Welcome to the ROARING (20)20’s: Why the start of a new decade is a great time to think about your financial goals
With January ringing in not only the start of a new year but a brand new decade, now is the perfect time to start thinking about your long term ambitions and plans for the future.
Whether you’re planning a wedding, looking to save for your first home or thinking about your family’s future, we’ve taken a look at some of the best ways to save for life’s milestones.
Are you planning for…?
Wedding bells?
For anyone planning for the wedding of the decade, getting your finances sorted as early as possible can help make sure you can afford the wedding (and honeymoon) of your dreams.
What’s more, with the average wedding in 2019 costing £31,974 (1), being savvy about your wedding finances early in the planning process will allow you to focus on starting your new life together rather than how to pay down your debt.
Taking out a Stocks & Shares ISA allows you to save up to £20,000 per tax year for the big day, with Foresters Friendly Society you can save through regular payments of £50 per month, or make a £500 lump sum payment to open an account, and then top up your ISA with lump sum payments of at least £250 – so you have the choice to save as little or as much and as often as you want.
Keys to your dream home?
With the Help to Buy ISA having ended in 2019, the Lifetime ISA is now the best way you can make the most of your savings if you’re looking to buy your first home in over a year’s time. The Government gives savers a 25% bonus on the total amount you pay in, meaning that if you were to pay in the current £4,000 maximum per year you will receive a tax-free bonus of £1,000 per year meaning the total amount saved is actually £5,000.
The pitter patter of tiny feet?
A Lifetime ISA also gives you the flexibility to contribute regular amounts. With the Foresters Friendly Society Lifetime ISA, a monthly direct debit of at least £100 per month (£50 per month if you are an existing member or child/grandchild of a member) can be set up, or you can make a lump sum payment of £500 to open an account, then you can also make lump sum top ups of at least £250 as and when you choose, so long as your contributions don’t exceed the current limit of £4,000 per tax year.
Making sure that you consider your offspring financially is crucial from the day you bring them home as a newborn to the day they fly the nest.
A Junior ISA is one of the most tax-efficient ways to build a nest egg for your kids and once opened by a parent or guardian, friends and family can pay in too! For under 18s, you can pay in up to £4,368 in the 2019-2020 tax year, up from £4,260 in 2018-2019. There is also no personal income or capital gains tax to pay on any growth that their Junior ISA achieves. It takes as little as £26 per month to open a Foresters Friendly Society Junior ISA, or you can make a single lump sum payment of £500 to begin. Whichever option you choose, you can then top up your child’s savings with lump sums of at least £250 to help support them when they turn 18.
Find out more about the full range of savings & investments products offered by Foresters Friendly Society
This blog is intended to provide information, not financial advice, to help you make an informed decision about savings and investments. We do not offer financial advice. You should contact a financial adviser, who may charge a fee, if you want financial advice.
You should also be aware that in some investment
conditions and depending on the savings product you have chosen, you or your
child may get back less than you have paid in.
[1] https://www.hitched.co.uk/wedding-planning/organising-and-planning/national-wedding-survey-2019/