Money Matters advice from the experts
Top tips for the tax year
Published 9 January 2009
Christmas is already a memory but no sooner are the festivities out of the way than we are returned to the financial realities of life.
First, there is the credit card bill for all those expensive presents and then, at the end of January, many of us will have to pay our tax bills.
Keep ahead as the times get tougher
Published 9 January 2009
New Year resolutions come and go, in particular the inclination to lose weight and improve general fitness levels.
Bring in the new, with resolution
Published 2 January 2009
With the New Year upon us, it’s the time many people put their New Year’s resolutions in place.
After a year like that, it would pay to take stock
Published 2 January 2009
As 2008 draws to an end, what can we look forward to in 2009? Who would have predicted the headlines we have seen this year and who would have guessed the casualties?
The financial nightmare that was 2008
Published 23 December 2008
I am convinced that I am going to wake up and find out that 2008 was a dream The UK Government now owns a collection of high street banks; within a few weeks of inflation hitting a 16-year high the country is facing a serious risk of deflation; and the Bank of England has slashed interest rates by three per cent in as many months.
Behind every Christmas tree there lurks a tax collector
Published 23 December 2008
I am sure that many of you will be only too well aware that any outstanding tax returns have to be submitted over the internet by January 31. That is also the date by which all of last year’s tax has to be paid.
Sorry to mention divorce just now...
Published 19 December 2008
Today’s subject may not seem to be the most appropriate for the festive season, however, the first full working week in January is historically the most common time for warring spouses to start divorce proceedings.
Have peace of mind shopping online
Published 17 December 2008
As Christmas approaches, perhaps you are thinking about all the things you still need to do with less than two weeks to go.
No partridge in a pear tree ...but plenty of top tax tips
Published 17 December 2008
Well, it’s not quite 12 days till Christmas, but almost, and the chorus of Christmas songs is filling the radio waves and TV ads in abundance. The Twelve Days of Christmas song springs to mind as I highlight ‘Twelve Tax Saving Tips’…
Helping offspring is taken on trust
Published 5 December 2008
We may not quite have been plunged back into the era of Charles Dickens but we are all entering uncertain times.
First-time buyers, start saving now: Britain’s housing market needs you
Published 5 December 2008
Over the last year, the effects of the credit crunch and the downturn in the housing market have resulted in much tighter lending conditions and the disappearance of the 100 per cent mortgage.
Santa’s little helper – the crunch
Published 21 November 2008
The season of giving will soon be upon us; in fact many shops have already filled their shelves with Christmas stock, so even if you are not yet feeling the Christmas spirit you would be hard pushed to avoid it entirely.
Clouds and silver linings
Published 21 November 2008
Spend, spend, spend has been the message coming out of the Treasury and the Bank of England over the last few weeks.
Grab yourself a hassle-free new deal
Published 14 November 2008
Over the last 10 years or so, house prices have risen rapidly and mortgages have been relatively easy to get. All good things, as they say…
There’s relief for investments in these most taxing of times
Published 14 November 2008
Up until last April the normal rate of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) was 40 per cent. Now it is true that, for some, tax reliefs could lower the effective rate to as low as 10 per cent, but the majority paid tax at 40 per cent.
Tips for a troubled market
Published 7 November 2008
Competitive pricing is key to boosting the housing market. In its October survey of house prices, property website Rightmove reported that unsold properties on estate agents’ registers remain at historically high levels and that average asking prices had fallen by seven per cent in the north of England over the past year compared to 4.9 per cent nationally.
Don’t expect pre-Budget fireworks
Published 7 November 2008
The traditional British firework night is a feature of this time of year. We are taught to remember, remember the fifth of November – but how many of us do remember the origins of the tradition?
Is your life insurance up to the job?
Published 31 October 2008
It is so easy to put your head in the sand and try and not think about life’s downs such as critical illness or death but it is important that you do actually plan to ensure that your finances are secure if the worst should happen.
Spread the financial risk – don’t put all your eggs in one basket
Published 31 October 2008
There are many questions that people ask about investments portfolios such as:
Beating the credit crunch
Published 28 October 2008
If the recent injection of capital into the banking system becomes the event which is seen to mark the end of the credit crunch, October’s increase in unemployment figures and fall in econmic output signals the beginning of the recession.
