This year, we have been invited to three weddings which will sum to a total of 50 weddings since 2002!  I don’t know if this is typical for someone of my age (and I guess I am cheating slightly because of the two of the weddings in the total were my own) but it sounds impressive to me!  I am also somewhat surprised to think that only two of the weddings were for people who had been married before.

I have been to weddings in twelve different countries, in five different continents. I have been to every type of wedding including: budget wedding; High Society wedding; full Catholic service in Latin; wedding of a premiership footballer; wedding in a Vineyard and a civil partnership.

As an accountant, I couldn’t resist doing the sums.  Ignoring my own weddings, I estimate that I have spent the in excess of £37,000 on my friends’ weddings in the last decade: £8000 on accommodation; £3,000 on wedding gifts, £13,500 on travel, £5,000 on outfits and £7,500 on hen weekends…no wonder my pension is lacking in funds…

If you are in a relationship, being open about your finances is one of the most romantic things you can do.

Being able to discuss money before you get married can not only make life a lot easier when you do tie the knot, it can make things easier if you don’t end up together.

Victoria Walker, a lawyer who works for family-law specialist Fisher Meredith has the following checklist for couples:

1.      If you are not planning to get married just yet but will be living together think about getting a cohabitation agreement.

2.      If you buy a property together before you get married make sure your solicitor prepares a declaration of trust for you setting out what shares you own in it. Have a document drawn up setting out your respective shares. Don’t just assume you get your deposit back or that you get a proportion of what you put in.

3.      If the worst does happen and you break up you will at least get to keep the sparkler – unless your partner very unromantically put conditions on it when he gave it to you. But if it belonged to his mother or grandmother you should assume it was intended to be passed down the family –so hand it back as graciously as possible.

4.      Once you are married however, the ring is yours to keep, even in the event of a divorce – along with all the wedding presents given to you both by your side of the family or friends.

5.      Once the engagement party is over give some thought together about the issue of children. If you already have a child together your marriage will give you both equal rights and obligations.

6.      These children may become what is known as ‘children of the family’ and you will have the same obligations and responsibilities towards them as you would if you were the natural parent, such as paying child support, if the marriage breaks down.

7.      If you have yet to start a family talk about it now and how you view issues such as schooling and religion.  Differences of opinion, if intractable, can be referred to a court (under a Children Act Specific Issue application) for a decision to be taken, but it is clearly better to work out a compromise in advance.

8.      If you want to be sure that both parties know what they are getting into then get a pre-nuptial agreement drawn up. This is particularly important if there are big differences between you in terms of wealth or age, or if it is a second marriage for one of you and you already have children.

9.      Remember that marriage can make your existing Will invalid. So consider getting a new Will drawn up.

10.  Other legal aspects may also be affected too. For instance tax considerations, or if you run a company together, or have pension funds which you can to some extent control – so it is worth seeking legal advice well in advance and making sure you know what needs to be arranged — or rearranged.

This week our editor Samantha Downes writes about just one of the reasons she set up Ella Mag.

Last month I was approached by one of the more established women’s magazines. They wanted me to come up with a test page for a potential finance/careers column. I was excited; the column would mean regular work, but more importantly it would also give me the chance to engage with young women and their financial aspirations.  Sadly my services were not needed, the magazine decided they did not want a finance column, they felt a lifestyle-led one was more appropriate…

Read more…

Hundreds of thousands of savers are abandoning pensions in favour of Individual Savings Accounts.

The problems is pensions are just too complicated, according to a report by The Institute of Directors (IoD)

It says the amounts paid into ISAs has increased  year on year, rising from £35.7bn in 2007, to £43.9bn in 2009/10.

At the same timer fewer of us paid into pensions, while employee and individual pension contributions peaked in 2007 at £25.6bn, and fell to £22.9bn by 2009.

The IoD says this means the population choose to pay almost twice as much into ISAs as into pensions, making clear which savings vehicle they prefer.

And it expects payments into ISAs to have increased to £53.8bn over the last year.

The report, “Roadmap for Retirement Reform”, was written by IoD pensions expert Malcolm Small, and recommends the government make pensions simpler and come up with a long-term plan to encourage us all to save.

But you don’t need to wait for the government to get its act together. Just read our article about pension-free retirement planning.

Money, it’s one of life’s essentials and it’s also the cause of many arguments. In fact more than a quarter of couples fall out over money, according to Prudential.

I t can’t help that nearly one in five of us avoids talking about finances with our other half completely.

And it’s not rocket science to point out a couple who fail to discuss money can end up storing up for themselves all kinds of problems, and can put their relationship as well as finances at risk.

Denise Knowles of Relate has the the following tips to help couples of all ages avoid money rows.

1) Have a goal

Having a joint goal,  whether it’s for a holiday, home improvements, presents or your pension, then it shows commitment, which can lead to more honest discussions about money.

2) Have a budget

Being able to discuss something that involves both of you but is not either of you – an entity such as the household – can take the emotion out of money conversations.’

3) Be honest

White lies about spending soon get found out and that’s how minor rows start.

4) Know yourselves

If you have a spending problem then ask your partner for support.

5) Get help

If your problems seem insurmountable,  get on to Relate or a good therapist for the relationship and honesty and get a well qualified, independent financial adviser for the money stuff.

This is a precis of an article Samantha Downes wrote for This is Money last autumn.

Ella Mag’s editor Samantha Downes wrote an article in The Sunday Times about zombie pension funds, funds that came with so many charges it all but wiped out any gains they had made. The article is here – but you have to have a Times subscription to access it.

Thousands of investors, who were sold pensions direct in the late 80s and early 90s may need to check their pension funds, warns Kusal Ariyawansa, a chartered and certified financial planner with Appleton Gerrard. He believes lack of aftercare or ongoing financial advice could be costing investors who bought personal pensions millions of pounds.

Kusal’s client – mentioned in the original article – may have lost over £30,000 after buying a personal pension in March 1989. Mr Kusal’s client is now urging other pension investors to get in touch with an adviser. He said: “I then paid my adviser to find out what is going on and he gave me a clear understanding and alerted me to what might have happened in the past. I can now do something about this poor policy many people may have left it too late.”

You can find an adviser at Unbiased or go to Appleton Gerard’s website

Read more:  Let’s get saving

The petrol crisis has served as another reminder how dependent we are on fuel.

Now it appears that there will not be after all be a walkout of tanker drivers, fears of which led cabinet minister Francis Maude to urge drivers to stock up on fuel before Easter.

However even though the drivers’ union Unite has ruled out a strike in favour of talks,  the effects of a wave of panic buying over the last week means fuel shortages are still likely.

So if you can’t afford to go out and spend £200 on fuel and the jerry cans to put it in what can you do? Motoring experts at the RAC have the following advice to those wanting to save petrol.

Stick to the speed limits

Leave the air con off

Try and avoid sudden braking and acceleratiom

Keep tyres inflated correctly

Buy a newer car

Get your car serviced regularly

Take eco-driver training

Don’t carry unnecessary loads

Travel at off-peak times – e.g try and get away early this Easter!

Plan your journey – so you don’t waste petrol driving aimlessly.

In case you not yet noticed – and we really wouldn’t blame you if you haven’t – but next week marks the end of the current tax year. On 6 April a brand new year starts. Ta dah!

This means you have just under a week to use up any tax allowances you have, as they run from 6 April 2011 to 5 April 2012. If you don’t use it by midnight on 5 April2012 you lose it, basically.

What does this mean for me?

If you have a personal pension, you can put up to £50,000 a year into that pension in any given tax year. That’s a lot, but this amount is going to change following last week’s budget. So if you’ve won the lottery or have a large inheritance kicking around then you may want to consider it.

For most of us the easiest and accessible way to invest tax free is via an individual savings account.

These comes in two versions – one that invests in cash and one that invests in the stockmarket.  With a cash ISAs basically you are lending your money to the bank, whereas with a stock market ISA the bank is investing it in companies (via shares) on your behalf.

You can invest up to £5,340 cash ISA or £10,680, in a stockmarket ISA.

How does the tax free bit work?

With an ISA you don’t pay tax on the interest you earn and you don’t pay capital gains tax on any money you take out from the ISA.

With a pension you get the income tax you pay on the money you contributed, but you do pay some tax on your investment and you will pay tax when your pension pays out – assuming you get paid enough from your pension to earn income tax.

