If you read the financial pages of any newspaper you will see headlines suggesting that as a nation we should be spending less and saving more. It is difficult, especially in the current economic climate, for people to save because of their day to day needs – high mortgage payments, student debt, cost of children and higher education.

However, it is a good discipline to try to save even a small percentage of your earnings. First you need to sit down and work out what income is coming into the house and how much you are spending. If you go on the Money Advice Service website you will find some helpful calculators.  When you look at what you spend you may find that you can cut out say just one item which would give you a small amount to save each month – saving even £6 a month can help.

If you have money to save you then have to consider what type of scheme is most suitable.  You need to ask yourself a number of questions:

• Will you need access to this money? – if the answer is yes, then you most probably need a Bank or Building Society account with easy access
• Can I tie up my money? if this is the case you may be able to get a better rate because you are able to leave your money invested
• Do I want to achieve a tax saving? – in this case a cash ISA may be appropriate
• Can I tie money up for a long period? in this case a pension scheme may be appropriate particularly if your employer is making a contribution.

It is impossible to give advice without knowing your background. At Nicholls Stevens we tailor our service to each client’s individual needs, we do not want to sell you a product, we just want you to receive the advice that you seek, however simple or complex this advice might be. At a short meeting we will discuss your background and attitude to risk and the advice will most probably cost only £50. If it will cost more we will let you know before we give it.