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Wood-burning Stoves and Solid Fuel Fires - Could They Help Keep Your Home Warm in a Power Cut?

Wood-Burning Stoves and Solid-Fuel Fires: Could They Help Keep Your Home Warm in a Power Cut?

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With winter approaching, many householders are thinking about how to keep their homes warm without facing ever-higher energy bills. Recent discussions about heat pumps and the possibility of electricity outages have also prompted questions about how resilient our home heating systems really are.

One option worth considering is solid-fuel heating – burning wood, manufactured fuel or other suitable solid fuels to produce heat.

For some households, a wood-burning stove or traditional fireplace can provide welcome supplementary heating (this may be especially relevant in homes with heat pumps, as they can struggle to provide sufficient warmth if the weather gets really cold). It might also offer a degree of reassurance if the electricity supply fails during a cold snap.

Solid-fuel heating isn’t suitable for everyone, however. Installation can be expensive, fuel needs to be stored, and burning wood and other solid fuels has environmental and health implications. Some modern appliances also depend on electricity, meaning they may not work during a power cut.

So what are the options, and what should you consider before investing in one?

1. Wood-burning stoves

A modern wood-burning stove is probably the first thing many people think of when considering solid-fuel heating.

How it works: Logs are burned inside an enclosed metal or cast-iron appliance, with the smoke and combustion gases carried outside through a chimney or suitable flue. The stove radiates heat into the room, while some warmth also circulates through the surrounding air.

Wood-burning stoves are generally much more efficient than traditional open fires. They can provide substantial heat to the room in which they are installed, making them useful if you want to warm the main living area without necessarily heating every room in the house.

Advantages

  • Potentially independent of mains electricity. Many conventional log burners work without electricity, although you should check the specific appliance and installation.
  • Effective local heating. A suitably sized stove can make a living room feel warm and comfortable even if the central heating is turned down.
  • A renewable fuel option. Wood can be renewable when sourced from sustainably managed forests, although its overall environmental impact depends on how it is produced, transported and burned.
  • A degree of fuel flexibility. Householders who buy and store seasoned logs can have fuel available in advance rather than relying entirely on electricity or gas deliveries.

Disadvantages

  • Installation costs. A stove, hearth, flue or chimney alterations, ventilation and professional installation can add up to several thousand pounds, particularly where no suitable chimney exists.
  • Fuel storage. Logs need a dry, accessible storage space. Buying, moving and loading them can also be physically demanding.
  • Regular maintenance. Stoves need cleaning, servicing and chimney sweeping.
  • Air pollution. Even modern stoves release fine particles into the air. Dry wood and a well-maintained, efficient appliance help reduce emissions, but do not eliminate them.

A wood-burning stove is most attractive where a suitable chimney already exists, there is enough room for fuel storage, and the household expects to use it regularly.

If your main aim is simply to have a backup heating source for the occasional power cut, the installation cost may be difficult to justify.

2. Multi-fuel stoves

A multi-fuel stove looks similar to a wood-burning stove but is designed to burn a wider range of fuels.

Depending on the model, these might include logs, approved smokeless solid fuels and manufactured fuel briquettes.

The important point is that not every stove can burn every type of solid fuel. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions, and check the rules applying to your home.

Advantages

  • More choice of fuel, potentially useful if supplies or prices change.
  • Similar heating benefits to a wood-burning stove.
  • Many models can operate without mains electricity.

Disadvantages

  • Installation and maintenance costs are similar to those of a wood-burning stove.
  • Different fuels have different storage requirements, prices and environmental impacts.
  • Some fuels produce more pollution than others, and not all are permitted in every location.

In England, for example, smoke control areas restrict what you can burn. Wood and other unauthorised fuels generally require an appropriately Defra-exempt appliance, while authorised fuels can be used in accordance with the rules. Check with your local council before purchasing an appliance.

You can find further information in the government’s guide to smoke control area rules.

3. Traditional open fireplaces

Many older British homes have an open fireplace, even if it has been covered over or rarely used.

If you already have a working fireplace and chimney, you might wonder whether reopening it would provide a useful source of backup heat.

An open fire can certainly produce warmth, and it may be possible to use it without electricity. However, it has significant disadvantages compared with a modern enclosed stove.

Advantages

  • You may already have the fireplace and chimney, reducing the initial outlay if they are suitable and safe to use.
  • An open fire can provide heat without relying on mains electricity.
  • It offers a familiar and attractive focal point in a living room.

Disadvantages

  • Much of the heat can escape up the chimney rather than warming your home.
  • Open fires are generally less efficient than enclosed stoves.
  • They produce substantial smoke and fine-particle pollution.
  • Sparks and embers can escape into the room, creating additional fire risks.
  • The chimney must be inspected and maintained before use.

If you have an existing fireplace, it is worth having it assessed by a suitably qualified professional before lighting a fire in it.

For someone planning a new installation, a modern enclosed stove will generally be a better heating choice than a traditional open fire.

4. Pellet stoves and biomass heating

Another option is a wood-pellet stove. Instead of logs, it burns small compressed pellets made from wood or other suitable biomass materials.

Pellet stoves can feed fuel automatically from a hopper and regulate their output, making them more convenient than manually loading logs.

However, there is an important drawback if your concern is electricity outages.

Most conventional pellet stoves need electricity to operate their electronic controls, fans and fuel-feeding mechanisms. They may therefore stop working during a power cut unless a suitable backup power arrangement is available.

Larger biomass boilers can also burn wood pellets or other biomass fuels to provide central heating and hot water. These are more complex installations and commonly rely on electricity for pumps and controls.

Pellet stoves and biomass boilers can be worth investigating if you want a more automated form of solid-fuel heating. But if your priority is to keep one room warm during a power cut, a conventional stove that can operate without electricity may be more appropriate.

5. What about coal and other solid fuels?

Solid-fuel heating has a long history in Britain, and coal fires were once commonplace. Today, however, traditional house coal is no longer a practical option for most householders in England, following restrictions on its sale for domestic use.

Manufactured smokeless fuels and certain other authorised fuels remain available, subject to the rules governing the appliance and location.

These fuels may be useful in a compatible multi-fuel stove or fireplace. Some can be easier to store than logs, although their cost and environmental impact vary.

It is important not to assume that a fuel advertised as smokeless produces no pollution. Nor should you burn household rubbish, painted or treated wood, old furniture or other unsuitable materials. These can release harmful pollutants and may damage your appliance or chimney.

For more information on choosing appropriate fuels, see the government’s Burn Better, Breathe Better guidance.

Could a solid-fuel fire keep you warm during a power cut?

This is an important question, particularly if you are concerned about winter electricity outages.

A conventional wood-burning stove or suitable open fire can continue producing heat when the electricity supply fails. That can be a real advantage if your normal heating system depends on electricity.

However, there are several qualifications.

First, not every solid-fuel appliance is independent of electricity. Pellet stoves and systems with powered fans, pumps or controls may stop working. Check the manufacturer’s instructions rather than assuming that burning fuel means the appliance will work without mains power.

Second, a stove heats a particular area rather than automatically heating the whole house. If you have a stove in your living room, it may keep that room reasonably comfortable while bedrooms and bathrooms remain cold. Heat will travel to other rooms to some extent, but this depends on your home’s layout and insulation.

Third, a power cut can affect other parts of your heating system. If a solid-fuel boiler or stove is connected to radiators or a central heating circuit, pumps and controls may require electricity. Some systems need specific arrangements to operate safely during a power failure. Never assume you can simply continue firing a boiler or stove connected to a water circuit when the power stops.

Finally, a fire is not a substitute for a wider emergency plan. You will still need lighting, a way to prepare food and hot drinks, and a means of keeping warm if the fire cannot be used safely.

For a household that already owns a suitable stove, keeping an adequate supply of dry fuel may be a sensible precaution. Installing one solely to prepare for a hypothetical outage is a much bigger decision.

The costs: is solid-fuel heating economical?

The cost depends heavily on what you already have.

If you own a home with a sound, suitable chimney and an existing stove, the main expenses may be fuel, servicing and chimney sweeping.

If you are starting from scratch, the cost can be considerably higher. You may need a stove, a suitable flue, a hearth, ventilation improvements and building-regulations compliance. A straightforward installation can cost a few thousand pounds, while more complicated projects may cost substantially more.

You should also budget for the fuel itself. Logs need to be properly dried, and buying enough to last a winter can involve a sizeable initial outlay. Storage space, delivery charges and the effort involved in handling the fuel all matter.

