Understanding Living Longer

Category Archives: Managing Money

A gift worth having….

When Bismark created the world’s first state pension scheme in the 1880s he never expected to pay out – it was simply a creative (and seemingly popular) tax raising exercise. Life expectancy in Germany at the time was 48, so 65 was selected for benefit payments to start, thus ensuring there were few, if any, […]

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Disruptive technology

When something comes along that sends an established market into turmoil it is usually described as a ‘disruptive technology’. Recently I have spotted at least two such changes. When EML started I saw a friend had a home office printer/copier/scanner which looked ideal – and so it proved, but with one big drawback. The unit […]

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Making magic happen….

In the past I have written about becoming Magic Grandparents and building strong bonds with your grandchildren by helping them achieve their dreams. While this might involve a little money changing hands the important benefits are the discussions that result from them sharing their dreams with you. I do something similar with a charity that […]

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Taxing the dead….

When the chancellor found a hole in his balance sheet he took the easy option and turned to taxing the dead. Inheritance tax thresholds have already been frozen for over a decade – progressively dragging more people into the net and increasing the tax raised. However Covid needed a faster solution so the chancellor looked […]

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All stop…

Visiting an elderly relative at their care home I was greeted by staff at the door – fully masked and gloved – saying that their outbreak of Covid was getting worse. I decided to go in, say hello and just carry out the essential work I had come to do. Having donned mask and gloves […]

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A picture tells….

If the old saying is that ‘a picture can tell 1000 words’ – just imagine what a collage can do! One of my long term clients found that with each successive year he is embracing new experiences while continuing with the things he loves. Looking to illustrate the huge variety of these many activities I […]

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That ‘a-ha’ moment…

That ‘a-ha’ moment… Recently a client captured the essence of what we do: ‘Now get it… at some point I will no longer be here. What EML is asking me to focus on everything I can control between now and then. While our discussions are structured around your six core areas, my success comes from […]

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Make it a good one…

I’ve been watching Dan Buettner’s series on how to live to 100 (the secrets of the Blue Zone). He focus is on the importance of creating the right environment and he shows how originally this happened by chance, but through careful nurturing similar results can be achieved anywhere. He also shows how easy it to […]

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Founding a ‘dynasty’

A recent article in the financial press highlighted the perils of ‘gifts with reservations’ citing the Inland Revenue guidance on what constitutes a reservation. The rule that made me smile was borrowing more than three books a month from a ‘gifted personal library’- I remember driving around every charity shop in the county trying g […]

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Decisions – decisions

Decisions – decisions Increasingly, I am aware of a difference between the ‘very wealthy’ and the rest of us. When it comes to possessions, they know exactly what they want, and don’t hold on to anything else. Growing up in a household familiar with post war austerity I was indoctrinated with the full set of […]

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