You’re not sure what to prioritise — your pension, mortgage or your Isa. You’re starting to lose sleep over whether you’re saving enough for your children’s education. And you can’t quite recall whether you have accumulated four, five — or was it six? — pension pots from previous jobs. Now may be time to consider a mid-life financial MOT.Savers and investors reaching their fifth decade face a series of choices about the right balance of spending and saving to strike as their earnings and expenditure typically peak and retirement planning picks up pace. Thorny questions include the suitable trade-offs between mortgage payments and pension contributions, savings and investments, the correct level of risk in an investment portfolio and the potential for breaching tax relief limits on pension contributions. Advisers say this time of life is precisely when people should consider conducting a thorough assessment of their finances in the round … [Read more...] about Your financial mid-life MOT: is it time for a tune-up?
20 year level term life insurance
Lesley-Ann’s family ‘devastated’ as hit-and-run killer Finn’s jail term cut
Lesley-Ann's family 'devastated' as hit-and-run killer Finn's jail term cut BelfastTelegraph.co.uk The family of a Northern Ireland teenager killed by a hit-and-run driver have been left "devastated" after his sentence was reduced by the Court of Appeal. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/lesleyanns-family-devastated-as-hitandrun-killer-finns-jail-term-cut-37979775.html https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/article36470154.ece/46126/AUTOCROP/h342/2018-01-09_new_37555780_I3.JPG Email The family of a Northern Ireland teenager killed by a hit-and-run driver have been left "devastated" after his sentence was reduced by the Court of Appeal. Senior judges held that the original term imposed on Nathan Finn for causing the death of Lesley-Ann McCarragher in Armagh three years ago did not give credit for his lack of previous convictions and genuine remorse. The ruling, which also took into account decisions reached in previous cases, means Finn, 20, will now … [Read more...] about Lesley-Ann’s family ‘devastated’ as hit-and-run killer Finn’s jail term cut
Making Cents: Stub it out and save yourself a fortune
Consumer advice with Gráinne McGuinness. Imagine if you could make a single change in your life that would immediately make you better off and have lifelong benefits for your health and quality of life? For smokers, that possibility is always there. All a smoker has to do is stop smoking and they improve their heart health, their blood pressure and reduce their risk of cancer. Chairman of ASH Ireland Patrick Doorley believes this is an ideal time of year to consider making this change “It is well established that over 70% of smokers wish to quit and are often seeking opportunities to make the decision and proceed, “ he said. “ASH Wednesday is an ideal opportunity. Quitting will have an immediate positive impact on the smoker’s health and this will increase in the weeks and months ahead.” Money pales in importance by comparison with these improvements but quitting cigarettes will also have a significant effect on your finances. “A 20-a-day smoker … [Read more...] about Making Cents: Stub it out and save yourself a fortune
The 20 top jobs New Zealanders should be studying for
The Spinoff A study using salary data, employment prospects, skill shortages and training positions suggests aspiring engineers, builders, teachers, midwives and panel beaters are off to a great start. Surge in job listings on Trade Me expected New Zealand quarterly unemployment rises above forecasts Unemployment: Bad news NZ, it's much worse than you think One of the most difficult choices in a young person's life is deciding what they want to study. They have to think about what they like doing, what they're actually good at, and what sort of jobs will be around for them when it comes time to enter the workforce. Remember: automation is here and the robots are coming, regardless of whether we like it or not. Anywhere from 24 percent to 46 percent of jobs are predicted to disappear in the next two decades with labourers, drivers, machinery operators, and those working clerical or admin jobs set to be the first to go. Today's students will be best prepared for work after 2020 with a … [Read more...] about The 20 top jobs New Zealanders should be studying for
‘I knew of my family’s plan to murder my sister-in-law who was strangled and dumped in a river but I couldn’t stop it’
SURJIT Athwal from Coventry, 27, was drugged, murdered and dumped in a river. But this wasn’t a horrific random attack – it was planned and carried out by those closest to her. Worse still is that her sister-in-law knew of the plot, but couldn’t stop it from happening. Surjit's crime? Socialising with friends which her mother-in-law perceived as bringing shame on the family. Here, as a new documentary The Killer In My Family airs, sister-in-law Sarbjit Athwal, 49, tells Sun Online how her family lured Surjit from the UK, only to have her strangled to death then left in the Ravi River in December 1998.'We have to get rid of her' Surjit and Sarbjit were married to two brothers and Sarbjit recalls the day their mother-in-law told her of her evil plan. “I’ll never forget the day I was summoned to tea,” says Sarbjit, who was looking after Surjit's two children while she was at work. Bachan Athwal, their husbands' mother invited her into the front … [Read more...] about ‘I knew of my family’s plan to murder my sister-in-law who was strangled and dumped in a river but I couldn’t stop it’