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Archive for ‘Scottish Friendly news and views’

There’s a saying often made by some younger smart Alec to those of a certain age who let out a groan as they stoop to tie their shoe lace or, for a second, have forgotten why they opened the fridge: “Yes, old age doesn’t come on its own!” It certainly doesn’t. According to the Office for National Statistics, in mid-2016 there were 1.6 million people…


Madonna has just turned 60. And while she may not be ‘hung up’ about it, your sixties is an important time to sort out your finances, ‘material girl’ (or guy) or not. Always a smart cookie, Madonna has carefully managed her career, reportedly amassing a £450m fortune over the past four decades. While she probably won’t have money troubles when she eventually retires, the rest…


Scottish Friendly has long warned of the danger of fraud when it comes to pension freedoms. We did, and continue to, welcome the fact that people can access their pension savings more easily and for many the change in legislation that allowed them to do this has been a boon. However, not enough has been done to protect people. Today comes the news that in…


Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England, yesterday announced a 0.25 per cent rise in the base rate, bringing it up to 0.75 per cent from 0.5 per cent. It was headline news on last night’s broadcast news channels and it’s all over the front pages today. Why all the brouhaha about this? 0.75 per cent doesn’t seem very high, does it? And…


“Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” How often over your life have you seen or heard this mantra? Probably more than you’d care to remember. And the reason, perhaps, we don’t like to be reminded is that it makes us wince to think of the number of times we have done the opposite and put things off. One of the things…


Cast your minds back to last year and you may remember #TobleroneGate. The chocolate brand, owned by Mondelez International, announced it was reducing one of its bars from 170g to 150g. Another was resized from 400g to 360g. Cue uproar on social media. Well, we hate to be the bearer of bad news for lovers of all food sweet and savoury, but there’s a lot…


Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, you’ll be aware of the reported salary differences between men and women, and the debate surrounding pay inequality. What you may not know is that gender also plays a key part when it comes to saving and investing. Our latest Disposable Income Index (DII), which looks at saving and spending habits of households across…


With roots tracing back to the early 1900’s, International Women’s Day acts as a day of homage to women across the globe, celebrating their achievements and successes whilst pushing for gender equality. To this day, the event remains unattached to any one organisation, instead uniting governments, charities and businesses alike. After all, from celebrated female scientists and politicians to mums, grannies and friends, each one…


“Give me a girl at an impressionable age and she is mine for life.” So, famously, said one of Edinburgh’s most iconic fictional characters when she was in her prime – the decidedly dotty and unforgettable Miss Jean Brodie, created of course by arguably the Scottish capital’s most highly regarded author, the late Muriel Spark. The infamous Mussolini-supporting school teacher may not solely have had…


If the ‘leaks’ to the media over recent days are to be believed, Chancellor Philip Hammond’s Budget today could see more cash being delivered for housing to help address the nation’s housing crisis, particularly for young people. It has been widely reported that the Chancellor will announce plans to build 300,000 houses a year. If this turns out to be the case, I think it…


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