You are here: Home / Financial Planning

Follow the example of business leaders

December 14, 2011 By John Coles

There is an absolute glut of advice on how people should go about forging their careers.  But the majority of advice is given by people who haven’t actually practiced what they preached.  They may know the theory behind being successful in business, but the people worth heeding are those who have been there and done it themselves.

The best way to approach your career is to trust your instinct – make decisions using your gut as well as your head.  Also, take heed of those who have done things the hard way and learnt from their mistakes.

By asking questions from people who have built a successful career, you can learn valuable lessons. You can ask them about mistakes they made and what they did to get back on the right path. You may be able to learn enough like this to avoid making similar mistakes in your own career.

Lord Alan Sugar is a case in point – he left school with few qualifications and yet is one of the most successful business men in the UK today. On his TV programme, The Apprentice, you can see how the candidates fall into traps, but the ones who carry on to succeed are the ones who learn from their mistakes rather than obstinately sticking to their guns.

Here’s a particular example. People who want to start out in the property management business should study the careers of successful property magnates like David Lichtenstein. Lichtenstein is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Lightstone Group, a US real estate business.  Started in 1988, the business has had its share of mistakes but it is still there and doing business.

One of the objectives of Lightstone is to buy quality properties that are in distressed situations – so getting extreme value for money.  The company advises that others follow this strategy.

It’s fine to look to others for advice, but remember some of it isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. Advice is worth following though, if it comes from people who have faced difficulties and been successful nonetheless.

 

Filed Under: Financial Planning Tagged With: , , , ,

Watch your back on the road

December 14, 2011 By John Coles

Ever wondered why your car insurance premiums go up every year? Whether you’ve got one of the new eco cars UK consumers have been buying recently, or whether you’ve got a bog-standard Ford Fiesta or a 4×4 like a Honda CR-V, we all notice the costs creeping up.

Well, alongside covering the costs of uninsured drivers on the road, you’re also paying to cover the costs caused by the latest insurance scam going on roads all over the country.

In the UK, in the last two years, there’s been a rise in the numbers of apparent accidents which are actually choreographed by gangs working in tandem to defraud insurance companies.  These professional criminals patrol the roads looking for the right moment to bump into innocent drivers and then make a false claim.  Apparently it has already cost the insurance industry millions and increased premiums reflect this.

So what do you need to be on the alert for?

The gangs drive in three separate cars.  One lead vehicle will drive very slowly in front of an innocent driver’s vehicle. The second car drives behind the innocent driver, so he’s sandwiched.  The third vehicle will then appear ‘from nowhere’ and swerve in front of the lead vehicle. They will be ‘forced’ to brake, the innocent driver will not have time to stop and bump the lead vehicle, and the second criminal’s vehicle will go into the back of him.

Suddenly one innocent driver and two criminal drivers are all filing insurance claims.  Often the innocent driver has no idea what has taken place as they have witnessed the third criminal’s car swerving in front of the other driver. Unwittingly they exchange details with the ‘victim’ of the crash and the claim is legitimised.

Apparently, insurers have got wise to this kind of scam due to the numbers of claims being filed by groups of young men in cars together and all claiming whiplash.

Whatever car you drive, this kind of scam will affect your insurance premiums, so if you suspect you’ve seen anything like this happening, it’s best to inform the police.

 

Filed Under: Financial Planning Tagged With: , , , ,

Forex dabbling

December 12, 2011 By John Coles

If you want to try your hand at trading the foreign exchange market – or Forex for short – there are lots of online tutorials and even a little free money to get you started in a risk-free way.

Perhaps the wisest way to dip your toe in the water is to open a demo account with Sunbird Forex for example.

In this way, there’s absolutely no risk whatsoever and you can steadily develop strategies to see how they perform over time. There’s a word of information out there – theories, stop-losses and the like, which devotees will swear to when they’re successful of course.

The important thing is to trust the one person you truly can – yourself – and to keep your head. Remember that most traders lose money over time, but a few make millions and there are millions to be made. This is a 1.8 trillion US dollar a day market. It’s the biggest trading market in the world so the sky really is the limit if you can develop a winning strategy.

If you have the time, then it’s well worth the effort in trying a demo account. There’s simply nothing to lose.

Strategies may be very short term, based on small intra-day currency movements, or longer term based on your reading of the world’s economic fortunes and the likely relative performance of world economies and their currencies.

All the major world currencies are tradable like the US, Canadian and Australian dollars, the Euro, British pound, Japanese yen and Swiss Franc. So if, for example, you think the Eurozone crisis hasn’t anywhere near reached its peak, but that the coalition government is doing well in securing the UK’s finances, then you may think it’s wise to be long of sterling against the Euro. You may, of course think the exact opposite – that’s the game. And if you get it right, you can make a fortune.

You can also lose a bomb – but dummy trading first, then playing with money you can afford to lose in real life may be the best way to go.

This article was written by David, who is enthusiastic about all things finance. He often finds out about the latest news at sunbird forex.

 

Filed Under: Financial Planning Tagged With: , , ,

Save money – look after your car exhaust

November 24, 2011 By John Coles

Cars cost money, but once you’ve bought and paid for yours, it needn’t cost you much to maintain it and keep it on the road for years.  Just by looking after it well, you can save yourself unnecessary extra payments on items such as the exhaust.  Of course, there will come a time when you need to replace both the exhaust, but the better you look after it, the more years you’ll get out of it.

The exhaust system seems complex, but really it’s just a piping system for the fumes from the engine’s combustion of the fuel to be released.  The exhaust is a long tube filled with baffles to reduce the noise of the process of combustion – which is, in essence, a series of explosions.

It’s one of the people things fear going wrong on a car – and rightly so, because to replace the whole exhaust can be costly. However, if you keep a close eye on it, you can spot when things need work and save the expense of replacing the whole thing.

Rust is often a problem as it is caused by excess moisture left in the pipes. A common cause is lots of short journeys – if the engine doesn’t run for long enough, it won’t get sufficiently hot in the exhaust to burn off any condensation. Go further and the exhaust has a chance to dry out.  You may decide to replace the pipe with stainless steel as it will then be rust-resistant and last a lot longer.

Also keep an eye on the oxygen sensor and check it’s working properly. This is something you’ll have to get confirmed by a mechanic but if you seem to be getting through a lot more fuel than usual, it could be a faulty oxygen sensor that is allowing the engine to run too rich. Again, this is something that can be replaced individually.

The exhaust silencer will rust through and need renewing at some point, but you can get these separately, and as with a lot of things in life, you usually get what you pay for.

If you’re looking for overall reliability in a car, Honda has just come top of the What Car? and Warranty Direct’s reliability study for the sixth year running. Honda’s key to success in this survey is its very low 9 per cent failure rate during the first year after a car’s registration.

 

Filed Under: Financial Planning Tagged With: , , , ,

Plan for income – not capital growth

November 22, 2011 By John Coles

If ever you ask a financial planner about your investments and investing strategy going forward, he or she always seem to ask you the same question; are you interested in capital growth or income – or perhaps both?

The natural tendency is for those under 50 or so to say they’re more interested in capital growth. But be careful here – what you’re really interested in doing is reinvesting the dividends and that’s a different thing entirely. In other words, you’re more interested in your own capital growth than you are in the companies in which you’re investing.

Let’s consider a hypothetical example. A small company continually tells its shareholders that it is doing incredibly well with some world beating “no brainer” technology or other.

The share price rises, as you as a shareholder have your capital growth. But every now and again, the company creates new shares and/or comes back to its shareholders via a rights issue for more capital to fund this fantastic business. These are huge warning signs. Some such companies come good, but the vast majority do not. It’s far better, on the whole, to eschew such “jam tomorrow” investments in favour of sold high dividend companies with long and established track records which are operating in essential industries.

It’s worth checking out some decent online resources when you’re trying to find out more. There are plenty of opinion sites and blogs out there, with people like David Lichtenstein trying to give you an insight into the world as they see it, which may help to boost your understanding.

When you receive the sold dividends from such companies, you can then decide where you want to put them or whether you want to re-invest them automatically into the self-same companies. This is a well proven strategy for capital growth – i.e. your own capital growth through reinvesting the income. So the next time you’re asked this question – be careful how you respond.

The same is true of property investing. You’d be foolish to even think about buying property without a proven discount (which you know you can extract “capital growth” from) or a healthy income stream – via rents. It’s not rocket science – it’s good common sense.

 

Filed Under: Financial Planning Tagged With: , , ,

Financing a new car

October 25, 2011 By John Coles

Although you may not have the cash available to buy a new car, when the time comes to replace your car, you generally can’t delay too long, as life can be more difficult to manage without your own vehicle.
It’s worth doing your research on the different car financing deals that are available, as some agreements will mean that you’ll be paying a lot of interest over the years.
There are many new car offers on at the moment, and each has different benefits – whether it’s a lower interest rate, or add-on items such as free insurance for a certain period of time.
Most people buying a new car on finance will do so through the car dealership. It’s usually done on a fixed interest rate and the length of repayment time can be tailored to fit your budget and the total amount you are borrowing. Your credit rating will be checked when you apply for finance, and if your rating is low, it may mean you are subject to a higher interest rate.
Some deals will allow you to decide the deposit amount and the final repayment, others are less flexible.  If you’re not happy with the details of a finance agreement with one dealership, remember you can always take your business elsewhere, so shop around before committing.
You may not be looking to buy a new car.  Even if you’re looking for newer technology like hybrid or electric vehicles, these don’t have to be purchased new now that the second hand market for these types of cars has developed. In the past couple of years, prices for hybrid vehicles have steadily been falling. With the Honda Insight, Honda even launched the most affordable hybrid in the UK in 2009. This means you don’t have to spend a fortune anymore if you want to go green, and if you can find a used hybrid model you might be able to find a real bargain. If you are buying second hand, make sure you get the car checked out by an independent motor engineer though, before you agree on a price.
In the UK, the Office of Fair Trading has launched a campaign called ‘Know Your Rights’ for people buying a used car. Even when you buy second hand you are still protected by law in case of certain problems. You have more rights when buying second hand from a dealer rather than from a private seller or car auction.

Filed Under: Financial Planning Tagged With: , ,

Save Cash By Taking Time And Care Purchasing Your Insurance

October 17, 2011 By John Coles

Buying a new home insurance policy should be as easy as one, two, three, right? Well, not necessarily. If you rush through the process of purchasing your policy, you may just find that you pay for it in the long-term. Making just one or two simple errors when filling in your personal details could prove devastating when it comes to making a claim. Just imagine the stress of falling victim to a burglary and then finding yourself rejected by your insurance company.

Common errors that can lead to such a scenario include providing inaccurate information about when and for how long your property is left unoccupied.

You’ll usually be asked to state the times during which your property is left empty. For most people, this is primarily the working hours of 9am to 5pm, but those who commonly work night shifts or irregular hours need to make sure they fill this field in as accurately as possible. You will also be asked to state the number of consecutive days that the property will be left unoccupied for the duration of the policy. The standard length of time is usually set at 30 days, with some policies lapsing if the covered house remains unoccupied for longer than that.

It’s worth spending time on insurance comparison sites before making a decision to ensure you’re purchasing a policy that allows for extended periods away from the property if such a scenario does apply to you (if you’re looking for holiday home insurance, these sorts of issues are even more important to consider carefully).

Other aspects of the insurance purchasing process to take care with include valuing your contents, if indeed you’re purchasing contents insurance alongside buildings cover. You may be surprised how much your most valuable items are worth, so take time calculating, and involve items such as cameras and jewelry.