It is worth comparing the cost of useful heat rather than simply comparing the price of a bag of logs with the price of a unit of electricity or gas.

A stove may be economical when it regularly heats a room that would otherwise require expensive heating. But if you only light it occasionally, the cost of installation and maintenance may outweigh any savings.

And if you already have an efficient heat pump, adding a stove will not necessarily reduce your overall heating costs. The result depends on the cost of the fuel, the efficiency of the equipment and how you use it.

Environmental and health considerations

Solid-fuel heating has benefits and drawbacks that are sometimes overlooked in discussions about energy security.

Wood can be a renewable resource, but burning it releases carbon dioxide and other pollutants. The overall climate impact depends on factors including how the wood is sourced, whether forests are sustainably managed, and the time taken for replacement trees to absorb carbon.

There is also a more immediate issue: air quality.

Domestic wood burning is a significant source of fine particulate matter in the UK. These tiny particles can affect respiratory and cardiovascular health, and the risks are particularly relevant to people with existing health problems.

Modern, well-designed stoves generally produce less pollution than older stoves and open fires, but they do not eliminate the problem.

If you choose to burn wood:

  • Use properly dried wood with a moisture content of 20% or less, ideally carrying the Ready to Burn certification.
  • Never burn painted, treated or chemically contaminated wood.
  • Use an appliance designed for the fuel you intend to burn.
  • Have the appliance serviced regularly and the chimney swept at least annually, following the advice appropriate to your appliance and fuel.
  • Ensure the room has adequate ventilation.

You should also consider your neighbours. Smoke from a domestic chimney can affect nearby homes, particularly in built-up areas.

Safety must come first

Any appliance that burns solid fuel needs to be installed and used correctly.

If you are considering a new stove, use a competent installer who can ensure the installation complies with the relevant building regulations. In the UK, HETAS is one recognised source of information and a directory of registered installers.

A suitable carbon monoxide alarm is essential, alongside working smoke alarms. Follow the manufacturer’s guidance on alarm placement and testing.

Never use a barbecue, camping stove or outdoor fire inside your home as an emergency heating or cooking device. These can cause dangerous carbon monoxide build-up.

Also remember that a stove or fire needs appropriate ventilation and a properly functioning chimney or flue. Modern homes that have been made more airtight may require particular attention to the air supply.

Finally, make sure you can safely manage the fuel, ash and maintenance. Carrying heavy logs, bending to load a stove and handling hot ash may not suit everyone, particularly as we get older.

Is solid-fuel heating right for you?

A solid-fuel appliance is more likely to make sense if:

  • You have a suitable chimney or can install an appropriate flue.
  • You want regular supplementary heat in a particular room.
  • You have enough space to store fuel safely and keep it dry.
  • You are comfortable with the work involved in lighting, tending and cleaning a fire.
  • You are prepared to meet the installation, maintenance and fuel costs.
  • You have checked the relevant local rules and considered the environmental implications.

It is less likely to be a sensible investment if you live in a flat without a suitable flue, have limited storage space, rarely need supplementary heat, or would find handling logs and maintaining a stove difficult.

It may also be unnecessary if your main concern is the occasional power cut. Other measures, such as warm clothing, blankets, draught-proofing and having a plan to stay elsewhere if your home becomes too cold, may be more practical and less expensive.

Final thoughts

Solid-fuel heating is not a universal solution to rising energy costs or concerns about electricity outages. It has real disadvantages, particularly in terms of installation costs, maintenance and air pollution.

Nevertheless, a suitable wood-burning stove or multi-fuel appliance can provide useful supplementary heat and, in the right circumstances, a source of warmth that does not depend on mains electricity.

For some households, particularly those with an existing fireplace or stove, it may be a worthwhile option to consider. For others, the costs and practical drawbacks will outweigh the benefits.

As with heat pumps, solar panels and home batteries, the best decision depends on your home, your budget and your priorities. The aim should not be to install every possible heating technology, but to find a safe, affordable and practical way to keep your home warm.

What do you think? Do you have a wood-burning stove or open fire, or have you considered installing one as a backup heating source? I’d be interested to hear about your experiences in the comments below.




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Amazon Prime Big Deals Day

Amazon Prime Big Deals Day is Almost Here!

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In case you’ve not heard, Amazon Prime Big Deals Day is almost with us. It extends over two days, Tuesday 6th and Wednesday 7th October 2026.

This is a special event for Amazon Prime members only. Amazon say they will be offering members their lowest prices of the year on selected products across a wide range of categories, from consumer electronics to groceries.

Some of the best deals will be reserved for Amazon’s own products, such as their Kindle e-book readers, Amazon Echo smart speakers and Ring video doorbells and security cameras. Discounts of up to 65% will be on offer for these products. If you’re thinking of buying any of them, Amazon Prime Big Deals Day is definitely the day – or two days – to do it.

I have been a member of Amazon Prime for over ten years now. As a regular Amazon shopper, I find it well worth while for the free one-day delivery on millions of items alone. But as a Prime member you get access to a host of other benefits and services as well, including Amazon Prime Music and Amazon Prime Video.

If you’re thinking of joining Amazon Prime, therefore, I highly recommend doing it in the next few days, so you can benefit from the Prime Big Deals Day offers. Personally I think it’s worth it for the free delivery alone, let alone everything else that’s on offer. But if you wish, you can get a 30-day free trial now, take advantage of the Prime Big Deals Day offers, and then cancel without owing any money. It’s your choice!

  • You can also see all the latest Prime Big Deals Day offers by clicking here.

As always, if you have any comments about Amazon Prime or Prime Big Deals Day, please do post them below.

Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission for introducing you. This will not affect the price you pay or the products or services you receive.



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Get Your Will Written Free of Charge in October

Get Your Will Written Free of Charge in October

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Did you know that October is Free Wills Month?

Free Wills Month brings together a group of well-respected charities to offer members of the public aged 55 and over the opportunity to have their wills written or updated free using participating solicitors across the UK.

The charities involved include the NSPCC, Dogs Trust, British Heart Foundation, Mind, Age UK, The Stroke Association, PDSA, and many others. Free Wills Month happens twice a year, in March and October.

The scheme covers simple wills only, including ‘mirror wills’ for couples. In the latter case, only one member of the couple has to be 55 or over. If you need a complicated will (most people don’t) you can still have this done but may have to pay a top-up fee.

I have talked about the importance of creating a will and why you should get it done by a properly qualified solicitor previously on PAS. An up-to-date will written by a solicitor will ensure that your wishes are respected and will avoid causing legal complications for your loved ones after you are gone.

Free Wills Month means what it says. There are no catches, although the organizers hope that you will choose to leave a donation to charity in your will. There is no obligation to do this, however.

To take part in Free Wills Month click through to the website during October and fill in your details. You can then pick a solicitor from the list of companies taking part and contact them to book an appointment. Appointments are limited and on a first come, first served basis, so it’s best to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

  • Free Wills Month October 2026 starts officially on Thursday 1st October 2026 but you can sign up now on the FWM website to be notified when when the campaign starts in your area.

If you have any comments or questions about this subject, as ever, please do post them below.

Note: This is a revised and updated version of my original post on this subject.



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UK Government Bonds: Are Gilts Worth Considering Now?

UK Government Bonds: Are Gilts Worth Considering Now?

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UK government bonds – better known as gilts – have been attracting renewed attention from investors.

That is hardly surprising. After years when interest rates and bond yields were unusually low, gilt yields have risen substantially. In September 2026, the yield on 10-year UK government bonds recently climbed above 5.3%, its highest level since 2007. Even more strikingly, yields on 20- and 30-year gilts have reached their highest levels since 1998.

For investors looking for a relatively low-risk home for some of their money, this may look attractive.

But there is more to gilts than simply seeing a headline yield of 5% or more. Bond prices can fall as well as rise, and the return you actually receive depends on which gilt you buy, the price you pay and how long you hold it.

So, are gilts worth considering now – and what are the best ways for private investors to buy them?

What exactly is a gilt?

A gilt is essentially a loan to the UK Government.

When you buy a gilt, you are lending money to the government. In return, the government normally pays you interest (known as the coupon) twice a year and repays the face value of the gilt when it matures.

For example, suppose you buy a gilt with a nominal value of £1,000 and a 4% coupon.

You would normally receive £40 a year in interest, paid in two instalments of £20.

At maturity, assuming the gilt is held to redemption, you receive the £1,000 face value back.

Gilts are issued by HM Treasury and the UK Debt Management Office (DMO) manages the gilt issuance programme.

There are also index-linked gilts, where both the interest payments and redemption value are linked to inflation. These work somewhat differently from conventional gilts and can potentially provide useful protection against inflation.

Why have gilt yields risen so much?

Bond yields move around for several reasons, but interest-rate and inflation expectations are particularly important.

The recent rise has been driven by a combination of factors, including concerns about inflation, higher oil prices, expectations about future Bank of England interest rates and worries about government borrowing.

The latest move has been particularly pronounced at the long end of the market. On 8 September, for example, the UK Government sold 30-year gilts at a yield of 5.82%, the highest borrowing cost for a comparable issue since 1998.

This matters to investors because higher gilt yields generally mean lower gilt prices.

That may sound counter-intuitive. After all, wouldn’t a higher yield be good news?

It is – if you are buying the bond now.

But existing bonds have to adjust in price to compete with newly issued bonds offering higher yields.

Coupon versus yield – an important distinction

One of the easiest mistakes to make with gilts is to confuse the coupon with the yield.

Suppose a gilt has a 3% coupon but can currently be bought for £90 for every £100 of face value.

You still receive the coupon based on the £100 face value. But because you only paid £90, your overall return if you hold the gilt to maturity is higher than 3%.

This is where the yield to maturity comes in.

The yield to maturity takes account of:

  • the purchase price
  • the coupon payments
  • the time remaining until maturity
  • the £100 redemption value.

The DMO gives a useful example of this. A gilt bought for £90 and held to maturity can produce a yield significantly above its coupon because the investor also receives a £10 capital uplift when the government redeems it at £100.

This is why investors should generally compare gilts using their yield to maturity, rather than simply looking at the coupon.

The big attraction: relatively low credit risk

One of the main reasons people buy gilts is security.

The borrower is the UK Government, rather than a company or individual. Provided the gilt is held until maturity and the UK Government meets its obligations, the investor receives the promised interest and redemption payment.

That makes gilts considerably less risky from a credit perspective than shares or corporate bonds.

However, “low risk” does not mean “no risk”.

There are two particularly important risks to understand.

Risk 1: Gilt prices can fall

If you buy an individual gilt and hold it until maturity, short-term movements in its market price may not matter much.

But if you need to sell before maturity, they certainly do.

Suppose you buy a 20-year gilt paying a relatively attractive yield today. If interest rates subsequently rise further, newly issued bonds may offer higher yields.

Your gilt therefore becomes less attractive and its market price can fall.

The longer the maturity, the more sensitive a conventional gilt tends to be to changes in interest rates. A 20- or 30-year gilt can therefore experience quite substantial price movements.

The DMO itself warns that the market value of gilts can go down as well as up, potentially resulting in a loss if you sell before redemption.

This is one reason why investors approaching or in retirement should be cautious about automatically choosing the longest-dated gilt simply because it offers the highest yield.

Risk 2: Inflation

A gilt paying 5% might sound very attractive.

But if inflation is running at 4%, your real return is much less impressive.

And if inflation were to remain high for several years, a fixed-interest gilt could lose purchasing power.

Index-linked gilts are designed to address this particular problem because their payments and redemption value are linked to an inflation index.

They have their own complexities, though, and aren’t necessarily suitable for everyone.

So why consider gilts now?

There are several reasons why gilts may be worth a look.

1. Yields are much more attractive than they used to be

For much of the 2010s and early 2020s, investors had to accept extremely low yields on government bonds.

That situation has changed.

With longer-term gilt yields now around 5% or more, bonds can potentially make a meaningful contribution to portfolio income.

2. You can lock in a return for a known period

With an individual gilt, you know the maturity date and the payments that are due under its terms.

If you choose a gilt maturing in, say, five years and hold it to redemption, you don’t have to worry about what the market price is doing in the meantime.

That can be particularly useful for someone who knows they will need a particular amount of money at a particular time.

3. Gilts can diversify a share portfolio

Shares and government bonds behave differently.

They can both fall in value, particularly during periods of financial stress, but they are driven by different factors.

Holding some gilts alongside equities can therefore reduce the overall volatility of an investment portfolio.

4. There is a valuable tax advantage

One particularly attractive feature for UK investors is that capital gains on UK government gilts are exempt from Capital Gains Tax. HMRC confirms that gains on qualifying UK government gilts are exempt from CGT.

This can make certain gilts particularly interesting to investors who hold investments outside an ISA or pension.

For example, if you buy a gilt below its £100 redemption value and hold it until maturity, the difference between what you paid and the £100 you receive at redemption is normally a capital gain. With qualifying gilts, that gain is not subject to CGT.

There is an important catch, however: the interest you receive is still taxable income when gilts are held outside a tax wrapper.

For that reason, gilts can also be worth considering inside an ISA or pension/SIPP, where the investment income receives the relevant tax advantages of the wrapper.




How can you invest in gilts?

There are several routes.

Option 1: Buy individual gilts through an investment platform

For many private investors, this is probably the most straightforward approach.

Platforms such as Hargreaves Lansdown, AJ Bell, Interactive Investor and others allow investors to buy individual gilts through their dealing services.

You can choose a particular gilt based on:

  • its maturity date
  • its current price
  • its coupon
  • its yield to maturity.

You can then hold it until maturity or sell it beforehand.

This approach gives you considerable control over exactly what you are investing in.

It can be especially useful if your objective is something like:

“I want to invest £20,000 and have it mature in approximately five years.”

You can select gilts with a suitable maturity date rather than leaving the timing to a bond fund manager.

Option 2: Buy gilts through the DMO’s retail service

The UK Debt Management Office also operates a Purchase and Sale Service for UK retail investors.

This provides access to gilts in the secondary market and is administered by Computershare.

However, it is an execution-only service and doesn’t offer the convenience or functionality of a modern investment platform.

For many investors, a mainstream investment platform will therefore be easier.

Option 3: Invest through a gilt fund or ETF

Instead of buying individual gilts, you can invest in a gilt fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF).

This has some important advantages.

A fund can hold dozens or even hundreds of government bonds, giving you diversification without having to select individual issues.

You also don’t have to worry about choosing a particular maturity date.

However, there is an important difference.

A gilt fund does not mature.

If you buy an individual gilt and hold it to maturity, you know that the government is scheduled to repay its face value at a specified date.

A bond fund continually buys and sells bonds as part of its management. Its value can therefore continue to rise and fall indefinitely.

This means a gilt fund can be more volatile than someone might expect from the phrase “government bonds”.

Funds and ETFs can nevertheless be an excellent choice for investors who want broad exposure to the UK government bond market rather than a specific maturity.

Which is better – individual gilts or a gilt fund?

It depends on what you are trying to achieve.

If your priority is… You might consider…
Knowing exactly when your investment matures Individual gilt
Locking in a yield to a particular date Individual gilt
Creating a ladder of future maturities Individual gilts
Diversifying across many bonds Gilt fund/ETF
Simplicity Gilt fund/ETF
Regularly adjusting the portfolio Gilt fund/ETF
Avoiding the need to select individual issues Gilt fund/ETF

For someone in or approaching retirement, I think the individual gilt approach is particularly interesting when you have a known future spending requirement.

For example, if you know that £10,000 will be needed in four years’ time, buying a suitable gilt maturing around then can potentially be a useful way of matching an investment with that future liability.

What about ISAs and SIPPs?

Gilts can be held within tax-efficient wrappers such as Stocks and Shares ISAs and SIPPs, subject to the rules of the particular platform.

This can be attractive because the interest and investment gains then benefit from the tax advantages of the wrapper.

However, remember that gilts already have the unusual advantage of being exempt from CGT when held outside a wrapper.

Consequently, the tax calculation isn’t always as straightforward as it is with shares or funds.

For someone with substantial taxable investment income, keeping interest-generating investments inside an ISA or pension can still be valuable.

And for investors who have already used their ISA allowance, the CGT exemption on qualifying gilts can make them worth considering in a taxable investment account.

What about short-dated gilts?

Don’t assume that longer-dated gilts are necessarily better.

If your main objective is protecting your capital over a relatively short period, a short-dated gilt may be more appropriate.

Shorter-term bonds are generally less sensitive to changes in interest rates than long-dated ones.

There is also a growing UK Treasury-bill market. Treasury bills are very short-term government securities and are intended primarily as liquidity and cash-management instruments rather than long-term investments. The government is also expanding the range of Treasury-bill maturities available.

For an investor who simply wants somewhere relatively low-risk to park money for a year or two, these shorter-duration instruments may be worth investigating alongside conventional gilts.

Should you buy now?

This is the difficult question.

The fact that gilt yields have risen sharply doesn’t mean they cannot rise further.

Indeed, recent events demonstrate how quickly bond markets can move. On 10 September, for example, the 10-year gilt yield reached 5.378%, while 30-year yields approached 5.95%.

If inflation remains stubbornly high or interest rates rise further, gilt prices could fall and yields could rise again.

On the other hand, if inflation subsides and interest rates eventually fall, today’s relatively high yields could prove attractive. Bond prices would also tend to rise, particularly for longer-dated gilts.

In other words, nobody knows whether today’s gilt yields represent the top of the market or merely another stage in a longer-term rise.

This is why I would be wary of trying to call the exact bottom or top of the gilt market.

Instead, investors could consider spreading purchases over time, particularly if investing a substantial lump sum.

A simple gilt strategy

One approach I particularly like for cautious investors is a gilt ladder.

Rather than putting £50,000 into one long-dated gilt, for example, you might divide the money between several gilts maturing at different dates.

You could have gilts maturing in approximately:

  • 2027
  • 2028
  • 2029
  • 2030
  • 2031

As each gilt matures, you receive the capital back and can decide what to do with it.

You could spend the money, reinvest it in another gilt, or use it for another investment.

This reduces the risk of having to make one big bet on where interest rates will be five, ten or twenty years from now.

Don’t confuse gilts with savings accounts

There is one final point worth stressing.

A gilt is not the same thing as a fixed-rate savings account.

With a savings account, you normally know exactly how much interest you will receive and how much money you will get back at the end of the fixed term.

With a gilt, you can lose money if you sell it before maturity.

For example, if you buy a long-dated gilt and interest rates subsequently rise sharply, its market value could fall considerably.

If you are certain you will need the money before maturity, this matters.

If you can hold the gilt until redemption, the interim price fluctuations are much less important.

My verdict

For many UK investors, particularly those approaching or in retirement, gilts are worth another look now that yields are substantially higher.

They can offer:

  • relatively low credit risk
  • a potentially attractive income
  • known maturity dates
  • portfolio diversification
  • protection from CGT on qualifying gilts
  • the ability to match investments with future spending needs.

But they are not risk-free.

The biggest danger is buying a long-dated gilt without appreciating how much its price can fall if interest rates rise further. And a 5% yield isn’t necessarily a 5% real return if inflation remains high.

For investors who want simplicity and diversification, a gilt fund or ETF may be the better choice.

For those who want to know exactly when their money will be returned, buying individual gilts and holding them to maturity can be particularly appealing.

With yields now at levels rarely seen in recent decades, I think gilts deserve a place on the shortlist of options for cautious investors. But, as ever, the right choice depends on your timescale, tax position, need for income and willingness to accept fluctuations in value.

And perhaps the most important lesson is this: Don’t buy a gilt simply because the headline yield looks attractive. Look at the yield to maturity, the maturity date and the risks involved before investing.

NOTE: This article is for information and education only and does not constitute personal financial advice. Investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invest. If you are in any doubt how best to proceed, I strongly recommend speaking to a professional financial adviser or financial planner. 




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The £12,000 Cash ISA Limit

The £12,000 Cash ISA Limit: What Will Actually Change in 2027?

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There has been quite a lot of discussion about the Government’s decision to reduce the annual Cash ISA allowance from £20,000 to £12,000 from April 2027. If you have money in Cash ISAs, you may therefore be wondering whether you should be doing anything differently before then.

There is, however, an important point that is sometimes missed in reports about the change:

The new £12,000 Cash ISA limit will only apply to people under the age of 65.

If you are aged 65 or over, you will continue to be able to put up to £20,000 a year into a Cash ISA.

Here’s what we know so far…

What Is Changing?

At present, the overall annual ISA allowance is £20,000. You can put this into a Cash ISA, a Stocks and Shares ISA, an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) or a combination of these, subject to the rules applying to each type.

For the 2026/27 tax year, the maximum you can subscribe to ISAs remains £20,000.

From 6 April 2027, however, the rules will change.

For people under 65, the annual Cash ISA subscription limit will become: £12,000

The overall ISA allowance will nevertheless remain at: £20,000

This means that the Government is not reducing the overall amount you can put into ISAs. Instead, it is restricting how much of that £20,000 can be put into a Cash ISA.

The remaining £8,000 could, for example, be put into a Stocks and Shares ISA, assuming you are happy to invest it and the relevant ISA rules are met.

The Important Exception for People Aged 65 and Over

This is particularly relevant to many Pounds and Sense readers. The £12,000 restriction does not apply to people aged 65 or over.

From April 2027, people aged 65 and over will continue to have a Cash ISA limit of £20,000 a year. There is also an interesting wrinkle here.

The Government says that entitlement to the higher £20,000 Cash ISA limit will apply from the start of the tax year in which you turn 65.

So, for example, if you turn 65 at some point during the 2027/28 tax year, you will qualify for the £20,000 Cash ISA limit for that whole tax year rather than having to wait until your 65th birthday.

This makes the age cut-off rather more generous than simply saying, “You can use £20,000 once you reach 65.”

What About Your Existing Cash ISAs?

The new £12,000 figure is an annual subscription limit. It does not mean that anyone with more than £12,000 already saved in Cash ISAs will have to withdraw the excess.

If you already have, say, £50,000 in one or more Cash ISAs, that money can remain there.

The new rules concern how much new money you can subscribe to Cash ISAs from 6 April 2027.

This is an important distinction.

Someone under 65 could therefore have considerably more than £12,000 in Cash ISAs after April 2027. They simply won’t be able to add more than £12,000 of new subscriptions to Cash ISAs during that tax year.

Can I Still Use the Full £20,000 ISA Allowance?

Yes.

For someone under 65, the overall annual ISA allowance will remain £20,000. The difference is that no more than £12,000 of this can normally be subscribed to Cash ISAs.

For example, someone could potentially put:

  • £12,000 into a Cash ISA
  • £8,000 into a Stocks and Shares ISA

That would use their full £20,000 annual ISA allowance.

Alternatively, they could put less than £12,000 into a Cash ISA and use the remainder for another type of ISA.

The Government says that the annual subscription limits for Stocks and Shares ISAs, Innovative Finance ISAs and Lifetime ISAs are not being reduced as part of this change.

Why Is the Government Doing This?

The stated aim is to encourage people to invest more of their savings rather than keeping everything in cash. The Government argues that some people hold substantial sums in Cash ISAs for many years when they might achieve better long-term returns through investments.

There is certainly a debate to be had about this. Cash has an important role in financial planning, particularly for people approaching or in retirement. It provides security and avoids the risk of investment losses.

On the other hand, money that is needed for the long term can potentially lose purchasing power if inflation is higher than the interest rate being earned. The Government’s policy is therefore intended, at least in part, to encourage more people to consider investing.

Whether that is appropriate for you is a separate question, of course.

What if I Don’t Want to Invest?

This is probably the biggest concern for many savers. Suppose you are aged 55, have £20,000 to save and don’t want to take investment risk.

From April 2027, you won’t be able simply to put the whole £20,000 into a Cash ISA. You could put £12,000 into a Cash ISA, but you would then need to decide what to do with the other £8,000.

One possibility would be an ordinary savings account. However, interest outside an ISA can be taxable, depending on your circumstances.

The Personal Savings Allowance means that many people can receive some interest tax-free, but the amount depends on your tax position.

Another possibility is to invest the remaining money through a Stocks and Shares ISA, but this is only appropriate if you are comfortable with investment risk and have a sufficiently long time horizon.

There is certainly no requirement to invest simply because the Government has made Cash ISAs less generous for under-65s.

Can I Put £20,000 Into a Stocks and Shares ISA and Then Move it Into a Cash ISA?

This is where the new rules become more complicated. Under the existing system, ISA transfers allow money to be moved between different types of ISA without losing its tax-free status, subject to the rules.

From April 2027, people under 65 will not be allowed to transfer money from a Stocks and Shares ISA or Innovative Finance ISA into a Cash ISA.

This is intended to stop people getting around the £12,000 Cash ISA limit by putting £20,000 into another type of ISA and subsequently moving the money into a Cash ISA.

Transfers in the other direction — from a Cash ISA to a non-Cash ISA — will remain possible.

What About Keeping Cash Inside a Stocks and Shares ISA?

The Government has also anticipated this potential workaround. From April 2027, people will still be able to hold some cash within a Stocks and Shares ISA.

However, there will be a 22% charge on interest paid on cash held in a non-Cash ISA. ISA managers will deal with this charge rather than the individual having to declare the interest to HMRC.

There will also be restrictions on using a Stocks and Shares ISA simply as a substitute Cash ISA. For example, an ISA portfolio consisting entirely of certain “cash-like” investments will not qualify in the same way.

The rules do, however, allow diversified Stocks and Shares ISA portfolios to contain some cash-like investments.

What Should You Do Before April 2027?

For most people, there is no need to panic.

If you are under 65 and have money that you were planning to put into a Cash ISA, however, it may be worth thinking about your plans before the new rules arrive.

For example, if you have £20,000 available and were intending to put the whole amount into a Cash ISA, you could potentially use the full £20,000 Cash ISA allowance during the 2026/27 tax year.

You should not, of course, put money into an ISA simply to beat a deadline if you don’t actually need or want the product. But if you already intended to save the money in a Cash ISA, the April 2027 change is worth bearing in mind.

What if I’m Already 65?

If you are 65 or over, the change is much less dramatic. You will continue to be able to subscribe up to £20,000 a year to a Cash ISA.

And, as mentioned earlier, if you turn 65 during a tax year, the Government says the £20,000 entitlement applies from the start of that tax year.

This means that the headline “£12,000 Cash ISA limit” is potentially rather misleading when talking to older savers.

For many Pounds and Sense readers, nothing will actually change regarding the amount they can put into a Cash ISA each year.

What About Existing ISA Savings?

Another important point is that the £20,000 annual ISA allowance is not a limit on the total amount you can have in ISAs. There is no £20,000 cap on your lifetime ISA holdings.

You could, for example, have £20,000 in an ISA from one year, another £20,000 from the following year, and so on, with the accumulated savings remaining tax-free.

The £20,000 figure is an annual subscription allowance, not a maximum ISA balance.

The new £12,000 figure works in the same way: it limits new Cash ISA subscriptions for under-65s from April 2027; it does not cap the amount you can have accumulated in Cash ISAs.

So, Is the New £12,000 Limit a Big Deal?

For some people, yes. For others, not at all.

If you are under 65 and normally put £20,000 a year into a Cash ISA, you will need to rethink what you do with the other £8,000.

If you normally save £5,000 or £10,000 a year in a Cash ISA, nothing changes.

And if you are aged 65 or over, your annual Cash ISA limit will remain £20,000.

For someone approaching 65, the rules may therefore be particularly worth understanding.

The key dates and limits

From 6 April 2027 Cash ISA limit Overall ISA limit
Under 65 £12,000 £20,000
Aged 65 or over £20,000 £20,000

 

The Government currently intends these changes to take effect on 6 April 2027. The detailed legislation is still going through the process, so some technical details could change before implementation. If that happens I will update this post accordingly and/or add a new post about it.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to remember is that the Government is not abolishing Cash ISAs and it is not reducing the overall ISA allowance to £12,000.

From 6 April 2027:

Under 65: maximum £12,000 a year into a Cash ISA, within the overall £20,000 ISA allowance.

65 or over: maximum £20,000 a year into a Cash ISA, within the overall £20,000 ISA allowance.

Existing Cash ISA savings are not being capped at £12,000.

For many older savers, therefore, the change may have little or no direct impact. But for younger savers who prefer the safety of cash, it will mean making a decision about what to do with any amount between £12,000 and £20,000 that they would previously have put into a Cash ISA.

And that, rather than the headline figure of £12,000, is probably the most important point to understand.

  • As always, if you have any comments or questions about this post, please do leave them below. But note that I am not a professional financial adviser and cannot give personal financial advice. You should always do your own “due diligence” before investing and seek appropriate professional advice if in any doubt how best to proceed. All investing carries a risk of loss.




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My Investments Update September 2026

My Investments Update – September 26

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Here is my latest monthly update about my investments. You can read my August 2026 Investments Update here if you like.

I’ll begin as usual with my JP Morgan Personal Investing (previously Nutmeg) Stocks and Shares ISA. This is the largest investment I hold other than my Bestinvest SIPP (personal pension).

As regular readers will know, in June last year I transferred most of the money in my former Nutmeg Fully Managed portfolio (just under £25,000) to a new Nutmeg Income Portfolio. I discussed this in detail in this post, but basically money in this port is invested to generate an income from share dividends and other sources. This is then paid monthly. Capital appreciation is targeted as well, but these portfolios are aimed primarily at older people (and others) who want/need their investment to generate a regular cash income.

In August my JPM Investing income portfolio generated £157.02 of income, which was duly paid into my bank account on 24 August 2026. That means I have now received (tax-free) income of £894.41 in 2026 and a total of £1,365.87 since I opened the account in June last year. That’s a return on capital of around 5% to date. That is in line with JPM’s original projected annual return for income ports at my chosen risk level (five).

My income portfolio also increased in value in August. It’s now worth £29,010 compared with £28,447 at the start of August, a rise of £563. As the screen capture below shows, my income port is up by a respectable £3,406.67 (13.31%) after fees since I opened it in June 2025.

JPM Income port Sept 2026

I still have a smaller, growth-oriented pot using JPM Investing’s Smart Alpha option. This is now worth £3,313 compared with £3,221 a month ago, a rise of £92. Here is a screen capture showing performance since I opened it in December 2020. As you may recall, I sold £2,000 worth of this portfolio in May this year to pay for some building work.

JPM Smart Alpha port Sep 2026

Finally, at the start of December 2023 I invested £500 in one of Nutmeg/JPM’s thematic portfolios (Resource Transformation). In March 2024 I also invested a further £200 from referral bonuses (something I no longer receive). As you can see from the YTD screen capture below, this portfolio is now worth £1,055 compared with £1,019 (rounded up) last month, a rise of £36.

JPM Thematic port Sep 2026

Overall in August the value of my JPM investments rose by £691 or 2.12%. In addition, I did of course receive £157.02 in income from my income portfolio. In total, then, I am up by a respectable £848.02 for the month.

Excluding income generated (and allowing for the £2,000 I withdrew in May this year) the overall value of my JPM investments has risen by £3,716 since the start of September 2025. If you add to this the £1,365.87 of income generated by my Income portfolio since August 2025, that gives a total profit for the last 12 months of £5,081.87 – a pretty good return in these uncertain times. Another way of looking at this (which I like!) is that the £2,000 I withdrew in May this year has been comfortably covered by the growth in value of my JPM investments over the last year.

Obviously it’s important not to read too much into a single month’s performance. Ups and downs are very much to be expected with stock market investments. In the longer term they tend to even themselves out and typically outperform bank savings accounts (though that’s never guaranteed). In general the worst thing you can do is panic and sell up when downturns occur. You are then crystallizing your losses rather than giving the markets time to recover. That is something I had cause to discuss last year in this blog post.

You can read my full original Nutmeg/JPM review here. If you are looking for a home for your annual ISA allowance, based on my overall experience over the last nine years, they are certainly worth considering. They offer self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs), Lifetime ISAs and Junior ISAs as well.

Moving on, I also have investments with P2P property investment platform Housemartin. As discussed in this post, the company rebranded last year from Assetz Exchange.

My investments with Housemartin continue to generate steady returns. Housemartin focuses on lower-risk properties (e.g. sheltered housing). I put an initial £100 into this in mid-February 2021 and another £400 in April. In June 2021 I added another £500, bringing my total investment up to £1,000.

Since I opened my account, my HM portfolio has generated a respectable £339.75 in revenue from rental income. I have made a small net loss of £17.60 on property disposals. Capital growth generally has slowed, in line with UK property values generally.

At the time of writing, 25 of ‘my’ properties are showing gains, 4 are breaking even, and the remaining 18 are showing losses. My portfolio of 47 properties is currently showing a net decrease in value of £56.92. That means that overall (rental income minus capital value decrease and loss on disposal) I am up by £265.23. That’s still a respectable return on my £1,000 and does illustrate the value of P2P property investments for diversifying your portfolio. And it doesn’t hurt that with Housemartin most projects are socially beneficial as well.

  • A further consideration is that property investments on Housemartin are less likely to be affected by stock market downturns, as happened in March this year due to events in the Middle East. This again demonstrates the potential value of such investments for diversifying your portfolio during challenging times.

The net fall in capital value of my Housemartin investments is obviously a little disappointing. But it’s important to remember that until/unless I choose to sell the investments in question, it is largely theoretical, based on the latest price at which shares in the property concerned have changed hands. The rental income, on the other hand, is real money (which in my case I’ve reinvested in other HM projects to further diversify my portfolio).

To control risk with all my property crowdfunding investments nowadays, I invest relatively modest amounts in individual projects. This is a particular attraction of Housemartin as far as i am concerned. You can actually invest from as little as £1 per property if you really want to proceed cautiously.

  • As I noted in this blog post, Housemartin is particularly good if you want to compound your returns by reinvesting rental income. This effectively boosts the interest rate you are receiving. Personally, once I have accrued a minimum of £10 in rental payments, I usually reinvest this money in either a new HM project or one I have already invested in (thus increasing my holding). Over time, even if I don’t invest any more capital, this will ensure my investment with Housemartin grows at an accelerating rate and becomes more diversified as well.

My investment on Housemartin is in the form of an IFISA so there won’t be any tax to pay on profits, dividends or capital gains. I’ve been impressed by my experiences with Housemartin and the returns generated so far, and intend to continue investing with them. You can read my original review of Assetz Exchange/Housemartin here and my article about the rebranding to Housemartin here. You can also sign up for an account directly via this link [affiliate].

In 2022 I set up an account with investment and trading platform eToro, using their popular ‘copy trader’ facility. I chose to invest $500 (then about £412) copying an experienced eToro trader called Aukie2008 (real name Mike Moest).

In January 2023 I added to this with another $500 investment in one of their thematic portfolios, Oil Worldwide. I also invested a small amount I had left over in Tesla shares.

In January this year, as Oil Worldwide hadn’t exactly been setting the world alight, I decided to switch my entire investment in this to another smart portfolio, InTheGame. This port, focusing on the computer gaming industry, had been the top performer for some time in my eToro virtual portfolio.

Unfortunately just as I switched away from Oil Worldwide, President Trump decided to invade Venezuela. This gave the oil industry a significant boost, which I would otherwise have benefited from. Meanwhile InTheGame went south, partly due to the war in the Middle East. At one point I was down by over 10% on this investment. Fortunately in the last few months InTheGame has made a recovery and is now in profit by 5.15%.

As you can see from the screen captures below, my original eToro investment (total value £888.36 in pounds sterling) is today worth £1,222.16, an overall increase of £333.80 or 37.57%.

  • Note: eToro now displays the value of investments in your native currency, although you can change this if you wish.

Etoro Home Sept 2026

Etoro port Sep 2026

You can read my full review of eToro here. You may also like to check out my more in-depth look at eToro copy trading. I also discussed thematic investing with eToro using Smart Portfolios in this post.

As mentioned above, my new investment in InTheGame is currently up by 5.15%. And my copy trading investment with Aukie2008 is showing an impressive overall profit of 76.64%. Of course, I have held this investment for quite a bit longer.

My Tesla shares, which I purchased as an afterthought with some spare cash I had in my account, are also up this month. They are now showing an overall profit of over 213% since I bought them. If only I had put a bit more money into this!

You might also notice that I have small holdings in Prosus NV, a Dutch internet group, and South Bow, a Canadian energy infrastructure company. To be honest I don’t understand how I acquired these, but I assume they are some sort of bonus I was awarded. In any event, I am happy to have them in my portfolio.

Moving on, I published several posts on Pounds and Sense in August. I have listed below those that are still relevant.

Caravan Fire Safety – How to Protect Your Holiday Home and Your Finances is a collaborative post with my friends at  Compass, a specialist provider of caravan and leisure insurance. It concerns an important subject all caravan owners need to be aware of. This post was especially relevant during the hot, dry spell we have just gone through. But even when the weather is cooler it’s still very relevant. In the article – which applies to static as well as mobile caravans – I set out a number of tips to keep your holiday home safe from fire, and also some important insurance advice for caravan owners.

In My Short Break in Portmeirion I talked about my recent short visit to this beautiful Welsh village and tourist resort (famously the location in which 1960s TV series The Prisoner was shot). It was the first time I had stayed in Portmeirion, though I had visited many times before. In my article I discuss the accommodation, the dining facilities, the costs, things to do in (and around) Portmeirion, and whom (in my view) the location is most likely to appeal to.

Finally in Pounds and Sense – A Personal Update I set out some information about my personal circumstances and (in particular) my plans for Pounds and Sense going forward. I won’t say any more about this here, but I do urge you to read it if you haven’t already.

  • One other thing is that, if you’re looking to change your energy provider as autumn approaches, you can get a £50 bonus credited to your account if you sign up with EDF Energy via my referral link. I’ve been with EDF myself for some years now. In my experience they offer a reliable service along with prices that are generally very competitive. If you do choose to do this via my link I will receive a bonus as well, which is very much appreciated 🙂

I’ll close with my customary reminder that you can also follow Pounds and Sense on Facebook or Twitter (or X as it is now). Twitter/X is my number one social media platform and I post regularly there. I share the latest news and information on financial matters, and other things that interest, amuse or concern me. So if you aren’t following my PAS account on Twitter/X, you are definitely missing out!

  • I am also on the BlueSky social media network under the username poundsandsense.bsky.social. Twitter/X remains my primary social media platform, but I also post details of my latest blog posts, third-party articles and other financial news and resources on BlueSky for those who prefer to follow me there.

As always, if you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave them below. I am always delighted to hear from PAS readers 🙂

Disclaimer: I am not a qualified financial adviser and nothing in this blog post should be construed as personal financial advice. Everyone should do their own ‘due diligence’ before investing and seek professional advice if in any doubt how best to proceed. All investing carries a risk of loss. 

Note also that posts on PAS may include affiliate links. If you click through and perform a qualifying transaction, I may receive a commission for introducing you. This will not affect the product or service you receive or the terms you are offered, but it does help support me in publishing PAS and paying my bills. Thank you!




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Pounds and Sense - Personal Update

Pounds and Sense – A Personal Update

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Today I wanted to share some information about my personal circumstances and my plans for Pounds and Sense (in particular) going forward.

As you may know, I’ve been running PAS for nearly 10 years now and during that time have published over 560 blog posts. Most of these are still available to view via the sidebar on the right (or below if you’re reading this on a mobile). They cover the entire period during Covid, and some in particular make quite poignant reading now.

Nothing is forever, though, and as I’m now 70 I’ve decided the time has come to wind down the blog. My health remains reasonable (touch wood) but I have other interests I want to devote more time and energy to.

In addition, I am now officially retired and no longer registered as self-employed. In fact, Pounds and Sense hasn’t made a profit for some time. As other bloggers will testify, it has become much harder to make money this way in recent years – especially if (like me) you’re a one-man – or one-woman – band.

A major cause of this – in my view anyway – is the rise of AI in online search. In the past you could attract traffic by targeting certain keywords and phrases and hoping Google (or whoever) would rank your article high in search results for the keyword/s in question. With most people nowadays going no further than the AI answers at the top, that method of attracting readers no longer works nearly as well as it used to.

For this and (no doubt) other reasons, the last few years have seen a big fall in the number of other UK personal finance blogs. The ones left are mainly those run as a full-time business, often with a team of staff. Really these are personal finance websites rather than blogs in the traditional sense. There are still a few brave solo bloggers left, and more power to them. But from comments I have seen, I know many of them are struggling as well.

Meanwhile, the costs keep on rising. Pounds and Sense is a self-hosted WordPress website, so I have to pay annual fees for the domain name and (in particular) the hosting service. In total I am now paying over £200 a year for this, which in the last year or two is more money than I have made (directly) from the blog itself. There are other costs  as well such as accountancy services and even electricity bills. I also have to pay for the graphics service I use (PicMonkey) to create the cover images for my blog posts.

For all these reasons, then, I am winding down Pounds and Sense. I won’t stop immediately, but my posts will likely be less frequent in the coming months. In April next year my hosting service (the largest expense I have to pay) comes up for renewal, and at that point I plan to allow it to lapse. So after that date, all past and current content will cease to be available here. If there are any articles you particularly want to save for future reference, therefore, I recommend that you copy them sooner rather than later.

I should also say that as I will be closing PAS, I won’t be taking on any further sponsored posts or other commercial partnerships or arrangements. I don’t think it would be fair to take on such projects knowing that the blog will in all likelihood cease to exist a few months later. I am still happy to consider guest posts but on the understanding that they may not be up here very long.

With all that said and done, I do enjoy blogging, and it’s possible I might continue Pounds and Sense in some shape or form using a free or low-cost hosting service such as Blogger or WordPress.com. I might also copy over some content to this. Using this type of service has its drawbacks, but of course it has the big attraction of being cheap or free! Obviously I will let PAS readers know nearer the time if I decide to proceed with this.

In closing, thank you for reading this far; and particular thanks to my regular readers, some of whom have been with me for many years. I wish you all a happy and prosperous future in these increasingly uncertain times.

As always, you are very welcome to leave a comment below if you wish.




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Caravan Fire Safety

Caravan Fire Safety: How to Protect Your Holiday Home and Your Finances

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My post today is brought to you in association with Compass, a specialist provider of caravan and leisure insurance. It concerns an important subject all caravan owners need to be aware of.

With the UK experiencing a prolonged period of hot and dry weather this summer, and drought now declared across large parts of England for the third time in five years, it’s vital that all caravan owners take extra precautions to reduce the risk of fire.

Static caravans are particularly susceptible to fire damage. Their fixed position, close proximity to neighbouring units, and structural materials – often made of plastic and thin cladding – mean that a fire can spread rapidly and with devastating effect. The use of LPG gas cylinders adds further risk if they are not stored and handled correctly.

In August 2025, a wildfire on the North York Moors came within a few hundred metres of a holiday park near Dalby Forest before a shift in wind and swift action from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service prevented what could have been a catastrophic loss.

Less than a year later, in late July 2026, a major wildfire broke out at Dunwich Heath on the Suffolk coast, forcing more than 200 caravans to be evacuated from the nearby Cliff House Holiday Park as flames spread across over 150 hectares of heathland. More than 100 firefighters battled the blaze over several days after a major incident was declared, a stark illustration of how quickly fire can threaten caravan parks during sustained hot, dry conditions.

Nationally, the trend is stark: the UK recorded 117 wildfires in 2025, more than double the total seen in 2023 and a 32% increase on 2024, second only to the record 207 wildfires recorded during the 40°C heat of 2022.

2025 was officially recorded as the hottest UK summer to date, and 2026 has already brought comparably extreme conditions, meaning the risk of fire-related incidents in caravans remains high. This is reflected in Compass’s fire claims data, which peaked between January 2024 and December 2025 at £881,982 – more than five times the total from the previous year.

With this summer already matching the extremes of 2025, and incidents like Dunwich Heath showing how fast a wildfire can take hold, taking proactive fire safety precautions in caravans is more critical than ever.

Common causes of static caravan fires include:

  • Careless use of barbecues near units

  • Improper disposal of cigarettes

  • Unattended cooking

  • Faulty gas appliances or heating systems

  • Electrical overloads and damaged wiring

According to fire safety data, a fire in a mobile home or caravan is significantly more likely to result in death or serious injury compared to conventional housing.

Kevin Minnear, Head of Underwriting at Compass, explains: “Caravans are fantastic for enjoying the outdoors, but they come with serious fire risks, especially in dry conditions. What we saw as a near-miss on the North York Moors last summer, and now a major incident at Dunwich Heath this year, tells us this isn’t a one-off. It’s a pattern, and with the UK in the grip of a prolonged drought, the risk of fire has never been greater.

“As insurers, we see the aftermath of caravan fires all too often, with families losing not only their cherished holiday homes but valuable personal belongings as well. We’re reminding everyone to stay vigilant, follow basic safety practices, and help prevent fires before they start.”

Top Tips to Stay Safe in Your Caravan This Summer

  • Always use barbecues well away from caravans, awnings and dry grass. Never use them inside or on decking, and ensure coals are fully extinguished before disposal., and always follow your park’s barbecue rules and designated areas.

  • Do not smoke inside caravans. Always use a proper ashtray and ensure cigarettes are completely stubbed out and disposed of properly.

  • Store gas bottles outside in a secure, upright position and never in direct sunlight. Turn them off properly after use and have them checked regularly.

  • Every caravan should have at least one working smoke alarm fitted. Test it weekly and change batteries regularly.

  • Avoid open flames indoors; candles and gas lanterns can ignite furnishings or nearby materials in seconds. Use battery-powered alternatives instead.

  • Fit a fire blanket inside your caravan and make sure you have a fire extinguisher, so you are prepared should the worst happen.

  • Avoid overloading plug sockets and have electrical systems checked regularly.

  • Ensure all escape routes are accessible and exits are not blocked.

Insurance Advice for Static Caravan Owners

In the unfortunate event of a fire, adequate insurance cover can be the difference between financial recovery and long-term loss. Caravan owners are advised to:

  • Review your policy to ensure it covers fire damage comprehensively.

  • Keep an up-to-date inventory of contents.

  • Notify your insurer immediately in the event of a fire-related claim.

  • Check whether your cover includes temporary accommodation or replacement of personal effects.

Fire spreads extremely quickly in caravans – even a small spark can have devastating consequences, especially during dry spells.

Kevin Minnear adds: “Prevention is always better than cure. We’re encouraging all caravan owners to make safety a top priority this summer. Fire can devastate a caravan in minutes, but by being proactive and following these simple steps, you can help safeguard your property.”

Many thanks to my friends at Compass for their assistance with this article. For more info on specialist caravan and leisure insurance, please visit compass.co.uk

As always, if you have any comments on this article, please do post them below.




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My Investments Update August 2026

My Investments Update – August 2026

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Here is my latest monthly update about my investments. You can read my July 2026 Investments Update here if you like.

I’ll begin as usual with my JP Morgan Personal Investing (previously Nutmeg) Stocks and Shares ISA. This is the largest investment I hold other than my Bestinvest SIPP (personal pension).

As regular readers will know, in June last year I transferred most of the money in my former Nutmeg Fully Managed portfolio (just under £25,000) to a new Nutmeg Income Portfolio. I discussed this in detail in this post, but basically money in this port is invested to generate an income from share dividends and other sources. This is then paid monthly. Capital appreciation is targeted as well, but these portfolios are aimed primarily at older people (and others) who want/need their investment to generate a regular cash income.

In July my JPM Investing income portfolio generated £89.56 of income, which was duly paid into my bank account on 24 July 2026. That means I have now received tax-free income of £737.39 in 2026 and a total of £1,208.85 since I opened the account in June last year (just over a year ago). That’s a return on capital of a little over 4.90% to date. That is close to JPM’s original projected annual return of just under 5% per year for income ports at my chosen risk level (five).

My income portfolio decreased slightly in value in July. It’s now worth £28,447 compared with £28,465 (rounded up) at the start of July, a fall of £18. As the screen capture below shows, however, my income port is still up by a respectable £2,843 (11.11%) after fees since I opened it last June.

JPM Income port August 2026

I still have a smaller, growth-oriented pot using JPM Investing’s Smart Alpha option. This is now worth £3,221 compared with £3,262 a month ago, a fall of £41. Here is a screen capture showing performance over the last month.

JPM Smart Alpha port August 2026

Finally, at the start of December 2023 I invested £500 in one of Nutmeg/JPM’s thematic portfolios (Resource Transformation). In March 2024 I also invested a further £200 from referral bonuses (something I no longer receive). As you can see from the YTD screen capture below, this portfolio is now worth £1,019 (rounded up) compared with £1,043 (rounded up) last month, a fall of £24.

JPM Thematic port August 26

Overall in July the value of my JPM investments fell by £83 or 0.25%. On the other hand, I did of course receive £89.56 in income from my income portfolio. In total, then, I am up by the princely sum of £6.56 for the month!

Excluding income generated (and allowing for the £2,000 I withdrew at the end of May this year) the overall value of my JPM investments has risen by £3,556 or 11.42% since the start of August 2025. If you add to this the £1,208.05 of income generated by my Income portfolio to date, that gives a total profit for the last 12 months of £4,764.05 – a pretty good return in these uncertain times.

The small drop in the value of my JPM investments in July is down mainly to the deteriorating situation in the Middle East. Obviously it’s disappointing, but some volatility is always to be expected with stock market investments. In the longer term they tend to even themselves out and typically outperform bank savings accounts (although that is never guaranteed). In general the worst thing you can do is panic and sell up when downturns occur. You are then crystallizing your losses rather than giving the markets time to recover. That is something I had cause to discuss last year in this blog post.

You can read my full original Nutmeg/JPM review here. If you are looking for a home for your annual ISA allowance, based on my overall experience over the last nine years, they are certainly worth considering. They offer self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs), Lifetime ISAs and Junior ISAs as well.