So where do I get one?

Here’s where you need to do your research. If you are considering a stockmarket ISA you may be best off taking independent financial advice, especially if you’ve never bought shares before.

Cash ISAs pay a fixed rate of interest, you can compare the best rates on an independent comparison site like Moneyfacts. There are other comparison sites out there but financial journalists (such as our editor Samantha) tend to use this one as guide.

If you are really brave you can choose to invest your ISA directly into shares.

Investing directly, where you choose what shares to buy, allows you to choose individual companies you think will make a profit best of all because you are not paying a charge for someone else to do it, you have the potential to make more money.

You can invest directly in shares  through a stockbroker. The cheapest way to do this is online – you can find one via the Association of Private Client Investment Managers and Stockbrokers website find a broker search facility.

What else can I do?

Tom McPhail, is head of pensions research at Bristol-based advisers Hargreaves Lansdown (you’ve probably seen him on TV).

He recommends having a stockmarket for longer-term savings (such as a pension) and keeping your cash ISA as a rain-day fund.

And if you don’t earn a salary but you have a partner who does, they can put £3,600 a year into a pension on your behalf. In fact you can even this allowance to start a pension for your child.

If you have children don’t forget your child’s junior ISA allowance So if you want to put money aside for your children or grandchildren, a Junior ISA is one of the simplest and most tax-efficient ways to do this – up to £3,600. If you have a child trust fund you can use this allowance to top up that

In fact Tom reckons a couple with 3 children could use a combination of Sipp and ISA allowances to save up to £6,480 a year for each child and between them the household could save at least £46,560 a year tax free – more if their earnings justify higher pension contributions

Liked this? Read this.

I covered my first budget while at the FT doing work experience, (age 19 in 1991) when I was an editorial assistant on a new project called FTTV.

Since then I’ve probably reported on at least 15 subsequent Budgets.  Some bad, some good, some boring and some confusing; but all being introduced with the proviso that we – the British public – would be paying less tax at the end of it all.

And allegedly this Budget did, by raising the amount at which people start paying tax and lowering the high rate tax band from 50p in the £1 to 45 p.

So I never expected much from this particular list of numbers, but at least George Osborne abandoned plans to scrap child benefit to those earning over the higher-rate tax threshold.

Now instead it will apply to those with a household income of £60,000 or under and will be reduced by increments for those earning over £40,000.

Although there are still some anomalies. As Simon Hartshorn, savings and investments Manager at children’s saving provider Family Investments pointed out to me – “a family with two earners bringing in £98,000 could still receive full Child Benefit, whilst a family with a single income of £60,000 would receive none”.

At the moment this monthly benefit helps many a family from grumbling tummies.

And this is why I wish he’d done more to help the little people. People like my husband-to-be and I, who often have to wait months to get paid, often from large companies dragging their heels

At the moment we’re owed several thousands of pounds from various sources, all of which we have earned.

Several years ago I had a very good freelance year, the following year, I didn’t even earn enough to break the personal allowance. I was on maternity leave but if I’d been able to pay an accountant I could have carried forward my tax relief and avoided some of this tax (which we are still paying off – large mobile phone providers take note).

In fact if I had £50,000 to put into a pension right now I could even still use my tax allowance for that very year and write off this bill.

As for the so-called ‘Granny tax’, well in my immediate family circle (which is considerable and varied) even the ones who lost their Equitable Life pensions were and are still able to retire at 60;  and younger in some cases.

I’m pretty sure that when my and my daughter’s generations look back, today’s  pensioners (aside from the few that live in real poverty like many working families) will have been considered to have been extremely lucky.

And while George Osborne is taxing those who put their property into what is called a corporate tax wrapper to avoid stamp duty, what about all the buy to let landlords?

Why can’t they be taxed appropriately – we have a housing shortage whereby people on average incomes can’t even borrow enough to buy their first home.

If that hasn’t made you depressed here are some startling facts from Family Investments.

