At this point, however, it’s very unclear whether that would continue to hold true.  This means that higher inflation could be a reality (or interest rates will have to go back up to slow it down).  In short, therefore, most people should probably be taking a “watch-this-space” approach to inflation. The National Insurance threshold goes up and the IR35 rule extends to the private sector The threshold for paying National Insurance will go up from £8,632 per annum to £9,500 per annum.  This will take an estimated £500,000 people out of the National Insurance system.  While this has been billed as a move to help those on lower incomes, it may be a double-edged sword since National Insurance contributions may be a factor in determining eligibility for certain benefits including the state pension. At the same time, the infamous IR35 rule will be extended from the public sector to the private sector.  In short, the IR35 rule is a way to determine whether or not a contractor is “genuine” or a “disguised employee” and hence how they should be taxed.  If a contractor is determined to be a disguised employee, they will effectively have to pay tax as though they were on PAYE but they will not receive the corresponding benefits. For completeness, this was announced long before the budget, in fact, it has been in the pipeline for some time, but it comes into effect in April along with the NI change. Changes to pensions and taxation Both the old and new state pensions are going up by 3.9% and at the other end of the scale, there will be changes to the way high-earners are taxed so that pension relief only begins to be reduced when a person earns £200,000.  That means that it will only impact people earning at least £150,000 of actual salary as distinct from pensions contributions. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. The FCA does not regulate some forms of tax planning For pensions, investments and tax planning we act as introducers only

Although the UK has both a welfare system and free public health care, illness and injury can impact your finances.  While there’s a limit to what you can do to protect yourself from becoming ill or injured, you can certainly have a think about what poor health would mean to you and what steps you could take to protect yourself against its consequences.  Here are some points to consider. Time off work This will mean different things to different people, but it will probably have some kind of impact on just about everyone.  For example, it may be obvious that if you’re a freelancer, being unable to work, for any reason, can devastate your finances unless you have rock-solid insurance in place to protect you, but it may be less obvious that even being off work with employment benefits can have an adverse effect on your financial health.  Leaving aside the fact that there may be a cap on how long you can claim these benefits, there’s also the impact of being “out of the loop”. It’s also worth noting that in this context, the definition of “work” can extend to any essential task which would still need to be performed if the person who currently does it became ill or was injured.  Possibly the most obvious example of this is caring responsibilities, especially child-caring responsibilities.  Because of this, it can be very wise to ensure that people with such responsibilities are protected by insurance in the same way as the main income-earner. Travel costs Even assuming you can fit your medical appointments around your work, there may well still be costs involved in getting there and back.  If you take your own car, then you will have to think about fuel and parking.  If you take public transport, then you will have to work around schedules and you may have to take two or more individual trips to reach your destination (for example a train and a bus or two or different buses), which can really add to costs.  If you take a taxi, you can have convenience and you won’t necessarily have to pay for parking (although if your taxi driver has to pay to wait for you somewhere, then this will have to be factored into the fare they charge). Then you will need to think about your comfort when you are at your appointments, for example eating and drinking.  In principle, you can stock up on food and drink before you leave but in practice are you really going to be that organized, especially if you’re unwell?  Again, this is an area where having the backing of an insurance company can be invaluable. The actual cost of treatment Although access to the NHS can be considered one of the major benefits of living in the UK, it has its limitations.  To begin with, not everything is provided completely free to everyone.  For example, you may need to pay for prescriptions or to pay at least a contribution to certain types of dental treatment.  You may also find that treatment which would be beneficial but not essential will not be covered on the NHS and/or that there is a lengthy wait to access the treatment you need.  You could potentially avoid all of the above by going private, but this could be expensive.  Depending on your needs and wants, you might be able to pay for treatment by raiding your savings, but if you’d prefer to avoid being in this situation, then it’s advisable to be prepared with good medical and/or dental insurance.  This can save you from having to go to the effort of fundraising for the treatment you need in the timeframe you’d prefer. For Accident, Sickness and Unemployment insurance, we act as introducers only

