financial advisor - can I hear your experiences please, possibly recommendations

[SenselessUbiquity]

Hi, I need an FA to help me restructure stuff to get me through a period of low income during training for a career change. I do not want an FA to come and sell me products. IS there a way to find a real listening / advising advisor? Would really appreciate some good advice. thank you!

You either pay them up front or they get commission by selling you a product (or trying to sell you). Would reading lots on Money Saving Expert forums be just as helpful?

I felt like they were advising me to do things I didn't like. Like, Leverage self to max to get BTL and hope to make your only actual profit out of rising house prices. I just couldn't get comfortable with that financial strategy. Then I go somewhere like MSE fora and they talk at length about financial instruments that my bank never heard of and can't tell me how to invest in. Should never invest in something you don't understand or where you don't know what the risks are (like... gold bars). I have gone for mainstream simple financial measures like debt reduction and index-linked ISA investments and cash holdings, instead.

Surely it’s HR and employment law advice you need?

Valkadin - no, it isn't about my job, it's abut my financial arrangements during a certain period.

yeOlde - I don't mind paying for advice, but I want good advice rather than being sold a standard set of financial instruments.

I have a training position that will start in Sep 21 and will be low paid for 3 years. I do not realistically expect to cover my outgoings in that time from my salary. I need to raise other money. The options I am considering are:

• can I leverage equity in my house without increased payments from the start?
• can I let my house out and rent something smaller? I have a feeling that tax on rent might swallow up that potential gain, or render it so small as to be pointless, so I need someone to sense check ideas like this
• If I were to sell and downsize, and then find myself in a better positino in 23 or 4 years (with two children living with me) would I be able to buy a bigger place - perhaps even at an advantage if there is a crash coming?
• Would I be better to hang on to the place I have now, almost no matter what, as has been the case with wildly escalating property prices in the SE over the past few decades?
• In which case, what mechanisms are available to get me through those few years?
• If I earn as much as I can between now and sep 21 in an attempt to build up some kind of savings cushion to finance daily life, what would be the best way to treat that money?
• what potential other sources of money have not occurred to me?

etc etc etc - there are loads more questions obv - I do not have the expertise to answer them but would be happy to pay someone creative and constructive and knowledgeable who would help me think through the next 3 or 4 years and make a plan. obv this goes deeper than "you need me to sell you income protection [that won't pay out if anything remotely likely happens to your job]"

thanks, hope that is clearer

Op I don't know but also try the money boards here there are some posters with interesting advice..

An IFA won’t help here. You would be better off finding a high street accountant perhaps AAT or ATT qualified to crunch some numbers and do a cash flow. The cost would not be that much and they have no product to sell.

Whether or not you can release equity from your property will depend on your current mortgage rate, term, equity and income.

If you have lots of equity and are not in a fixed term, you could see about remortgaging to release money but over a longer term and hopefully a better rate.

You'll probably need to do it before your income drops to qualify on affordability and perhaps be economical with the truth about about the purpose.

Eh if you said the loan was for home improvement and didn't mention your plans, you could always 'change your mind' or unexpectedly lose your job after taking out the loan and as long as you kept up with the repayments, your lender is unlikely to know or care.

Selling to downsize and buy a larger property again later is likely to be an expensive option due to the costs of buying and selling property, so probably to be avoided.

Do you have any scope to take in a lodger or do air bnb?

What's your current lifestyle/spending like and is there any scope to cut down so you can live on a lower income? Would you be willing to do this?

Eg if you're currently a £200 pw Waitrose shopper, latest iphones on £50 pm contracts, lots of eating out and bought lunches from nice places, beauty treatments, PCP car, lots of spending on nice home accessories, expensive holidays etc etc, a more frugal lifestyle could save hundreds, if not £1k+ pm by eating a more basic diet from a cheaper supermarket, only occasional eating out, little or no paid beauty treatments, cheaper holidays. Looking for deals on everything you buy or do.

Maybe have a look at your current position with the moneysavingexpert money makeover and see where you could possibly cut back.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/money-help/

As for what to do with any money released or saved up, obviously it needs to stay in cash or cash like products so you're stuck with instant access, so the interest earned will be small, but you can get a bit, eg the best rate is now about 0.6% or about 1% if you put some in a fixed rate, so £60 or £100 a year on £10k, or you could gamble this by putting it in premium bonds. So better than nothing and always worth having if you don't have much disposable income.

Another thing to look at would be if there are any career development loans or grants available.

Also, if you can finance this by a downshift in lifestyle, you could maximise your savings over the next few months, by living as if you were on that lower income now. Double benefit of boosting your savings and testing the water regarding how little you can/are willing to live on.

Unfortunately there isn't much left to cut. But I will cut where I can. (which is rather a pun - I already cut my own hair)

loans and grants - I do need ot look into this but I don't know where to start.

I get the strong feeling that selling or letting the house will be more trouble and expense than it's worth. i need to somehow make it through the 3 years.

I could try to do something with the spare room maybe - it's tiny. but I should think about it

Eh if you said the loan was for home improvement and didn't mention your plans, you could always 'change your mind' or unexpectedly lose your job after taking out the loan and as long as you kept up with the repayments, your lender is unlikely to know or care.

Don't do this. Its mortgage fraud.

Could you move into the box room & let out the larger bedroom (is it only 2 bed property?) to a lodger? I'm reading £7500 tax free from a lodger. Only a good plan if you live in a place that is desirable for potential lodgers. My friend had 2 lodgers both somewhat problematic, but we are not living in a post-grad student or professional area.

What are your monthly outgoings now & what would be your new income?

I agree that this isn’t really a job for an IFA - they mostly sell investment products and pensions. And I also agree that Money Saving Expert is a great and usually friend forum when you can get some good advice. Your starting point should be working out the minimum amount of money you will need to live on (I believe MSE has a spreadsheet which lists lots of costs - It’s easy to forget some) and work out how big your shortfall will be. Talk to your bank about equity release and find out the terms (you can later change your mind about those “home improvements” as a PP suggests). Talk to your university or course provider as a starting point about information on possible grants or loans; also try your local education authority and professional bodies if you have any.

Thanks everyone.
I am not going to university but starting a job, which graduates usually do and most of the ones who will be starting with me are living with their parents! I have to support two children.

I will look at letting the nice bedroom. l am getting really stressed thinking about it though but what is the alternative?

Make sure you use an independent FA. My husband is one, make sure you get personal r recommendations. If you pm me I'll give you his details if you wish.