FINANCE

MONEY FOR CHRISTMAS

Well the easy one is give cash but it doesn’t take much thought or creativity. I have in the past given cash to grandchildren in the way of bank notes but cut them in half and told the recipient they can have the other half at Easter if they behave themselves. That’s called a ‘gift with reservation’! Another gift idea would be Premium Bonds. You can’t buy them in the Post Office anymore but they are easy to buy ‘on line’ and the minimum purchase is £100 if you’re feeling generous. First prize is £1,000,000 with two lucky winners every month, I’ve still to meet one. If you’re helping to build wealth then you can open a Junior Stocks & Shares ISA for a child. Money on its own is very sterile the fun here is helping them understand and buy shares and track the results. If there’s more than one child then you have a thriving competition. Educational books on finance could be another step towards helping loved ones get an understanding of what happens in the financial world. Martin Lewis has published such a book called ‘Your Money Matters’ aimed at school children, you can download a copy for free but it’s not as good as the real book. There are lots more if you want to trawl the internet, books like ‘Investing for Dummies’, ‘Stock Market Investing’ for beginners, ‘The Naked Trader’ is a best seller but you won’t go wrong with any books penned by Warren Buffet one of the wealthiest investors ever. You might find buying creative gifts is far more stimulating especially as over time they’ll go up in value and you might just

spark a collector’s hobby for yourself and family. Visit Rogers Jones Auctioneers website www.rogersjones.co.uk and check out what they’re selling these days in the way of Welsh Art and Artefacts. The last auction on 6th November had all manner of fabulous lots from Prints, Posters, Water Colours, Oil Paintings, Jewellery, Books, Watches, Sculpture, Furniture, Pottery, Rugby Memorabilia and lots more varying in value from £100 to £40,000. You can watch these sales live on line and bid as you go. Someone picked up an original Kevin Sinnott for a snip at £900. A signed cheque by Richard Burton for 100 dollars sold for £120, work that out! If all else fails there’s always chocolate money! PHILIP VAUGHAN Director at Abacus Assurance Financial Services Ltd Porthcawl 01656 772222 Advertise your business in the Seaside News Email info@seasidenews.co.uk BCBC WE CARE AD SEAS NEWS 10.21.qxp_Layout 1 14/10/2021 13:38 Page 1

Mae hyn yn bwysig i ni… beth amdanoch chi? We care… do you?

Gwnewch wahaniaeth a dechreuwch eich gyrfa mewn gofal cymdeithasol heddiw! Make a difference and start your career in social care today!

Rydymyncefnogioedolionneublantynygymunednaill aiyneucartrefineumewnlleoliadaupreswyl. Osoesgennychygwerthoedda’ragweddgywiriweithio gydani,rydymeisiauichiymunoâ’rtîm. Darperirhyfforddiant,nidoesangenprofiadna chymwysteraublaenorol. Wesupportadultsorchildreninthecommunityeitherintheir homesorinresidentialsettings. Ifyouhavetherightvaluesandattitudetoworkwithus, wewantyoutojoinourteam. Trainingisprovided,previousexperience andqualificationsarenotnecessary.

Ewchibridgend.gov.uk/social-care-vacanciesiweldein cynigiondiweddarafoswyddi. Gotobridgend.gov.uk/social-care-vacanciestoviewour latestjoboffers.

THE FIGURES ARE OUT – FEELING DEFLATED?

Or would that be inflated? At the time of writing this, we have just seen the figures on inflation, at 4.2%, a whopping increase to say the least and the highest for ten years. Little surprise though when the price of fuel has now reached around £1.50 a litre for the car, the cost of a typical shop is estimated to be around £8 a week more, plus a plethora of other items, all of which feed into the equation. Last month I mentioned the rise in mortgage rates and yes, interest rates have been steadily been edged upwards by lenders, yet the Bank of England held the base rate for another month at the current level. That may not be the same next month or after Christmas, so anyone with a mortgage or later life / equity release loan that could be reviewed now, should be. It costs nothing to find out and our phone here is very busy with people wanting to renew the mortgage with a fresh deal whilst the rise in rates is still yet to really gather speed, and that goes for the retired sector too, where some people are managing to slash their interest payments from the fixed rates that they took out some years ago. We have just managed to rearrange the rate for a couple in Porthcawl who were paying an eye-watering 7.79% rate, fixed for life and they now have a new arrangement at 3.22% fixed for life. Remember you may have to pay some kind of early repayment penalty to change lender, however, the massively lower interest rate should be of real benefit going forward, especially as people are living longer. We are computer-linked with all the lenders in the market and our sourcing systems will help determine the best course of action for you – you pay nothing to ask the questions and to find out the viability of changing schemes. For those of you with some years to retirement yet, if your fixed rate is coming to an end within the next three months, now is the time you should be looking to re-fix your mortgage borrowing, ahead of rates rising further. Once you have a new deal agreed, a lender will usually hold that rate for between three and six months, depending on the lender.

We’ve had a good spell of low interest rates on borrowing and we may be able to help you extend that further. We have the answers, you could too. Call 01656 782545 or 07768 418308 to find out.

PAUL FIELDING Dragon Financial 01656 782545 / 07768 418308

EARLY DEADLINE FOR JANUARY

Please note: due to the Christmas shutdown, the deadline date for the January 2022 issue is Friday 10th December.

Independent Mortgage and Protection Advisers

We are the Specialists to call...

Need a new mortgage from a whole of market Adviser? Over the Age of 55 and need Later Life Lending or Equity Release? • Refused a mortgage due to Previous Credit Problems? • Trying to get on the ladder as First Time Buyers? • Life Assurance and Family Protection need reviewing? • Income protection a problem – not available from work?

Funeral planning? - pre-paid plans to suit everyone We also work with trusted, qualified financial partners in other areas of financial needs

CALL US ON: 01656 782545 MOB: 07768 418308 / 07960 613111

EMAIL: camfin@btopenworld.com

APPOINTMENTS AT A TIME TO SUIT YOU, EVEN AT WEEKENDS – HOME VISITS

Paul Fielding trading as Dragon Financial is an Appointed Representative of The On-Line

Partnership Limited, which is Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Think carefully about securing other debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage or any other debt secured against it.