The Money Planner with Warren Shute: Recent Episodes
Warren Shute
My name is Warren Shute, and I am one of the UK’s leading Financial Planners and a bestselling author of The Money Plan. I realised there were many people who did not feel comfortable reaching out to a Financial Planner, either because they did not feel they earnt enough, had enough or were just put off by the term ‘Wealth Manager’.
So after I won Certified Financial Planner of the Year, I decided to turn my attention to help those individuals and families make better money decisions as I believe everyone deserves to have financial freedom, freedom from the worries of money, regardless of wealth or status. I set up http://warrenshute.com and wrote the bestselling book "The Money Plan" to help with just that.
Now you can listen to my weekly YouTube show "The Money Planner" as a podcast, where I discuss ideas and strategies for better money management so you can become financially free. Don't forget to visit my website http://warrenshute.com for free useful downloads and more useful information and resources.
In The Money Planner Podcast, each week I explore all things relevant and topical with finance in a relaxed and fun conversation style. I drill down into the necessary details covering such topics as couples finance, debt management, childrens pocket money, investing & pensions, and how to achieve your financial goals.
If would be great for you to leave me a nice review or let me know any topics you would like me to cover in future
The UK tax system is notoriously complex, and it's not just our ‘cash income’ such as salary and bonuses that we pay income tax – we also pay it on any benefits in kind (BIK) or ‘non-cash benefits’ that we receive in employment.
You should be aware that they can be deceptively unkind in tax terms, despite their name, watch this episode to discover more.
Your New Year’s Eve celebrations may seem a distant memory, and for many of us when we start a new year we commit to some resolutions; goals that we’d like to accomplish in the following twelve months.
However, if you're struggling to complete your financial goals for the year, how can you get back on track?
With interest rates rising and the economy being so uncertain, now more than ever you need to be financially secure. A great way to increase financial security is to repay your debt, but it’s not easy, is it.
I use a process that’s different to most others when it comes to getting debt-free, because it focuses on making you feel good as you go along your debt repayment journey.
It’s called the Snowball System because your little decisions will build up to make a big difference.
A lot of people are stressed out by a lot of things at the moment - Markets are down, prices are up, and interest rates are rising.
So should you be thinking about cashing out your investments, and leaving the stock markets? Watch this podcast to find out more.
For more financial planning help please visit www.warrenshute.com
In this podcast episode, discover the secret to a happy retirement and how to plan ahead to help make your retirement the best years of your life.
For more financial planning help please visit warrenshute.com/
In recent years we’ve seen a resurgence in property investing brought on partly by the stamp duty holiday. But what should you do when it comes to your money? should you invest it into a property? or should you invest it in the stock market?
In this episode, I will detail the reasons why I believe equities make better investments than property.
For the article visit: https://warrenshute.com/saving-investing/should-you-invest-in-property-or-shares-why-it-pays-to-back-global-plc/
After touching record highs in early January, many world markets have pulled back from their highs, and investors have been confronted with worrisome headlines in the financial press regarding record inflation and more recently the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Is rising inflation and Russia’s invasion a negative for equity investors? Do large losses in a handful of popular stocks signal a downturn ahead for the broad market?
Listen to my podcast to discover whether you should change your investment portfolio based on the current news and events.
For my article visit: https://warrenshute.com/financial-news-events/should-i-be-changing-my-portfolio-considering-the-news/
For other financial planning articles about investing, pensions or debt please visit: https://warrenshute.com
With the cost of living increasing and our electricity bills looking more like Elton John’s florist bill, we thought it even more pertinent to tax plan this season and maximise our savings.
While tax planning is an important part of financial planning, it is not the only part. It is essential that any tax planning strategy that is being considered also makes commercial sense. In this bumper episode of the money planner, I discuss the tax allowances you can discover in a number of areas, as listed below.
1:24 Working From Home Tax Breaks 4:41 Income Tax Thresholds 8:08 Income Tax Planning 12:07 Marriage Tax Allowance 13:14 Reducing Net Income 16:07 Dividend Allowance 16:48 Capital Gains Tax Planning 21:40 Inheritance Tax Planning 23:47 Gifting Money Allowance 29:17 Savings & Investment 30:41 ISA Tax Allowance 32:26 EIS & VCT Tax Allowance 35:06 Investment Bonds Allowance 36:52 Pension Tax Allowance
Inheritance tax is becoming a concern to more and more people. A simple yet effective way of planning is to use exemptions and reliefs and use of the normal expenditure out of income exemption can be particularly useful.
It is a fact that inheritance tax receipts are increasing and the number of families paying inheritance tax is now at a 35 year high. In 2009/10 2.6% of deaths gave rise to IHT. In 2015/16 this was 7.1%. And the expectation is that the tax receipts will increase still further with a prediction of £5.6 billion from tax year 2020/21.
Inheritance tax is obviously affecting more estates and will continue to do so.
