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’!

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1 in a million (or rather 1 in 45 million!) Jemima Thomas2023-12-01T12:12:28+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.

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Fail to prepare, prepare to failJemima Thomas2023-12-01T12:12:31+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.

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Who said ”watching paint dry is as dull as financial planning”?Jemima Thomas2023-12-01T12:12:32+00:00

Planning – Christmas is coming

Debbie Harris
Dec 2022 • 6 min read

The goose is getting fat, Christmas is coming

As I write, it is the middle of November, but we are galloping towards the festive season at a pace – bombarded by supermarket adverts, neighbours putting their fairy lights up (already!), and the internet promising fantastic bargains if you are willing to part with your money on one particular day of the year.

It all seems so frenetic (and it is), but this year I have decided to slow things down a little; get my priorities in order; and be mindful during the planning process (there it is … the P word!).

As a financial planning firm – these are three things that are crucial to a job well done and a job done well.

1. SLOW DOWN

Hit the ‘pause’ button; take a break; stop – you cannot see the wood for the trees if you are running around the forest like a headless chicken

2. PRIORITISE

Figure out what is important; what you really care about; what matters – only in reflection and introspection do these things become clear

3. BE MINDFUL IN THE PLANNING

It’s all very well to have grand plans and ‘big goals’; but we HAVE to be realistic around what can be achieved with what we have. That visit to Lapland to race red-nosed reindeer will have to be put on hold! We must also remember that time is a finite source – things can be done with all the time in the World; but we don’t have the luxury of that – our tomorrow is never guaranteed

PLANNING – ENJOY THE FRUITS…

All that in mind, I have booked tickets to see a pantomime with my daughter this year (Cinderella ON ICE!); I will be attending a choral performance at a theatre (on my own – I couldn’t convince any of my lot to join me!); I have a ‘Christmas Jumper Evening’ at a pub scheduled next month and I have arranged a shopping-followed-by-dinner date with my siblings. All things that bring me joy; all things that I have carefully selected to do with my time; all things that I will be able to look back on with a smile.

I’m not so worried about ‘the big day’ itself (although I have ordered my turkey … who knows whether I’ll actually get it … bird flu has wiped out huge swathes of the turkey population across the UK this year) – there’s always a slightly anti-climatical feel to the day for me – I enjoy the build up; the anticipation; the socialising – but once the turkey and trimmings have been devoured; it’s all over and there is a sadness to that – the tinsel doesn’t look so shiny; the leftover orange creams in the Quality Street Tin look resigned to their fate; and the tree is a dry, droopy version of its former glory.

I always enjoy the post-Christmas clean-up to be honest … it always feels good to clear away the (admittedly pretty) clutter and start the New Year with a clean, fresh slate (one of the reasons why I love Mondays too I think!)

So whatever your Christmas will look and feel like; whatever your preferred ways are to spend your time; whatever your beliefs about gifting and celebrating; I hope that you are able to plan your festive season mindfully and to execute your plan beautifully.

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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Planning – Christmas is comingJemima Thomas2023-12-01T12:12:41+00:00

Purpose – how to plan…

I have shelves of books about financial planning, investing and anything that helps me to improve how I do what I do and how to simplify, explain and address issues that actually matter to you our clients.

One of the lessons that I have learned over the last three decades is that planning for the future is often too far into the future to be meaningful. We all hope to have a rewarding, purposeful and enjoyable life, but thinking about the next thirty years (2052) often feels too distant from the present.

TIME TRAVEL

As I write, it is November 2022, and looking backwards is easier. Three decades ago (November 1992) is the same distance backwards as it is forwards to 2052. Back in 1992 we had just had the ERM crisis, unemployment was 2.7m, Charles & Diana were still unhappily married. The same time traveller distance back to November 1962 and 007 premiered Dr No and Z-Cars was first aired. The Cuban Missile Crisis had just happened, and The Beatles had just released their first single ‘Love Me Do’.

Suffice to say thirty years is a long time and much changes, though most of it is barely noticed on a day-to-day basis. As humans we tend to have short memories, often having to relearn the same lessons.

