Welcome to our first spring newsletter! At the time of writing it certainly feels like spring with a gloriously sunny day outside. It is hard to believe the official statistics that tell us we’re now in the eye of the stormy recession although recent feedback from our clients suggests that patients may be getting a little more discerning with their money.
Yet there is still good news around. Interest rates are down and many of our clients are benefitting from lower mortgage payment rates. Admittedly it’s a dichotomy for savers. To maintain the same income that bank accounts were paying less than a year ago, investors need to take greater risks in areas such as bonds or equity income funds, which fluctuate in value.
Proper financial planning is all about balance, not keeping all your eggs in the one basket and assessing which style best suits your tolerance to investment risk. We believe there are superb investment opportunities in the current market place but it takes nerves of steel to invest into assets that have been dropping in value month-on-month over the last two years. Fortune favours the brave and it is the most courageous who will benefit from the recession, both in business and with their personal finances. Which camp will you fall into?
Sue & Peter
Around three months ago I complimented Ashley Latter on his first newsletter of the year, which was just soaking with positivity! He replied with a short email that simply said, 'I have decided to fight this recession and there is only going to be one winner’.
And guess what? Ashley’s latest newsletter talks about a ‘near record’ month. He has more courses booked for 2009 than ever before and boy… does he sound positive, and how it rubs off!
Last week we attended a conference for specialist dentist providers and the one common theme that came across is how the dental market is likely to polarise between the practices that will survive and prosper, and those that will struggle. Are you going to fight this recession and come out a winner?
There appeared a common consensus among the delegates that the sector of the population suffering least are the 45 to 60 year olds - the affluent greys - higher incomes, lower mortgage payments and children that have flown the nest. Have you read how well chocolate manufacturers are currently doing? People like to spend on things that make them feel good and having their teeth whitened makes them feel good.
A very low cost name awareness strategy is to write for your local paper. In Newbury there is a health food shop called Natures Corner whose proprietor Liz Chandler is never out of the local news. Not because the shop offers different products to other health food shops, but simply because Liz makes a concerted effort to keep up its profile in the press.
She writes articles on different aspects of healthcare, she offers prizes for competitions in the local paper and organises events like pamper parties, free trade fortnights etc. While the only other independent health food shop in Newbury has gone out of business, Liz’s shop continues to go from strength to strength.
Why not write for your local paper, perhaps offering to sponsor a competition with free tooth whitening as a prize? Add a discount to everybody else who turns up with a coupon from the paper! Of course, the lucky winner’s photo will be in the paper with gleaming white teeth! What do you have to lose… other than business to your competitors?
Were you born in 1959 or later? If so, you will no longer be entitled to receive your State Pension from age 65. The government is gradually increasing the State Pension for women, from age 60 to 65 from 2010 to 2020, making it equal to that of men.
For both men and women it is then set to increase in three stages from 65 to 68 between 2024 and 2046. The first increase, from 65 to 66, will be phased in between April 2024 and April 2026; the second, from 66 to 67, will be phased in between April 2034 and April 2036; and the third, from 67 to 68, between April 2044 and April 2046.
You can find out the exact date that you can expect to receive the State Pension from the Pensions Service, who provides a simple on-line calculator that only requires you to input your date of birth.
If you have 30 seconds free, try it right now!
State Pension Calculator