Investment portfolios are like teams.  They should all work together harmoniously, with each member bringing their own strengths to balance out the others’ weaknesses so that no matter what happens, you wind up with a good result.  That’s the theory.  The art, science and skill of diversification is building an investment portfolio that makes this work in practice.  Here is a quick guide to some points you may wish to consider. Capital appreciation versus income Capital appreciation will increase the overall value of your portfolio but you will only realize this value when you sell your shares.  Income-producing assets provide cash that you can either reinvest or use for your living expenses.  The extent to which your portfolio is weighted towards one or the other (or perfectly balanced between them both) will depend on a number of factors, such as your investment horizon. For example, if you are at the start of your working life, then you may be quite happy to let the value of your portfolio grow, perhaps so that you can cash (part of) it in to pay for life events such as a house purchase.  If, however, you are heading towards retirement, then you may need to think about replacing your current income, but you may also need to think about continuing to grow your portfolio for the decades which might still lie ahead of you. When considering this point, it’s worth noting that some asset classes can switch between one form and the other.  For example, if you invest in a start-up, you may see the capital value of your shares grow as the company matures but it may be some time before it starts to pay a dividend and when it does its rate of growth may slow as it uses up some of its capital to reward its investors instead of fuelling its expansion. Risk level Risk is an interesting concept and it’s not always as clear-cut as it may appear.  For example, cash deposits and bonds may initially appear very low risk because you are guaranteed to keep your capital intact and see a return from it.  Shares, by contrast, may seem higher risk, because their performance reflects a company’s success and if the company does badly you may start by losing your dividend and end by losing your capital. At the same time, however, the returns from cash deposits and bonds are only guaranteed if the borrower can actually meet their obligations.  If they can’t e.g. they go out of business, then bondholders will simply have a proportionate claim on the borrower’s assets (if any).  Even if the bondholder does make good on their obligation, the returns from bonds may not keep pace with inflation, meaning that your capital will, effectively, be eroded, while the returns from stocks can, in principle, be limitless, at least enough to keep pace with or even outpace inflation. In short, a portfolio that is weighted too heavily towards “safe” assets may wind up not generating sufficient returns to keep pace with inflation whereas a portfolio that is weighted too heavily towards “risky” assets may crash and burn. Younger sectors/locations versus mature sectors/locations In a way, this point reflects both of the previous points.  Young sectors and locations (emerging markets) can have a lot of room to grow, but this means that investors may need to exercise patience when waiting for their returns and they may also need to accept that something may go wrong during the growth period which would reduce (or even cancel out) the returns they expected.  By contrast, mature sectors and locations (developed markets) may have less room to grow, but their established position may give them a greater degree of stability and strength, especially in challenging times. For investments, we act as introducers only

Life is full of challenges and possibly the single biggest challenge of longer life expectancy is working out how to finance it.  There are more options than “just” pensions and even if you do go down the pension route (which is often a very sensible approach), there can be all kinds of considerations involved in choosing exactly the right approach to pension saving.  Here is a quick guide to your main options for retirement saving. Option 1 - Review your view of retirement Although this is presented as an option, it’s debatable just how optional it will be for most people.  The simple fact of the matter is that if you are living longer then you will need more money to see you through your whole life.  This means that you will either have to work longer or save more money during your early life to pay for your later one. In the real world, however, the latter option is only available to people who earn enough to be able to meet all their needs in the present (and ideally at least some of their wants as well) and still be able to save enough to have an extended “full” retirement (i.e. a retirement in which they do not have to work at all). Option 2 - Consider “non-pension” options You can save for your old age/retirement by any means you like, for example by building up savings and by creating an investment portfolio (of shares, property or both).  These days, you may also have the option of opening a Lifetime ISA in which to save towards your retirement.  Like all financial products, Lifetime ISAs have their own unique characteristics, their advantages and disadvantages.  