Productivity tools

Debbie Harris
Nov 2023  •  2 min read

Psychological Tools

I signed up to Oliver Burkeman’s newsletter recently and it is proving to be a really wise choice.

He does not spam me or fill my inbox, he writes thoughtfully and in depth and I receive one email every few weeks.  He writes really fluidly about a lot of the things that I tend to worry about – and so his emails have become like an old friend you don’t see very often but who knows you really well; and with whom you enjoy spending time!

Recently he wrote about ‘productivity techniques’ and once again, his words and style resonated with me.  It was very reassuring to hear that I am not the only person who struggles with finding the best psychological tool for any given job – and he assured me (obviously not ‘just’ me!) that different techniques work for different tasks, for different people, at different times.  A carpenter would not ever say “from now on – it’s only the chisel for me!”  With physical objects, it’s easy to tell that they are obviously and only tools … the psychological tools are not so easily discernible and we often make the mistake that any given tool might be the silver bullet of productivity … when in truth, there is no such thing.

Any of our clients who have ever had a conversation with me will probably know that I like ‘order and simplicity’ (a lofty aspiration indeed – especially in my particular role!)  Order and simplicity of course are ‘in the eye of the beholder’ (think swan above and below water – serenity right there above effort and endeavour!)

So it was quite liberating to hear Oliver tell me (again – obviously not ‘just’ me!) that I can stop looking for that one technique (that silver bullet does not exist).

Anyway – one of the things he suggested (as a tool only) was to set a timer and work in six minute ‘bursts’ – as soon as the timer goes off; move on to a different task (no matter how engrossed you were) and set the six minute timer again.  I baulked at the idea – so few of my tasks are that ‘quick ‘n’ easy … but I was determined to give it a try (always being willing to add to my ‘toolbox’).

I tried it for one hour and true enough – it was really effective – of the ten tasks I attempted, I was able to complete seven of them within the six minute window … and then having crossed so many things off my list, was able to proceed with the rest of my day feeling very self-righteous about how productive I had been!  Obviously – I had to select quite specific tasks for this trial – but another day, I am tempted to try again without careful pre-selection.  Interestingly – of the three tasks I had to go back to – I actually felt ‘motivated’ to crack on with them because I had already ‘made a start’.

I reflected on the productivity techniques I had applied during the remainder of my day and was interested to note that I used another three or four styles (that I could readily identify).

But the most important thing that Oliver wanted me (!) to take away from his email was that …

“You need no longer feel overwhelmed by the vast array of techniques, systems and philosophies that crowd the internet and the shelves of bookshops, promising ways to improve your life, because you’re not trying to discover the “right” one. Instead, you get to pick from them all, as you see fit, for whatever purposes you deem them useful – and only for as long as they actually serve to improve your experience of being alive.”

And I got the feeling that he wasn’t just talking about productivity techniques …

Productivity tools2023-12-04T12:16:29+00:00

The Dial of Destiny

Dominic Thomas
Nov 2023  •  2 min read

The dial of destiny

If you haven’t seen already, Indiana Jones is back for a last crusade. The fifth and final chapter in the Professor Jones diary brings us up to date in 1969. I won’t spoil the story for you, (I quite enjoyed it) but it serves as a prompt for our desire to alter history and explore the “what if?”…

The ‘mystical tool’ that we use here isn’t that mystical at all. It’s software, in fact it’s various pieces of software which allow us to plan forwards and make adjustments, whilst learning from history, through the rather more mundane elements of historic rates of returns, inflation, economics and investor behaviour.

The new film uses some amazing software too, making Mr Ford look rather like he did way back in 1981 when Raiders of the Lost Ark was made. Sadly, our software doesn’t make us look younger!  I’ve come across some tools which make someone look older and one pension company thought that this would be a good tool to use to help young people think about their retirement, I struggle to believe it would.

As with most stories of this theme or perhaps genre, the ability to change the past is very enticing, particularly if the present is not as you had hoped and you lack optimism about the future. The climate and global leadership crisis may well prompt these types of feelings. How wonderful it would be to go back in time and adjust some things. It’s a very tempting offer, but of course one that is nothing more than wishful thinking. We all live with the consequences of combined actions, our own and those of others. Perhaps this is more about accountability (or the lack of it) than any real notion of changing the past.