Ultimately, the message remains clear: take time and care now and avoid stress and financial pain in the long-term.

Filed Under: Financial Planning

Tips To Save Money: Making Home Insurance Work For You

October 17, 2011 By John Coles

We may have been reaping the benefits of some late summer sunshine recently, but don’t let that kid you; the British winter is almost upon us, and if it’s anything like last year, we’re in for a bitterly cold one. So, it’s worth preparing early to avoid being caught out.

It’s obviously wise always to perform the essential winter preparatory activities, getting a flu jab sooner rather than later, stocking up on hot chocolate, and making sure you’ve got a few portable heaters handy just in case. However, it’s vital that you also take some sensible precautions to protect your home, and bank account, against the potentially devastating effects of the British winter on your home.

Purchasing a good home insurance policy should be the first item on your list of “winter to dos”. Make sure you pick one with the suitable level of cover (for example, do you need accidental damage cover?), and think carefully when choosing the level of excess you’re willing to pay in the event of claiming on your policy. This is just sound financial planning advice, but you’d be surprised how many people overlook it.

Once you’ve purchased a decent policy, bearing in mind that it’s always worth shopping around to compare home insurance cover before deciding, make sure you prepare your home for the harsh winter ahead, to reduce the likelihood of having to get in touch with your home insurance provider through the coming months.

Make sure your roof tiles and chimney fixtures are secure and in a good state. While you’re up on the roof, do a quick check on your TV aerial and satellite dish as well. The last thing you need during the winter months is something crashing down from your roof!

Protect your pipes from cracking in the cold by insulating exposed pipes and check your electrical appliances for leaks. Washing machines and dishwashers should be checked very closely.

If you also get your boiler checked in the build-up to the deep winter months, and prepare a sensible home emergency kit (including a torch, candles, matches, some first-aid equipment, and some food), you should be able to survive the Great British winter at its fiercest!

Filed Under: Financial Planning

Protect your identity and your finances

October 11, 2011 By John Coles

People who rank financial planning high up on their agendas should be doing everything possible to ensure their identity isn’t stolen at any point.

If you’re thinking about the future and you might need a loan for home improvements or if you’re just starting out and need a mortgage, you’ll need to have money to access to make this happen.

Anyone who falls victim to identity theft could find they have a problem getting access to this kind of finance. If someone steals your identity, they will probably have used it to take out credit cards, loans or even a passport in your name and until it is proven to be fraudulent, you won’t be able to undertake transactions in your own name. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Career Advice, Financial Planning Tagged With: , , , ,

Sort out your finances in time for Christmas

September 23, 2011 By John Coles

It may only be September, but that means it isn’t too long until Christmas and the holiday period arrive. While the festive season means fun and laughter for most people, it can also be a time when many people worry about money and they amount they are spending on everything from parties to presents during the period.

To avoid worrying about your finances this year, you’d be wise to start planning well ahead, so you’ve got enough money to see you through come December.

First thing’s first, get all your bills and financial statements in some kind of order. Realistically, you won’t need receipts or bills stretching back any more than a year and a half, so sort them all out and put the oldest ones to the side.

Once you’ve decided what you don’t need hanging around the house anymore, you should get a confetti cut shredder to cut all the paper up. A shredder is a very sensible investment, as you can use it time and time again and you’ll be able to adequately protect all your precious information and personal details.

Identity theft is something people scaremonger about all the time, but it is a real threat to you. However, if you shred all your bills and anything with your name, address or bank details on, you’ll greatly reduce the risk of it happening to you.

When you’ve looked through all your bills and receipts, you’ll be able to work out where you might be spending your money each month. Look through your bank statements and in the months running up to Christmas, try to cut back on spending on things that aren’t really necessary, like a new pair of shoes or the latest DVD.

Once you’ve done this, you’ll be able to sort your finances in time to enjoy a fun-filled Christmas and New Year.

Filed Under: Financial Planning Tagged With: , ,
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »