Be Your Own Financial Adviser: The comprehensive guide to wealth and financial planning (Financial Times Series)

 

Many people stumble through their financial life reacting to events and advice in an ad hoc way. As a result, few choose the most suitable financial products, some fall prey to misselling and many never realise their financial goals.

 

Are you one of them?

 

Be Your Own Financial Adviser shows you how to make sensible financial decisions without the need for expensive advice.  Its accessible style, examples and case studies explain and evaluate financial products and put you firmly in control of your own financial well-being. It will advise on how to adopt the best saving, spending and investment strategies, make decisions tax-efficiently, manage risk wisely and protect and enhance your wealth. It also suggests when professional help is a good idea, and shows you how to protect yourself against misselling and get the best out of your adviser.

 

Be Your Own Financial Adviser will show you how to:

 

• Stress-test your financial decisions
• Take advantage of legal tax breaks
• Achieve your financial goals
• Manage and preserve your wealth

 

 

Accessing financial products and services is not difficult - there is no shortage of commercials, advertisements, direct mail, email and marketing calls to entice you to take out loans, buy insurance and invest your money. But choosing which products are right  for you can be a hit and miss approach.

 

Good financial planning requires a systematic strategy. You should start by assessing your own particular circumstances, attitudes and timescales and then work out how you can implement your strategy on a long term basis.

 

Let Be Your Own Financial Adviser be your guide to making better financial decisions.

 

It includes advice on the following:

 

Financial planning         

Do you need an adviser?          

Protecting your income

Providing for your family

Health and care           

Somewhere to live       

Building a pension        

Retirement choices       

Saving and investing     

Managing your wealth

Passing it on    

 

About the authors

 

Jonquil Lowe is an economist who worked for several years in the City as an investment analyst, and is a former head of the Money Group at Which?. She now splits her time between working as a freelance financial researcher and journalist and as a Lecturer in Personal Finance with The Open University. Jonquil holds the Diploma in Financial Planning and researches and writes extensively on all areas of personal finance. She is the author of over 20 books, including: Giving and Inheriting, The Pension Handbook, Save and Invest and Finance Your Retirement, all published by Which? Books; the Personal Finance Handbook published by the Child Poverty Action Group, which is used as a set text for a number of personal finance courses; and, with Sara Williams, The Financial Times Guide to Personal Tax.