Anyway, back to your planning.  Together, we can imagine different futures; consider different scenarios for you. That might be retiring earlier than planned, moving home, gifting money, starting a business or selling one – frankly the list is lengthy and limited only by your own expectations and hopes for the future.

However all our planning, irrespective of the state of the world today, hangs on the premise of optimism. The belief that investments will, over time, gain in value, because you are investing in companies that provide goods and services that society, whatever it looks like, wants, needs and requires. Investing is for the optimists, not the pessimists. If you sincerely believe that tomorrow will be worse than today, then investing simply isn’t for you. In that sense investing is like gardening … planting in the hope of tomorrow. We may be mindful of a changing climate and plant differently, but we do so in the hope of tomorrow.

The Dial of Destiny2023-12-01T12:12:26+00:00

1 in a million (or rather 1 in 45 million!) 

Debbie Harris 
Sept 2023  •  2 min read

1 in a million (or rather 1 in 45 million!)

You are more likely to be struck by lightning or attacked by a shark than winning the jackpot on the National Lottery.

Playing the lottery can be a bit of fun, especially if you have a lucky number or a favorite game. Most participants enjoy the thrill of anticipation and the possibility of winning a huge jackpot (let’s face it, most of us have a good idea of what we’d do with our winnings!)

Here at Solomon’s, we are not party poopers and if the Lottery is your ‘dabble’ into the world of improbable dreams – then that’s all good … we’re only talking about £2.00 a week for a ticket after all.

But it IS our job to challenge your financial decisions and I wonder whether you have ever thought about the impact of doing something different with that £2.00 a week … ?

If you were to save it for 50 years and were to achieve a return of 5% per year – you would have more than £23,000 in your account at the end!

Most of our clients understand the power of compounding interest and are fully onboard with the nature of long-term investing, so this example probably comes as no particular surprise – but it just goes to show that ‘a little’ can become ‘a lot’ given time and proper attention (which is a big part of what we do for our clients at Solomon’s).

Of course, the National Lottery does support lots of charitable and community causes, so your £2.00 a week isn’t entirely ‘wasted’!

1 in a million (or rather 1 in 45 million!) 2023-12-01T12:12:28+00:00

Lost Gardens of Heligan

Debbie Harris 
August 2023  •  5 min read

Lost Gardens of Heligan

I spent last week in a beautiful part of the world called Gorran Haven, Cornwall.

I have been going there each year with my wider family for over 20 years – it’s our home from home (17 of us attended this year!).

Many years ago, we visited The Lost Gardens of Heligan which is (as their website says) an “astonishing story of regeneration”.

In the 1990s these Victorian productive and ornamental gardens were rediscovered in the grounds of an old mansion house under mountains of brambles and ivy and since then have been lovingly restored to something close to their former glory across 200 acres (so far).

On the estate, there are ‘living sculptures’, magnificent woodland walks, bee hives, farm animals, a ‘jungle’, giant rhubarb plants, enormous rhododendrons, productive gardens (herbs, vegetables, fruit), pleasure grounds, natural climbing trails for kids and adults alike and many ‘work’ areas that were used in Victorian times and have been left much as they were – all providing something of a glimpse back in time.

We went again this year and I was most inspired by the growth that had taken place since my last visit – the workforce there have managed to achieve an evolution of sorts without appearing to have interfered too much with nature’s processes.  It was as wonderful as I remembered; in fact it was better – largely not too much had been tampered with; but certain things had been tweaked, enhanced, emphasised and it was breathtaking.

On reflection, it reminded me (a little!) of why we tell our clients to trust the investment process – it’s a long-term endeavour; it only needs minor tweaks along the way; and can be managed effectively with mindful and careful ‘interference’.  Importantly it takes time and patience (and an expert hand).  Your financial plan may not look like a fine ornamental garden; it may not be an inspirational thing of beauty; but it is ultimately your creation and speaks of your life, your wishes, your legacy and ought therefore to be treated with respect and care by people who think it matters – you and us.

