April is Testicular Cancer Awareness month. It’s a cancer that’s most common in men ages 15-35 years, but men of all ages can be at risk [1].

Statistics from the Movember Foundation revealed that 1 in 10 men don’t know how to check for signs of the disease [2]. So as it’s Testicular Cancer Awareness month, we’ve put together three key points so that you are prepared.

If you suffer an injury, you could be out of action for a while, and that could have a knock-on effect. Your finances could suffer too. Loss of earnings, specialist treatment and equipment, the list goes on and the costs can mount up. But you can make sure your wallet isn't hurt financially. Introducing Fracture Plus Protection.

If you have Life Protection or Critical Illness Protection with Guardian Financial, you can add on Fracture Plus Protection for only £3.90 a month. It covers you for a specified range of 18 fractures, 7 ligament tears and tendon ruptures, or a dislocation, over 12 months.

With 2019 well and truly here, getting in shape is one of the top new year’s resolutions. But you shouldn’t just focus on physically and mentally getting in shape – let’s look at financially as well. Here are our top 3 financial jobs you shouldn’t put off in 2019.

1. Remortgaging

In August 2018, the Bank of England increased the base rate from 0.5% to 0.75%*. It’s highest level since March 2009. With this increase, mortgage lenders have started increasing many of the lower rates that many contractor borrowers have been enjoying. By reviewing your mortgage, you could secure your mortgage onto a new competitive fixed rate while they still exist (2, 5 or even some 10-year fixed rates are available). Lifetime Planning can search for remortgage deals on your behalf with major high street lenders and have access to exclusive deals that aren’t available on the high street.

For the second year running, we at Lifetime Planning have taken part in the Salvation Army’s Christmas Toy Appeal.

With the Salvation Army, we believe every child deserves a new gift at Christmas. That’s why we have chosen to take part again this year. Last year our staff donated toys and gifts ranging for all ages. This year we have donated a further 25 gifts - ranging from the latest Paw Patrol toys, Barbies and Transformer toys to name but a few.

Our very own mortgage adviser Liam Anderson has recently returned from his trip to Nepal where he runs his charity Raise Funds For Nepal, which supports and maintains two orphanages called Happy Home.

Lifetime Planning had recently donated £500 to Raise Funds for Nepal through our weekly dress down Fridays. Liam assessed with their sister charity, INFO Nepal, on where the raised funds could be used.

This month men all over the country will be growing out their facial hair for Movember as a fun way to raise awareness of men’s cancer and mental health risks.

We all think “it won’t happen to me”. Well as much as men might like to bury their head in the sand and pretend that’s the case, the facts are somewhat different.

On Friday 26^th October, we held a Halloween cake day! This day was organised to help raise awareness and funds for Shelter Scotland.

Shelter Scotland helps over half a million people every year struggling with bad housing or homelessness through their advice, support and legal services.

With the summer months long gone and the festive month(s) nearing, now is a good time to look at your mortgage.

If you haven’t looked at your mortgage for a while, you could be paying more than you should on your mortgage. This could because you have been transferred over to your lender’s standard variable rate (SVR). A lender normally transfers you onto their standard variable rate when your fixed rate comes to an end. Allowing your mortgage to revert to the SVR can cost you dearly, as lenders typically hold their SVR at a significantly higher rate. Recent research from Which? states that UK homeowners are spending £4,000 too much on their mortgages each year [1].

Critical Illness Cover is designed to financially support you in case the worst happens, and you are diagnosed with a critical condition that is specified in your policy. Most people don’t realise that children are actually one of the most common reasons for people needing to claim.

Critical Illness Cover from AIG automatically covers any child that you have now or in the future as standard. Their enhanced children’s critical illness cover allows a parent to claim up to 50% of the value of their policy (up to a maximum of £35,000) if their child is diagnosed with one of the critical illnesses they cover.

Critical illness can strike at any time.