In other words, they may be great products for some people and terrible products for others.  It is therefore strongly recommended to get professional advice before deciding whether or not they’re right for you or at the very least to inform yourself thoroughly about what they are, how they work and what they could mean in practice for you. Option 3 - Pensions If you qualify for the auto-enrolment scheme then it is certainly worth considering as your employer has to make contributions into the scheme and these can provide a meaningful boost to your pension savings.  If you do not qualify for the auto-enrolment scheme, then saving via a recognised pension scheme can still have benefits since, within limits, pensions contributions can be made out of pre-tax income. It is even possible for those earning an income (from employment or self-employment) to make pension contributions on behalf of a spouse/civil partner and claim tax relief on those contributions (again, within limits). Prior to the introduction of “pensions freedoms”, the downside of pension savings was that the majority of any pension pot ultimately had to be used to buy an annuity.  While this was “safe” in the sense that it provided an income for life, that income was not necessarily at the sort of level savers would have liked, especially if they had larger pension pots and were comfortable with the idea of handling investments. Now, however, not only are pensions savers free from the requirement to use the majority of their pension pot to buy an annuity, but they can even pass on their pension pot after they die.  This can open up all kinds of interesting and exciting opportunities, however, it does still need to be remembered that the main purpose of retirement savings is exactly what the name suggests, i.e. to provide an income in retirement, any other considerations (such as the desire to leave a legacy) should be subordinate to that main goal. For pensions, savings and investments we act as introducers only.

The Help to Buy scheme has been both extended and limited.  It’s been extended because it now runs to 2023.  It’s been limited because it’s now only open to first-time buyers.  Another new twist to the scheme is that the government has introduced new price caps for properties bought under the scheme.  Only London keeps the £600K cap, in all other places, it is 1.5 times the average forecast first-time buyer price for the region.  Here is a quick look at what the Help-to-Buy scheme could mean in practice. Help-to-Buy can make it easier to get a mortgage, but first-time buyers still need to get one Effectively the Help-to-Buy scheme provides a deposit of up to 20% of the purchase price of your home (40% in London).  This can lower the loan-to-vehicle ration of a mortgage and therefore make it easier to get one.  Having said that, there are other barriers to getting a mortgage and first-time buyers will generally have to deal with them on their own (potentially with the help of a professional financial adviser). For example, the Help-to-Buy scheme cannot change a person’s credit history, so if a first-time buyer has a poor track record of financial management, just being approved for the scheme may not be enough to convince lenders to part with the rest of the necessary cash. Similarly, first-time buyers with variable incomes may still struggle to convince lenders that they can meet the repayments over the long term, as might those in professions which might be vulnerable to a hard Brexit. Help-to-Buy loans are only interest-free for five years At the end of the five years, buyers who wish to stay in their homes can opt either to make interest payments (without reducing the loan principal) or to buy the government out of its share in their home.  The value of the government’s stake in the property will be determined by the value of the home at the time the (former) first-time buyer applies to buy out the government rather than buy the purchase price at the time of the original sale.  This is a major difference to standard loan products such as traditional mortgages, where the borrower simply repays the amount borrowed and gets the full benefit of any capital appreciation. Help-to-Buy loans are only available on new-build properties If you go down the Help-to-Buy route then your choice of properties will be constrained not just by your location and budget but by the need to meet the requirements of the Help-to-Buy scheme, in other words, to select from qualifying new-build properties.  Not to put too fine a point on the matter, this could put first-time buyers into a position where they wind up living in a home they have chosen only for its practical benefits rather than because it’s a place they really love and want to live over the long term. In short There are a lot of up-front fees involved in buying a property and the purchase process can be lengthy.  There can also be significant implications to buying a property and then discovering that it was the wrong thing to do, especially if it turns out that the reason it was the wrong thing to do is because you can’t afford the mortgage. The Help-to-Buy scheme can make it easier for first-time buyers to get on the property ladder, but it does have its nuances and implications and it’s important to understand them thoroughly and be aware of what they will (and could) mean for you before you take a final decision on whether or not to make use of the scheme.  Professional advice can help here. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