Many people will be keen to take practical action that can reduce the impact of the tax without materially affecting their standard of living or financial security.
How much is enough for you to retire? What’s your number?
None of us are getting any younger and time flies faster as we age, so it’s important to plan ahead for retirement, a period of our life that could last 40 years.
My wife gets frustrated with me when I spend more time planning our retirement than I do our summer holiday, but it’s a no - brainer... isn’t it?! We all have what I call a wealth window, a limited period of time to create the wealth to see us through our retirement.
As this window gets smaller, it’s harder to climb through. If you have 10 years to go before you plan to retire, you have 120 more paydays to secure your retirement. Is that enough?
Many have struggled financially during the pandemic, and they will need to bring their financial house back in line. Others have thrived on working from home and may never return to their offices, many saving thousands each year in travel, food, and new office outfits.
At the same time, we’ve all not been able to spend as we would have otherwise done; holidays have been cancelled or postponed, socialising has been put on ice and some have delayed their home improvement plans.
But all that spending has not gone away – it has simply been delayed, and it’s beginning to come back. I appreciate we can’t take last year’s holiday along with this year’s (fingers crossed), but we’re all longing for our holidays and seeing the sun, and meeting up with friends and family for drinks and a meal.
That’s a lot of pent-up demand for life as we knew it. And in our economic wheel, one person’s spending is another person’s income, so I believe our future purchasing power will help make the next decade the ‘Roaring 20s’.
Date of Recording : 27th February 2022
Life is never a straight line; we have highs and lows. Our spending is no different. I was speaking with my children this week and explained that when you have an expensive month, like we did in December, it’s right to reign in the spending a little, to offset, otherwise you could easily find yourself in debt.
That’s coming into sharp focus now as December credit card statements arrive in inboxes and on doormats. For some, the statement will reflect Christmas extravagance. Some balances will even include purchases from 2020!
Date Recorded: 3rd February 2022
We like to do things in life that we enjoy. We find these things easy to do, they take little effort, and we know we’re going to have a good time doing them.
Contrast this to our finances: most of us don’t review our money or what’s happening with it because we think it’s difficult, it can be worrying to look at our situation, or we don’t know how to change things. So to protect ourselves, we shut it out of our mind and avoid it instead.
Sound familiar? Find out how you can get on top of your money matters, step-by-step.
How to make the most of your savings is an essential part of getting ahead financially, and it is especially true at a time when inflation is increasing. It can be difficult to maintain the real buying power of your pounds.
With having a savings platform, when you open your savings account, you can allocate your savings across several different time periods with differing interest rates. Watch this video to discover more.
For more help and guidance on savings & investing visit: https://www.warrenshute.com
For more information about Aviva Save please visit: https://www.aviva.co.uk/investments/aviva-save/
Not surprisingly, I’m a big believer in planning. That’s especially true when it comes to the golden years of our retirement. But will those years really be golden, or more like copper?!
Discover the secret to a happy retirement and plan ahead to help make your retirement the best years of your life.
It’s essential we use this period to organise our finances. Part of that means supporting local businesses whenever you can, because one person's spending is another person's income, and it could be helping you further down the chain.
If you know your numbers, money isn’t as complicated as you might think. Clarity gives you the enthusiasm to make better decisions and live the life you want to live. I often refer to ALIE as every financial planner's best friend; assets, liabilities, income and expenditure.
The last 18 months may have played havoc with your finances, but this period could also be giving you more of something you don’t typically have: time.
If you’ve been furloughed, or you’re saving hours in commuting, use the extra time productively to sort your finances out.
The hardest step is the first one – so where should you begin?
Life is not a continuum: precious time is running out for us all. Securing your future is essential, but so is enjoying the present moment. So few people ever actually achieve this balance, which I refer to as true wealth.
Being rich can be nice, but true wealth – which money can’t buy and death can’t take away – is figuring out what you really want to achieve in life and going for it. It’s in reach for us all… if we just decide what we want.
Family Finances for Father's Day. It’s no surprise that raising kids comes at a cost, but it’s also an opportunity to learn – for children and parents, check out my latest Money Planner Podcast below.
Inflation is normal, we shouldn’t be afraid of it, but when its momentum builds it can get out of control and skyrocket, which typically means things become more expensive.
Something that’s overlooked with inflation is the impact on your cash. Why? Because inflation is effectively a constant tax on the value of your money and assets, a tax that we all collectively pay.
Inflation is like carbon monoxide to your money: it’s a silent killer of wealth creation, which few people are aware of. So what can you do? watch this video to discover more.
I think we all agree that time flies. It’s our decisions in life that will shape our future, not our knowledge or our conditions. I always want to know two things from people before we start talking money.
It seems crazy to me that at 18 years old you can be expected to know what you want to do for the rest of your life. Deciding your career for maybe the next 50 years is somewhat unrealistic. If the choice you made didn’t work out and now you find yourself out of work or without the money to learn the skills you need to forge a new career – you can be trapped in a vicious circle. Luckily help is now at hand with the new government loan scheme called an "Advanced Learner Loan". Listen to this podcast to discover all you need to know about this new loan scheme
It’s the one debt most of us are happy to take out and it seems almost second nature to do so; for the majority, it takes nearly our whole working lifetime to repay it. So how can you join the 60% or so of householders who own their homes outright?
Watch this video to discover how making additional mortgage repayments doing them fortnightly instead can save you thousands of pounds and years off your mortgage.
Also discover why buying your lunch could be costing you over £26k on your mortgage.
https://warrenshute.com/debt-repayment/how-to-repay-your-mortgage-fast/
If your debts have become overwhelming and you don’t know where to turn, help is at hand. This month the government launched a new initiative called “Breathing Space”. The scheme has been designed to allow people struggling with debt to take 60 days as a breather.
What does this mean in reality? Well once a Breathing Space application has been successfully made, your creditors are unable to add any interest, penalties or charges to your account, or file any court orders or instruct any bailiffs, for a 60-day period.
Listen to this podcast to discover more.
To speak to someone to help with your debts visit: https://www.stepchange.org/
For more useful articles and help with financial planning visit: https://warrenshute.com/
Many people often think that if they had more money, all their worries would go away. But (and while I am sure you’d prefer to find this out for yourself), I can tell you that for most people, more money just means different types of worries.
Most people live to their means, and some for various reasons live beyond their means. When your budget begins to stretch and you start borrowing for day-to-day spending, your money worries can quickly grow.
Worries are one thing, but for some people, small worries can easily escalate rapidly into bigger problems and cause mental health issues that can paralyse our decision-making process.
As a certified financial planner, a vital part of what I do is ensuring catastrophes like premature death are considered now, so there is a plan in place before an eventuality may occur. Managing risk is an important part of that. A way of transferring the risk away from your family unit to an insurance company is by buying life assurance. It doesn’t always have the best reputation, but ask a widow or widower who benefited from it and they’ll tell you a different story. We insure our cars and our home; it’s a natural step to insure our lives. read this article to find out why it's worth considering.
For the accompanying article click the link below
https://warrenshute.com/financial-planning/insure-your-car-insure-your-life/
I’ve been fortunate in my life to have met some great minds, people far smarter than I am, who showed me how to get ahead financially. I’m very grateful for this and I think that’s why I wrote The Money Plan, to share some of the secrets they taught me in order to help as many people as possible.
This week I read a great blog by one of the people that helped me as he celebrated 40 years in business. David Booth is the founder of Dimensional Fund Advisers and a genius in the investment world, so I wanted to share his thoughts and mine so you too can benefit from his wisdom.
Thousands of married women who reached state pension age before 6 April 2016 have been underpaid their state pension for more than two decades.
Documents revealed in the budget last month highlighted that approximately 200,000 pensioners have potentially been underpaid up to £3bn between them in state pension entitlement, with individuals entitled to an average pay out of £13,500 to make up the shortfall.
The blunder is thanks to the extreme complexity of the state pension system, which has been tweaked and reworked by many governments over time, making it nigh-on impossible to know how the details work for everyone.
Why our tax year starts on 6 April is a tale for another time, but what’s important is that you make the most of your money and tax breaks and to get off to a good start this new tax year.
If you are one of the people investing into an ISA and pensions at the last minute, then you could be leaving thousands of pounds on the table.
Listen to this podcast to discover more or head over to my website to read the article:
https://warrenshute.com/financial-planning/investing-earlier-in-the-tax-year-pays-off-later/
If you had a goose that laid you a golden egg each month as long as you took care of it every day, fed it and watered it, you’d probably look after it really well. Would you insure it? So that if it got sick and stopped laying the golden eggs, rather than go hungry you would have the insurance payments to live off?
When we’re not well, we need security, peace of mind and time to allow ourselves to recover. The last thing we need is the stress and pressure of rushing back to work, to pay the bills, if we’re not 100%. And the way we do that is with income protection insurance, which is vital for so many people who have little employer support and have financial commitments to make.
Watch this video to find out why you need to insure the goose laying the golden eggs!
Charities around the world have felt the effects of the pandemic from both sides: donations have reduced as people tightened their spending; and the numbers in need have increased as more people fall on harder times.
When you support a charity with a donation, there are government financial benefits for you too, watch this video to find out more.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak set out the government’s tax and spending plans as the nation continues to deal with the effects of COVID-19. The Government has borrowed a record £355bn so far fighting the pandemic and has to come up with a way of paying it back. Sunak also needs to continue supporting the millions still out of work or on furlough due to the downturn.
So what did he do, and how is it going to affect you?
