When you received your last promotion or pay rise, your first instinct might have been to celebrate by splashing out on a new gadget, booking a holiday or allocating more of your money to your disposable income. However, if you overlook reviewing your finances, “lifestyle creep” could affect your ability to reach long-term goals, including your retirement plans. Lifestyle creep leads to your regular expenses rising Lifestyle creep refers to your regular expenses rising in lin

Interest rates and inflation continued to affect markets around the world in April 2024. Read on to find out what else may have affected investment markets and your portfolio in April. Expectations of interest rate cuts were good news for gold. Investors who feared falling interest rates would lead to lower returns on cash and government bonds purchased more gold. It led to the asset hitting a record high on 8 April at $2,535 (£3,171) an ounce. Yet, while many experts are pr

If you face a serious illness, it could place pressure on your finances and mean you’re not able to focus on what’s most important – your health. Yet, research suggests many families could be overlooking the protection that critical illness cover could provide. Read on to find out how critical illness cover works and how it could improve your financial resilience. Critical illness cover may pay out if you were diagnosed with a serious illness. It could help you pay off large

If you’ve come across the phrase “ESG investing” but weren’t sure what it meant or if it’s right for you, read on. You’ll discover what it means and some key considerations if it’s something you want to incorporate into your investment strategy. ESG investing simply stands for “environmental, social and governance” and involves considering factors from these three pillars alongside financial information when you’re making investment decisions. It’s an approach to investing th

A will is an important way of outlining what you’d like to happen to your assets when you pass away. Yet, figures suggest will disputes are on the rise. If you’re worried about potential conflicts when you pass away, read on to discover some useful steps you might want to take. According to a report in the Guardian, thousands of families have been embroiled in disputes dubbed “ruinously expensive” by solicitors. As well as the potential legal costs, court cases can be emotion

The State Pension is often a useful foundation when you’re creating an income in retirement. Yet, a survey from Just Group found that a third of people didn’t check their State Pension forecast before stopping work. While the State Pension might not be your primary income in retirement, it’s often valuable because it’s reliable – you’ll receive a regular income when you reach State Pension Age for the rest of your life. In addition, under the triple lock, the State Pension al

The last few years have seen volatile investment markets due to the pandemic, lockdowns, and fears that high inflation could lead to economic recessions. Looming general elections could mean investors continue to experience ups and downs throughout 2024. UK prime minister Rishi Sunak is expected to call a general election at some point in 2024. Indeed, the last nationwide vote took place on 19 December 2019, so the next general election has to happen by 28 January 2025 – five

While a new year started, many of the key factors affecting economies and markets in January were the same as those in 2023, namely high levels of inflation and recession fears. The World Bank warned the global economy is set to slow for a third successive year in 2024 and is on course for the weakest half-decade of growth since the early 1990s. It added there was a risk that the 2020s would be a “wasted” decade following a series of setbacks, including the pandemic. Tensions

Managing your finances effectively as a couple could provide you with peace of mind and mean you’re more likely to reach your goals. Yet, it can be difficult as you could have very different financial priorities to your partner. Read on to discover five handy tips that could help you build a financial plan that suits both of you. 1. Set shared goals you can work towards Having shared goals you’re working towards as a couple can help ensure you’re both on the same page and und

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt could have more options ahead of March’s Budget as government borrowing halved at the end of 2023. With a general election looming, Hunt may take the opportunity to ease the tax burden. Read on to discover some of the personal finance changes that could be announced. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that government borrowing halved in December 2023. The lower deficit of £7.8 billion– the lowest month since 2019 – means the chan