The start of a new year is always the perfect time to take control of your finances and grasp any opportunities that may lie ahead. This year the case is even more compelling with rising inflation and tax increases set to challenge household budgets up and down the country. So now really is the ideal time to quantify your assets and position them appropriately in order to build financial resilience for your future.
Millions set to be worse off
Analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) shows that living standards are set to stagnate over the next few years. This year specifically, an average middle-income earner will see take-home pay fall by around 1% as soaring household bills and increased tax burdens outpace any anticipated rise in wages. Research (1) also highlights the pandemic’s impact on finances, with almost 16 million Brits feeling more financially vulnerable than before COVID struck.
Plan for your future
This situation is exacerbated by the fact people typically devote relatively little attention to financial matters. A survey, for example, found more than four in ten adults would either struggle to locate and access or had ‘no idea’ whatsoever about their pension pots (2).
Building financial resilience, however, lessens the impact of any unforeseen circumstances and ensures you are prepared for life’s key events, such as retirement. It’s therefore vital to plan now for the future you deserve.
Inflation-proof your finances
At the moment, inflation and its erosive impact on savings is a key concern for many. This has resulted in savers increasingly switching money from deposit-based accounts into investments, with research (3)
suggesting over half of adults have already done so.
Build a diversified portfolio
The spectre of rising inflation certainly means investors need to carefully consider the composition of their portfolios to ensure their money is potentially inflation-proofed.
As always, maintaining a diversified range of investments is key, with appropriate portfolio construction enabling successful navigation through any periods of uncertainty.
(1) Royal London, 2021, (2) money.co.uk, 2021, (3) Aegon, 2021
The value of investments can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. The past is not a guide to future performance and past performance may not necessarily be repeated.
