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Action is required to improve your financial wellbeing

FINANCIAL HEALTH-CHECK: April is the perfect time to review all areas of your personal finance
FINANCIAL HEALTH-CHECK: April is the perfect time to review all areas of your personal finance FINANCIAL HEALTH-CHECK: April is the perfect time to review all areas of your personal finance

APRIL 6 marked the beginning of the new tax year, which makes this month the perfect time for us to step back and review all areas of our personal finance.

But as they say: “When all’s said and done, there’s usually been more said than done”. Improving your financial wellbeing doesn’t happen by itself! So action is required.

That’s why, this week, I’d like to suggest a few of the many ideas you might like to think about.

The most obvious new opportunity is that we have a new annual allowance of £20,000 to save into our individual savings accounts or Isas.

It is also the perfect time to open an Isa, if you don’t have one already. If you read this esteemed column regularly, then not only are you very astute, but you may have read our more extensive analysis of Isas last month. If you haven’t, then here is a short roundup of the basic advantages.

The great thing about the Isa is that it allows your money to grow tax-free, and there are seven types. You can mix and match if you like, saving in cash or investing in the stock market, provided you don’t exceed the £20,000 across the various Isas you hold.

It’s essential to understand that the Isa types have various risk levels, but some offer the possibility of higher returns as well. This is why taking financial advice is wise, before deciding which to choose.

If you do decide to review the other financial products available to you, another important area is ensuring that you have insurances to protect your family, if they lose your income due to a serious health setback or for any other reason. Not surprisingly, these are known as family protection insurances.

Life insurance will protect your loved ones if the worst were to happen, and you were to pass away. However, in case you fall seriously ill, it’s also worth considering critical illness insurance or ‘CI’. Some say that life insurance is what you take in case you die; critical illness is the insurance you take in case you don’t.

CI is crucial for both men and women, but men should particularly consider it, as they are more likely to be hit by serious illness than women. The main illnesses that are covered are cancer, heart attack, MS, stroke, and the need for major surgery, but policies cover a wide range of other illnesses as well.

Both life insurance and CI are even more important if you’re a mum or a dad, because of course your children are also dependent on your income.

The insurance company LV= have confirmed from their research that men are more likely than women to claim on their CI policies, in particular as a result of heart disease. Heart attacks account for 20 per cent of male claims, compared with only 0.1 per cent of female claims.

And now to pensions.

If you have a personal pension, this is a great time to think about taking financial advice to find out if your retirement savings are growing as fast as they can. A financial adviser can ‘lift the lid’ on your pension, and check where your pension savings are invested.

If necessary, your savings can be moved into better-performing investment funds, to maximise the growth that can be achieved. This will ensure that your hard-earned money is working as hard as it can for you.

As I mentioned above, these are just some of the ideas on how to improve your financial wellbeing in 2022.

Is now a good time to fill the gaps in your personal financial arsenal?

Then pick up the phone and give us a call today.

:: Michael Kennedy is an independent financial adviser and pensions specialist and can be contacted on 028 71886005. Further information on Facebook at Kennedy Independent Financial Advice or at www.mkennedyfinancial.com