If you were getting a divorce, what would you grab first?

By Chantal Williams

The nicest car, the furnishings? The dog? Or the house itself?

We might ask ourselves such questions flippantly, or even joke about it with our spouse over dinner, but it’s always a grim reality for someone. And if you think that means this article is about divorce, think again.

I only mention divorce because it can show up a mysterious blind spot that many women seem to have.

In a marital split, people tend to reveal what they care about most. A few years ago, Unbiased conducted a survey of recently divorced couples, and one of the things we asked was which assets of the marriage they most wanted to keep.

Naturally, everyone said ‘the home’ as their first choice.

Then things got interesting, as the men and women differed in their top five priorities. Women-focused on pets, savings, furniture, and cars, in that order.

Men were also keen on savings and cars – they weren’t so...

ver set your New Year goals with the best intentions but when Jan 17 comes around you back to your old ways and those resolutions are already long forgotten, if YES then you're not alone.

January can be full of good intentions, but the restrictive nature of “paying off your credit card debt in record time” or “saving more than you have ever been able to save before”, all start to wear thin by February.

Financial resolutions need to be “SMART” goals in order for you to have a better chance of achieving them. SMART stands for – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-Based.

In Paul J Meyer’s 2003 book “Attitude is Everything: If You Want to Succeed Above and Beyond” it is broken down as follows:

The goal needs to be clear and specific. Can you answer the following questions

a. What do I want to accomplish?

b. Why is the goal important?

c. Who is involved?

d. Where...

We all have the burning idea that we have been thinking about for years, but many of us never take the first step because we get overwhelmed, not sure where to begin or are worried about the cost!

Now starting a side hustle doesn’t mean you need to invest hundred into buying URLS, creating the perfect logo or even having a website, especially if you’re not sure the idea will even work!

If you just want to make some extra cash on the side but don’t want to give your full time job up, here are some ideas to get you started.

Freelancing is a great way to use the skills you already have and are an expert at to help pay the bills! These are our two favourites:

Upwork.com

Where professional freelancers go to find work from all around the world. You can create a profile for free and pitch for work! Whether you work in marketing, are a developer or simply can input data there’s a huge range of jobs available from potential clients all around the...

Sometimes too much information can be overwhelming; many people decide it’s too hard or they’ll start later. The best way to improve your long term chances of success in investing is to start now – small actions now have a huge impact over time. Start a savings account with a regular direct debit, buy an ETF every month, or increase repayments on your debt – choose one or more simple actions and start today. Even better if you can automate them; discipline is overrated.

“Don’t put all your eggs in one basket” – Humans are rather strange, we research buying a fridge, a car and even our makeup, but when someone gives us a hot share tip, we pile all of our savings into one idea. Always diversify your risk, don’t pop all your savings into one share tip. Investing across a number of shares or a couple of different ETFs over time, means if something goes wrong with one of the investments, you will not lose or suffer losses on...

Couples Talk About Money – Keep your money relationship healthy by By Kim Crewe

After sex and chores, money is the next biggest cause of arguments between couples. So, what are the best ways that you can ensure that money doesn’t become the big rift in your relationship?

To be financially healthy as a couple it is really important to understand one another’s money histories. Most of us have some quite unhelpful and untrue beliefs about our relationship with money from our childhood experience.

Put aside a good chunk of time, find yourselves some large sheets of paper and plot the timeline of your life. Add the key people, parents, other family members and anyone else of influence. Put a £ or $ sign by the ones who had a money message for you. Once you have both finished then take turns in talking through your timeline, focus on the money messages, do this without interruption and then change over.

We are generally attracted to partners who...

Women have, on average, a fifth of the pension savings that men do. I wonder if that is because, however feminist we are, however loud we sing along to Destiny’s Child’s ‘Independent Women’, a lot of us still think, deep down, we will be looked after by a partner... but what should you do if you’re separating from your partner? 

Lisa had some great advice

• If you find it upsetting to look at your finances, recruit a friend to sit there and go through them with you.Work out what you need to keep you going in the short term. What savings do you have access to? Can you borrow money from friends and family
• If you have debts, keep a document of what you owe and to whom
• Remember, legally you are not allowed to look at your partner’s finances without their permission so steer clear of their personal accounts even if you know the passwords
• Some women have a tendency to seek emotional help from their financial advisor and financial help from...

Money is one of the top reasons why couples break up, so it's vital that you and your money are on the same page when it comes to talking about money. 

Now when talking to your honey about the money, pick a neutral space. For example, a restaurant, park, bar or cafe i.e. out of the house where you can have wine or a coffee. Be relaxed and talk about these questions open & calmly.

• If you won a million dollars in the lottery, what would your first purchase be?
• How did your parents behave around money?
• What word would you use to describe your relationship with money?
• How much do we need to live on? Think about how long you’ll need to work for and whether it’s full-time?
• What are our retirement goals (what age and how much do you want to retire on)?
• If one of us stops earning (raising children, unemployed or unwell) will the other pay super for the non-earner?
• Would you lend money to a friend or family member in need? If so, how much?
• Do you have a budget you...

The last year has seen HUGE volatility in the financial markets and things may stay this way for a little longer. However, in the last year, I can count on one hand the number of clients that called concerned. Hopefully, they have comfort in the fact that their money is invested for the right reasons, in the right things and that their investment risk perfectly matches their appetite for risk. However, this isn’t always the case for self-investors or those with a pension pot that is not professionally managed. So how do you prepare your investments and pensions so that you can have a good night’s sleep?

Have you got the right investment for your risk? If it is a work pension that you have, spend some time on the website looking at your investment options. There should be a booklet which shows you which ones are suitable for you.

Make sure that you are taking the right level of risk. When you are young, you want to be taking the most amount of risk that...

Work out what you will spend on holidays over the next 12 months.

Don’t forget to include weekends away, hen dos, and spa breaks. Make sure that your calculation is comprehensive and includes the cost of insurance, spending money, airport purchases etc.

Take a look back to previous years to work out what you have spent in past years to check that your figure is accurate.

Are there any big one offs next year?

When you know what you will spend in the next 12 months, divide this number by 12. This is the amount that you should then be set aside each month into a separate holiday account to prefund your fun.

So, for example, let's say you are going to spend 2,750 in total, you then need to save 229.17 each month. You could use a regular saver that allows withdrawals for holiday account.

We all need a financial safety net. Ideally this should be 3-6 months’ worth of outgoings. This money is there to protect you should things not go financially to plan. The safety net stops you having to tap into your investments at times when the markets mean that it is not a good time. Emergency cash buffers should be kept in an easy access cash buffer. Here are the top accounts for you to consider.

If you are still building up your emergency fund you can currently get a better rate with a regular saver account. These are accounts that are designed for you to pay in regularly every month. To get access to the best rate, you will need to already have an account with the bank.

Please read all the small print to check you qualify but here are somethings that you should know: