The UK tax system is notoriously complex, and it's not just our ‘cash income’ such as salary and bonuses that we pay income tax – we also pay it on any benefits in kind (BIK) or ‘non-cash benefits’ that we receive in employment. You should be aware that they can be deceptively unkind in tax terms, despite their name, watch this episode to discover more ..read more

Your New Year’s Eve celebrations may seem a distant memory, and for many of us when we start a new year we commit to some resolutions; goals that we’d like to accomplish in the following twelve months. However, if you're struggling to complete your financial goals for the year, how can you get back on track ..read more

With interest rates rising and the economy being so uncertain, now more than ever you need to be financially secure. A great way to increase financial security is to repay your debt, but it’s not easy, is it. I use a process that’s different to most others when it comes to getting debt-free, because it focuses on making you feel good as you go along your debt repayment journey. It’s called the Snowball System because your little decisions will build up to make a big difference ..read more

A lot of people are stressed out by a lot of things at the moment - Markets are down, prices are up, and interest rates are rising. So should you be thinking about cashing out your investments, and leaving the stock markets? Watch this podcast to find out more. For more financial planning help please visit www.warrenshute.com ..read more

In this podcast episode, discover the secret to a happy retirement and how to plan ahead to help make your retirement the best years of your life. For more financial planning help please visit warrenshute.com ..read more

In recent years we’ve seen a resurgence in property investing brought on partly by the stamp duty holiday. But what should you do when it comes to your money? should you invest it into a property? or should you invest it in the stock market? In this episode, I will detail the reasons why I believe equities make better investments than property. For the article visit: https://warrenshute.com/saving-investing/should-you-invest-in-property-or-shares-why-it-pays-to-back-global-plc ..read more

After touching record highs in early January, many world markets have pulled back from their highs, and investors have been confronted with worrisome headlines in the financial press regarding record inflation and more recently the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Is rising inflation and Russia’s invasion a negative for equity investors? Do large losses in a handful of popular stocks signal a downturn ahead for the broad market? Listen to my podcast to discover whether you should change your investment portfolio based on the current news and events. For my article visit: https://warrenshute.com/fi ..read more

With the cost of living increasing and our electricity bills looking more like Elton John’s florist bill, we thought it even more pertinent to tax plan this season and maximise our savings. While tax planning is an important part of financial planning, it is not the only part. It is essential that any tax planning strategy that is being considered also makes commercial sense. In this bumper episode of the money planner, I discuss the tax allowances you can discover in a number of areas, as listed below. 1:24 Working From Home Tax Breaks 4:41 Income Tax Thresholds 8:08 Income Tax Planning 12:07 ..read more

Inheritance tax is becoming a concern to more and more people. A simple yet effective way of planning is to use exemptions and reliefs and use of the normal expenditure out of income exemption can be particularly useful. It is a fact that inheritance tax receipts are increasing and the number of families paying inheritance tax is now at a 35 year high. In 2009/10 2.6% of deaths gave rise to IHT. In 2015/16 this was 7.1%. And the expectation is that the tax receipts will increase still further with a prediction of £5.6 billion from tax year 2020/21. Inheritance tax is obviously affecting more e ..read more

How much is enough for you to retire? What’s your number? None of us are getting any younger and time flies faster as we age, so it’s important to plan ahead for retirement, a period of our life that could last 40 years. My wife gets frustrated with me when I spend more time planning our retirement than I do our summer holiday, but it’s a no - brainer... isn’t it?! We all have what I call a wealth window, a limited period of time to create the wealth to see us through our retirement. As this window gets smaller, it’s harder to climb through. If you have 10 years to go before you plan to retire ..read more