Month: February 2019

Since the release of the film Mary Poppins Returns in December, it’s taken over $250m, making it a financial success. The story of the film itself however seems to recommend a few ways of making your own personal finances successful too. With the original set in 1910, the sequel takes us to 1935 where Michael, just a boy in the first film, is now a man with children of his own. Unfortunately, due to him being unable to repay a loan, he finds himself face to face with the frightening possibility of having his home repossessed.

Thankfully for Michael, in the original film his father gives him shrewd advice to invest his pocket money of a tuppence, rather than giving it to the women selling bird food. Quick reality check; even over the course of 25 years, the compound interest on a mere tuppence is extremely unlikely to have been enough to help Michael out of his rut in the real world. Realistically, with an average interest rate of 6%, saving two pennies wouldn’t even bring you in a single pound. Perhaps his father invested it particularly wisely, finding the unicorn company of his day, perhaps putting it into oil stocks, but even then it would require a huge return. It’s a film, after all, and the overriding message of being responsible with your finances is a noble one, so we can allow them a bit of creative licence.

Beyond taking the advice of investing two pence too literally, there are some positive messages and useful takeaways from Mary Poppins Returns. Ultimately, the tone is optimistic; the suggestion being that even if you’re in a particularly difficult financial position, there’s always a solution. It also suggests that these solutions are easier to come by with a bit of forward planning.

There’s no reason why being a parent, and particularly being a non-earning parent with commitments to their children, should put you at risk of decreasing your state pension entitlement. Currently, however, there are potentially hundreds of thousands of people in this exact position – although thankfully, there are steps to take so that it can be avoided.

In order to be entitled to the full new state pension, you will generally require 35 years of national insurance contributions to qualify. Those years of contributions can be difficult to accumulate if you’re out of work for whatever reason. If you don’t already pay national insurance contributions, perhaps because you’re staying at home to look after children, you are able to build up your state pension entitlement by registering for child benefits, as long as you’re a parent of children under 12.

Figures supplied to the Treasury by HMRC suggest that there could be around 200,000 households missing out on these pension boosting entitlements. If the child benefits are being claimed by the household’s highest earner, and not the the lower earner or non-earner, these potential national insurance contributions can fall by the wayside. Treasury select committee chairman and MP Nicky Morgan says; “The Treasury committee has long-warned the government of the risk that for families with one earner and one non-earner, if the sole-earner claims child benefit, the non-earner, with childcare commitments forgoes National Insurance credits and potentially, therefore, their entitlement to a full future state pension.”

We’ll be the first to admit that your personal finances aren’t the easiest thing to fall in love with. It can be easy to bury your head in the sand when it comes to both your regular expenditure and investments.

There are several reasons for this. First of all, money can be a source of stress. We’re sure you’re well aware of how crunching big numbers in your head can keep you awake into the small hours of the morning. Or how not knowing whether you can afford something you really want can fill your life with uncertainty.

Secondly, some aspects of finance can seem rather boring. To the untrained eye, the daily performance of the FTSE, foreign currency exchange and bond markets can look intimidating. We actually find them incredibly exciting, but we understand that this isn’t for everyone.

We think the best way to fall in love with your finances is to get a bit creative. It helps to really understand the relationship you already have with money so you know what you’re dealing with. As with a partner, you have to really get to know them before you fall in love. Here are some questions you can ask yourself to ‘break the ice’ with your finances:

What’s the most fun, frivolous thing you’ve ever bought?
Answering this should help you get a handle on whether you’re someone who likes to splash out from time to time, or if you prefer to sacrifice a bit of enjoyment for personal security. If you have made any such purchases, do you consider them to have been worth it, or do you find yourself regretting that you hadn’t spent the money a little more practically? The answer to this could provide some guidance if you have the opportunity to make similar purchases in the future.

Do you take pride in knowing your net worth?
If you take pride in your net worth, it suggests that a large part of your happiness hinges on the money you have accumulated over your life. You’re likely to be someone for whom a high salary forms a large part of what they enjoy about their career, rather than someone who’d be content working in a job with lower pay.

What’s your dream retirement scenario?
Looking at what you want in retirement will let you know how much you need to prioritise saving for retirement. If you plan on living adventurously you’ll need to save considerably more than if you think you’ll be happy having a quiet retirement. Trips of a lifetime don’t come cheap, so the sooner you start saving and investing, the more you’ll be able to do.

Like all long-term relationships, your relationship with your finances won’t always be easy. Good relationships take work, but the rewards are more than worth it.