Lost Gardens of Heligan2023-12-01T12:12:29+00:00

Perspective is everything

Guest blogger – Ben Hutton
August 2023  •  5 min read

Perspective is everything

Big numbers are hard to put in perspective. We hear millions, billions and trillions thrown around a lot in finance, but it requires a real effort to think about how much that really is.

A useful way of gaining perspective is to turn it into time periods (helpfully calculated by NASA, so you know it’s accurate*).

If you went back in time for one million seconds, it would be Friday, 23rd June. 12 days.

If you went back in time for one billion seconds, it would be Sunday, 27th October 1991. Nearly 32 YEARS.

But the really mind blowing one is this…

If you went back in time for one trillion seconds, you’d be 32,000 years in the past. Days of the week would be irrelevant, you’d be more worried about the fact that ice sheets covered most of the UK, and your closest friend was this guy:

Perspective

So, when we hear that the UK currently has a national debt of around £2.5 trillion**, we can acknowledge that is a LOT of debt.

But we shouldn’t panic too much.

Because when you put what the UK has borrowed up against what the UK is worth, things look a little better.

And that’s what the debt/GDP ratio below does (all the way back to the reign of King James II).

Perspective

In 1815, after the Napoleonic wars, UK debt was £854 million – 1/3000th of today’s level. But that represented nearly 250% of GDP!

Today the debt/GDP ratio is 100%. Similar to most other developed nations, and not out of whack vs. history.

Perspective is everything!

Perspective is everything2023-12-01T12:12:29+00:00

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail

Jemima Thomas
June 2023  •  3 min read

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail

There are so many things about moving house that I loathe; but one of the biggest is ‘the admin’ … changing personal banking details, setting up new accounts, changing names on bills, being on hold to a new broadband service, contacting the DVLA and ordering a new driving licence etc.

For the past four years I’ve been living in London and have become accustomed to moving roughly once a year due to landlords hiking rents or wanting to sell their property; or simply moving elsewhere due to problems that have occurred in the property – in the past I have shared various rental homes with bats, rats, and mice … so I think it’s understandable that I have needed to move so often (despite my loathing of the process)!

Last weekend I moved into a basement flat with my partner, and although having years of experience as a renter (with really good checklists in place that have been created due to problems in the past causing huge stress!), it still ended up being less than idyllic when I thought it would be a breeze, having done this so many times before.

I am fully aware that the majority of you will not have to experience such problems; many of you have lived in the same property for many years; but ensuring that your details are kept up to date is still absolutely vital (for you and us).

We want to remind you about the 10-minute challenge series on our website, something we created during lockdown when it became apparent that many of our clients don’t know where certain important documents are stored.  We simply want to help you ensure that whatever you are trying to do or find is made that much easier and less stressful, because you have good record-keeping systems in place.  We don’t want ‘future you’ to endure the struggle of some relatively basic tasks; being organised about this is key.

I would encourage you to set some time aside to prepare well for whatever life scenarios you can think of that might require decent and advanced planning … fail to prepare, prepare to fail.

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail2023-12-01T12:12:31+00:00

Who said ”watching paint dry is as dull as financial planning”?

Debbie Harris
May 2023  •  5 min read

Who said ”financial planning is as dull as watching paint dry”?

I’m sure lots of people have actually said/thought that … and in many ways, financial planning done well is indeed a lot like the painting process.

I spent most of last weekend with a paint brush in one hand and a roller in the other and I had a lot of time to bemoan my utter loathing of anything ‘DIY’ whilst I cracked on and did what was necessary.

It occurred to me after I stepped back and examined the end result of my frustrating (and frankly downright painful at my age) labours, that financial planning is A LOT like painting a room …

You first have to admit the need to make a change; then you have to make some decisions about what you want to do and when you want to do it; then it’s time for organising your equipment (I have discovered that a telescopic pole to extend one’s roller is a MUST); and then it’s the big one … pick a day and just ‘start’ – the preparation is the slog … I was taught well by my father though – sugar soap the walls, fill any blemishes, do the cutting in – and most importantly (like a mantra!) “let the roller do the work”.

There are obstacles in the way, literally and metaphorically – the family dog kept wanting to ‘help’ and I slightly under-estimated my paint quantity requirements (spotting this before it became a problem; meant I only had to make a small adjustment to my plan and simply ended up using a slightly different shade on one wall).

The bulk of the time you are painting ceilings and walls, it is dull, unglamorous, tedious, painstaking and seems to go on forever.  But … that moment when you know you are loading the roller for the last time … pure joy!  Until you look back at what you’ve done and it looks patchy because it’s wet – which is totally normal but gut wrenchingly soul-destroying.

So you shuffle off to spend what feels like another lifetime cleaning paint out of the brushes, rollers, trays etc; you remove stray paint from your hair, your glasses and your elbow and you get cleaned up.

You avoid looking at the room for a good hour or two (read what it says on the paint tin) – and then you tentatively go back in and check … and lo and behold – it’s glorious.  It’s a thing of beauty – you send pictures of it to your friends and tell them how wonderful it looks (they say the right things in response of course – but how excited can you get about a ceiling and four walls?!).

And you pat yourself on the back (rightly so – but gently because that aches too) – the preparation, the planning, the hard graft, the mental effort, the tedium, the waiting – all absolutely worth it.

Who said ”watching paint dry is as dull as financial planning”?2023-12-01T12:12:32+00:00

What is a financial planner?

Dominic Thomas
May 2023  •  10 min read

What is a financial planner?

The nature of a complex world is such that terms are used somewhat glibly to describe something. There are lots of roles, titles and descriptions that have altered or perhaps been extended or broadened over the years. Language is constantly changing.

There was a time when there were only two types of financial adviser, a Tied Agent or an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). This role involved the selling and implementation of financial products. The distinction that IFAs made was that they were working on behalf of their client, selecting the best from the entire marketplace, whereas the Tied Agent sold whatever their company made available. Such simple, binary distinctions are long gone.

Today we have mortgage brokers, insurance brokers, credit brokers, financial advisers, IFAs, financial planners, wealth managers, financial coaches, lifestyle financial planners, restricted advisere and financial guidance and I am sure a lot more besides.

As with most sectors, financial services has evolved and professionalised. Definitions are sometimes left very vague, I might argue that this tends to benefit those that wish to obfuscate. One example being that of the term “restricted”. It isn’t beyond the imagination of most of us to appreciate that a restricted solution means, not able (or commercially unwilling) to consider the most appropriate solution from the entire market place. So it will serve those that are restricted to hide such a term deep in their literature, contrary to regulatory requirements.

Being independent doesn’t mean being a sole operator, it can, but in terms of financial services it means having access to the whole of the market of financial products and solutions. This places the adviser in the best place to select a suitable option for you. However it is still basically arranging stuff, which is fair enough, but not real planning.

Financial planning is helping you to clarify what you want your future to be and considering your current position, how to best achieve your goals, or recognise that they are not realistic. Products are very much last consideration. By way of illustration, suppose you have an ache, the medics don’t jump straight to heart surgery. Your issue may be small or life threatening, but there are obvious pertinent questions and analysis to be performed before deciding what needs to be done, by whom and with what “tools”.

A financial planner will create the opportunity for you to discuss your ambitions, your struggles with money and the reality of your present situation, without judgment, in may respects the adviser should be a “blank canvas” a term that Freud brought into consciousness. Once assessment has reached a sufficient point we can begin to build a plan, a model of your future income sources to support your lifestyle and spending choices. Nothing is “set in stone” everything can change, importantly a model is simply a version of the future (a simplistic one). It will be wrong, but the main point is to help clarify your goals, have a plan and review, review, review keeping you on track.

I might argue a better term for financial planning is planned spending, because is reality that is what a “lifestyle” really is. Your choices about what and how you spend.

