We're Going to Need More Cash.

Whenever the election is called, and regardless of the colour of the chameleon party that wins, the fact is that we are all going to suffer.  Everyone knows that you can't keep on borrowing to sustain an unsustainable lifesstyle.  Sooner or later you have to pay it back.  To do that, you have to make savings or generate more income.  There are no other choices (apart from going bankrupt and that's not an option for the UK government).   So the next government will have to make cuts in expenditure and raise taxes.  This is not theoretical economics, this is housekeeping.  Simple budgeting that every small business owner and housewife understands.

We don't do party politics on this blog and I'm not going to suggest you vote one way or the other, but you should definitely vote.  I just want to point out that, whoever wins the election, they will have to take serious action over the budget shortfall.  That means we are all going to have to pay more and that some of us will lose our job.  That's the stark reality and it's a lot harder to find a new job if you're over 50.

Not many of us have saved enough for our retirement and either the loss of our job or increased taxation are going to make it harder to save anything at all.  However, let's not get depressed about it, let's start looking at our options now and make plans for the future.  We have to look after ourselves and that means we have to look at all possible ways of increasing our income.  We need to make sure that we're paying the minimum amount of tax that we legally can (do you have an ISA?); make the best return on any savings we might have (standard rate tax payers need a return of 4.4% to be ahead of the game); and/or, we need to earn more.  That may mean taking on a second job, perhaps part-time, or starting a small business from home. 

Do it now - before the election.  Retirement Revenue can help you get started.

Be well.

Work Anywhere

My wife and I are lucky enough to have a motorhome (or a camping car if you're reading this in French).  Actually we've just swapped our old one for a nice shiny new one.  Not that we meant to.  We had brought our 'van' in for a service that was going to take all day, so we wandered around the showroom in that slightly bored, mildly inquisitive,'wonder what that one's like inside', kind of way.  Well, tucked away in one corner of the showroom was this unregistered last year's model - bargain.  We struck a deal with the salesman; bit of haggling, but he was a nice man and we ended up with a new motorhome.

Trouble is it would take 3 - 4 days to sort everything out, so we decided to stay on site while they dealt with all the bits and pieces that need to happen on these occasions.  Fortunately they had Wi-Fi on the site.

The point is that, although I'm sort-of retired, I did get an idea for a part-time business from the Retirement Revenue website and I can do almost all of the work involved either over the internet or by phone.  It's great!  I can work from anywhere that I can connect up to the internet.    Camp site, hotel, Starbucks, or even via the mobile network.  So I can enjoy the freedom that comes from my semi-retired status and travel around in the new van, but still run a small business that supplements the modest pension.  Happy days!

Have a look at the Retirement Revenue website and see if you can pick up an idea to make yourself a bit of extra cash without sacrificing your freedom to roam.  Here's the link. http://retirementrevenue.co.uk.

Be well.

Rogue Tax Codes

As if pensioners didn't have enough to worry about, it has been brought to my attention that HMRC have sent out thousands of wrong tax codes to retired people in the UK.  Nobody seems to know how big a problem this is, but it certainly seems big enough to me.  Some people could be faced with paying more than £1,000 extra tax in a year.

As usual in these cases, it's being blamed on a new computer system and HMRC are unable to say how many people might have been sent the wrong code.

I don't know about you, but I'm finding it hard enough to manage on my limited resources without this kind of extra worry and uncertainty.  At least I have been able to make a few extra shillings by writing one or two articles based on advice I got from the Retirement Revenue website.  No doubt HMRC will want their share of that too.

Keep taking the pills!

New Feature on Web Site

The Retirement Revenue web site has introduced a new facility that provides a number of additional free features.  There's a free eBook that gives some ideas for what might be described as 'old fashioned' business ideas.  These are ideas, aimed at the 50+ age group, for starting a business from home either full or part-time.  It also gives some useful links to other sites relating to the business opportunity in question.

Also free is the Newsletter which is described as 'irregular' and only issued when the editor has something of interest to report.  That makes a refreshing change; I get so hacked off when I get bombarded by so-called newsletters that are actually trying to sell me something.

Whilst this is a membership site there is currently a half-price offer and a huge amount of information and service is available completely free, including the comprehensive shopping section.

Anyway, I reckon the site's worth more than just a cursory look.  You can get through with this link:
http://www.retirementrevenue.co.uk/

Keep taking the pills!