May 2020 a wealth of talent at our second virtual breakfast
There was a wealth of talent available among members amply displayed at our second virtual networking breakfast.
From remote IT support to graphic design, printing to marketing services, financial advice, free meditation sessions to help with researching your family tree, why go anywhere else?
Many businesses have offered extra help and support during the Coronavirus lockdown and you can find some of them here.
Our ten-minute slot for May 2020 was some timely advice from Olivia (aka Lilly) Higson, of Blackwater Wealth Management.
Time for some financial spring cleaning during the lockdown
A regular and thorough review of personal and business finances is a good idea and during the lockdown, you may even have time to do it.
Lilly advised people to look at all the elements of their finances in the short and longer-term.
It is a good time, she said, to:
- Review all direct debits
- Review all providers (such as gas, electricity, home and car insurance)
- Revisit life cover and income protection, which she suggested everyone should have.
The questions to ask are whether these all supply what you need and whether there might be better deals to be had.
Investing
There are some golden rules to investing, Lily advised:
- Make sure you have enough cash and protect yourself
- Think about your timeline
The general rule of thumb is provision for such things as pensions are longer-term, so in the shorter term of two to four years, the better options are cash reserves or premium bonds. For investments think in terms of five years or longer.
- Think about risk.
Investing, Lilly advised, is also an emotional thing. “When you get to the point where money is going up, and value is going up, you want to put more money in,” she said. “This is a point of maximum risk, especially if the markets are high.”
It is easy to get involved in all the hype around the stock markets, she warned. Investment is generally better over the longer term and people should beware of letting the short term cloud their judgement.
Future meetings
For the time being, meetings will be on the usual dates but via Zoom. You will receive emails in advance to book and give you the log-in details and passwords. For both the breakfast and the coffee sessions, pre-booking is essential.
Chairman Allan is always happy to receive any suggestions for what members want to see the Chamber doing in the future. Please send your ideas (and your wish lists) to [email protected]
Dates for your diary:
| June Coffee | June Breakfast |
| Online with Zoom | Online with Zoom |
| Friday, June 5 | Friday, June 19 |
| 10.00am | 9.00am |
For more information contact Keely Taylor
phone: 01449 770965 e-mail: [email protected]
Anyone who has a story to publicise should contact marketing officer Alison Withers: [email protected]
