Downsizing could mean lower overheads as well as the extra cash from the sale of your home. But there are factors to consider before you make the decision.

From reducing household bills to boosting retirement savings, there are plenty of reasons why people choose to downsize and move to a smaller property.

It’s important to consider interim costs, however, like whether you decide to rent in the area you’re thinking of moving to, as the search could take some time. There are also fees to pay when selling your home including stamp duty, surv...

Since the government introduced pension auto-enrolment in 2012, millions more workers have started saving for their retirement. Now, the government has confirmed plans to extend auto-enrolment to encourage a savings boost. The changes could have implications for both employees and business owners.

Following a review of auto-enrolment the government has revealed key reforms forecast to increase pension contributions by £2 billion a year.

Key auto-enrolment changes to be aware of

The minimum age of auto-enrolment will fall from 22 to 18

Yo...

 Should I save or invest, what's the difference?

Saving is building up a financial cushion in case of an emergency to save for a specific goal, such as a deposit payment on a house or new car. You earn interest on your savings account, but the interest rate can be low.

Investing can include stocks, bonds, funds and other investments. When you invest you are taking on some risk, because the value of your investments can go up or down. However, the potential rewards of investing can be much higher than the interest you earn on savings 

What are Bonds? In this video, Rohit Vaswani - Client Portfolio Manager explains what Bonds are, why we invest in them and why they are important in a diversified portfolio. 

Income and Expenditure

Tracking how much money you bring in and how much you spend can give you an accurate picture of where you could cut back, and conversely where you can spend more.

Debt

Knowing how much debt you have, whether it's your mortgage, credit cards or loans helps you make informed decisions about your spending, budgeting and saving.

Credit Score

Knowing your credit score is an important part of monitoring your financial health.  You should know what yours is, but also what that means in practice.

A little change you can make today can safeguard your biggest investment – your home

If you’re a homeowner, your mortgage payments are likely to take up a large part of your income each month.

You’ve made sure that your loved-ones will have financial protection to cover the mortgage you leave behind if you were to die with life insurance but what about if you became seriously ill or injured, and unable to work? Would you be able to keep up your mortgage repayments?

Statistically, you’re much more likely to be diagnosed with a crit...

Financial planners use their experience and expertise to help people build their wealth and reach their long-term financial goals. Here are ten ways we can help you and your family:

1. Provide access to a wide range of products and services from The Openwork Partnership, including investments, mortgages, and insurance policies, tailored to your family’s needs.
2. Together, we’ll create a financial forecast that answers important questions about your money today and reveals the possibilities for tomorrow.
3. Develop investment strategies specif...

Now those are some little things that can make a big difference.  Healthy benefits included for you and your family?  

Protection policies aren’t just there for when things go wrong. Many protection insurers include access to a range of health and wellbeing support services – and you don’t need to claim to be able to use them.

These services can make everyday life that little bit easier. From knowing you can have immediate professional support if your child falls ill, to having the tools to keep tabs on your health, these services provid...

Income protection – one little change you can make to protect your family’s financial future.

As a parent, providing for your children is a top priority – from making sure they have food on the table, to ensuring they have the extras they need in life.

Putting income protection in place means you’ll always be able to support your children with a regular income if the unthinkable should happen and you’re unable to work because of serious illness or injury.

Keeping your family financially healthy.

In the past two years, 13% of workers have...