ISA: You Really Need One

With the budget still fresh in all our minds, Kiran Trivedi readers, I want to hone in this week on ISA’s. You really need one. What are they and how can you use them to add a little extra to your budget in the long term?

There are so many financial products out there that promise great returns on your savings that sometimes you don’t even know how to begin to wade through the information to find the best option for you. The ISA is that option.

An ISA is an Individual Savings Account and they’ve actually been around a whole lot longer than you might think; 15 years. It’s an account that you can use to make a wad of cash on your earnings. So how can you actually do this?

Well, when the government first introduced ISA’s to the nation 15 years ago, they billed them as a way you can make money on your savings tax free. That’s what it still is today. You put money into your ISA account and the savings you make, based on interest rates, don’t get taxed.

It really is that simple, however there were a few caveats. Until the most recent budget, you could only put up to roughly £5,760 in per year. You also had to have cash and shares ISA options. You did have to pay some tax on your shares ISA.

However this new budget has brought some real changes. The limit of money that you can put into your ISA account has now been raised to £15,000 a year and you are now allowed to get rid of the shares option and just go with cash! So you really can make a bundle on savings!

Now we know that you can use it to make money, we need to know who is eligible to open an ISA. Well, pretty much everybody, as long as you have money to put into the account. According to the government guidelines, anyone over the age of 18 can open a cash ISA as long as they are a UK resident. You can even get a version for kids called a junior ISA.

So what does this mean for your personal finances? Well it means you can take your hard earned savings, put them into an account and if you wait a while, you can make hundreds, even thousands of pounds that you can then use to give you and your family a better quality of life.

This is why you really need an ISA, Kiran Trivedi readers. It’s a really simple way of making money, money that you can then use in any way you want. 

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The Fight against Counterfeiting: The New One Pound Coin

One of the biggest issues for the UK finance market is counterfeiting. It’s counterproductive and ultimately costs our economy millions of pounds every year. That is why the UK government is taking its fight against counterfeiting a step further with the introduction of a new one pond coin.

There tends to be this culture, Kiran Trivedi readers, of regarding counterfeiting as something that only happens in organised crime. The truth is, however, that it happens in every single city, town and village in this country and it has a direct effect on your personal finances.

 This is because if what happens when counterfeit money enters circulation. Eventually it is found out, and taken out of circulation; this means that money is being taken out of our economy, which rebounds on all of us. This is why counterfeiting can have a direct effect on your bottom line.

 The government, indeed most governments around the world, have long been dedicated to battling counterfeiting, and with certain measures have proved effective in the battle against counterfeit notes. Now it is fairly easy to spot a counterfeit note as long as you have a UV pen.

 However, the battle against counterfeit coins has been somewhat unsuccessful. There are an estimated 45 million counterfeit one pound coins in circulation. This is set to change, as in 2017 the government is planning to introduce a new counterfeit proof one pound coin.

 The coin apparently is set to be designed based on the shape of the old 3d coin (three penny) coin. This was a 12 sided coin that was in circulation between 1937 and 1971, before coinage went decimal.

 The Bank of England believes that this coin will be effective in reducing the estimated 3% of one pound coins that are counterfeit The news is even making it into the yearly budget. Chancellor George Osborne tweeted a picture of the one pound coin next to the budget box before he delivered the annual plan, saying that: "Today I will deliver a Budget for a resilient economy - starting with a resilient pound coin."

Of course, Kiran Trivedi readers, this isn’t going to affect your personal finances in the short term; however it will in the long term. As 2017 approaches, you are going to need to know how this will work, so keep your eyes open and your ear to the ground.

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