Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Investments

Discuss investments with other users on our Investment forum. For more advice read our tips for saving for your child's future.

Financial coach

8 replies

Hgsrh · 08/07/2024 16:20

I want a financial coach / adviser / planner that can help with savings and pensions, as I read MSE but then don't do anything, and feel I need some structured advice. Any recommendations?

OP posts:
Nuggetofpuregreen · 08/07/2024 16:26

An advisor is nothing like a coach. What do you want to know about savings and pensions? Savings are very straightforward and you read MSE so I don't understand why you need a coach.

A financial advisor is worth paying for in some circumstances. A coach seems to be a swizz.

Hgsrh · 08/07/2024 16:37

Hmm I feel like I don't have a good handle on what I'm doing, should I be paying more info my pension than I am, should I move savings into an ISA?

OP posts:
Nuggetofpuregreen · 08/07/2024 16:39

Are you holding all your savings as cash?

EmeraldRoulette · 08/07/2024 17:08

A coach seems like a quick way to lose money

opinions will vary on how much you invest where

are you familiar with the basics? We can probably answer a bunch of questions here but I realise you don’t want to put full info on a public forum…can probably get all your questions answered here by being vague though.

Hgsrh · 08/07/2024 17:56

I guess two main questions...

Have savings as cash earning 4%, will need to use in the next 1/2 years - what should I do with it?

How do I save for retirement/work out how much I need to be putting into pension now?

OP posts:
rumred · 08/07/2024 18:17

Boring money has useful info particularly for women. Worth a look.

EmeraldRoulette · 08/07/2024 18:26

I will let someone else answer pensions as I do the bare minimum there!

With savings, if you can confidently put any of that away in a fixed rate ISA, I would do that first.

Because that's tax-free, i.e. you don't have to pay tax on that and the interest - and I would fix the rate for however long you can lock the money away.

If that uses your total savings, I wouldn't put it all in there - leave some for emergency bills.

If you are under 40 and not a homeowner, you might want to make use of this particular type of ISA.

https://www.gov.uk/lifetime-isa

Generally at the moment I would look at a fixed rate for savings in case interest rates go down.

So after an ISA, I would look at easy access fixed rate.

Some instant access accounts are offering a very good rate and you can withdraw money any time. There's also some halfway house accounts where you can withdraw money with notice.

You could also feed some money from a current account into a savings account with a regular saver, some of which are paying good interest at the moment.

so it partly depends how much you've got and whether you're starting with a lump sum.

With the regular saver, if you need to cancel it because you have an emergency bill, you usually can.

With any high deposit, or indeed any financial institution, make sure they are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). This will cover you up to 85,000, so if you have more than that try not to put it in more than one account.

They have temporary cover if you suddenly put a load of money in one place, e.g. after selling a house.

Generally, advice will vary depending on whether or not you're a very high earner and your age as well. If you are a very high earner, I am not the best person to ask!

Lifetime ISA

Tax free saving for your first home and later life: what is a LISA, who can apply, 25% government bonus, withdrawal charges.

https://www.gov.uk/lifetime-isa

Medee · 08/07/2024 18:28

Suggest you watch the Rebel Finance School videos, they’ve just started their 2024 series. Gets you right from the basics through investing. Loads of great online resources too.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread