Couples who live together but aren’t married sometimes refer to their boyfriend or girlfriend as their common law partner. But what does that actually mean in legal terms? Well, to be blunt, not a lot, as you’re not related to your partner either by blood or by marriage. So if you die suddenly, they won’t …
You don’t need us to tell you that investors have had a lot to deal with in the last few years. From a once-in-a-century pandemic to the Ukraine war, along with political upheaval in the US and the UK and soaring inflation across the globe, it’s been a tough period, to say the least. In …
Financial knowledge and awareness can affect countless aspects of our lives, from being able to budget for our weekly food shop and pay bills, to meeting our mortgage payments and having enough money to live off during retirement. So why are so few people receiving proper guidance and education on how to manage their finances? …
If your glass is by nature half-empty, you didn’t need to look far for confirmatory information last month. Energy bills were going up – and are set to rise even further in October. Inflation was up again – with grocery inflation hitting its highest level for 13 years, And, of course, the National Insurance rises …
If you have assets such as land, property, cars, money and investments, you’ll want to be sure they go to your chosen beneficiaries in the future. That way you can be sure that your loved ones have financial stability in the future and that you’ve left them a meaningful legacy. But hang on, doesn’t that …
Putting money aside for the future is one of the most fundamental principles of good financial planning. But with inflation at a 30-year high, and set to rise even further over the coming months, countless families and households are struggling to pay the bills and put food on the table. As a result, the idea …
If you’re creating a financial plan, with a view to achieving certain ambitions in life, you need to include details. For instance, if you want to travel more in later life, you can’t simply say you’ll put money aside for holidays. Or if you want to retire early, simply putting money into a pension isn’t …
The UK seems to be moving inexorably towards becoming a subscription economy. It is now estimated that 65-70% of UK households are signed up to one or more subscription services, with figures from Barclaycard suggesting that the subscription economy is worth £323m a year. Whether it’s Netflix or Spotify, coffee, razor blades or fresh fruit …
It is now a well-documented fact that the pandemic was good for billionaires. According to Oxfam’s annual report on global inequality – always released to coincide with the World Economic Forum in Davos – the pandemic saw a new billionaire created every day. The world’s ten richest men more than doubled their collective wealth between …
In the past, inheritance tax would have been regarded by many only as something for the super-wealthy to have to think about. But the amount the government has collected in inheritance tax has doubled in the last decade, as more and more people are becoming liable to pay the charge. According to Treasury documents seen …
