The beginning of October brought us the Conservative Party conference and a plethora of promises and fiery speeches. Meanwhile world stock markets were tumbling on fears of a global sell-off and the US/Europe tariff war joining the US/China dispute. By the middle of the month President Trump declared himself ‘optimistic’ about trade talks with China. …
If you’ve got a son or daughter at college or university, you could have some stark financial lessons ahead. Getting the grades may have dominated the household up to now but budgeting for their life as a student can require just as much focus. Tuition fees and student loans are usually top of the agenda. …
Introduction August is traditionally known as the ‘silly season’. The great and the good are on holiday. Nothing is happening: there are no world events. So the newspapers have to resort to any number of peripheral and not-at-all-serious subjects to fill their columns. Not this year. Most of the headlines in the UK concerned Brexit. …
You’ve worked hard to accrue your wealth, so naturally you’ll want to see your finances flourish and develop. That raises the question: how best should you grow your finances? Many people are drawn to banks to save their money, opting for the chance to get some interest and their money back. But in a time …
Gold hit a six-year high as nervous investors looked for alternatives to stock markets. The IMF cut global growth forecasts amid continuing trade tensions. In any normal month these would have been perfectly normal introduction, but July was not a normal month. With Boris Johnson becoming UK Prime Minister and sweeping into 10 Downing Street …
Back in 2017, the UK government published their Clean Growth Strategy, a report that included plans to work with lenders in order to create “green mortgage products,” that are able to “take account of the lower lending risk associated with more efficient properties and the reduced outgoings for customers living in more efficient homes.” More …
How is your financial wellbeing? Increasingly, people are talking about financial wellbeing. But what does it actually mean? Financial wellbeing is about having a sense of confidence and security around money. It’s about having enough money to meet everyday needs and being in control of your finances; having the financial freedom to make choices that …
Introduction We have commented before on the difficulty of ‘hitting a moving target.’ Sometimes in writing this commentary you run the risk of what you write being overtaken by events, and that has never been truer than this month. In the short time between us publishing notes and you reading them it is possible that …
Introduction February was another month when all the important news seems to happen in the last week of the month. President Trump delivered the annual State of the Union address on February 6th and announced a second meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un. The two duly met up in North Korea three weeks later, only …
In January, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released their latest Family Spending Survey, revealing the intimate details of British spending habits. In its 61st year, the report provides an insight into family spending habits, as well as showing how they differ between areas of the country. The average British household spent £572.60 per week …
