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Milestones: Financial planning for buying a house

May 17, 2018

Buying a house is one of the biggest financial commitments you will make in your lifetime. With property prices soaring, getting on the property ladder can feel like an impossible task for many. Whilst we can barely scratch the surface of all the things you need to consider in the space of one article, we’ve…

Milestones: saving for higher education

April 25, 2018

Julie Hunt

Milestones, Personal finance

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Over the coming months, we’ll be sharing a special series of Milestones articles with you. These cover financial planning for different life stages. Here’s the first article, covering higher education. If you have a child, or children, who may want to go on to study beyond school, things could get expensive. Very expensive. University tuition…

Eddie Teddie’s Teamwork

April 23, 2018

Julie Hunt

Eddie Teddie

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Hello friends, it’s Eddie Teddie! Shall I tell you what I discovered this month? You can get so much more done when you work as a team! Here’s my story… As a busy bear that likes to spend time outside, I’ve had my eye on a cool new skateboard. I think it’ll be such great…

Brexit and foreign investment: it’s not all doom and gloom

April 18, 2018

Julie Hunt

Investment

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There have been a lot of headlines about how the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, particularly the current lack of international trade deals, will have a negative impact on investment into the UK. But look a bit closer and there are some good news stories too. China, for example, is certainly taking advantage of the opportunity. What…

11 Ways to Reduce Your Capital Gains Tax Bill

March 28, 2018

Julie Hunt

Investment

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Let’s face it, we’d all be happy to pay less tax. And with a bit of careful planning and a great financial adviser on the case, you can limit your tax liabilities. Capital gains tax (CGT) is a prime example. CGT is a tax that may be charged on the profit (or gain) made when…

Eddie’s Easter Competition

March 15, 2018

Julie Hunt

Eddie Teddie

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Hello friends, it’s Eddie Teddie! Spring is here! Although with all that snow earlier in the month, it certainly didn’t feel like it. It was great fun playing in the snow, but now I’m ready for some better weather so I can get out and about on my bike again. Easter is coming. I do…

Eddie gets a bank account

February 26, 2018

Julie Hunt

Eddie Teddie

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Hello friends, it’s Eddie Teddie! One of the best things about being a bear is that I’m quite small. That means I get taken on lots of holidays because I don’t take up much space. I’m very lucky because I get to travel with lots of different friends who take me to see the world.…

Pensions: why are women saving less than men?

February 14, 2018

Julie Hunt

Pensions

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Let’s start with some statistics… Almost a quarter of women (21%) are saving nothing towards retirement, compared with 9% of men* Women between the age of 60-65 have on average less than half the pension pots of men of the same age – £64k for women compared to £125k for men** Only 3.5 million women…

Investing in cryptocurrency

February 8, 2018

Julie Hunt

Investment

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There’s not a day goes by at the moment without so-called cryptocurrency hitting the headlines. But what’s it all about? And with tales of people making stacks of money investing in them, should you jump on board? What is cryptocurrency? Cryptocurrency is a digital money system. Unlike regular money, it has no physical presence. Cryptocurrency…

Accessing cash in later life

January 22, 2018

Julie Hunt

Pensions, Personal finance

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It’s a fairly common scenario. Mum and dad really want to help their child get on the housing ladder. After all, it’s really tough these days to be able to save enough for a deposit on that first home. Without the bank of mum and dad, it’s going to take them years. And renting is…