I know we’re still in the middle of Christmas, but I just thought: ‘Hey! It”s nearly New Year!’ It’s time to make some resolutions.
Now, I know we get all positive and tend to make a load of resolutions like ‘go to the gym to get in shape’ and ‘eat healthy’, ‘sort out my finances’, etc… but basically, we break these really soon. Let’s admit it. Most people are kind of crap at keeping resolutions. But what I thought I’d do, instead of breaking a bunch of resolutions really soon, is to create a weekly series on everyday finances and really making sure that I understand them, and hopefully you guys will benefit too.
This is better than making random resolutions that we’ll probably break really quickly, because it means just writing blog posts, which I already try to do at least once per week. So I just keep doing what I already did, but with a specific focus every week. That somehow seems more likely to succeed than me signing up to a gym that I will probably stop using after 6 weeks. Because let’s face it, February is damn cold in the UK, and I am not gonna wanna go to the gym when it will freeze my ass off just to cycle or walk there. And driving to the gym is kind of insane, especially as it’s less than a mile away!
The reason why I’m gonna do the series on ‘Understanding Your Finances’ as opposed to anything else, arose from a recent situation at work. My boss said that work were pressurising her into signing up for a pension, but she didn’t want to, because she didn’t have time to go through the details or to meet an IFA (Independent Financial Adviser) to discuss everything. She is however, someone who has investments and knows how to make a decent return on them. She reckons she can get about 7% elsewhere. My colleague also decided to cancel his pension contributions (which he was auto-enrolled for – this is done now by law, but you can unsubscribe), because he said he couldn’t afford for that much money to be taken out of his pay packet every month.
I personally though that both situations were kind of crazy, because our work pension is really generous. My colleague could actually retire in less than 20 years, so for him, I was particularly concerned. I mean, what is he going to live off when he retires?! I don’t know his financial situation, but I get the sense that he is not great at managing money…
So hopefully, this new series will bring a bit of clarity to things like bank accounts, pensions, and savings. Maybe it will help a few people understand why saving for a pension is easy and very much worthwhile.
Let me know what you think. What would YOU like to see in the ‘Understanding Your Finances’ series?
Weekly series sounds interesting, like others I’m looking forward in reading these articles this year.
Tawcan recently posted…Recent buys
Hey Tawcan, nice to have you over here, virtually. Thanks for the positive feedback,
I wish you a happy new year,
Cheers!
Hi. Came across your blog from a comment on FI UK.
A weekly series sounds like a good idea. Got you on Feedly so will be catching up with it.
Mr Z
Mr Zombie recently posted…Net Worth calculation
Hey man, thanks for visiting. I think I’ve seen your name on a couple of comments on other blogs, but i didn’t recognise you as a fellow blogger! Checking you out right now!
Cheers, and thanks for the encouragement
Happy New Year – I look forward to reading the series!
Not saying that I know a lot about finances but it’s frightening how little some people know (some of my friends for example). Even my boss shocked me last year when I was discussing the new £15k ISA limit admitted that he’d never put ANY savings whatsoever in ISAs because he ‘thought it was all too complicated’….I think I was speechless as this is a professional, intelligent guy with a financial background…! I tried explaining in very simple terms, but mostly, I think I was saying ‘TAX FREE’ haha!
weenie recently posted…2015 Goals and New Year Resolutions
That is absolutely shocking! Almost as shocking as T, my husband who also worked in finance for a while and had never had an ISA before I came along… as I say, shocking!
Perhaps we ought to make this series very, very simple and convince people that it really is EASY…
Hi,
Great idea and I think pensions is a really good one to start with as the situation in the UK has changed so dramatically this year. I find that most of my colleagues just aren’t aware of the new options open to them regarding investing in a personal pension so that they can retire before their work pension becomes payable. (I’m lucky enough to have a public sector defined benefit pension). The more we all discuss this the better – otherwise a lot of people are going to be working well into their 60’s (and longer) because they haven’t prepared properly.
Happy New Year.
Cerridwen recently posted…December 2014 Update
Hi Cerridwen, thanks for your comment. I tried to reply right after, but my mobile decided to take that opportunity to implode… oh well, technology, eh?
I might just start with pensions then, since you suggested it. So many people are completely in the dark, it is quite shocking – just see what Weenie wrote!
Cheers!
Look forward to reading the series.
Happy New Year, I hope it’s a great one for you and your family
Thanks, i wish you a happy new year and i look forward to the ongoing updates about your new flat, your travel, and of course the budget and spending updates!
Sounds interesting, M. Looking forward to reading your posts and updates.
cheers
R2R
Roadmap2Retire recently posted…2014 Review
Thanks for your kind comments, and have a happy new year!
Cheers
Where can I sign up? Looking forward to such a series from a UK perspective.
No More Waffles recently posted…8,000 Visitors and Over 1,300 Comments Later – 2014 Goals Update
I will might turn it into a little newsletter, otherwise you can subscribe to the blog at the top right or bottom right of any page
Cheers!