You and your money

1.      Income & expenditure

Tracking how much money you bring in and how much you spend can give you an accurate picture of where you could cut back, and conversely where you can spend more.

2.      Debt

Knowing how much debt you have, whether it's your mortgage, credit cards, or loans can help you make informed decisions about your spending, budgeting, and saving.

3.      Credit score

Knowing your credit score is an important part of monitoring your financial health. You should know what your credit score is, but a...

We all hope that our estates will be dealt with in an orderly, considerate manner after we pass away, but the number of Will disputes is increasing.

Up to 10,000 people in England and Wales dispute wills every year according to a report by The Guardian, and a growing proportion of these are being taken to court – 195 in 2022 compared to 145 in 2017. Thousands of families have been embroiled in challenges to wills that are often “ruinously expensive”, time-consuming, and emotionally draining.

Disputes can be taxing for our loved ones, but t...

You need to be wealthy

You can invest with less than you may think. Making small, regular investments can provide more benefits than investing in a lump sum. Even with rising interest rates, leaving money sitting in a bank account can be less profitable than investing it in the market.

It’s too much of a risk

With any type of investment, it’s going to be a risk. However, if you understand the risks involved and how these can change, you’ll be able to make an educated decision as to whether it’s worthwhile.

You need to know the best time ...

Homeowners who sold their properties in 2023 made an average profit of £74,000 according to data from property website Zoopla. But you don’t have to sell your house to benefit from rising property prices – they could help you get a better interest rate on your mortgage.

9 in 10 homes sold for more than their purchase price

Concerns that the Bank of England’s decision to increase its base interest rate might cause property prices to stagnate or fall appear to be unfounded as homeowners continue to benefit from long-term growth.

The average...

Affordability challenges prompted a fifth of first-time buyers to opt for a mortgage term of 35 years or more in Q4 of 2023 according to a report from UK Finance, twice as many as the year before.

A longer mortgage term might seem attractive at first glance, but there’s a hidden catch. Let’s look into it.

A longer mortgage term could reduce monthly repayments, but...

This is the main draw of a longer mortgage term for first-time buyers. Borrowing a large sum of money and opting to spend more time paying it back means your monthly repaymen...

Welcome to a landmark episode of Business Growth Talks, hosted by podcaster, Mark Haywood.  This special episode commemorates the 500th instalment of the podcast, recorded live at Riverside Studios in London.  Rebecca Harbrow owner of Blue Heron Financial Services was invited to participate in the podcast to share her strategies for her success.

As a distinguished Chartered Financial Planner, Rebecca shared her innovative approach to financial advising, which includes a comprehensive range of services such as inheritance tax, pensions, and ...

Lisa is a university lecturer and a keen kayaker in her early 50s. She’s also a single mum to two teenage daughters – Lila and Eliza. Lila is in the final year of her A-levels and Eliza is in the first year of her GCSEs. Both daughters are very academic – Lila wants to be a doctor and Eliza a vet.

 With the cost-of-living crisis showing no signs of lessening its grip, despite earning over £50,000 a year, Lisa is finding she has less and less disposable income at the end of the month. With the cost of her daughters’ continuing education and ...

How important is your credit history for mortgage lenders?

The cost-of-living crisis and inflationary pressures has put pressure on people’s finances and made it harder for people to get on the housing ladder due to affordability constraints and more people having a less than perfect credit history.

How important is your credit history for mortgage lenders?

Looking into your credit history is one of the ways in which a mortgage lender will gain information on how reliable you have been at paying back debts and loans in the past. A mortg...

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