During times like these when the world is shouting at you to say just how bad things are, it can be tempting to put all major financial decisions on hold - especially those that involve investing any further funds (if you are lucky enough to be in a position to invest for example).

However, if you are willing to be brave and follow the Warren Buffet mantra (be brave when others are fearful and fearful when others are brave), then now could well be the best time to invest.

Markets are at a...

Ok – I know that headline is going to sound a little crazy. I can just hear the cries now. “Don’t you know that there is a cost of living crisis going on”. “Didn’t you hear that energy bills have doubled”. Yes – I know – it may seem like a very strange idea to be spending more money here but bear with me.

You see – on the path to Financial Freedom, sometimes you have to invest. Now, when I say invest, I am not talking about investing...

This is a short post, but one designed to make an important point!

Over the past 15 years or so, the interest rates paid on cash have been so low as to be almost not worth mentioning (I did say almost - something is always better than nothing).

In recent months however, the rates on cash savings accounts have been increasing on the back of central banks around the world increasing their base rates. Here in the UK average instant access rates have increased from perhaps as low as 0.5% to...

Under normal circumstances, I am not one to recommend people reducing their expenditure lightly (well, not expenditure that they actually want or need anyway). You see, I want people to have a great lifestyle. Having nearly died, I have seen how important it can be to live for the here and now because you don’t know how many tomorrows you will have.

As such, I would usually recommend that if people want to begin saving, investing or paying off debt, the best thing to do is to try and...

During times like these, a lot of people will be considering upping their budgeting game.

Budgeting has so many benefits not just for your finances but for your mental health as well. From feeling more in control of your money, feeling more comfortable with spending on things you want and sleeping better at night, there are so many reasons why you might want to start budgeting – read more here.

So, if you are going to begin keeping a monthly / weekly budget, then the next thing to...

I rarely write about individual stocks, so when I do, something must be up.

The reason I rarely write about individual stocks is because I think it is very, very difficult (almost impossible) to consistently pick winning individual shares. If you build a portfolio of 20 “really promising” individual shares, chances are that 10 will go up and 10 will go down. Perhaps you get lucky and 12 go up and 8 do down, but you get the point.

I think there is perhaps room for investors to hold...

Times like these can be really tough. It seems that every single day at the moment there is a new story in the news about how the cost of something is going up or how supply chains are being disrupted.

Already, there are reports of families who were previously only just making ends meet now having to make choices between ‘heating and eating’. These are scary times and it can seem a little hopeless.

In my conversations with clients in the Financial Planning business, it is clear...

I wrote last month about the current inflation problem we have here in the UK, in the US and in pretty much every other country in the world.

Inflation is simply a way to describe rising prices. If a loaf of bread cost £1 last year and now costs £1.05 – we have 5% inflation – the cost has gone up by 5%.

If an iPhone cost £1,000 last year and now costs £1,100, we have 10% inflation etc.

The inflation we are experiencing at the moment is really dangerous....

A lot has been written in recent months about rising inflation and the impact that this is having on living standards.

I often write about ‘lifestyle inflation’. This is where someone’s lifestyle or spending often increases as fast as (or even faster) than their earnings as they earn more or receive bonuses or pay rises.

Lifestyle inflation is very dangerous as it prevents you from ever reaching financial freedom. If your expenses are increasing at the same (or a higher)...

You may have noticed that I haven’t posted in a while. A combination of significant growth in the financial planning business (both in terms of headcount and revenue) and the continuing challenges of the pandemic have meant that the blog had had to take a little bit of a back seat… and I’m ok with that.

There is no such thing as time management – just priority management – we all have the same 24 hours in the day to spend as we please. Over these past 8 months...