Simplifying Your Finances For 2017

Globally, demonetisation is now a trend. Consumers are using applications such as Paypal or their credit cards to purchase items worldwide. Couriers are working efficiently to deliver items to one's door at a guaranteed time. Finances can instantly disappear under a consumer's nose if they do not monitor them properly.

In 2017, it pays to know about technologies that help you manage your finances and having the right attitude to handle your money. Discipline is still important along with a certain few others.

Mind Your Retirement

Always save up at least 40% of your salary for your retirement. State retirement plans look more promising than corporate-provided plans. Also, private retirement plans are great to look into. An ideal percentage to set aside from your monthly income would be 50%.

Emergency

In any case, always have at least 3 months worth of income with you at any time. You could lose money immediately to an emergency. One should always have money at the ready for any emergency involving health or unemployment.

Think Progressively

Financial technologies that exist today are still in their infant phases. Banks offer your accounts an online way to manage your finances. Look through your options and understand how they work; they can help you monitor your spending especially if you are a savvy buyer in online stores.

Properties in the United Kingdom Fall In Prices

UK's mortgage costs have fallen to record laws. Homeowners in the United Kingdom could have hundreds of pounds in savings on repayment costs.

Competition among lenders is a primary factor according to moneyfacts.co.uk. Homeowners on today's typical 2.98 per cent rate can save more than £100 monthly compared to two years ago.

Lenders ensured households will always be on the competitive rate. Some are advised to switch providers when possible to retain the competitiveness of the overall rate.

Charlotte Nelson, finance expert at Moneyfacts.co.uk, said: “Just 20 months ago, the average two-year fixed rate stood at 2.97 per cent.

"This means that borrowers coming to the end of a two-year fixed deal will find they can now get the extra security of a longer term for a similar price to their old two-year deal."

Fixing for a longer term could protect families against financial shocks in the coming years.

Ms Nelson added: “With the gap between the average two-year fixed rate and the average five-year fixed rate standing at just 0.63 per cent today, borrowers can now opt for the security of a longer term fixed rate with little extra cost to their monthly repayments.

“Borrowers coming to the end of their fixed deal or those who are currently sitting on their SVR should seriously consider opting for a new fixed rate now, as there is no way of telling how low these deals can go.”

Equities Might Be The Best Thing To Invest In

It's the turn of the century... at least for Britain and its pensioners.

Pension living is becoming huge trouble than convenience for most people. Defined-benefit retirees are now struggling as corporate retirement plans have a huge deficit to fill in.

In a span of just five years, the UK's retirement deficit grew. Now, state pension and corporate pensions are things you couldn't depend on.

So if you're going for a personal pension plan, I suggest you go with your gut on other options. Especially equity-based ones.

One has to admit that what I'm suggesting is outrageous. Corporations are growing profits while you're stuck in the gutter.

It's the reality of the situation I'm getting at. Investors and beneficiaries are always a corporation's priority. Investing in corporate funds and group funds that diversify your portfolio to each of these companies help.

For just a few years you can grow your money through a personal pension plan. Equities are growing especially in the tourism and export industries.

The weakening pound sterling -- with a little help from BoE's almost-negative interest rates -- is contributing to the favours of these industries.

It's important to invest as soon as you can; it's possible that foreign investors may take advantage of the weak pound and invest in these areas where they can. An inflated stock price can reach a bubble and everyone knows what that means.

Financial Security Is More Important Than Ever Today!

The news of the Wells Fargo massive identity theft reminded me that even the UK's financial district -- the top banking centre -- lacked in security and systemic improvement -- that can ultimately protect consumers.

Wells Fargo had 5,000 employees fired over unauthorised account openings. In the UK, wrongly-sold payment protection insurance policies earned about £37bn.

This shows that identity theft and mindfulness of one's financial accounts truly matter.

To ensure we get them all locked out of our accounts, make sure that your account activity is properly monitored with the following steps.

Account Activity

Keep close watch over your bank and credit card accounts. If you are using paper statements, make sure that you read them when they come in the mail. Read each notification you have with your digital accounts.

Tools

If you have digital accounts, banks will have a tool that would help you monitor your account balance from anywhere. It could be a text or email alert that you could subscribe to.

Monitor Your Bank Reports

Keep close watch over your credit reports for each of your bank accounts. If you spot someone has opened an account in your name and it becomes delinquent, you have two other accounts to support your claim that you are not that other person.

Update Yourself With The New Pension Laws

Former Pensions Minister Ros Altmann's resignation was due to the fact the UK Government disagreed with her ideas regarding the 'triple-lock' on pensions. All pensions from decades past would benefit from added increase from inflation, earnings or 2.5%, whichever is greater.

She states the 2.5% annual increase is unjustified especially during a time the economy is having trouble to maintain its course to stability.

Most pensioners in three decades benefit from this deal. Pensioners receive about £125 a week and have an additional 75p in addition because of the said deal.

Now, pensioners earn about £570 more for the year.

Not everyone agree with Mrs Altmann's sensitivities. Former Pensions Minister Steve Webbb said the the triple lock is still needed to make up for the years the pensioner's incomes have slowed down. 

According to Aegon Head of Pensions Kate Smith, the state pension is the 'bedrock of people's retirement incomes.

She added that to give the pensioners certainty, governments must ensure midterm changes do not occur.

Tom McPhail, head of retirement policy at Hargreaves Lansdown, says the triple lock is diverting a growing share of Government spending towards pensioners: “A balance always needs to be struck between protecting the standard of living of pensioners and not over-burdening taxpayers.

"Increases should be linked to retail prices and the state retirement age pushed back even further.”

The Cultural Shift In The Market Today

Build long-term relationships, focus more on goals, stop making clients get trades they don't want.

That's what investing companies are telling their teams.

The cultural shift -- as many put it -- is coming underway.

What started these may come has become from the strangest reasons that may seem miniscule but are actually the most important of all.

The question of "how can we do more business with you" is now client-centred with an idea of "how can we serve you better?"

"We had dealers who were focused on their [profit & loss], asking us how they can trade more bonds with us. We were a counterparty," Tim Morbelli, vice president of credit trading at AllianceBernstein, told Business Insider. "Now they are asking us how they can service us — how we can be a client."

"The old way of doing business doesn't result in long-term, profitable relationships anymore," Kevin McPartland, principal in market structure and technology at Greenwich Associates, told Business Insider.

"Not to mention, the buy side holds most of the bonds these days, so maintaining a good understanding of who holds what and what they're willing to do with it is much more important than it used to be."

Roles Expand From CPAs to CMA, CFA and CITP

It would seem that in today's world, a CPA ranking isn't enough to satisfy top areas of company management. A CPA degree was previously a prerequisite before you became a company CFO.

So what do CMAs, CFAs and CITPs actually help you with?

According to Benjamin Mulling, a CPA-degree graduate:

“As business gets more complex, it’s helpful to have more specialization to deal with it,” said Mr. Mulling, who also holds a master’s degree in business administration and is a certified information technology professional, a credential available to CPAs who receive additional training.

Ted Jeanloz, director of finance for Athenahealth Inc., a provider of electronic health records, takes an alternate view. “The CPA is legitimately useful, but after that it falls off pretty steeply,” he said.

Mr. Jeanloz said the certifications “are a good signal someone is a self-starter,” but “we would assume that anybody we hire for a role…would already have that knowledge.”

Groups offering professional credentials are booming. The number of people getting the CMA title from the Institute of Management Accountants Inc. grew 17% last year to 3,500 and is expected to hit a record this year, according to Jeff Thomson, the organization’s president.

(Source)

So, what's your stand about this little tidbit? You'll be sacrificing some time with your already-hassling work.

There are many things to consider if you want to hold top office in a company. These includes sacrifices and additional degrees will definitely fare better for you if you intend to hold higher positions in other companies

Financial Crisis Looming Around the Corner

Almost every UK household has debts enough to trigger another UK financial crisis. Analysts view the possibility of a borrowing bubble caused by low interest rates similar to the 2007 breakdown.

Consumer credit had grown by 9.7 per cent to reach £1.9 billion in March 2016. This parallels the financial crisis of 2007. Britain's habit of using cheap money to increase debts and fuel spending could burst an ever-growing borrowing bubble.

With unemployment and poor income growth, borrowers may struggle to repay their debts. If the economy takes a sudden downturn, it may mean the start of another fiscal crisis.

Tashema Jackson, money expert at comparison site switch.com, said: "While rock-bottom interest rates have helped consumers get great introductory offers and low mortgage rates, it also means the temptation to borrow beyond our means has seldom been higher.

“Banks and credit card providers have an important role to play in preventing borrowing spiralling out of control."

Experts said there has already been a rise in the number of people struggling with debt repayments this year.

Peter Tutton, head of policy at StepChange debt charity, said: "Consumer credit has again risen rapidly and this is an area of growing concern.

"Slow wage growth and the rise in insecure jobs have left millions of households financially vulnerable and we have already seen an increase in the number of people coming to us for debt advice in 2016."

Better Put A Ring On It Insteadt

Have you heard the story of Michael Burton? If you haven't well, let this be a lesson to anybody about to enter a relationship for long and have no qualms of marrying.

Trust is a big thing but these things can happen. After all, love can't feed you but by being responsible you can feed yourself.

Mr Burton claimed that his fiancee, Kristina Liden, had been his lodger for the last 18 years they spent together.