When I started in financial planning back in 1995, the biggest obstacle I heard to investing was ‘I’m buying bricks and mortar, that’s my pension’.
This went away somewhat during the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, in part I think because of the difficulties of arranging mortgages, but also because the market became less attractive.
But over recent months we’ve seen a resurgence in property investing brought on partly by the stamp duty holiday. A good friend called this week to ask me, “Why do you always invest in stocks, don’t you ever consider the property market?”, to which I replied no.
There are logical reasons why I believe equities make better investments than property, but we don’t buy with logic, we buy with emotions, justifying our decisions with logic that will back up the choice we made.
I am often asked questions about Bitcoin, and cryptocurrencies in general, on whether they make a good investment.
Bitcoin is just one of over 4,000 different cryptocurrencies globally, according to investopedia.com. While many of these cryptocurrencies have little to no following or trading volume, some enjoy immense popularity among dedicated communities of backers and ‘investors’. Some of the leading cryptocurrencies outside Bitcoin are Ethereum, Litecoin and the new favourite of many, Cardano.
Bitcoin is a form of digital money, meaning that unlike physical money, it’s a currency traded online across a computer network of thousands. That makes it difficult to have a common record of all the transactions, but a technology known as blockchain makes this possible.
They say that more relationships break down over money issues than anything else other than infidelity. So how can you win at the game of money and stay in a happy relationship?
The key to a happy relationship is communication, Start with the big questions about money and goals.
Spending money is an emotional area and from my experience as a financial planner, it can cause a lot of conflict between couples. Secret spending, worried purchases and resentment can quickly snowball.
But if you scratch beneath the surface of the arguments, it’s not the actual spending which is causing the argument; it’s the breaking of each other’s values.
Listen to this podcast or check out the link below to read the article . https://warrenshute.com/financial-planning/for-love-or-money-finances-relationships/
How much is enough for you to retire? What’s your number?
None of us are getting any younger and time flies faster as we age, so it’s important to plan ahead for retirement, a period of our life that could last 40 years. My wife gets frustrated with me when I spend more time planning our retirement than I do our summer holiday, but it’s a no-brainer… isn’t it?! We all have what I call a wealth window, a limited period of time to create the wealth to see us through our retirement. As this window gets smaller, it’s harder to climb through. If you have 10 years to go before you plan to retire, you have 120 more paydays to secure your retirement. Is that enough?
For more details visit: https://warrenshute.com/saving-investing/a-better-tomorrow-depends-on-saving-today/
Useful resources mentioned in this video: https://www.truthaboutmoney.co.uk
Electric cars, Artificial Intelligence, virtual and augmented reality… the technology that’s in development now makes me excited about what we’re likely to see happen over the next decade. And that’s before you even consider the green revolution.
This is all well and good, but how can you benefit from this boost in the economy and ride the wave into the next decade?
https://warrenshute.com/saving-investing/investing-in-world-economy-over-the-next-decade-tech-led-revival-plus-green-revolution/
The average UK credit card interest rate is estimated to be a whopping 22.5%, according to the Bank of England. Nobody can afford to carry a liability like this. If you’ve had enough of this financial burden on your shoulders, then follow my six-step plan to repay your unsecured debt (credit cards, overdrafts, loans, car finance) in 2021.
For more information read my article here: https://warrenshute.com/debt-repayment/the-road-to-debt-freedom-in-2021/
When building your "house of wealth", financial foundations are often overlooked, because they aren’t exciting. They might not wow you, but they’re so important – just like your real home, if you start building your house of wealth without strong foundations in place and something goes wrong, it can all come crashing down.
As we saw all too clearly in 2020, things happen in life. In the house analogy, if a hurricane strikes, solid foundations can keep things standing. In money terms, if you’re ill and unable to work, with a solid base in place you’re not going to be destroyed because you have reserves and insurances in place to handle that situation.
There are eight foundations to consider; three that I feel are essential for everyone, detailed in this video, and five that are optional, which I’ll cover in a future video.
To read the article visit the link below: https://warrenshute.com/financial-planning/your-house-of-wealth-needs-strong-foundations/
We like to do things in life that we enjoy. We find these things easy to do, they take little effort, and we know we’re going to have a good time doing them. Contrast this to our finances: most of us don’t review our money or what’s happening with it because we think it’s difficult, it can be worrying to look at our situation, or we don’t know how to change things. So to protect ourselves, we shut it out of our mind and avoid it instead.
We all know January is the perfect time to try and do something different, so set yourself on the path to a better financial future by changing your relationship with money this year.
Where you are and your current financial situation doesn’t need to continue. You can embrace new habits. They won’t always be perfect, but they will set you on the journey to financial freedom – by which I mean freedom from the worries of money.
What a year it’s been. Here are my reflections on some of the events of the year, and what we can take forward into 2021 from the experiences we’ve had.
In 2020, the overall cost of dying once again increased. It’s now at an all-time high of £9,493, according to SunLife, for a basic funeral, professional fees and a send-off. Over the last 15 years this has increased at almost 6%pa – a rate far higher than inflation.
Because of the rising costs, in recent years it has become increasingly common for people to take out a pre-paid funeral plan. Not only is a plan an easy way to get a funeral arranged, but it also protects those you leave behind from rising costs and uncertainty about any specific final wishes.
But with that rise in demand has come increased concerns about value and outcomes. Without specific legislation, what was covered – and more importantly, what wasn’t – when it came time to pay out was not always as expected.
That’s set to change with new legislation on the way to bring funeral plan providers under the regulation of the Financial Conduct Authority.
I’m often told, ‘I don’t want to live like a miser now just so I can retire rich – I may never make it!’
To which I reply, ‘I don’t want you to be a miser either… be a conscious spender instead.’
Being a conscious spender is being frugal, not like being Scrooge. It’s not about denying yourself all of life’s pleasures. It’s about being aware of your outgoings and focusing on a few financial priorities. So what do we mean by frugal?
For more details read: https://warrenshute.com/saving-investing/saving-up-doesnt-mean-you-need-to-be-scrooge/
There’s been a lot of talk about the chancellors spending review recently, but what is it?
A spending review is a process carried out by HM Treasury (the governments' financial department) which sets out how much taxpayers money is allocated to each government department to spend on things like the NHS, schools, and the police.
The review is vast and covers about half of all government spending including defence, transport, welfare, education, housing, culture, trade, business and covers the income paid to the devolved administrations such as Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
I was explaining to my staff at my financial planning firm Lexington Wealth this week about compound growth. Compound growth is why the rich get richer, but it’s how you can get richer also. Albert Einstein once said about compound growth ‘…it’s the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it; he who doesn't, pays it’.
Money is an emotional thing. I liken it to a diet or our weight: we don’t like to talk about what we earn, or how much we have saved, or what we weigh because we worry others will judge us.
But not talking about money is causing problems in society, with a real psychological impact too. Mind, the mental health charity, puts it well – poor mental health means managing money is harder, and worrying about money makes mental health worse. The Money & Pensions Service (MaPS) recently ran a campaign which included new research revealing the lengths we go to in hiding our finances, even from those we love.
November lockdown means many of us will be back to working from home. Whether you’re rejoicing or despairing at that prospect, it brings additional heating and lighting costs as we head into the chilly months. Listen to this episode to find out how you can save tax on household bills and other expenses.
The Government’s financial support package keeps changing, if you’ve not been able to keep up to date don’t worry here’s a summary on the Furlough scheme, self-employed help, sick pay, mortgage holidays, and tenants.
There were 90,871 divorces in England & Wales in 2018 and 6,873 in Scotland, although divorce rates as a proportion of marriages are at their lowest rate in nearly 50 years. Of course, 2020 could buck that trend as we’re spending far more time together under one roof, working, playing and perhaps arguing. So if the worst happens in a marriage, what happens to our pensions? There are three methods by which pension benefits are taken into account on divorce, each with their own considerations.
Three significant events recently had me thinking about how quickly time passes.
In April 1988, the first Boeing 747-400 flight took place. The second event was the 30th anniversary of East and West Germany unifying. Finally, when Apple launched the iPhone 12, it took me back to June 2007 when the first iPhone was released.
Such events are good reminders that while our attention is often on our present worries, like paying the bills and simply getting by, life marches on. Sometimes, we have to make decisions now to give ourselves a better future. Financially, that means investing. So what would have happened If I had invested during these milestones?
This month the state pension age increases to 66 years old, and it will rise to 67 between 2026 and 2028. There have been several changes to pension ages in recent years, causing confusion and anger. Knowledge is power, so it’s important to know what you’re entitled to, and when.
Do you work hard but feel that you are not making any progress financially? Do you put money away each month, but don’t have a real plan for it? Do you have goals you’re looking to achieve?
Perhaps it’s time to meet with a financial planner:
So what does a planner do? First, they get to understand you; what you want from life, your dreams and ambitions. Then they take your numbers and create a plan, a financial roadmap of your life, to help you achieve your goals.
We all know life is not a smooth straight road. We encounter twists, turns and sometimes boulders, and occasionally these obstacles turn into catastrophes. A financial planner can show you, before a catastrophe occurs, what it would mean to you financially, and how you can manage that risk.
September is World Alzheimer's Month, an international campaign to raise awareness and highlight issues faced by people affected by dementia. Globally, dementia is one of the biggest challenges we face, with nearly 50 million people living with the condition worldwide.
So what has this got to do with The Money Plan?
In The Money Plan I talk about eight financial foundations we should all be aware of, three of which are essential and five optional. The three relevant to us all are our emergency cash, our will and our Powers of Attorney – and the latter two are not just something to think about when we’re older. I strongly suggest everyone over the age of 18 should have them: an accident or a condition like dementia can affect us from any age.
I am often asked, ‘Why is it so difficult to get ahead financially?’ After 25 years a financial planner, and thousands of hours with clients, I believe it comes down to psychology. The answer is to stack the odds in our favour, which means taking emotion out of the equation. If we can make a decision once and put our finances on autopilot, we’re on the right track.
The Pensions Regulator says that more than £30m has been reported lost to pension scammers since 2017.
Scammers targeted pension pots large and small, with individual losses ranging from under £1,000 to as much as £500,000. The average victim was described as a man in his 50s – but this could happen to anyone, so what can you do to spot and avoid a pension scam so that it doesn't happen to you?
The furlough scheme is reaching its final chapter, and inevitably, that’s led to more redundancies hitting the headlines. So what should you do to prepare in times like these?
If you haven’t been motivated before, now is the perfect time to get financially well organised. This is something everyone can do; even if you don’t know where to start when it comes to managing your money, with a few simple steps you can take control.
Students the length and breadth of the country will soon celebrate Fresher’s Week without a worry in the world.
For many, this is the first time they have left home to fend for themselves. It’s also the first time that many will have to manage their money and plan their expenditure.
Listen to this episode to find out how students can help organise their finances as they return to education.
I believe children are the future, and if we want a prosperous future we need to help them with financial education.
So I discuss money with Charlie, our youngest reader of the money plan and I answer his questions.
Learning how to manage our money is just like learning to walk: we need a guiding hand to hold and encourage us along the way. We don’t get a formal financial education at school, so teaching children about money starts at home.
Listen to this episode to discover how you can teach your children about pocket money, investing, student loans, buying a house, and even pensions!
Gold isn’t just something we like to wear, it’s also a commodity that’s traded by investors. And it’s in big demand: in 2020 alone, the price of gold is up over 30%, following a gain of nearly 18% in 2019. Those are significant returns. But why? What is causing the rise in the price of gold? here are some factors that could be considered.
Rishi Sunak introduced the Stamp Duty holiday on property valued up to £500,000 until March 2021. He wants to encourage us to make our moves sooner rather than later and get the housing market and its associated services going. Should you take advantage? Before you throw everything into making the most of this stamp duty holiday, make sure you’re in the right position to do so. You need to consider the bigger picture carefully with your eyes wide open.
I frequently quote that we are physical beings run by our emotions: the way we feel affects our actions. That’s certainly true when it comes to investing, as historical data shows only too well. How we behave when investing is often illogical, based on emotion not facts. Find out how to can take emotion out of your investing strategy.
Our tax system is notoriously complex. We pay income tax on any benefits in kind (BIK) or ‘non-cash benefits’ that we receive in employment, such as a company car, medical insurance or an interest-free loan to buy a train season ticket. But how can you check out much these are costing you? and is there a better alternative?
Running out of money in retirement is a scary thought, as we age we feel more fragile and venerable, a secure income during our retirement years gives us peace of mind, but comes at a price. The security provided by the defined benefit pensions offered by many larger employers has gone and the responsibility to secure our retirement income has been left to us to sort out, so what is the best way to plan and save for your retirement?
When it comes to managing your debt, the first and most important rule to remember is: don’t panic.
There are millions of people struggling financially in the UK, and the country itself is in a massive amount of debt. What you need to do is take charge, take control, and put a clear plan in place to alleviate your stress.
The snowball plan focuses on paying off your debts one by one, the smallest first. Typically, people in debt try to pay off the highest interest rate debt first, and then go down to the next lowest one and so on. But, especially if your highest interest rate debt is the largest balance, it will take you a long time to pay it off and you’ll lose momentum. Psychologically, this is much harder on you.
In this episode I cover some good news about what is going on in the world with people and their finances, along with my tips on how to navigate your finances out of the pandemic and make the most out of your money.
We don’t receive financial education at school, so teaching children about money starts at home. That can seem scary if you’re not good with money yourself, but with a simple pocket money system you can easily show your children strategies which help them learn and grow their own money management skills.
By helping your children understand about finances from an early age, the hope is that they’ll carry that knowledge through into adult life.
Getting financially organised is important because clarity is power. When you know your numbers, your finances are not as complicated as you might think. Clarity gives you the enthusiasm to make better decisions and live the life you want to live.
This episode is my take on the announcements made by Rishi Sunak on his summer statement to boost the UK economy.
If you have read my book The Money Plan or you are following my 5 step process on my website at warrenshute.com then this video is worth the watch.
We are in the midst of the corona crisis, and I wanted to update you on how the money plan can fit into the crisis. In this video I go through the 5 steps of The Money Plan, and what you can do within each of them whilst you are in self-isolation, to keep you on track to achieving your goals.
For more articles regarding financial planning during the COVID-19 pandemic please visit: https://warrenshute.com/category/coronavirus/
If you would like to purchase a copy of my book you can find it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Money-Plan-Warren-Shute/dp/1781332851/
The financial markets like certainty, and at present they have uncertainty in bucketloads. They work on a supply and demand basis and when this is distrusted, they react negatively. So what is going on? and what can be done with navigating your investments during this time? Watch this video to find out.
Alternatively, check out my post below: https://warrenshute.com/financial-news-events/navigating-your-investments-during-the-coronavirus-crisis/
For more articles regarding investing and financial planning during the COVID-19 pandemic please visit: https://warrenshute.com/category/coronavirus/
For those of you who don't know, as well as being a chartered financial planner and wealth manager, I am also trained in psychology and NLP and I'm an international certified coach. So in this podcast episode, I talk about the 10 ways you can keep your mindset on track during this unprecedented situation we are all in.
Overdraft interest rates are set to increase! How will this affect you? and what can you do to prepare?
If you are worried your overdraft interest rate is skyrocketing! You might be right to worry as many people will see their overdraft interest rates skyrocket from April this year.
It started when the financial regulator, the FCA, found that banks were profiting from overdrafts to the tune of £2.4Bn a year!
The regulator thought these fees were too high, and so they banned the monthly or daily fees, and they have been replaced with eye watering interest rates of around 40% for most high street banks. If you have poor credit, you may be charged more.
The first £12,500 of any income we earn is free of income tax, what seems unfair is that if one of you stays at home and does not have any earnings, then their £12,500 of tax-free allowance is left unused. Many people don’t realise that since April 2015 you can apply to get a refund in these circumstances whree you could save £1,149 of income tax.
Christmas is financially tight for all of us, so if you want to boost your budget, try my top 20 tips this year! There’s nothing like a side hustle to give your coffers an appreciated boost at any time of the year, but let’s see what else we have available.
We are experiencing unprecedented uncertainty and tension in politics especially with the British elections on the 12 November, which for some will be a scary announcement on Friday 13th.
Does all of this, and who sits in Number 10, affect your investment strategy? If it does, do you need to rethink your plans ahead of the election?
Before I became a financial planner, investing was all about making money and buying a ‘hot stock’, 25 years later, I reflect on my naivety and appreciate how others may also be thinking this and asking themselves what is the right way to invest?
There are, at a top level, two ways to access the stock market; directly by buying a share yourself, or via a fund, which is a collection of shares, managed by a fund manager. If we agree that you want to entrust an expert to manage your investments i.e. a fund manager, because of the benefits this brings, you have a choice in the type of manager you choose, as they manage money differently;
They can manage your money ACTIVELY or they can manage your money PASSIVELY. Listen to this podcast to discover the difference.
If you want to open a Help to Buy ISA, you will need to be quick because the Help to Buy ISA is due to close to new customers on 30th November, but if you already have an account open, don’t panic you can continue contributing.
However, don’t despair the successor to the Help to Buy ISA was launched back in April 2017 and is well underway, so until the end of the month, you have two options to help you save for your first home, the Help to Buy ISA and the Lifetime ISA, often referred to as the LISA.
So, what’s the difference between these two ISAs?
Investment risk is probably the most important area of clarification, between a financial planner and client. I know there are many other areas, which seem important, and they are, I am not reducing their importance, but if there is a single area of potential dissatisfaction for a client, then investment risk is the one!
How much do you need to save for retirement? The answer to this question is probably, more than you think. Many financial experts would start with £1 million, which is likely to provide you with a taxable income of around £40,000pa. So how much do you need to earn & save in order to reach this target?
Does it ever feel like you’re way behind the curve and getting started is just too much effort? I hear this a lot, so I thought I would share with you 10 quick wins to get going, because momentum builds and getting started is half the battle.
One of the most topical stories in the news is the cost of buying your first home, it’s difficult for millennials to get onto the housing ladder without the help of mum and dad, so I wanted to share my thoughts on how you can organise purchasing your first home.
Gold, some like wearing it, others worship it, and some buy it as an investment, but is it right to buy gold as an investment? To answer this question, I guess it makes better sense to first define what an investment is, what gold is and see how it has performed based on an alternative. Then we can make our own minds up, based on the facts.
hings are always so much more complex, when you do it for the first time? Can you remember using your smart phone for the first time? I took mine on holiday to figure it out. Well, finances and building wealth are no different, with the millions of opinions on the internet, who do you believe? Here’s my qualified view based on 25 years of experience on 7 ways you can building your wealth starting today.
Many people who come to see me struggle with the basics of money management. We are taught in school some complex mathematics, algebra, periodic table and foreign languages – all are of benefit, but none are as beneficial as the day to day management of your money.
Getting financially organised is important, because clarity is power. When you know your numbers, your finances are not as complicated as you might think. Clarity gives you the enthusiasm to make better decisions and live the life you want to live.
