Don’t leave it to the last minute

Dominic Thomas
April 2023 • 3 min read

Don’t leave it to the last minute

One of the things we take seriously here at Solomon’s is finding ways to improve what we do for our clients and how we do it.

The tax year end period in the last few years has been very busy indeed with a number of transactions being processed very close to the deadline of 5^th April. The team here (once again) stepped up marvellously this year and we all worked incredibly hard to ensure good outcomes for all – but we would like to try and ensure that we don’t have a similar ‘last minute rush’ next year!

So what’s the answer? Possible solutions rely fairly heavily on our clients joining with us in our endeavours. I have been encouraging clients for many years to set up monthly Direct Debit payments to ISAs and pensions (where appropriate) and many of our clients are now doing this (and reaping the benefits of pound cost averaging – see our video here!). I would be happy to discuss this with you if you haven’t already had ‘that conversation’ with me. The alternative (for clients who are able and would prefer to make their contributions in lump sum payments) is to make sure that you do this as early in the tax year as possible (you can invest from the 6^th April onwards).

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Don’t leave it to the last minuteJemima Thomas2025-01-28T10:04:43+00:00

Environment on the human psyche

Sam Harris
March 2023 • 5 min read

The effect of environment on the human psyche

It’s a cold story. The tale of a perilous journey across an apocalyptic wasteland. Crumbling buildings, nefarious outlaws and unearthly creatures that lurk in the dark, once human, but not anymore. This is the premise of The Last of Us. An episodic series based on the video game of the same name. To say I’m invested would probably be somewhat of an understatement. Pedro Pascal is exceptional in his portrayal of Joel, the lead character. Though much like the original game a decade ago, what has truly blown me away is the atmosphere. Surreal backdrops, from spectral city silhouettes to the crepuscular ruins of abandoned structures. The show’s aura is all encompassing, the attention to detail pays off and hooks you in with a supreme level of immersion. Which brings me to the main subject of this blog post, how your surroundings and environment can affect your emotions and state of mind.

Do you ever get that giddy feeling when it snows? For me, it doesn’t even need to settle to put a smile on my face. Yet when it does, the landscape totally changes. It feels like a different world. An undeniable scene of natural beauty. Streets and rooftops covered in blankets of white, the roads are quiet. A picture of serenity. It takes you back to the halcyon days of childhood: snowball fights, snow angels and the unmistakable crunch of the first steps across virgin snowfall. My immediate surroundings invariably have some degree of influence on how I think and feel. To me, this is what makes one’s environment so important. Even when it comes to money. Especially when it comes to financial planning.

This is one of the many reasons why at Solomon’s we feel it’s so crucial to develop personal, lasting relationships with our clients. To provide you with that confidence and level of trust which, let’s face it, is an absolute requirement in the financial industry. Furthermore, we endeavor to utilize user- friendly tools and services that present and collect information with utmost clarity and efficiency. Ultimately, isn’t that why people seek financial advice? To reduce uncertainty and stress. Finding yourself in an unpleasant environment can cause doubt and turmoil. Let us walk through the snow together

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Environment on the human psycheJemima Thomas2023-12-01T12:12:36+00:00

Updating your spending plan

Trimming the fat

We won’t highlight the scary numbers around the cost of living crisis we now find ourselves in, but we will do our best to ensure that you feel prepared.

In many ways our clients are not as impacted by this as many folk in our wider communities – we don’t have any clients earning minimum wage for example. But we do have clients who are in their retirement and for whom small changes can have repercussions over the longer term. We also have a number of clients who fall into the ‘middle-earners’ bracket (recently identified in the press as a group who will feel the pinch).

This particular group of people are generally logical who therefore know that the answer probably lies in being sensible about budgeting; and cutting costs where it is possible to do so.

There is a lot of ’bumpf’ in social media currently about millennials who are tired of the advice from older generations to cancel their Spotify account and stop buying their skinny lattes at Starbucks in order to save money. This advice given in the context of trying to save up for a deposit on a house is frankly inadequate and I do understand the millennials’ argument about that.

However if we apply the same sort of methodology to the current crisis of ‘my living costs are increasing by £150pm’ – then there is actually some common sense to this approach – take a look …

Spotify £9.99pm

Netflix £10.99pm

Starbucks £40pm (assumes halving a one-coffee-per-workday habit)

Wine £20 (buy two bottles less per month)

Takeaway or meal out £40 (reduce by one per month – amount depends on size of household)

Amazon Prime £7.99

These alone total £128.97

We’re not talking about huge lifestyle-changing cuts here – we’re talking about small changes that soon add up. Shopping around for cheaper options on your existing expenditure is another way to cut costs (sometimes significantly) – mortgage, insurances, TV & broadband package, mobile phone contract.

UPDATING YOUR SPENDING PLAN

Martin Lewis (Money Saving Expert) comes up with new suggestions all the time – frankly I find the layout of his website ‘messy’ but I do rather like his weekly newsletter which is always full of good ideas.

It probably goes without saying but ‘now’ would be a very good time to review and update your spending plan – you can only consider how to cut costs if you know where the biggest savings are to be had – we know this can be a painful exercise so we offer a few ways for you to do this – you can click here for our video and for a pdf or an excel version of our income and expenditure form; OR you can send us (securely via the portal please) the last three months of your bank statements and we’ll do the legwork for you; OR we can work from your own ‘budget’ document – whatever form that takes.

However anxious you may be about impending price rises, there are options; there are changes you can make. If you are ever feeling overwhelmed about all this though, please do get in touch. We will support you however we can.

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

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Updating your spending planJemima Thomas2025-01-28T09:55:23+00:00

CHRISTMAS BUDGETING

TODAY’S BLOG

SO, WHAT WAS YOUR BUDGET FOR CHRISTMAS? DID YOU EVEN HAVE ONE? AND HAVE YOU KEPT TO IT?…

I have to confess … I’ve gone over mine ever so slightly. I always forget how expensive the ‘treat foods’ are … not just the turkey and all the trimmings, but the nibbles you tend to leave dotted around the place in the run up to the big day; the spare bottle of bubbly (just in case); the oversized tin of Quality Street – that seems to be devoid of toffee pennies within minutes of opening (I always feel a bit sorry for the strawberry creams that get thrown away in the New Year when I’m sick of the sight of the tin loitering on the kitchen worktop!); don’t even get me started on Turkish Delight (about which I find not one delightful thing!)

This year I congratulated myself for managing to stay within my budget for ‘gifts’, but then I chastised myself because I failed miserably (as every other year) to budget for wrapping paper, ribbons, tags, tape etc. (Anyone who has ever received a gift from me will tell you that I take the presentation of gifts quite seriously, so this is a rookie oversight on my part!)

What does all this boil down to in the context of what we do at Solomon’s? Simple answer … contingency planning (you knew the P-word was coming surely?!).

It’s about knowing that you are never going to remember every little cost. And planning accordingly. Giving yourself wiggle room. It’s something that every builder on the planet will tell you to do. Every project manager. Every business executive. We all KNOW this. But knowing what is good for us is the easy part. It’s the following through on that knowledge that is the tricky bit!

When we talk about ‘budgeting’ in general here at Solomon’s – we are encouraging our clients to be realistic and to err on the side of ‘over-estimating costs’ … thereby giving that wiggle room to the numbers.

We recently had some new clients who put together a really detailed and carefully considered analysis of their ‘normal’ spending. The numbers revealed that they potentially have a considerable sum ‘left over’ each month. When we presented this to them, they were stunned as this was not a fair reflection of their lived experience. So they had to look again and see where they were spending and not accounting for things. It was a revelatory experience … for them and for us! It was a really good reminder that this is an incredibly difficult but vital component of the financial planning process.

If you haven’t updated your expenditure figures for us recently – we would encourage you to be brave and have a go at this in 2022 (but maybe don’t use your December transactions as a reflection of your ‘normal monthly spending’!!)

If you need a template to work from – please click here or you can have a go at using our portal to record your numbers. Or you can just let us have your own budget/bank statements and we’ll do the legwork for you.

However you choose to do it; please just have a go. After all – it is the foundation stone of the framework that is your financial plan and it’s vital that we place it in the correct position for you, so that it can bear the weight of whatever needs to go on top.

Debbie Harris
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk
Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

Take Survey

PRIVACY POLICY | DATA PROTECTION

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

Take Survey

PRIVACY POLICY | DATA PROTECTION

CHRISTMAS BUDGETINGJemima Thomas2023-12-01T12:12:58+00:00

INTERESTED IN HIGHER INTEREST ACCOUNTS?

TODAY’S BLOG

ARE YOU MORE INTERESTED?

The last year or so has seen enormous improvements in technology. Thankfully the money management technology is one of those elements that has improved.