Complexity arrives in the form of a changing landscape of investment markets, economic realities, geo-politics, taxation and law. This doesn’t dictate how you alter things, but how we shape the dance between them and your changing personal situation. None of us are the people we were at 18, but there are echoes. A planner, a proper one, will help you navigate your motives, desires and the realities of your choices, not simply arrange your pension or “manage the money” which to my mind misses the purpose behind it all.

The fact is that at the heart of this there are problems that are universal. Firstly, few if any of us wish to reduce our lifestyle, however you define it. Most people are not good at holding onto the money that they earn, inherit or win. Most of us are not good at discerning the cost of a lifestyle either now or in the future. It’s far easier for us to account for how we would spend an imaginary lottery win than how much it will cost us to live as we are for two, three or four decades once we are retired, or frankly what we spend each month now. We are all tempted by the illusion of get rich quick solutions, starting your own business, writing a best- selling book, setting up a social media account where the ‘likes’ are followed by pounds, or of course the next big one, cryptocurrency or whatever you fancy.

The truth is much harsher. It’s a long, slow process, full of setbacks as well as successes. As for advice from friends and family … well I don’t know them, actually scratch that, I do know some of them, you refer them to us … but suffice to say that qualified, regulated, impartial, non-judging, prudent, long-term, evidence-based, evidential advice is likely to be of greater value with no vested interest in whether you holiday in Bournemouth or the Bahamas; Charlton or Cuba.

What is a financial planner?2023-12-01T12:12:33+00:00

How are you spending your time?

Jemima Thomas
April 2023  •  3 min read

How are you spending your time?

We always want our clients to be able to prioritise what enriches them in life. We hone your financial plan to suit your needs, with an eye on making sure that your spare time is spent doing what you love with ‘financial comfort’ making that possible.  With a fair few bank holidays on the horizon, we hope that you have been able to set some time aside to spend it doing the things that bring you joy.

We’d love to hear how you are spending your long weekends in May. Will you be surrounded by loved ones? Engaging in a favourite hobby? Travelling somewhere? Or simply taking time to relax and breathe? Whatever you have planned we hope it’s thoroughly enjoyable and gives you the opportunity to rest and recharge.

Spotlight (our client magazine) is due to be in your hands very soon, and as usual we’ve had a number of clients who have contributed. It’s always lovely to be able to present real examples in Spotlight of lives well lived – which is why we do what we do here at Solomon’s; Time well spent deserves to be celebrated and your story shared.

How are you spending your time?2023-12-01T12:12:34+00:00

The psychology of money

Morgan Housel 
April 2023  •  4 min read

Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel

If ever there was a book about money that I wish I had written, it might just be The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel. This is a really great read for anyone interested in making money work for them – which is you!

Morgan writes 20 short chapters, which are all very readable and should (I hope) provide interest to even those with the most chest-tightening of financial jargon phobias. The key messages reinforce what I have come to witness and understand over the last three decades – investor behaviour is probably the most important element of a successful investment experience. You don’t need a Degree or to have particularly good maths skills; but rather a long-term mindset and a clear plan that you stick to. You also need to accept market volatility as the price you pay for good returns. Sound familiar?

How you behave is more important than what you know.

As you will know, we work with you to create your financial plan. The better we know you, the more chance we have of clearly identifying your values and ‘goals’ (I’m not keen on that word, but it does capture most of what I am trying to convey).  I believe that crafting your financial plan helps clarify how much is enough for you. Most people have no idea about how much is enough, and as a result ‘more is always better’ but this is one of the best ways to remain permanently dissatisfied.

What is ‘enough’ for you is not the same for someone else.  Even within our rather wonderful group of clients there is a fairly wide and varied definition of how much constitutes enough. That is normal; difference is normal.  Hence your plan is unique and designed for you. It is not designed for your friends, extended family or peers who may have very different resources and assumptions about what is enough.  Morgan tackles some of these issues and shares some useful examples.

So, if you would like a free copy, I have one with your name on it. Send an email to Jemima (jemima@solomonsifa.co.uk) and she will ensure you get a copy.

The psychology of money2023-12-01T12:12:34+00:00
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