Talking about death can be a catalyst for unusual discussions – and occasionally inspirational revelations. Some people are great planners putting considerable thought into their own demise while others, like one relative, a top class hoarder, simply shrugged and said ‘well, it won’t be my problem’. There are some that seek to exercise ‘intrusive control’ […]
As a family we are at that ‘transitional’ stage where the older generation are in the process of ‘departing’ (either to long term care or something more permanent) while our adult children are thinking seriously about their first home. As a result, we are looking at unwanted possessions (from all generations) and saying – could […]
With a ‘drains up’ review of your finances complete you might well find yourself considering IGWT. For many this is one of the hardest transitions of their life. Up to this point their whole mantra has been wealth accumulation – making money, saving money and wealth accumulation activity. In a beat this all changes – […]
October is a busy time of year in our social calendar – the long summer is over and people we know are ‘back at work’ (whatever that might be!) so it’s a good time to catch up. What I’m really enjoying is the number and sheer diversity of these gatherings. It might be post Covid […]
One client recently visited by someone from the strategic planning team who was trying to look beyond the many immediate challenges and determine where they should be in 20 – 30 years. I was delighted, 25 years ago the inspirational leader of the financial services organisation I worked with did the same thing and the […]
Like many others I’m quietly horrified at the fourfold increase in my energy costs and pondering what I can do. Our wood burner, which until now has been for occasional use, may well be pressed into regular service as a major source of heat, particularly during cold snaps. I may also open up an old […]
As a family we’ve arrived at one of life’s ‘transition points’ The last of the previous generation is still ‘hanging in there’ but offers the prospect of a house full of everything amassed over the last century and held on to ‘just in case it might be useful’. At the other end of the spectrum […]
Just at the moment I am going through a phase of attempting to buy a vast range of ’stuff’ – most of it is for other people, but whatever I’m buying – from tractors to pop corn – seems to be out of stock. This afternoon it was a Dyson which I tried to pick […]
Every now and then something really hits home. A friend who runs an oil company mentioned, in passing, that while his company’s total reserves would keep the world going for just eight hours it will take the earth 40000 years to replace them. This struck home. We are worried about carbon emissions and climate change […]
When it comes to passing on possessions there are two key questions