Mr Burton divorced his wife when his relationship with Liden began. However, Liden did not bother to ask him for marriage. Burton did not, as well.

It was after their falling-out that Burton insisted Liden was just a lodger in the house.

However, Liden said that Burton told her to make "financial contributions to their home" so "he can take care of her and be with her together forever."

Seeing that Burton was having trouble managing finances, she agreed to provide and in their last 18 years had made a huge contribution of £70,000 for the funding of their £495,000 home.

Leeds County Court's Judge Neil Cameron found that  Mr Burton wasn't a man who would shoulder all the expenses of a home. Instead, he saw him as someone who would sell the house for the benefit of his pension

He decided that he should share the house's sale profits with his ex-wife or live-in partner.

Liden got lucky. But for other women, I would advise that you get married even if you do love the person. You'll want to watch out where your investments go ,too. Eighteen years of living in is a very long time!

Three Ways To Close The Financial Gap In Gender

Despite the countless methods the world's governments and non-government organisations try to balance the gender disparity between men and women, achievements do not outweigh the intended outcomes of having equality for both parties.

According to statistics, only 31% of U.S. financial advisors are women, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And only 23% of certified financial planners are women, according to the CFP Board.

What’s behind this gender imbalance in professions geared toward giving people financial advice? A study conducted on behalf of the CFP Board Women’s Initiative (WIN) Advisory Panel aimed to find out.

So here's three ways to close the gender gap in financial knowledge and pay!

Information Campaign

Today, women have the Internet. Women should try and attend forums/discussions, ask proper questions and don't be afraid to admit their knowledge shortcomings. Having a successful financial career entails expanding womens' knowledge in this field!

Firms Should Take A Step Further

I know the United Kingdom isn't the best example of a gender-balanced workplace. About 70 per cent of the country's workforce are male and only 30 per cent are female. Worse still, only about 15% of women are in executive positions.

Companies should make workplaces convenient for women. Women are less likely to pursue financial careers because it lacks the benefits and characteristics that would make the workplace appealing to women.

Lack of Role Models

The Financial Ombudsman Services' past chiefs have been women. But that's about the only prominent fiscal department where we see a woman prominent in a powerful position. The UK needs more women 'role models'. Without such, along with a support system that does not focus much on feminism but more on professionalism in the workplace, there would be hope for women's gender equality in the workplace dreams!

A Primer On P2P Platforms

You may as well know you can earn money online by being a Virtual Assistant of someone else. Meanwhile, you can instantly borrow money from banks and lenders online. With just a few clicks, you're there.

But did you know you could borrow money from different online users using P2P lending?

Welcome to the future!

Let's Define It

P2P or peer-to-peer online lending companies use the money of savers and let borrowers use them. The borrowers are carefully selected. Most borrowers include normal people, small businesses and landlords. Without the need of banks and building societies, savers and borrowers are given a better rate.

While P2P lending platforms take a small cut, it is not as huge as banks would charge.

Disadvantages

While this all sounds good, P2P is not without its flaws

The local government will not back any losses from your savings if the P2P platform makes a flaw. 

Most bank services are covered by the Government-sponsored Financial Services Compensation Scheme which would guarantee the first £75,000 held in a standard account.

Crowdfunding Vs. P2P Lending

Services provided by Zopa.com, RateSetter, LendingWorks and others provide money for any reason. 

Clients only need to fulfil the necessary requirements to ensure they can repay their rates at the intended time.

Most people mistake P2P lending as crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is when people invest in your project, financing it as they believe in its success, or they find a need for your products.

Compound Interests: Three Helpful Facts

To be honest, I've never heard of compound interests except when I tuned in the news and a UK insurance scandal came up. It would seem many affected had better refunds from the mis sold product because of compound interests.

But it didn't help that compound interests had a negative impact with me. As I learned when I got my first personal loan for a car, compound interests were a friend and foe.

Majority of times, however...

Compounding Is a Friend

Compound interests on paper look like they just achieve some small amounts at every turn. For example, a £2000 deposit could only earn about 3pc even on high-yield savings accounts. Well, for the first year alone.

But if you think about it, the more money you save, the more it begins to make sense.

Growth For Years On End

If you have a £2000 contribution at the age of twenty or even 30, you could expect a return of £90,000 by the time you retire with an average 8pc annual return. This is an ideal outcome if you never touch your money.

Earnings really begin when you reach your twentieth year of paying for your investment, or the twentieth year of leaving it alone with your bank.

Making It Work For You

Of course, the catch is saving enough money to contribute to your compound interest-laden account. If you can save a large amount, depositing it immediately will earn it higher yields. 

The more profit it earns, the higher amounts you get. Making it work for you simply just means living below your means and starting to save money as early as possible.