Its research found that compared to 2011, the average family is are spending more per month in 2012 on the following:

• Utilities – £40.72 more per month
• Groceries - £35.97 more per month
• Transport – £32.04 more per month
• University fees – £59.90 more per month
• Rent/mortgage – £34.79 more per month
• Child care – £13.44 more per month

And, depressingly, less on these

• Savings contributions – £29.51 less per month
• Entertainment and leisure – £18.18 less per month
• Clothing – £4.90 less per month

Tell us mums something we don’t know: more needs to be done to prevent the damange taking a maternity breaks inflicts on our savings and pensions.

Research by Friends Life – Visions of Britain Pensions: The Solutions 2020 – has shown that despite an increase in female representation on the board of the UK’s largest companies (my blog about this here) little was being done to minimise the damage of women taking a career break to start a family

Of course if you are a (paid) working woman with a family you’ll know that the Friends Life exposed “a worrying number of women who were less clued up about pensions than their male counterparts”.

Amost half of women do not save into an employer-sponsored pension scheme while a further one in ten are unsure if they save at all.

Kim Clarke, head of human resources at at Friends Life, said employers were good at considering the short-term financial impact of female employees starting a family by providing flexible working practices but she warned they also needed to consider the long-term implications

She explaines:  “When women return to work they often go back part time in the first instance, meaning that the percentage of their salary that they can save is much smaller, while at the same time their outgoings have increased. Unless drastic changes are made, many women may find that starting a family could negatively affect their retirement pot.”

Clarke is pointing out that its the missed National Insurance payments and pension contributions that can really impact on us.

Friends Life says fresh thinking is still needed, but it appears some companies in the financial services industry are already doing just that. Although at the moment it’s only at the top end. F

For example Duncan Lawrie Private Bank has created a repayment holiday facility for itss female entrepreneurs.

It has agreed to give special terms on existing loan facilities to help female entrepreneurs keep their businesses running during maternity leave

Female clients of Duncan Lawrie Private Bank will be “offered the opportunity to suspend making interest payments on loans during their pregnancy and after the birth of a child, to help ease financial pressure on their business until they resume full earning capacity.”

However that’s entrepreneurs, what can the rest of us do? I asked two inspirational mummy contacts of mine who have both recently set up their own businesses and both have two children (each) what women should do.

Philippa Gee of Shropshire-based Philippa Gee Wealth Management says those who have not yet started a family need to think about the costs and prepare for them, they should also brace themselves for the emotional costs. Getting your head around the money situation can help you focus on what plans you need to make.

Childcare: The incredible cost of childcare, the fact that children often catch bugs and therefore you may have to take extra time off work to take care of them and the ongoing additional costs.

Career moves: Consider particularly what happens when you move away from family to pursue your career; while this can function well when work is your focus, when you need support in caring for your child/children you are then so exposed to needing extra time off work, yet to move back to where your family are located may well mean a subsequent drop in salary – it’s about weighing about up all aspects, but really think carefully about what support you might need in the future, as moving house is an expensive business and one to factor in

Plan ahead: The solution is to plan as far in advance as possible, the more you can do to push yourself up the career ladder (if career is a focus for you) before you plan to start a family, the better.

The ideal is to find a role that is as flexible as possible. The more you can do to create a role that suits you ideally, the better prepared you will be, and for many this means starting their own business, working on a self employed basis and/or launching a consultancy.

However, all this takes time to set up, which is why you need to plan as early as possible to begin this venture, rather than having to face such a mammoth task when you just returning from maternity

It may be boring, but also you need to save as much as you possibly can, as children can often cost far more than you can ever imagine and keep that money available.

Pensions are obviously of critical importance in terms of attaining your retirement goals, however putting all your financial resources into a pension is the wrong approach, as you need funds that are as accessible as possible. Using Cash ISAs can be one good approach for many as it means that the money should be available, unless you tie it up in a fixed rate, and you don’t have to pay tax on the interest

“Above all,” she says, “while you can plan as much as possible, keep your options open and enjoy the life changing experiences that lie ahead. ”

Melanie Bien, mortgage and property specialist, says: “With so many pressing financial concerns when you have a young family, pension planning is often shelved as a luxury you simply can’t afford. Yet planning for your retirement – and putting money aside for that – is crucial.

“Most new mums have to cope with a reduced income – both on maternity leave and afterwards, even if they go back to work – so making ends meet is a struggle. But in the scheme of things, this is only for a few years while you could be spending many years in retirement on a reduced income.”