• 1 in 2 people in the UK (born after 1960) will be diagnosed with some form of cancer during their lifetime. [1]
• Every 7 minutes someone will have a heart attack [2]
• Every 12 minutes someone will have a stroke [2]

Serious Illness Cover from Vitality helps protect you financially if the worst was to happen to you, and you fall ill with one of the 178 conditions that they cover. They pay out a cash lump sum based on the severity of your condition. It gives you financial stability allowing you plenty of time to recover.

Serious illnesses like cancer and heart conditions are all too common. While our country’s healthcare system is advanced, sometimes the very latest treatment options may not be available in the UK.

• There are currently around 6,000 people on the UK Transplant Waiting List. Last year over 400 people died while waiting for a transplant [1].
• 1 in 2 people in the UK born after 1960 will be diagnosed with some form of cancer during their lifetime [2].
• Everyday in the UK, 530 people suffer from a heart attack [3].

Global treatment from Aviva is designed to give you and your child more treatment options in case either of you are diagnosed with a serious illness. It provides you with access to medical experts around the world, an expert second opinion and overseas treatment.

According to a recent article in FT Adviser, “Homeowners in Britain are woefully under-prepared in the event of long-term sickness, accident or ill health.”1

Nobody plans to get hit by a bus but these things do happen. Should you be left unable to work do you have a plan in place to keep paying your bills and mortgage?

Comparison websites may offer cheap life insurance quotes. But cheap doesn’t necessarily mean good quality or that it’s the most suitable policy for you.

Websites like this are merely giving you a quote without advice, no reassurance and no one to read all the small-print for you. Epic.

Today, the Bank of England has increased the base rate from 0.5% to 0.75%. This is only the second time in a decade they have increased the rates and it is the highest level since March 2009.

What does an interest rate rise mean for your mortgage?

• More than 3.5 million residential mortgages are on a variable or tracker rate.
• The average standard variable rate mortgage is 4.72%.
• On a £150,000 variable mortgage, a rise to 0.75% is likely to increase the annual cost by £224.

Sources: BBC, UK Finance, Moneyfacts, Nationwide Building Society, August 2018

Our 10 Step Guide to Arranging a Mortgage

The first step on the property ladder is always the hardest. The thought of getting a mortgage is daunting - Where do I begin? Who do I contact first? Shall I start house hunting first?

So to answer all your questions, we've put together a quick 10 step infographic to getting a mortgage.

Our 5 Step Guide To Reviewing Your Mortgage

Could you save money on your monthly mortgage payments? Check out our handy 5 Step Guide to Remortgaging.

According to a new report from Scottish Widows, more than half (58%) of men with dependent children have no life insurance. That means that just over 4.5 million dads could be leaving their families with no financial protected if worst were to happen to them.

Life insurance is designed to come to the rescue of your loved ones in the event of your death. It pays out a lump sum to those closest to you, relieving the financial worries from your family. It can help cover the cost of your mortgage, bills, general living expenses and funeral bills. Could your household survive without your income, a fifth of dad admitted that theirs wouldn’t.

Could you and your family cope without your income?

Recent statistics released by RedArc have shown almost two-thirds of stroke victims (60%) fall within the traditional working age bracket of 40 to 59.

One in four of the 100,000 strokes in the UK each year [1] happen to people of working age or younger. Almost two-thirds of stroke survivors leave hospital with a disability [2].

Arranging your mortgage and buying a new property is an exciting time. However, the jargon that is used throughout the process can be confusing. We’ve put together a jargon buster to help you along the way during your house buying process. 

1. Agreement in Principle

This is the agreement provided by the mortgage lender which states the amount they are prepared to lend to you subject to a full mortgage application with supporting documentation and their enquiries during underwriting being satisfied. It’s useful if you haven’t found a property to buy but would like to know how much you could potentially borrow.

The Scottish Government has announced it will be extending the Help to Buy (Scotland): Affordable New Build scheme for a further two years.

Help to Buy Scotland is set out to help first time buyers and home-movers purchase a new build home.The scheme helps people to buy new-build homes without the need for large deposits. The Scottish Government will put forward up to 15% deposit of the purchase price of a new build home.