The Retirement Detox Program

Single or divorced?

I noticed that a divorce coaching colleague of mine had written about the fact that declaring yourself as divorced on application forms that could be used to initiate a credit check, could actually harm your chances of getting credit or achieving a contract with, for example, a mobile phone company.   

She went on to say that her 'evidence' was only gained from hearsay and personal research, but when clients had completed a form as a 'divorced' person, and had the application turned down, when the same clients completed the same form as a 'single' person (with all other details remaining the same), the application was successful.  How interesting is that? 

She went on to say that she was not suggesting that people lie about their status on their application forms - just that they think very carefully about their status when applying for credit/contracts, etc.

Money CAN buy you happiness (if you know the right way to spend it)

Although we've always been told that money can't buy you happiness, an increasing number of studies show that, if you know the right way to spend it, money may be able to buy you happiness after all... 

However, as you'll see in this article from Superliving.com, this doesn't involve using money to buy more 'stuff' but, instead, using it to 'facilitate those parts of life most likely to promote happiness' (such as paying someone else to do the jobs that cause conflict between you and your partner, or paying off or reducing debts to help you sleep easier at night).

Could you claim compensation for a mis-sold financial services product?

If you live in the UK, you may be interested to learn about a new service being offered by my coaching colleague, the excellent business and wealth coach, Judith Morgan - a service which may enable you to make a claim amounting to thousands of pounds if you have, or have had, a mortgage, secured loan, motor vehicle on finance or credit card.

But, first, a bit of background - I'm always careful about recommending other people's products and services but I've known Judith for around 4 years and wouldn't hesitate to recommend her services to anyone I feel would benefit from them.  For many years, Judith was an accountant and her clients were predominantly entrepreneurs and small business owners.  Now she works as a much-loved and very well-respected wealth coach and business mentor, teaching clients all about how money works, how to get out of debt and become financially free and how to be more profitable in their businesses. 

Judith is now offering a new service which you might be interested if you have bought a financial services product such as a mortgage, secured loan or car finance at some point since 1990 (which surely includes us all?) or if you, or anyone you know, has a credit card where the contract was issued before 1st April 2007.

Judith can explain everything much better than I can, so here's the link to her website, www.ClaimWithJudith.co.uk, so you can find out about her offer for yourself. If you ARE interested, I highly recommend speaking to Judith in person about how it all works and what you can expect to happen.  As she says herself:

'I have been working to help people with their money throughout my entire business career. I love to help people with warmth, humour, intelligence, good communication and with no judgement whatsoever. I aim to help all my clients learn more about what is available to them.'

Phone Judith today on 05602 050 625 for a no-obligation discussion and tell her I sent you...

Reinventing retirement

The ever-lively msn.com is currently running a whole series of articles with titles like 'The New Fantasy Retirement', 'Get Your Dream Job... at 55', '7 Common Retirement Mistakes To Avoid' and '4 Retirees Who Are Living Big Dreams'.  Check them out here.

Do you intend to spend your kids' inheritance on your retirement?

Are we Brits a nation of SKI-ers?  (SKI = Spending Kids' Inheritance)  It certainly looks that way...  According to a recent survey from Saga Equity Release Service, 9 out of 10 UK homeowners would prefer to use the equity in their homes to fund their retirement, than leave it to be inherited by their children.

And how will we be spending this money?  Well, a quarter of people, who have equity built up in their property would prefer to spend the money on enhancing the quality of their retirement and around one third of people aged between 50 and 54 said they would consider releasing equity in order to travel around the world.  However, the nation's collective offspring can breath a sigh of relief - we won't just be disappearing without any notice - 53 per cent of people in the 50 to 54 category said they would discuss withdrawing money from their property with their family and this figure rose to 71 per cent of those aged over 65.

How to beat the fraudsters

At least once a week I receive an email purporting to be from a bank or credit card company, claiming that they are updating their records and requesting that I click through to their website and provide them with items of personal information such as a PIN number, password or account number.  And, of course, I immediately press the 'delete' key because, as we all know, the email is likely to be a con.  It will send us to a clone of a genuine website where, if we provided the information they are asking for, we would be providing criminals with all the information they need to commit some form of identity fraud.

If you're worried about identity fraud (and you probably should be...), check out How to beat the fraudsters by MSN money (and click on the links at the bottom of the page for even more information, including an article about celebrity victims of identity fraud - Steven Spielberg, financial guru George Soros, Oprah Winfrey, Oracle computer boss Larry Ellison, Robert de Niro, Tiger Woods, Will Smith and Jennifer Lopez have, apparently, all been victims of identity crimes costing tens of millions of pounds.)

What to do if you can't pay

'Times is', indeed, 'hard'... and, even if we're not actually struggling to pay our bills, we can't help wondering what will happen to property prices and how our kids will cope when that fixed rate mortgage ends this year...

If you (or someone you care about) are stretched to the limit and reaching the point where you're starting to miss payments, cast your eyes over 'What to do if you can't pay'  on  uk.msn.com  - the article covers mortgages, rent, council tax, gas, water and electricity bills, credit cards and loan repayments.  The general message is:  communicate with the creditor, try to come to an arrangement and keep paying SOMETHING,  even if you can't afford to pay the whole bill.

When bargain hunting becomes an addiction

Are you the sort of person who can't resist a bargain?  Do you get so excited when presented with a great deal that practical considerations, such as whether you need or can afford the bargain you've found, just never enter your head?  In this article for msn.com, Melinda Fulmer examines how, for some people, bargain shopping can be as addictive as drugs or alcohol...

Are my savings safe?

Following the collapse of US bank, Bear Stearns and the uncertainty caused by the 'credit crunch', Uk Money Saving Expert, Martin Lewis, has written some timely advice for UK savers in his email newsletter which is out today:

'Bank collapse was once easy to dismiss - then the credit crunch bit, global market turmoil hit, and logic was turned upside down. The UK government soon found itself bailing out Northern Rock; and not long after similar treatment by the US authorities followed for even bigger bank Bear Stearns. Add to this the Farepak debacle and every sensible saver should be asking themselves, "Is my money safe?"

If you have any worries about your savings, Martin has written an article about this subject which contains a full savings safety-check up and Q&A, showing you how to ensure you're protected, how to maximise your safe savings, and the pitfalls to avoid.  Find the article on his website at www.moneysavingexpert.com.