I used to be scared of pensions. They seemed complicated, boring and too far in the distant future for me to worry about. But getting older has made me reconsider pensions. And you know what, there’s nothing complicated about them at all. Yet many women have rubbish pensions. Frankly, it’s time to f...
The failure this weekend of airline Flybmi has thrown the plans of many travellers into disarray. The travel industry in general is having a hard time what with Brexit seemingly putting many of us off the idea of heading off to European sun spots this year. It seems unlikely that Flybmi will be the ...
Here’s some good news. Inflation fell last month to 1.8%, which is its lowest level for two years. While that’s obviously good news when you go shopping you may not realise that it also has an effect on your savings. If inflation is at 1.8%, then you need to earn at least that in interest otherwise ...
Thanks to Brexit, these are uncertain times. If you’ve got a mortgage then uncertainty is the last thing you want. After all, if your monthly repayments skyrocket you might not be able to afford your mortgage and could lose your home. So why not fix your mortgage? At the moment there are more fixed ...
Warning: unless you get your act together and fix your home gas and electricity bills soon, you’ll be paying more come April. It was announced this week that the government’s energy price cap is going up by more than 10% from 1 April. That means if you are on a variable rate tariff, your bills will ...
Another half-term, another banking crisis. This time Darling Son has managed to screw up his login details for his mobile Lloyds app. Don’t ask me how, something to do with the fingerprint opening of the smart phone. The solution apparently is to delete the app and start again. But guess what,...
We’re only at the start of half-term and the mini-Minteds are already driving each other crazy. As usual, it’s up to Mother to find entertainment. I’ve been too busy to book anything in advance so I’ve been having a look around to see what’s on now. I suspect all the big London museums and attractio...
Is it time to sell my investment in the Woodford Equity Income fund? Breaking up is hard to do – especially on Valentine’s Day. I’ve had a particularly long relationship with the manager of this fund, Neil Woodford. Back in the early years of his career at Invesco Perpetual, our partnership was bene...
If your passport needs renewing this year, it might be best to sort it sooner rather than later because of – you guessed it – Brexit. If we leave without a deal, the UK could end up as a so-called third country within the EU’s free-roaming Schengen zone. This could mean you’ll need six months left t...
It’s investment time! Traditionally the period before the end of the tax year at the beginning of April is the season for everyone to top up their annual tax-free allowances. But with the stock market in the doldrums (guess why, begins with B) the prospect of shares isn’t very enticing. Wouldn’t it ...
