Professionals carry baggage. They have a living to earn, standards committees to satisfy and a ‘been their done that’ attitude bordering on arrogance. Give me a committed amateur not a do as I say not as I do merchant.

Assets can be sound like your savings, property, pensions, antiques, precious metal etc. I said ‘sound’ not ‘safe and sound’. Assets need maintaining and looking after and occasionally changing.

Wasting assets can be part of an accountants mumbo-gook. It is an asset that deteriorates or is consumed with time like a mine or a new car. The car is wasting away as you drive it off the forecourt. Waste not want not or want not a wasting asset.

A liability is something you have to pay like a debt or a contingent liability which is something you will have to pay if something else happens. If your pet gets hungry you must provide the food, if your partner spends on your credit card; I think you should be getting the drift.

OK ‘so what’ you are asking. The mumbo jumboist would say the opportunity cost of spending on the above 3 items is an exchange of leisure time ie working for money not enjoying yourself. It should be a conscious decision

‘Borrowing money to buy things that go down in value is a very bad habit to develop’ John Middleton, Infinite Ideas.

So Do your own thing - you will anyway no matter what I say. Do not get drawn into debt-equity CDC swaps or whatever (a shame the banks ever did.)
I have cleared one or two, of the tons of chips from my shoulder! Keep watching for more chip suppers.

The spirit of this article was spawned by ‘Detox your finances: 52 Brilliant Ideas for Personal Finance Success’ by John Middleton, Infinite Ideas available from Amazon

There is only one review and as ever you would be a bit suspicious of a single eulogy. However the contents list seems interesting.

Product Description

Some of the top writers in Personal Finance have contributed to this eBook, including my business partner, Gregory Bresiger (his articles have appeared in the New York Business Post and he has been a writer for Financial Advisor Magazine and Financial Planner Magazine)
This book will help you easily understand the complexities of finance and lift the burden and stress that comes with not having your personal finances in check. No matter your age, background or financial situation, we guarantee that your financial goals will seem closer to reality after reading this eBook, as we lay out the guide-lines that will lead you on the path to financial freedom.

Contents List

MODERN PORTFOLIO THEORY:
- A simple strategy for creating a portfolio
- How to get good by practicing with a mock portfolio

FINANCIAL ADVISERS:
- How To select the right adviser for you
- The different types of advisers
- How to avoid financial con-artists

RETIREMENT PLANNING:
- A critical retirement planning decision
- Retirement Planning for those who think their retirement is a lost cause

INVESTING:
- Knowing the difference between Stocks, Bonds & others
- Alternative Investment Opportunities

PLUS:

- SMART SPENDING & SAVING
- HOW TO TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR INDIVIDUAL HEALTH INSURANCE
- SECRETS OF INEXPENSIVE CAR INSURANCE

Simple Investments

• Reducing or eliminating expensive liabilities is generally a sensible action. Store cards and credit cards have high interest charges if you do not pay off the full balance each month.
• I retain a good balance in my bank current account so I do not go overdrawn and incur interest or transaction charges.
• Rainy day money should be kept in an instant access account at a bank or building society. This will provide quick withdrawal when you need it and can also be used to save for larger expenditures like a holiday, car or house deposit.
• Premium bonds do not earn interest but there is the chance of a big prize and your money is safe.
• Regular savings accounts where you commit to a set sum each month earn higher rates of interest. Savings transferred automatically by direct debit or standing order from your main account soon mount up and establish a savings routine
• Many savings accounts can be held as cash ISA’s or individual savings accounts. You are only allowed one such account each tax year with a current maximum cash investment of £5,340 pa. The interest is tax free and you can withdraw the money whenever you wish (you can’t put it back if you have reached your maximum for the year).

Investments with Growth Potential

• As investments offer more in the way of returns so the risks of loosing some of your capital increases. Make sure you are happy with the risk you are considering and that you have your other savings in a safe environment.
• Unit trusts are run by a fund manager who is employed by a financial organisation to buy shares in a range of different companies. The shares are then pooled in a fund and you buy ‘units’ or parts of the fund. Because the fund contains a range of shares the risk is spread. The value of your units will rise or fall in line with the underlying share values
• Investment trusts are companies that also invest in the shares of different companies also spreading the risk. You are buying shares in the investment trust company and there value will vary not only on the underlying investment but by the way the market feels about the investment trust company
• Investment trusts and Unit trusts (Oeic’s) tend to pick a chosen area in which they specialise. It may be geographic like Japanese of American companies, industry specific like energy or health but may just aim to track an index. Each trust will have a risk profile that may be high risk or conservative (ie.generally broadly based with it’s investments).
• Shares make you a joint-owner of a company along with all the other shareholders. You can vote at annual meetings and get accounts and dividends.
  Shares in large public companies like BP, M&S and Vodaphone are ‘quoted’ or sold via a stock exchange where you can always find a price for your shares.
  New companies or rapidly growing companies offer new shares for sale in a flotation that may be linked to a stock exchange listing.
  Shares can be bought in a private or unlisted company. There is no market to sell these shares so no guaranteed exit. It may be suitable for family companies or entrepreneurs.

Stockbrokers buy and sell Shares

• Stockbrokers offer three main types of service
  Execution-only where you tell the stockbroker what to buy or sell and make your own personal investment decisions.
  Discretionary services where they look after you personal investment funds and make choices on your behalf.
  Advisory services involve stockbrokers giving you advice on what shares fit your investment criteria and are likely to perform
• You can deal with stockbrokers by phone, face to face, over the internet or by post.
• Shares can be held in a tax free ISA up to £10,680 maximum investment in this tax year. A cash isa counts towards this maximum.

Important Personal Investments

• Property and your home is the largest investment most people make. Mortgage repayments grow your personal equity in the property.
• Pensions are incentivised by the current tax regime and despite the recent economic pressures on pension funds they are still a sound investment worthy of consideration. You can arrange your own Self Invested Pension scheme or Sipp where you select the investments but most company schemes are run by trustees.
• Investing in your own business can grow a tangible value as some profits are ploughed back and goodwill grows.
• Alternative personal investments in art, antiques, stamps, precious metals, etc are for the specialist.

Seek More Advice

• Do not gamble with your investments. Work out what you want to achieve and ask the experts for guidance. At the end of the day back your own judgment it is your money!
• Direct Gov on choosing and using a financial adviser
• Find a stockbroker by recommendation or look at the London stock exchange list
• Financial advisers may be employed to sell a particular finance companies products and if so they should tell you in advance. Independent financial advisers should search the whole market to find the products and mix best suited to you.
• For all but cash savings take the long view – it may take time but stronger markets will return.

Using A Credit Card / Interest Free Overdraft as a Loan.

It is possible to use a credit card as a means to borrow money at very low rates. It requires some care; but, if you build up a balance and then transfer it to other cards, it is usually possible to enjoy interest free credit for upto 12 months. Typically, banks may charge a balance transfer fee. If you switch credit for 12 months, it is an effective interest rate of 2%. Much better than loans or the usual interest rate on credit cards. However.

• Make sure you stick to the agreement and never miss a payment; they will use this as an excuse to cancel the 0% agreement.
• Don’t get overconfident and borrow thousands of pounds assuming you can switch it all to 0%, if you become too indebted banks may stop giving out 0% interest credit cards.

Always Protect Credit Rating.

If you have a good credit rating, these tips become much easier to do. If you develop a bad credit rating, you will find it more difficult and expensive to take out financial products. This is especially true in the current climate. Protecting your credit rating is so important it should be taught in schools. But alas, it isn’t. However, you can teach yourself – most of it boils down to common sense. See Tips for improving credit rating

Complain

Banks know the importance of Public Relations. They don’t like unhappy customers. If you have receive a late payment penalty, or charged for going £1 overdrawn, don’t just feel miserable and inwardly curse the bank. Write a polite letter explaining why the penalty was unfair / not deserved / an accident due to lost post e.t.c. You may be surprised that banks often respond to complaints in a favourable way. If they don’t respond suggest the local newspaper may be interested in the story of an 70 year old lady charged £60 for going £0.05 overdrawn. Remember there are many things that you can complain about, such as failure to explain alternatives or failure to explain all terms and conditions. For example, many British customers gained a refund from taking out personal loan insurance. Banks were found guilty of misselling, many millions of pounds still remains unclaimed.

Complaining to Your Bank 

Don’t Stay With Existing Products For Ever.

This is the biggest single mistake people make. Financial companies view these loyal consumers as the ‘cash cows’ – basically they are easy pickings. Even if they get charged high interest rates, the banks know they will not lose these customers because the customers are either too lazy to switch accounts or have a mistaken feeling of loyalty to the company. It is the same for insurance, savings accounts and mortgages. Sometimes it is just a matter of asking the bank for a better deal or renegotiating your insurance deal. Some customers are amazed that if they ask for a new quote, it maybe their existing company who offer
the cheapest deal.

• Every year take the time to renew your big bills and outgoings; true it takes time but the hourly savings make it very worthwhile.

Buying on Credit Cards but always Paying off Balance

Some people may have an aversion to credit cards because they feel it could lead to overconsumption. However, there is no reason why you need to have this attitude. Credit cards can work for you, as long as you learn how to use them properly. If you purchase on a credit card you get an extra 6 weeks before you have to pay the credit card companies this will help your short term cash flow. If you purchase on a credit card, the company will also give you cash back. As long as you pay your balance off in full, a credit card will cost you nothing and gain benefits of more time to pay.

• Don’t Be afraid of plastic, the solution is not to ignore credit cards, but learn how to use them effectively. Never borrow at credit card rates; and always be conscious that spending on plastic will reduce your bank account just like spending in cash.

Be Wary of the Products on Offer

Banks pay commissions to their workers to sell certain products. The products they try to promote will be those which offer a good profit deal for the bank. Examples include insurance schemes for loans; often very hard to complain and offers a great rate of return. Alternatively it may be a bank / building society who tries to push a savings scheme. The savings scheme may be good, but, if you have any debts, it is these that should be paid off first. The bank may fail to advise you the importance of paying off expensive debts first.

Phone Contracts.

If you take out a landline or mobile phone contract don’t forget it may be significantly cheaper to phone via an intermediary company. All you need to do is type in their pin number and then you can benefit from much cheaper tariffs and gain the other benefits of your phone deal.

Avoiding The Consumerist Society

There is a great, if subtle pressure to get caught up in our consumerist society and buy more than we need. It might be the same with financial products; some things we just don’t need. If we avoid overspending, we will not accumulate debts. If we maintain a certain simplicity we can avoid needing expensive loans and debt relief programs. Often the solution is in the prevention rather than the cure. Avoiding overspending

Summary of Ways to Beat the Financial System

• Only buy want you need, not what you desire and certainly not what someone pushes you towards.
• Being cynical pays. If it looks very good it may not be all it seems.
• Shop around – it can be time well spent.
• If in doubt do not commit immediately but go away and think about the pros and cons.
]]> http://www.mortgageguideuk.co.uk/blog/advice/ways-to-beat-the-financial-system/feed/ 0 http://www.mortgageguideuk.co.uk/blog/advice/what-is-paye-paying-as-youre-earning/ http://www.mortgageguideuk.co.uk/blog/advice/what-is-paye-paying-as-youre-earning/#comments Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:43:06 +0000 hortoris http://www.mortgageguideuk.co.uk/blog/?p=1192 The UK Pay As You Earn system is a method of paying income tax and national insurance contributions. It is referred to as PAYE and is used for employees and pensioners so they regularly pay an amount of tax related to their weekly or monthly pay.

Your employer must deduct tax and national insurance contributions from your wages or occupational pension before paying you your wages or pension. This is then paid over to HM Revenue and Customs HRMC on your behalf so you do not end up being asked to pay your tax twice. It is a system that spreads out your tax bill equally over the period of your earnings. No earnings no tax.

What is Included Under PAYE

• Wages includes sick pay, maternity or paternity pay and adoption pay.
• You pay tax over the whole year, each time you are paid, rather than paying tax in one lump sum.
• The PAYE system can also be used to collect tax due on other sources of income such as untaxed interest or rent using a coding system see below
• Your employer is responsible for sending the tax on to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
• Each pay day you will get a pay slip setting out your pay, tax and national insurance contributions and any other deductions from your pay.
• If you pay tax under PAYE on an occupational pension, the tax due on your State Retirement Pension is collected through PAYE by deducting tax from your occupational pension.
• If you get a pension, you may not get a payslip for every payment.

At the end of the tax year, you will get a form P60 which sets out the total amounts paid to you and deducted from you for the previous tax year. If you have more than one employment or pension you will get a P60 from each. This data of income and tax paid is required for your self assessment tax returns.

Tax Codes for PAYE

• HMRC uses a tax code to tell your employer or pension provider how much tax to deduct from your wages or pension.
• The tax code number in the key to how much PAYE is deducted. It represents the total of your tax allowances, less any adjustments to cover other income or benefits.
• If HMRC does not have enough information to issue a full tax code, your employer or pension provider will be told to use an emergency tax code until more information is received. This usually takes more tax than is necessary so it is in your interest to get the information to HRMC so that your coding notice is accurate.
• L is the normal alpha prefix on your code. BR is used if you have not been given any allowances and tax will be deducted at the basic rate. This code may be used where you have more than one job but always check your coding notice.

Notice of Coding for PAYE

• A notice of coding shows your tax code if you are going to pay through the PAYE system.
• The notice is usually sent out in January or February for the tax year beginning on the following 6 April to you and your employer.
• The code shown in the notice is given for that tax year only.
• The notes that come with the notice of coding explain how the code is worked out.
• Not everyone gets a notice of coding each year. It depends on what allowances and reliefs you are claiming and whether these tend to change from year to year. If the only changes are the increase of allowances in the Budget or any change in the tax rates, your employer or pension provider will include these automatically in your wages or pension and you won’t get a notice of coding.
• If you think your coding notice is wrong or if your circumstances change during the tax year you can ask for the code to be changed by your HRMC inspector.
]]> http://www.mortgageguideuk.co.uk/blog/advice/what-is-paye-paying-as-youre-earning/feed/ 0 http://www.mortgageguideuk.co.uk/blog/advice/finance-on-separation-or-divorce/ http://www.mortgageguideuk.co.uk/blog/advice/finance-on-separation-or-divorce/#comments Mon, 01 Aug 2011 05:48:49 +0000 hortoris http://www.mortgageguideuk.co.uk/blog/?p=948 Separation or divorce is an emotional time and often the last thing you want to confront are financial issues. Unfortunately it is not an option to leave the matters to sort themselves out. This is even more important when there are children involved.

Issues with a Financial Bearing

• Where would you and any children live?
• Anticipate having a lower standard of living?
• What possessions could you keep or take?
• What happens to debts, savings, pensions, regular bills, etc.
• Get your own lawyer if you wish. Agree how the costs of separation or getting a divorce be paid for?
• What are the tax implications if any of transferring property, savings and investments between you.
• Are there any special needs, for example if you, your partner or a child has a disability or degenerative health condition.

What Can You Do

• You can agree how you divide belongings, savings, investments, income and other assets between you in whatever way you like.
• From a legal point of view, you and your partner generally have no right to claim a share of each other’s possessions, savings, investments and other assets. You will keep what you own and they will keep what they own.
• The starting point from a legal point of view is that all joint bank accounts, investments and other policies in joint names are owned by you and your partner equally.
• However, if you can show that you contributed more towards an account than your partner did, or had a special agreement not to split them equally you may be able to argue that you own more of it
• When dividing the things you own, think about what your needs are now and in the future – remember there will now be two households rather than one – and make sure you take into account:


Key Reminders

If you do reach a private agreement, make sure you record all the terms in writing, each sign and date it and keep a copy in a safe place. Remember that these agreements could be challenged later in court.

Courts have a wide range of options in deciding how to deal with what was the family home. Decisions about the home will be made in the context of the whole financial settlement.
See Money Advice if your property is owned.

If you and your advisers can’t agree you may have to ask a judge to make a decision for you. If you go to court the outcome will depend on your legal entitlement. That entitlement may vary whether you’re living together, married or in a civil partnership.

Links for more advice

Read Mortgages on Separation or Divorce

For information about bank accounts, loans, insurance and other financial products:

Bank accounts
yourmoney.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/bank_accounts/bank_accounts.html

Loans and borrowing
yourmoney.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/products/loans/loans.html

Moneymadeclear
yourmoney.moneyadviceservice.org.uk

The Pension Service
www.direct.gov.uk/en/Pensionsandretirementplanning/StatePension/StatePensionforecast
Tel: 0845 300 0168

]]> http://www.mortgageguideuk.co.uk/blog/advice/finance-on-separation-or-divorce/feed/ 0 http://www.mortgageguideuk.co.uk/blog/advice/abbreviations-and-acronyms-for-financial-beginners/ http://www.mortgageguideuk.co.uk/blog/advice/abbreviations-and-acronyms-for-financial-beginners/#comments Wed, 27 Jul 2011 08:26:57 +0000 hortoris http://www.mortgageguideuk.co.uk/blog/?p=932 There are more shorthand methods and words used in the world of finance than you can shake a stick at. Below are some of the key abbreviations or Acronyms that the average person will come across from time to time.

Do not let the language put you off, if in doubt ask for an explanation or more information.

Simple Abbreviations

SO -  Standing Order is a way of paying money from your bank account on a regular basis. It can be used for annual subscriptions, monthly mortgage payments or similar payments.

DD -  Direct debit is a payment from your bank account where the creditor asks your bank for the money. It is similar to SO but is used for variable or uncertain amounts.

ATM -  Automated Telling machine or cash machine, Hole in the Wall for drawing cash from your bank account.

HMRC - Her Majesties Revenue and Customs are the assessors and collectors of taxes and duties including income tax and vat. (Value Added Tax)

PAYE – Pay as You Earn is the method for employees to pay income tax by installment. Employers deduct PAYE from your wages or salary everytime they pay you and send the tax off to the HRMC monthly.

NI – National Insurance is a payment to HMRC from most people earning money. It is intended to contribute to your state pension and originally the national health. Employers also pay part of the NI.

CGT – Capital gains tax is only due on larger profits from sale of assets like shares or property other than your own house.

AER - Annual equivalent rate is the amount, in percentage terms, of interest you receive on your savings.

APR -  Annual Percentage Rate is the total amount in percentage terms you pay back on a loan including any extra costs. Always check the rate when comparing borrowings.

NS&I -  National Savings and Investments are government backed saving schemes.

SIPP – Self invested pension plan is a personal pension saving product where you choose the type and exact investment you wish to make.

CPI – Consumer price index is a measure of inflation based on the movement of an average range of expenditures.

RPI – Retail price index is similar to CPI based on the price movement of a basket of purchases from a retail view point.

 

Others Business Orientated Acronyms

BIMBO – Buy-In Management Buyout
CEO – Chief Executive Officer
CAGR – Compound Annual Growth Rate
EBITDA – Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization
LTD – Limited Company or Plc – Public Limited Company
FTSE – Stock market index derived from Financial Times (F-T) and London Stock Exchange
IPO- Initial Public Offering of shares to be subscribed or bought.
LIBOR- London Interbank Offer rate or interest percentage charged by the Bank of England
PER – Price-Earnings Ratio or PEG price earnings growth for evaluating share prices.
UIT- Unit investment trust
B2B – Business to business or B2C Business to Consumer methods of classifying your market.

]]> http://www.mortgageguideuk.co.uk/blog/advice/abbreviations-and-acronyms-for-financial-beginners/feed/ 1 http://www.mortgageguideuk.co.uk/blog/advice/poorer-than-your-parents/ http://www.mortgageguideuk.co.uk/blog/advice/poorer-than-your-parents/#comments Wed, 20 Jul 2011 10:44:00 +0000 hortoris http://www.mortgageguideuk.co.uk/blog/?p=911 Alvin Hall the financial guru is starting a radio series aimed at the financial issues faced by the children of the ‘Baby Boomers’.

Alvin has a homespun philosophy that strikes home and it will be interesting to see what reaction he gets from his target audience and their parents.
In one sense this section of society can be seen as an inheritance generation but the scale of such inheritance will depend on the extent of  longer lives and future care costs.

Economics in the West are no longer booming and it is to be hoped the bust will not be too long lived. The days of the best economic growth since the  second world war are behind us. Space exploration, natural asset consumption and IT development fuelled a strong and growing economic environment. The next generation need more than a retrenchment on oil and mineral extraction, cuts in space exploration and job elimination as a result of IT developments.