Averages can be both interesting and informative, but they can also be misleading.  Firstly, there are three different ways of calculating them (mean, median and mode), which can produce significantly different results.  Secondly, even if “average figures” suggest that there is little likelihood of a negative event happening to you, it can still make a lot of sense to prepare for it in any case, especially if it could have major consequences for your health, wealth and/or happiness.  Here are a few examples of how this could work in practice. Death Death comes for us all eventually, the only question is when.  Although the odds go up as we get older, the fact is that younger people can and sadly do die of various causes and, depending on their situation, it may be a wise precaution to think about this and prepare for it. People with children absolutely must think about what will happen to their children in the event of their death, even if they are married or in a civil partnership and this may entail more than “just” getting life insurance (although this may well be a good place to start).  For example, you may want to look at getting some or all of that life insurance paid into a trust fund for your children so you continue to have some degree of control over how it is spent even “from beyond the grave”. For the sake of completeness, when calculating the financial impact of a person’s death, remember to account for the fact that other people may need to be paid to undertake work they do for free, such as childcare. You might also want to look at making a will which specifies your wishes for your children’s care if one or both of you dies.  This can save them a period in social care and could potentially avoid “tug-of-love” court battles between different family members.  It could also give you the opportunity to discuss the matter with the people in question and potentially with your children, depending on their age. Ill health/injury While NHS resources may be sufficient for your actual treatment, that treatment may not be made available as quickly as you would like and it may not cover options which are considered preferable rather than essential.  These are two arguments in favour of supplementing NHS care with private medical and/or dental insurance. You might also discover that being ill or injured for an extended period has additional financial consequences which might not be (adequately) covered by state benefits.  For example, it may limit your opportunities at or for work or your ability to look after your children, pets and/or house.  These issues may be covered by other forms of insurance such as critical illness cover or income protection cover. Unemployment/Being unable to work While being unemployed and being unable to work are, technically, different, they can both have the effect of disrupting your finances.  Ideally, your first line of defence against either of these issues will be a solid emergency fund, but savings can only last for so long and state benefits might not be sufficient for you to maintain a decent, basic, standard of living in your situation.  You might also prefer to avoid the hassle of having to go through the claims process for state benefits, especially means-tested benefits, and prefer to deal with a private insurance company.  Again, this is a situation where products such as critical illness cover & income protection cover could come in helpful. The FCA does not regulate wills For wills & payment protection insurance we act as introducers only

Inflation is basically another word for price increases.  Its opposite is deflation.  Inflation matters because it influences the cost of goods and services and hence how much income we need to support our lifestyle. Measuring inflation In principle, you can measure inflation (or deflation) by tracking the price of an item over time.  In practice, the price of a single item is unlikely to be all that relevant in the general scheme of life (with the possible exception of housing), so official measures of inflation tend to track groups of goods.  For example the Consumer Price Index (CPI) tracks price changes across a wide range of household goods and services including food, clothing and recreation. Factors which influence inflation Inflation can be influenced by many factors but most of them revolve around the twin concepts of supply and demand and affordability.  For example, if an item is in low supply but demand for it remains high, then its price will go up.  This can be seen both directly and indirectly. A direct example would be farmers losing crops to a bad harvest, people still need to eat, so food prices would be expected to go up.  An indirect example would be a shortage of the raw materials needed to make manufactured goods.  If there was still demand for the goods, manufacturers could, in principle, still make them, but they might need to pass on the additional costs to consumers. The issue of affordability can also be influenced by various factors but three of the most obvious are taxes, currency rates and interest rates.  