Hunting for a decent interest rate is hard enough at the moment, but moving to a new better account once the rate has come to an end is a constant frustration due to the effort required and all the hurdles of proving your identity. As a result, most savers languish in poor accounts, earning next to diddly squat.

If you consider that your savings at a UK Bank or Building Society is only protected to the first £85,000 under FSCS rules, then balances that are larger give some concern, particularly when life feels somewhat uncertain.

MAKING MONEY MANAGEMENT EASIER

I’m pleased to announce that we have teamed up with Akoni, one of several cash management providers. They have branded the site with our logo – its their kit and service. I decided to remove any payments that we might get to your advantage. This is very self-service, but we can assist if you get stuck.

There are other solutions, this is aimed at those with cash savings of more than £85,000 – so not for everyone, but you can get rates of interest that others with much larger balances enjoy.

The aim of all these services is to make life easier for you, getting you better rates of interest. Its not free, no bank provides a free service (think about it – or ask if you still don’t understand). The Cash Management service company (Akoni in this instance) make a small charge which I believe is worth paying for the convenience.

Have a look for yourself by clicking this link.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk
Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

Take Survey

PRIVACY POLICY | DATA PROTECTION

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

Take Survey

PRIVACY POLICY | DATA PROTECTION

INTERESTED IN HIGHER INTEREST ACCOUNTS?Dominic2025-01-21T16:39:48+00:00

ENERGY COST CRISIS

TODAY’S BLOG

ENERGY COST CRISIS

It seems that there is a weekly crisis at present, by the time you read this there will likely be a new one! I wonder if you are bracing yourself for an expensive winter? As you probably know, there is a global surge in the cost of gas at wholesale has led many companies to drastically increase their prices. While many companies have reacted by hiking up costs even more for customers, others have taken themselves off price comparison websites and some have gone bust. Its worth mentioning that price comparison websites aren’t all that you may imagine, they are not whole of market and only show companies that provide them with a commission.

Anyway your household and mine are facing much higher gas bills this winter due to a global surge in wholesale gas prices that have forced some energy companies to go bust. The British public has already been hit with energy price hikes over the last few months and could be paying hundreds more this winter, unless they counterbalance the extra costs by making some simple changes to their usage. The news that another five energy firms have folded in recent months will no doubt worry many householders but Ofgem has said it “has systems in place to look after consumers”. An Ofgem spokesman said that currently wholesale gas prices are at a record high, driven by international supply and demand factors. This is undoubtedly putting pressure on companies – with four leaving the market over the last few weeks. In the past few months Utility Point, People’s Energy, PfP Energy, MoneyPlus Energy and Hub Energy have all ceased trading – something which is thought to have affected half a million British households. More recently Green and AVRO Energy both collapsed with an estimated 800,000 customers between them – Octopus has stepped in to takeover.

FULL OF GAS

These consumers will be given a new supplier, that means extra hassle for them with the costs passed onto customers. Speaking from personal experience, my supplier “Green Energy Network” went bust last year and we were switched over to EDF. An unfortunately timed problem with the meter itself during this period, left us in limbo as we waited for a new account to be registered and set up, which too several weeks. We finally got there and it wasnt a major problem, but it wasnt “straight-forward”.

OFGEM added that it is working closely with the Government to manage the wider implications of the global gas price increase and it is not thought that this will lead to a complete halt in supply. Make of that what you will, I’m yet to be convinced that the current Government could successfuly manage a raffle.

As such there is no better time to see if you qualify for the Warm Home Discount Scheme, which could ensure some people are £140 better off. To find out, people can speak to their energy supplier, most of them are signed up to the scheme if they have 250,000 customers or more. More than two million UK households should qualify for this rebate on their energy bills this year and it’s important to get in touch with them early as there is only a limited amount of people energy companies can help.

What I might suggest is that you get on with reviewing your gas supply. I would recommend having a look at Martin Lewis’ website www.moneysavingexpert.com where you can do a search. If you want a £50 discount off Octopus, here is a code that you can use (I get £50 too) but do your own research about what is best for your usage. Here is the link: https://share.octopus.energy/tulip-shark-521.

Long story short, make a record and update your spending plan – either just let us know with an email, or update your information within our secure portal.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk
Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

Take Survey

PRIVACY POLICY | DATA PROTECTION

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

Are we a good fit for you?

Take Survey

PRIVACY POLICY | DATA PROTECTION

ENERGY COST CRISISDominic2025-01-27T15:37:51+00:00