Warren talks with Paul about the urgency to get your PPI claim in and what you need to do. They also discuss finances for school leavers including your first payslip, along with a student financial survival guide if you are heading off to university.
How to invest and make the right decisions with your pensions and investment portfolio, if there's a no-deal Brexit. Warren discusses risk, currency and asset allocation.
He covers his online investment site www.lexo.co.uk and the risk profiling tool Finametrica which can be found here https://warrenshute.com/shop/
Inflation is a general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money and it affects economies in various positive and negative ways. Warren discusses with Paul the effects of inflation on the UK economy and how it affects you and your money.
Tax Freedom Day is the first day of the year in which a nation as a whole has theoretically earned enough income to pay its taxes. But can you – morally, legally and ethically – bring your own personal Tax Freedom Day forward earlier in the year? Here are some things to check that might just do that for you.
It’s three years since Britain voted to leave the EU. And what’s happened since for investors highlights that you need to be careful about who you listen to, and what you take away from them. People like to give predictions about the future, but none of us know what will actually happen. That includes politicians, think tanks, bankers and economists. Listen to this episode to discover how the markets have actually performed.
Neil Woodford has been in the news recently as his flagship equity income fund has suspended trading as investors rush to the exit. Listen to this episode to understand what happened what lessons you can learn if you are an investor.
Q2 Check In - Warren runs through what you should be concentrating on in Q2 of the Money Plan, and what to do if you are struggling with motivation when it comes to getting yourself financially free.
There’s been a lot of bad headlines again recently – Jamie Oliver’s restaurants and British Steel are shedding jobs, Mothercare and other retailers are in trouble… if you’re directly involved (or know someone who is), then this is a very tough time financially.
I don’t pretend to have a silver bullet, but I do know that it’s very easy to get overwhelmed in these kinds of situation. The most important thing you can do? Get clarity. Come back to the steps of The Money Plan to do that.
Warren discusses a Vanguard survey which highlights the benefits of using a financial adviser for your investments.
With the cost of education and housing rising, it’s become more commonplace for parents and grandparents to save for their children and grandchildren. By planning ahead, they can maximise the impact those savings will have.
If you have a lump sum and don’t know what to do with it, Warren talks you through how you can invest £25,000 wisely to ensure it gives you the most benefit financially.
Warren talks you through how you should be doing in Q1 if you are following the 5 step money plan, along with insights and tips to help you reach your targets.
Money, like a relationship, is a very emotional thing. Put the two together and you’ve either got sweet sailing or stormy waters ahead. Discussing your thoughts and rules around money is important as a couple. You need to develop together in a financial sense as well as an emotional one. Based on over 20 years of working with couples and their finances, here are some tips on navigating the journey together.
Around 10% of the year has already flown by – but that means there’s still 90% of it left to make your mark on 2019 and take control of your finances. If you resolved to do just that, but January wasn’t your month for whatever reason, then it’s time to be resilient, set a strategy, focus on your outcome and take consistent steps towards it.
In this episode I cover how you can put together a financial plan to achieve success.
Financial Protection (or ‘Foundations’) is the third step in The Money Plan. This consists of 8 foundations that you should consider to give yourself full financial protection, 3 of them are essential (Emergency Cash, Will's and LPA's) however in this podcast I look at the other 5 optional protections you should be considering.
These are: Life Cover, Critical Illness Cover, Income Protection, Private Medical Insurance and General Insurance
In this episode we show you the options available to you to protect yourself from catastrophes such as long term illness or disabilty, protect your family from death and your estate from unnecessary taxes and potential hostile creditors.
The 31 January deadline for submitting online self-assessment tax returns is suddenly looming large. If you’re not one of the 10,000 or so people who submitted their returns on Christmas Day or Boxing Day – no, me neither – and you still haven’t done it yet, then it’s time to get moving on your return.
This episode covers how to get on top of your self assessment.
It’s that time of year when credit card statements loom large – and for many, that means worries about their finances. Recent research showed that people take on average until May to pay off their Christmas.
This episode covers my steps to a foolproof plan to help you say goodbye to your credit card debt.
We don’t receive financial education at school, so teaching children about money starts at home. That can seem scary if you’re not good with money yourself, but with a simple pocket money system you can easily show your children strategies which help them learn and grow their own money management skills.
This episode covers a pocket money system for children that works.
Preparation and planning is key to good money management. Knowing what’s coming up means you can prepare and adjust before things happen, rather than rushing to get things arranged at the last minute. On 6 April the new tax year begins.
Listen to the episide to discover the income-related changes that are on the way so that you can plan ahead.
Anybody from a new-born baby until they are in their 70s can have a pension – you can even set one up in your baby’s name and pay into it from the day of their birth!
The beneficiary can’t access their pension until retirement age, so your children can’t use it to buy a car or a house or to pay for university. So why would you consider starting one for your child?