The cashflow modelling that we have been using with you since it was available, suffers from the same problem, projecting decades out into the future. Of course, I remind you that “this is a version of the future that almost certainly will not happen, as life is not linear and stuff happens” or something along those lines.

On the one hand I need to extol the rationale, logic and purpose of having a long-term mindset, and on the other I am aware that we really cannot predict anything. The last five years were probably unthinkable to most of us decade ago.

So we focus on the gradual accumulation of small changes that all add up to a better future. Taking advantage of improvements in technology, lower charges and efficiencies. Yet I still find the daily use of pad and paper something that I am unlikely to give up easily. Even holding a printed document is better than a pdf.

Planning ahead for me means considering the year, quarters, weeks and days. I use a planner and despite all the workflows and tech, the planner is really my personal account and guide. This is really a place for my values and aspirations or goals both personally and for the business. The self-accounting enables me to not simply get things done, but to get the important things done… or at least progressed.

Quarterly planning is nothing to do with investment valuations or market conditions, but ensuring you are taking action to progress towards your goals whilst living out your own values consistently and authentically. Planning with purpose.

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Purpose – how to plan…Jemima Thomas2023-12-01T12:12:42+00:00

THE BIG ‘FIVE – OH’!

TODAY’S BLOG

THE BIG ‘FIVE – OH’!

In our last edition of Spotlight (our client magazine), we had a loose theme of ‘milestones’ and some of our wonderful clients wrote about their own personal challenges and celebrations, so I’m sure that some of the content will have resonated with you.

During our planning sessions for the magazine, it was interesting to note that we talked less about ‘when’ and more about ‘what’ our own (and clients’) milestones looked like.

Whilst we make a point of celebrating ‘big’ birthdays and ‘big’ anniversaries, these aren’t necessarily the momentous occasions that mean the most to us.

For many, the milestones are educational, or career-based, or ‘stage of life’ – buying your first home, getting married, having your first child (or grandchild), clearing your mortgage, retiring, receiving care or going into a care home and of course the deaths of important loved ones.

These are the moments in our lives when we often consider all the effort it took to get there and the (often emotional) rollercoaster as we look ahead to our new ‘normal’.

That’s not to say that the traditional milestones aren’t important anymore – as one who is facing the big ‘five-oh’ later on this year, I find myself strangely serene about the aging process.

Ten years ago, the thought of becoming ‘middle-aged’ filled me with dread … but now that I’m comfortably there (!) it doesn’t bother me in the slightest.

As I reflect on my almost 50 years on this planet, I count my blessings often – my family, my health, a roof over my head, a great career. The future looks bright and I’m looking forward to doing more, seeing more and learning more.

My personal milestones are many and varied and I relish the fact that I have so many more to look forward to.

We have an ongoing conundrum here at Solomon’s – whenever we talk about ‘life is short’ there is an immediate contrast that ‘life is long’ too!

We advise clients for many decades (and often look after two or three generations of the same family) and yet through loss and grief, we know that our time here is not guaranteed. So there is always an element to our work of planning for longevity but accounting for brevity.

We cannot plan for every eventuality – our future milestones aren’t guaranteed – but we must surely seek to achieve as many of them as we can while we can.

And when I turn 50, I’ll be sure to celebrate all that I have achieved in my life to this point and embrace hope and expectation for a long and well-lived future.

Debbie Harris
Solomons IFA

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THE BIG ‘FIVE – OH’!Jemima Thomas2023-12-01T12:12:45+00:00

RESCUE ME

TODAY’S BLOG

RESCUE ME…

Five months ago, my family and I finally decided (after years of discussion!) to foster a rescue dog.

Within three weeks of the decision being made, and all applications & home checks completed, we collected the lovely Bella. A 15 month old collie/greyhound mix, she had been found in a field in Romania as a 4-month old pup. She had been in the UK with another foster family for about a year before we got her.

The first few weeks were immensely stressful – you can never be entirely prepared for this adjustment! It took a huge amount of effort and a ton of patience to get through those early days.

Bella has ‘stranger anxiety’. And it’s severe. I’m not talking about ‘a bit of barking’ here; I’m talking about unadulterated terror. It was heartbreaking to see her freaking out at the mere sight of a stranger (human or animal) passing the house or on the other side of the street.

Scroll forward a few more weeks (and a bunch of dog-training sessions later) and Bella had made huge improvements – we could see her trust in us (her ‘hoomans’) growing and she was starting to allow herself to be reassured by our reassurances. We couldn’t let up on our efforts however and I have to be frank … it was exhausting.

Fast forward a few more months to today and she’s like a different animal. She still has the ‘stranger anxiety’ but it’s much less fearful and much less ‘robust’! She is happy and settled.

Now I could give you #637 reasons for NOT having a dog, but there are only two reasons for having a dog and they trump all 637 of these … hugs and love! And Bella is all over these – she is the only dog I have ever known to enjoy having her paws massaged! Whatever love and affection is on offer … she’ll take it!

She loves playing chase and finding random socks (from goodness only knows where); she is a cheeky, soppy girl who will be an absolutely awesome dog in her forever home. We only have her as a foster; and we know there will be a big hole in our family when she leaves us (and the house will feel painfully quiet!).

We are still waiting for her to be re-homed and every extra day we have her is a blessing – she is so trusting; so adoring; so vulnerable.

But we started with the end in mind. We knew it would be temporary; we knew it would be challenging; we knew it would be heartwrenching; we knew it would be worth it.

So where is the connection between my ramblings and financial planning … ?!

It’s a big decision
It’s a big step
It’s hard work in the early days
It gets easier
It’s rewarding
It’s absolutely worth it

And for the dog-lovers among you – here are a couple of my favourite shots of our girl …

Debbie Harris
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on our blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to us 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 Bakery, 2D Edna Road, Raynes Park, London, SW20 8BT

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

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RESCUE MEJemima Thomas2023-12-01T12:12:54+00:00

VEGANUARY

TODAY’S BLOG

VEGANUARY

Food is such an integral part of life. I have many nostalgic memories of meals shared with friends and family, filled with laughter and storytelling. My Father was a particularly impressive cook, always experimenting with new flavours; he loved impressing people with unique dishes using unusual fruits and vegetables. When I went to university, meals at home became sacred. My favourite meal upon my return was beef stew, usually accompanied by a glass of red … the ultimate in Winter comfort food.

A few years ago I got sick and after much research looking for things that could ‘heal’ me, a lot of data suggested a vegan diet. My deep love of charcuterie boards, roast beef, steak, lasagna, cheese would make it hard to cut out – but I was also desperate to feel well again. I’d reached a place where it was difficult to work, difficult to eat and was often in and out of hospitals and doctors’ surgeries – so I took the plunge.

Following a vegan diet means not eating meat, fish, dairy or animal biproducts such as eggs, honey or gelatine. I seem to have inherited my Dad’s love of cooking, so the creative side of trying new dishes was fun, but I felt like I had to keep reading research papers to convince myself I was doing the right thing. Not eating a meal made up of meat, carbs and vegetables on the side, felt wrong, as though I would somehow be weakening my body, not strengthening it.

One thing that is important if you give up meat (vegetarians listen up!), is to take a daily B12 supplement (in liquid form) as it is an important part of helping the nerves work and without it can lead to nerve damage. I have to plan meals thoughtfully to ensure that I’m getting the right nutrients from the food I eat but, after several months of experimenting with new vegan dishes, I began to feel better. I’m not ‘healed’, but I was able to return to work, eat solid food again, and even start weaning off some of the medication I’d been put on. I’ve found new favourite meals and enjoyed taste-testing lots of different products to find replacements for the foods I ‘miss’ the most.

In all honesty I don’t think I expected changing my diet to improve my health this drastically, but here I am almost a year later with no desire to revert back. Food should be nourishing and delicious and that is very achievable on a vegan diet.

So what does this have to do with financial planning, you might well ask!? Well, if you try and compare being physically unwell and being financially unwell (lots of debt perhaps; no clear direction; no idea what the best path is; no idea where to start; how and when should I invest…) then the analogy begins to reveal itself!

Depending on what financial problems you have, a personal plan is crucial. A financial plan is different for everyone (although just as with physical health … there are some recurring themes). As with physical problems, the relief from financial ‘pain’ isn’t instant – you aren’t ‘healed’ just because you have a treatment/lifestyle plan. It can take quite some time for the plan to take effect and for you to feel the benefits. As with treatments for physical ailments, sometimes you have to tweak your financial plan to ensure that you remain on track. As time goes by and the ‘treatment’ becomes habitual, you don’t even really have to work that hard at it. In the beginning, there can feel like a long road to travel and a lot of learning to do, but once you’re on your way … it’s liberating and empowering.

This is why we do what we do (and why we love doing it!) – financial freedom and financial wellbeing are absolutely our goals for all of our clients, whatever their financial ‘ailments’ may be.

Abigail Liddicott
Solomons IFA

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VEGANUARYJemima Thomas2023-12-01T12:12:56+00:00

KODACHROME

TODAY’S BLOG

KODACHROME

We’ve all probably watched more on television in the last 6 months than perhaps we have for many years. The other night I watched Kodachrome. I had reasonable hopes given the cast (Ed Harris, Jason Sudeikis, Elizabeth Olsen) and the plot, which was suggested as a father and son trip to get some final film developed at the last place to offer the service before closing. A sense of the now or never.

Famous photographer Ben Ryder (Harris) is at deaths door, much like his Kodak film slides. His relationship with his son Matt (Sudeikis) is also “mostly dead” rather like Kodak. At a crossroads or cul-de-sac (you decide) the two are reunited through contrived circumstance, on a journey together for different reasons. Ben to get 4 old rolls of film developed and Matt to get an interview, both with the air of desperate “last chance” about them.

NOT IN FOCUS

There are lots of possibilities for this, how change, endings and loss are handled for example. If you knew you had a few weeks to live, how would you conduct yourself in your final days. Perhaps a question many of us may have thought about more than usual recently. How do we handle ageing and the constant advancement of technology that can leave us behind, perhaps feeling (or being) redundant and consigned to history. How will we leave our mark, impression or do we even want to?

Sadly, the script and plot failed to cope with difficulty or nuance. The film is seemingly at a loss for ideas. Perhaps I am wrong, but there is a point in the story where Matt returns to his Uncle’s adoptive home, where Matt lived from age 13 following the death of his mother and the chosen absence of his father. Matt is now an adult in the music business, something of an expert. Yet the room he returns to in his uncle’s home is as it was left – vinyl and posters intact. Whilst I imagine this may happen sometimes, it seems improbable that an adolescent’s room is left for well over a decade (well over) in its original state.

DEPTH

Unsurprisingly, the plot becomes ever more simplistic and lacks any depth of vision (ironic for a photographer). Words are said, tantrums had, departures, threats, ultimatums but we all know where this is headed – a “just in time” redemptive ending, where a man’s work is validated above his ability to be present or available to that which he suggests is important.

Life is rarely like this. We often do not get ample warning to adequately address painful experiences. No final road trip with a mission. The voice of the financial planner is to act as a reminder that life is brief. We all know it is, but most of us live as though it will last forever. Planning finances to last and to be sufficient, so that you can squeeze all the joy you want from your allotted time, whatever that means for you. It has a connection with money, but it is not about money. Its about the choices we make to live.

USE BY: SEE END

So, let me suggest something else. You have 4 rolls of film, (unlike digital images which are so instant and numerous that there is little focus on the importance of the subject and its composition). One roll for each quarter of your remaining time (I would not be so harsh as to divide it up into quarters and give you what should be left). At the end of each future quarter period, I take one from you. What have you filled it with? Even this is clearly a daft suggestion – we simply do not know how much time we have. What we do know is what is important to each of us. The job of the planner is to help you maximise the time you have available and help you calculate what is possible given the resources you have. Like Kodachrome, we all have a shelf-life, this life is to be used. Unlike the food in your fridge, we simply do not have the use by date. This is a reminder check your stock and plan. We all know how disappointing waste is, particularly when at one point it was within our control. Today is your day of control.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

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Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Bakery, 2D Edna Road, Raynes Park, London, SW20 8BT

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KODACHROMEDominic2023-12-01T12:13:12+00:00