Guest post
The last few years have been a big wake up call for a lot of British families. The financial crisis and recession brought real hardship and insecurity to millions of people across the country. Recent signs of recovery are tentative, and there is no guarantee that the long term situation will be better. It’s never been more important to take control of your own finances and plan effectively for the future of your family. Financial security is vital for all of us; not only are we are living longer, but the cost of living is rising. Anybody who plans to rely on the state to support them in old age is potentially setting themselves up for a few decades of poverty and misery.
The best time to begin investing for your family’s future is when you’re young – even if you don’t have a family you can still prepare for your own future. If you’re no longer young, the best time to invest is right now! The first step of planning for a secure and prosperous future is to research all the different investment options that are available.
The British government wants people to invest and plan for their futures, but it also likes to tax your investments and any wealth that you create. Fortunately there are still a few good tax free options. The best known are ISAs or Individual Savings Accounts these are tax free accounts that yield a fixed rate of interest. You can also open an ISA for your children and start saving for their university education from day one. If they’re not academically minded, they could also use the funds for a deposit on their first property or to open a business. Your own personal ISA will build up over your lifetime and give you a substantial tax free nest egg.
Conventional wisdom suggests that it’s never too early to start paying into a pension plan, but it’s worth bearing in mind that the pensions industry exists to make a profit for the people who operate it. Some schemes are better than others. Pensions are also vulnerable to government taxation and interference, so it really pays to shop around for the scheme that suits you. Don’t simply sign up to the first default option that you’re offered. As you get closer to retirement it’s definitely worth considering a SIPP or Self Invested Personal Pension. When you pay money into a pension scheme you are effectively entrusting your assets to a third party. Pension funds are invested in the markets, despite industry regulation there is always an element of risk. As you get older (and have accumulated the bulk of your retirement income) you may prefer to switch most of your funds into safer investments.
An interesting and potentially highly lucrative investment opportunity is binary options. Binary options fall into the category of alternative investments and allow small investors a high degree of independence with a minimal fee structure. Binary options trading platforms are designed to allow rapid hands on trading in a variety of potentially lucrative assets. The system is geared to allow absolute beginners to quickly master the markets and make successful trades. A major advantage of binary options trading is the element of risk management. Investors know exactly how much profit they stand to make on each deal and can select the precise moment at which the trade will expire. Solid trading strategies can yield consistent profits without the need to rely on the skill or judgement of any third party. A good binary options trader can expect to earn a significant second income for the rest of their life.
It is truly shocking was is happening in Britain today. There is still economic stagnation despite Mark Carney announcing that Britain is in recovery – seemingly it is the reason why BoE will not increase interest rates. Worst of all this country is paralyzed by political apathy and requires some big changes. Ed Milliband’s remedy is not enough to save us from coalition calamity. What’s need is a short sharp shock to all the major political parties to snap them out of their own ignorance of grass root issues.