At first glance, recent figures from the housing markets appear wholly positive. During July, Nationwide reported a 1.7% leap in prices. However, the country’s largest building society warned of a “false dawn” when they announced these figures. They highlighted that much of the rise can be attributed to pent up demand and people deciding they …
The feeling of doing something that might help to make the world a better place is profoundly satisfying. And in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, a disaster which has heightened existing inequalities and accelerated poverty across the world, the time is right for all of us to find ways we can live more ethically. …
The effects of the so-called ‘Stamp Duty Holiday’ have dominated the recent property news. According to Rightmove, recent weeks have seen the highest number of agreed house sales in a single month since it started tracking them a decade ago. However, there has been some slightly less positive news that will affect many first-time buyers …
Introduction August used to be known as the ‘silly season’ – a phrase coined by the Times in 1861 to describe the lack of news in August and early September when parliament was in recess. Well, there was plenty of news in August 2020. With coronavirus and its effects, the continuing squabbles over Brexit, the …
Company directors and owners of SMEs make plans and do forecasts all the time. Cash flow forecasts, SWOT analyses, plans for renewals and refurbishment; there’s hardly a day when they’re not eyeball to eyeball with a spreadsheet. So why do so many of them fail to plan their own retirements properly? In our experience company …
According to HMRC, record numbers of people have been taking money out of their pensions since the beginning of the year. 348,000 people made a withdrawal between January and March, a 23% increase from 284,000 in the same quarter in 2019. The value of the payments was £2.46bn, the highest amount recorded for that period …
Cash has always been king in running a business, especially when SMEs typically only have a 27 day cash buffer, according to JP Morgan. So as businesses struggle to cope with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, we look at four key areas in maintaining a positive cash flow. Measure your position Thinking about the …
Financial independence can seem like the holy grail. We may be striving towards it but feel bombarded by lots of conflicting messages on how best to attain it. These five points give an interesting perspective: Income is not the same thing as wealth Having a high salary can help you accumulate wealth but that’s no …
It’s a tough environment for first time buyers. Rising house prices and stagnant wage growth have pushed up the average age of buying a first property to 33. What’s more, first time buyers need to borrow 18 times more than those in the 1970s. Given this context, it’s unsurprising that more and more parents and …
Cash has always been king in running a business, especially when SMEs typically only have a 27 day cash buffer, according to JP Morgan. So as businesses struggle to cope with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, we look at four key areas in maintaining a positive cash flow. Measure your position Thinking about the …
