Come on, Sunbeam . . . give me a better 2018!
As 2017 comes to a close, our finance team pass on their tips to help you prosper in the New Year
TONIGHT is the time for merriment and New Year’s resolutions. Here, The Mail on Sunday’s Personal Finance team reveal their money-related wishes for the year ahead – while coming clean on how they fared with their 2017 resolutions.
Jeff Prestridge SHUN PUBLIC TRANSPORT
OVER the past few years I have come to love London’s streets. Like Dick Whittington, I have yet to find any alleyways paved with gold but I am putting a map of the city to memory which I am sure would give me a half chance of getting through the London taxi driver’s ‘knowledge’ test if I so desired to sit it.
In 2018, my plan is simple: to walk and walk for England and when I do not feel like walking I will jump aboard a Santander cycle (a vehicle I still affectionately call a Boris bike after Boris Johnson who, when London Mayor, introduced them into the city).
All public transport will be shunned. No Tube, no No9 buses taking me to the theatrical delights of London’s West End. No getting angry over points failure at Victoria or seething about Tube drivers deciding wildcat strikes are a splendid idea. Move over Forrest Gump. Here comes Forrest Prestridge.
If I hold good to my resolution, I will save myself a fortune in fares – at least £100 a month. I will also notch up a rung in the fitness steps and sail through my other resolution which is to do at least 16,000 steps a day (as monitored on my Garmin Vivosmart).
I am looking forward to the challenge. As one of my dearest colleagues says: ‘Stay on The Grid Jeff and you can reboot your health and finances in 2018.’ Bring it on.
Sally Hamilton RUN AND RUN
MY priority for the coming year is to top up my pension. I am no spring chicken and since I also started my retirement saving later than I should have done – around the age of 30 – I need to run fast to catch up.
The law says I can save up to £40,000 a year, including employer contributions, and tax relief. Sadly, I will not manage that level of saving but any extra I can manage will help make retirement a bit more comfortable.
Since I have given up my gym membership I am saving well over £100 a month. But to fill the exercise gap I hope to start running for the first time in my life.
This has required an initial investment of about £100 in good quality running shoes (an early Christmas present). But after that outlay my running should come free unless I need the occasional physiotherapy to correct pulled muscles and a creaking back.
Laura Shannon SWITCH TV, PHONE AND BROADBAND
I HAVE completely lost track of what we pay at home for our Sky TV and broadband. My husband has the TV deal under his name, while the phone and broadband element is under mine.
As a result two separate direct debits leave our account each month – an untidy, household utility headache. To make matters worse, neither account has been compared against rivals for some time (naughty me, naughty Rob).
A proper sit-down with bills and bank statements, followed by a search for competitively priced new offers is needed to mop up our administrative mess – and save us a few bob or two in the process.
Toby Walne SOUP UP THE SUNBEAM
THE Sunbeam Alpine car I own is celebrating its 50th birthday in 2018. It is my day-to-day vehicle and not treated as a classic motor.
Rather than polishing its chrome bumpers at the weekend, I am more likely to be found carrying out rudimentary repairs – such as working out why it is often only running on three cylinders, re-attaching the exhaust pipe or playing with the wiring to stop the ignition warning light flashing when the headlights are off. It is a constant nightmare.
The first question most people ask when they see it is: ‘How long have you had it?’ Not sure why – but my answer now is ‘15 years’. This year I hope to pre-empt my next car crisis by giving the Sunbeam a full renovation – with lots of tender loving care.
I will start with the windscreen – which falls out if you open both the driver and passenger door at the same time.
Apparently, old bangers like mine are viewed as investments. It is worth £8,000 (allegedly) but I aim to lick it into shape in 2018. My aim? A sale for £12,000 in 2019.
Jo Thornhill GET THE CHILDREN SAVING
START saving as early as you can. It is a mantra I have preached for many years but in 2018 I plan to apply it to my two young daughters – Katy, four, and Isla, almost two. They have Junior Isas, which I opened when they were babies, but I have not put much into them to date. Both are invested in stocks and shares so I am hoping the savings pots will have time to grow substantially by the time the girls get their hands on the money at age 18 – maybe to help them through university. First I intend increasing the monthly standing order so I automatically invest a bit more for both girls. I will also try to top up the accounts if and when the girls receive birthday money from family and friends. But another thing I plan doing is to review the Isa provider. Both plans are with OneFamily, which I like because of its mutual status – it was formed out of the merger of Family Investments and Engage. But I was in a bit of a post-natal fog when I opened the accounts and so I did not take much time to look at the competition. As it turns out there are higher management charges on OneFamily’s Junior Isa (1.5 per cent per year) than with other providers – typically less than 0.5 per cent per year with Vanguard, Hargreaves Lansdown and Cavendish Online. As children can only hold one Junior Isa at any time I will have to apply to transfer the money, rather than open new accounts. But as the investment pots grow the charges will become more significant so I think transferring might be a worthwhile step. Goodbye OneFamily.