All at Once or Incremental Satisfaction

• The perception is that baby boomers started with a minimalist housing aspiration and were willing to work up the housing ladder. Now children expect to have a dream home with most mod-cons already in place.
• Classified adverts and auctions were how my parents acquired most of there furniture. I and my kids have generally bought new for instant gratification.
• Tertiary education was free but heavily rationed to those with academic qualifications. Then came an explosion in ‘university’ places and a dilution in the academic base line for entrants.  University should be earned by study not bought like a 3 year gap project.
• Apprenticeships, technical colleges and on the job training brought low initial earnings for parents.
  Minimum wage, aversion to manual or service work and a scarsity of ‘in at the top’ jobs has disaffected many joining the workforce for the first time.
• The entitlement culture has grown progressively over the last 2-3 generations and expectations have now out stripped our ability as a country to satisfy the demand.

Why Be Poorer Than Your Parents

• Debt is costly! Finance companies not only contributed to the recession but are very adept and taking money from the young, old and commercially naive.
• Do not expect to eat the elephant in one bite. Start small and add to your assets all the time.
• Become more of a wheeler and dealer. School based learning is a test bed for entrepreneurs.
• Make and improvise to satisfy your needs. You can be creative, productive and save money.
• Environmentally friendly is a phrase used on a global or national scale. It can be applied to your personal environment, so don’t waste resources, reuse and repurpose your assets and make a virtue out of being frugal.
• Work hard but have fun. It is the era of portfolio careers and that is one way to create several sources of income. Single employer loyalty may have worked for parents but needs to be revisited in the new economy.

Comment

• Social policy and taxation  needs to change or the ‘working young’ will pay for the ‘affluent old’.
• Pensions and health care for the aging are key issues that mishandled will lead to major in balance in the work life balance of the next generation.
• ‘Go for it’; spirit,  ingenuity, risk taking, focus and effort will determine yours and many others future.
]]> http://www.mortgageguideuk.co.uk/blog/advice/poorer-than-your-parents/feed/ 0 http://www.mortgageguideuk.co.uk/blog/advice/insurance-over-50-and-later-in-life/ http://www.mortgageguideuk.co.uk/blog/advice/insurance-over-50-and-later-in-life/#comments Thu, 16 Jun 2011 07:54:34 +0000 hortoris http://www.mortgageguideuk.co.uk/blog/?p=854  

Who decreed that the over 50′s warranted special insurance?
It’s marketing Jim but not as we know it (apologies to Star Trek)

From all the adverts you would think Insurance over the age of 50 was going to be a doddle. As ever, there are many risks to consider and a multitude of ways of covering or insuring that risk.

Insurance Products for Later in Life

• Long Term Care is potentially very expensive. Residential homes may cost less than nursing homes but even regular home visits can eat into income and capital reserves without insurance.
• Medical care for joint replacements, heart problems or other issues needing hospitalisation can disrupt retired life. With waiting times for some operations far too long it is worth considering private health care insurance.
• Travel and holiday insurance becomes more expensive with age and pre-existing conditions.
• Home Insurance for buildings and contents is offered by some specialist brokers for the over 50′s. The premiums may be quite low as the risk profile is lower. (Lower claims from older folk who may be at home more often).
• Funeral Plans take care of funeral costs and arrangements in advance. They are easy to understand and arrange and by pre-paying you beat inflation by freezing funeral costs at today’s prices. The Co-op and Age Concern run these plans.
• Over 50′s Plans are a life assurance product that pay out a lump sum on your death. Unlike pre-paid plans, your family will have to arrange your funeral.
• Saving, Endowments and Inheritance Tax Planning schemes are often targeted at the over 50′s.

Guaranteed Over 50′s Plans.

• Intended to be low cost saving substitutes, ‘only 20p a day’ runs one advert.
• Premiums should be fixed as is the guaranteed payout.
• May be suitable to pay for a funeral but more flexible than a funeral prepayment.
• Sold aggressively using aging celebrities like Michael Parkinson.
• Issues to be Considered
  • Many offer free gifts or vouchers as an incentive. You pay for this in the premiums.
  • If you die in year 1 or 2 of your plan payout may be nil or restricted.
  • If you cancel your plan or stop paying your premiums you won’t get back any premiums you’ve paid and your cover will end. Otherwise you pay until you die.
  • Premiums paid might be more than the cash sum paid when you die .
  • Your amount of cover is fixed when your plan starts and doesn’t change. It won’t keep up with inflation.
  • Payment normally goes to your estate. Inheritance tax could be payable if your total estate is worth over £325,000.

