Advice

Work experience, internships and grad schemes are great ways of finding out what line of work suits you while getting your foot in the door. Even unpaid work experience can open up incredible opportunities. And remember, your school subjects or degree don’t necessarily need to align with your career.

Save into your workplace pension - your new employer should automatically enrol you. If you are able to start saving early - just £100/month could grow to more than £16,500 over the next ten years at 6% p/a, and even grow to £46,000 over 20 years. Think about small monthly standing orders to yourself for next year’s holiday, rainy day pot, pension and longer-term investments. One day you’ll be forever grateful to your younger self.

Everyone dreams of starting their own business - that light-bulb moment, the product, the service, your potential customers… Your idea could hit the big time.

First get your paperwork in order - business plan, Companies House, shareholder’s agreement. Will you own 100% of the company, or a controlling stake with at least 51%? Do you have a business partner, and what shareholding will they have? What about 'key person' insurance or critical illness cover?

You’re on your own as an entrepreneur - no workplace pension, no Finance Director, no marketing department, no private medical insurance. You’ll be grateful to have a financial adviser you trust by your side.

Now we're talking. You've been promoted and received a bonus for winning that big contract. Should you take it as a salary, or pension contribution?

Think about using this year's ISA allowance. Are your investments in line with your risk profile? Do you choose an index-tracker, single company shares or a balanced global portfolio?

Now is a good time to consider back-up options. What if you couldn't work due to illness or redundancy, would you have sufficient income to pay your bills? If you haven't already, think about getting income protection, a critical illness policy or life assurance to cover you.

Having the discipline of saving and investing on a monthly basis in your 20s and 30s could pay substantial dividends in the coming years.

A house is probably the most expensive asset you’ll ever buy. How much could you borrow? Are your finances in order before you apply for a mortgage? Is there enough budget for renovation costs?

Approach a mortgage broker well before your property search turns serious. Lenders will want to interrogate your spending habits, see steady and reliable income streams and, above all, they’ll expect a squeaky clean credit history.

Heard of LTV? Some lenders offer better rates if the Loan-to-Value (LTV) is below 60% (eg a loan below £300k on a £500k property) and often you can lock in a rate 6 months before you buy. Lastly, you'll want to arrange a will and some life assurance to cover you if the worst happens.

Sleepless nights, babygrow multipacks, buggies the price of a small car. We’ve been there.

Now you’ve been joined by your new team member, have you thought how your family would cope financially if you were no longer around or suffered an accident or illness? If you haven’t already got a will, consider this as your sign to do exactly that.

Insurance policies can be less than you might think. From as little as £10-£20/month in your 20s you could have Life Assurance that pays a lump sum on death so your surviving spouse can clear the mortgage. Or you could consider a Family Income Benefit policy which pays a monthly income for an agreed number of years. Similarly, Income Protection policies can supplement your salary in the event of a critical illness.

VAT on school fees, kids growing out of their clothes, car finance deals, flight tickets for four of you. We get it - everything you can think of seems to cost 10x as much as before with precious little left over.

Need a family car? Should you use your hard-earned cash reserves, or settle for a PCP or HP deal, or a bank loan? Remember with any kind of finance to buy an asset like a car, you're battling against depreciation and interest payments. Make sure you do your sums before committing to a 4-year deal.

ISAs: interest, investment profits and dividends are all free of income tax and capital gains tax. While you're at it, consider setting up Junior ISAs too - the tax-free profits could cover tuition fees when they’re 18.

What three things should you do first if you inherit some money?

First: Do nothing and take your time. You might regret locking cash into an inflexible account. Even paying off your mortgage needs careful thought.

Second: Get advice from a financial adviser - if possible before you receive the money. Do you owe inheritance tax from past gifts? Should you use your ISA allowance before the end of the tax year? Is it your turn to update your will?

Third: Keep a small sum in your current account and the rest in savings for the time being. Ask the solicitor to transfer the money into your bank account which does not have a debit card connected to it.