If governments increase taxes on an item (for example on unhealthy products such as tobacco), then either the manufacturers will have to absorb these (reducing their own profits) or they will have to pass them on to customers. Currency rates can influence the price of goods and services which require materials and/or labour to be bought from another country using another currency.  Basically if the Pound weakens against the other currency, the effective price of the goods or services will increase (creating inflation) and vice versa.  A strong Pound is not good news for everyone since it makes goods and services produced in the UK more expensive to international buyers and hence has the potential to reduce exports. In the UK, interest rates are set by the Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England, which is tasked with keeping inflation at exactly 2% although they have a 1% margin of error, either way.  When inflation increases, the MPC can raise interest rates to increase the returns on cash deposits and to make borrowing more expensive.  When it decreases, the MPC can lower interest rates to reduce the returns on cash deposits and make borrowing more affordable.  They can also use quantitative easing. What inflation means for investors There are two reasons why inflation matters to investors.  The first goes back to the opening point regarding the fact that inflation influences the amount of money we need to earn to be able to live our lives.  If you’re reliant on investment income, then you need to ensure that you factor inflation into your calculation of you much yield you need to generate for your living expenses. The second is that inflation, and perceptions about its future direction, can influence the performance of different asset classes.  For example, if there is a perception that interest rates will go up, then people might hold off buying bonds because they expect to get better value for them in the near future, whereas if there is a perception that inflation might go up, people might be more interested in shares as they can offer higher returns which improves the chances that they will at least keep pace with inflation if not outpace it.

While words like “health and safety” tend to make people’s eyes roll, fundamentally health and safety is basically about taking sensible precautions to keep people safe and it, therefore, applies in the home too.  As an added bonus, it also helps to keep your valued possessions safe.  Here are some tips on preventing accidents in the home. Keep external doors and windows closed (and locked) as much as you can Hopefully, everyone should be aware of the need to keep doors and windows closed (and ideally locked) when you are going out of the home, as protection against burglars, but it may be less obvious that there are benefits to keeping them closed when you are at home too.  Not only can this stop people wandering in without your noticing (it happens) but it can stop animals and birds from coming in and causing accidental damage.  If you want to let some air in, just open the window a little bit rather than opening it wide. As a side note, if you have issues with birds bumping into your glass, then window decals can solve the problem and if you have parts of your home which are a bit too exposed to people looking in, but you’d still like to have light in them, then privacy film can be the way to go. Keep internal doors closed and/or consider baby/pet gates In principle, it’s best to keep internal doors closed at all times as they are your first defence against fire.  In practice, when the risk of fire is fairly low (which, these days, is most, if not all the time), then it can make more sense to leave them open so that air/heat/people can circulate, but if you have babies and/or pets then it can be a good idea to put up gates to limit where they can move.  In the (hopefully unlikely) event that there is a fire, you’ll be alerted thanks to the smoke detectors you’ll have installed. Watch your cabling Cable clutter may have become the number one hazard in both homes and businesses.  In business, the law requires that safety be put above convenience, but in the private world, in principle, it’s up to you and it can be tempting just to put the cabling where it’s easiest (or where your router gets the best reception) and deal with it “later”.  Resist the temptation. Not only does cabling need to be put where humans aren’t going to trip on it, but, if there are pets in the house, it also needs to go where pets (and young children) aren’t going to trip over it or play with it or bite it.  Dealing with this last point often means putting some kind of cover over cabling, at least as much as possible and it can be worth doing this even if there aren’t pets (or young children) in the house, in case they come round. DIY with care DIYing can be a good way to save money, if you know what you’re doing, stay within your skillset and apply appropriate safety and common-sense precautions.  It can also be a good way to create havoc and lead to insurance claims, assuming you’re covered. Standard contents insurance may cover you for possessions which have been stolen, destroyed or damaged in a means which was beyond your control, for example, if a burst water-main floods your home.  It may not, however, cover you for accidental damage caused by you (or anyone connected with you) unless you specifically at it on to your policy, which is strongly recommended. For General Insurance products, we act as introducers only