Whole Life Policies for IHT

• Special policies to cover Inheritance tax (IHT) can be complex affairs.
• Larger sums than the basic over 50′s plans are generally covered.
• Policies should have a surrender value.
• Policies are generally reviewable so you can increase the cover for a larger premium
• The insurer can seek to increase the premium or cut the benefits because the investment is under performing against wildly optimistic growth forecasts.
• The cost of the life insurance element of the plan can start eating into the savings element where the insurance premium is increased by age and was not fixed at the outset.

Comments From Finance Blog

• Read and understand the small print. Get your understanding confirmed in writing.
• If you doubt the product will deliver what you want do not buy it.
• Only buy special over 50′s deals if you need the product!
• Only buy over 50′s products if they offer the best overall deal on the market
]]> http://www.mortgageguideuk.co.uk/blog/advice/insurance-over-50-and-later-in-life/feed/ 0 http://www.mortgageguideuk.co.uk/blog/advice/10-tips-saving-environment/ http://www.mortgageguideuk.co.uk/blog/advice/10-tips-saving-environment/#comments Thu, 20 Mar 2008 17:10:26 +0000 Tejvan R Pettinger http://www.mortgageguideuk.co.uk/blog/advice/10-tips-saving-environment/ It is often the case that a frugal lifestyle can make a big difference to also helping the environment.

These are some tips which will help you save money and the environment

1. Moderate Heaters and Air Conditioners.

To heat the house an extra 2 degrees becomes relatively more expensive and contributes to increased carbon emissions. Try getting used to having the thermostat a little lower and the air con a little higher. Just by wearing an extra jumper you can make a big difference to your bills and the environment

2. Maximise Insulation

You can save heating bills by maximising the insulation for your house. This can involve investing in upgrades such as loft insulation, double glazing and cavity wall insulation. Check to see whether the government or agencies may be able to subsidise this. My local council (Oxford) provided cavity wall insulation for free!. The above will pay off in the long run. But, you can also make immediate savings by cutting out drafts, closing windows and using thick insulated curtains.

3. Only Boil What You Need.

To Make a cup of tea, my lodger used to boil a full kettle, enough for 12 cups! Not only does this take longer, but it uses energy unnecessarily. Eventually, I got round to asking him to only boil minimum and it will make a difference to saving money and energy. Similarly when boiling vegetables don’t have the pan boiling for 30mins, there’s nothing worse than overcooked brussel sprouts!

4. Cycle and Walk.

Nearly 50% of all car journeys are less than 3 miles. All of these journeys could be completed by walking or cycling. Both of these types of transport are much cheaper than other filling up with petrol (gas). This is especially important with the price of oil being so high. As an added benefit it will also help you get fit!

5. Turn it Off.

Everyone know we should turn lights off when not in the room, but less well known is the cost of leaving electrical appliances on standby. If you leave your TV permanently on standby you will unnecessarily use electricity and energy.

6. Re Use Things

In the past, the motto was ‘make do and mend’. Today’s attitude is ‘throw it away and buy a new one’. We don’t have to goto either extremes, but, before you start buying new items, ask whether you really need it or you could make do with something smaller.

7. Buy a Smaller Engine Car.

Is there any benefit in buying a 3 litre car which could theoretically do 170mph? If you want to make a big difference to your petrol bills, insurance and road tax, by a smaller engine car and help reduce pollution levels. This is one decision that can make a big difference. (my 1.4 litre Ford Focus, is still pretty nifty and doesn’t cost £60 to fill up a tank, yet…)

8. Reduce Your washing temperature.

If you reduce the temperature on your washing machine to 40degrees most washes will have the same results but use less power and energy. Also if you have the facilities for drying avoid using a tumble dryer, but use natural heat from the sun.

9. Take a Short Shower.

A shower can save a lot of money compared to a bath. Unless, like my lodger, your shower lasts for 30 minutes on the hottest possible temperature

10. Energy Saving Light Bulbs.

They are now becoming compulsory in the UK, but there may also be other electrical appliances where buying a lower power variety can save both money and energy.

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