Moving on, I also have investments with P2P property investment platform Housemartin. As discussed in this post, the company rebranded last year from Assetz Exchange.

My investments with Housemartin continue to generate steady returns. Housemartin focuses on lower-risk properties (e.g. sheltered housing). I put an initial £100 into this in mid-February 2021 and another £400 in April. In June 2021 I added another £500, bringing my total investment up to £1,000.

Since I opened my account, my HM portfolio has generated a respectable £334.80 in revenue from rental income. I have made a small net loss of £17.60 on property disposals. Capital growth generally has slowed, in line with UK property values generally.

At the time of writing, 23 of ‘my’ properties are showing gains, 6 are breaking even, and the remaining 18 are showing losses. My portfolio of 47 properties is currently showing a net decrease in value of £56.96. That means that overall (rental income minus capital value decrease and loss on disposal) I am up by £260.24. That’s still a respectable return on my £1,000 and does illustrate the value of P2P property investments for diversifying your portfolio. And it doesn’t hurt that with Housemartin most projects are socially beneficial as well.

  • A further consideration is that property investments on Housemartin are less likely to be affected by stock market downturns, as happened in March this year due to events in the Middle East. This again demonstrates the potential value of such investments for diversifying your portfolio during challenging times.

The net fall in capital value of my Housemartin investments is obviously a little disappointing. But it’s important to remember that until/unless I choose to sell the investments in question, it is largely theoretical, based on the latest price at which shares in the property concerned have changed hands. The rental income, on the other hand, is real money (which in my case I’ve reinvested in other HM projects to further diversify my portfolio).

To control risk with all my property crowdfunding investments nowadays, I invest relatively modest amounts in individual projects. This is a particular attraction of Housemartin as far as i am concerned. You can actually invest from as little as £1 per property if you really want to proceed cautiously.

  • As I noted in this blog post, Housemartin is particularly good if you want to compound your returns by reinvesting rental income. This effectively boosts the interest rate you are receiving. Personally, once I have accrued a minimum of £10 in rental payments, I usually reinvest this money in either a new HM project or one I have already invested in (thus increasing my holding). Over time, even if I don’t invest any more capital, this will ensure my investment with Housemartin grows at an accelerating rate and becomes more diversified as well.

My investment on Housemartin is in the form of an IFISA so there won’t be any tax to pay on profits, dividends or capital gains. I’ve been impressed by my experiences with Housemartin and the returns generated so far, and intend to continue investing with them. You can read my original review of Assetz Exchange/Housemartin here and my article about the rebranding to Housemartin here. You can also sign up for an account directly via this link [affiliate].

In 2022 I set up an account with investment and trading platform eToro, using their popular ‘copy trader’ facility. I chose to invest $500 (then about £412) copying an experienced eToro trader called Aukie2008 (real name Mike Moest).

In January 2023 I added to this with another $500 investment in one of their thematic portfolios, Oil Worldwide. I also invested a small amount I had left over in Tesla shares.

In January this year, as Oil Worldwide hadn’t exactly been setting the world alight, I decided to switch my entire investment in this to another smart portfolio, InTheGame. This port, focusing on the computer gaming industry, had been the top performer for some time in my eToro virtual portfolio.

Unfortunately just as I switched away from Oil Worldwide, President Trump decided to invade Venezuela. This gave the oil industry a significant boost, which I would otherwise have benefited from. Meanwhile InTheGame went south, partly due to the war in the Middle East. At one point I was down by over 10% on this investment. Fortunately in the last four months InTheGame has made a recovery and is now in profit by 3.84%.

As you can see from the screen captures below, my original eToro investment (total value £888.36 in pounds sterling) is today worth £1,192.96, an overall increase of £304.60 or 34.29%.

  • Note: eToro now displays the value of investments in your native currency, although you can change this if you wish.

Etoro Main August 2026

Etoro port August 2026

You can read my full review of eToro here. You may also like to check out my more in-depth look at eToro copy trading. I also discussed thematic investing with eToro using Smart Portfolios in this post.

As mentioned above, my new investment in InTheGame is currently up by 3.84%. And my copy trading investment with Aukie2008 is showing an impressive overall profit of 70.49%. Of course, I have held this investment for quite a bit longer.

My Tesla shares, which I purchased as an afterthought with some spare cash I had in my account, are down a bit this month, but still showing an overall profit of over 180% since I bought them. If only I had put a bit more money into this!

You might also notice that I have small holdings in Prosus NV, a Dutch internet group, and South Bow, a Canadian energy infrastructure company. To be honest I don’t understand how I acquired these, but I assume they are some sort of bonus I was awarded. In any event, I am happy to have them in my portfolio.

Moving on, I published various posts on Pounds and Sense in July. I have listed below those that are still relevant.

In Small Changes That Could Save UK Households £1,000 a Year I set out some easy, everyday changes that could potentially have a big impact on your finances over the course of a year. As the article says, save a few pounds here and there, and before you know it you’ve kept an extra £1,000 in your pocket!

How to Know When Fruit and Veg Are Still Safe to Eat – And When They Should be Binned is a syndicated guest post by Primrose Freestone, whose work I have featured in Pounds and Sense before. Dr Freestone’s article concerns a subject that many older people (and others) on tight budgets may find of interest. It’s certainly something I have wondered about myself in the past.

And in Why Every Older Adult Should Consider the Shingles Vaccine (Shingrix) I look at an important subject every older adult should be aware of. Shingles is essentially a recurrence of a common childhood disease, chicken pox, but in older adults it can be a lot more serious. I recently had the new shingles vaccine (Shingrix) myself. In this article I explain why I felt it was important to do so, the side effects I experienced, and a potential beneficial side effect of the vaccine that has only quite recently come to light.

Finally, my cover image this month is a view of the lovely Welsh village/resort of Portmeirion (probably still best known as the venue for 1960s cult TV series The Prisoner starring Patrick McGoohan). I have visited Portmeirion many times before, but in July I fulfilled a long-standing ambition and actually stayed there for a few days. It wasn’t exactly a cheap break but well worth it. I may post an article/review in due course if there is sufficient interest.

I’ll close with my customary reminder that you can also follow Pounds and Sense on Facebook or Twitter (or X as it is now). Twitter/X is my number one social media platform and I post regularly there. I share the latest news and information on financial matters, and other things that interest, amuse or concern me. So if you aren’t following my PAS account on Twitter/X, you are definitely missing out!

  • I am also on the BlueSky social media network under the username poundsandsense.bsky.social. Twitter/X remains my primary social media platform, but I also post details of my latest blog posts, third-party articles and other financial news and resources on BlueSky for those who prefer to follow me there.

As always, if you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave them below. I am always delighted to hear from PAS readers 🙂

Disclaimer: I am not a qualified financial adviser and nothing in this blog post should be construed as personal financial advice. Everyone should do their own ‘due diligence’ before investing and seek professional advice if in any doubt how best to proceed. All investing carries a risk of loss. 

Note also that posts on PAS may include affiliate links. If you click through and perform a qualifying transaction, I may receive a commission for introducing you. This will not affect the product or service you receive or the terms you are offered, but it does help support me in publishing PAS and paying my bills. Thank you!

If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:
My Investments Update - July 2026

My Investments Update – July 2026

, , 0 Comments

Here is my latest monthly update about my investments. You can read my June 2026 Investments Update here if you like.

I’ll begin as usual with my JP Morgan Personal Investing (previously Nutmeg) Stocks and Shares ISA. This is the largest investment I hold other than my Bestinvest SIPP (personal pension).

As regular readers will know, in June last year I transferred most of the money in my former Nutmeg Fully Managed portfolio (just under £25,000) to a new Nutmeg Income Portfolio. I discussed this in detail in this post, but basically money in this port is invested to generate an income from share dividends and other sources. This is then paid monthly. Capital appreciation is targeted as well, but these portfolios are aimed primarily at older people (and others) who want/need their investment to generate a regular cash income.

In June my JPM Investing income portfolio generated a respectable £222.45 of income, which was duly paid into my bank account on 24 June 2026. That means I have now received tax-free income of £647.83 in 2026 and a total of £1,119.29 since I opened the account in June last year. That’s a return on capital of a little over 4.48% to date. That is pretty much in line with JPM’s original projected annual return of just under 5% for income ports at my chosen risk level (five).

My income portfolio increased in value again in June. It’s now worth £28,465 (rounded up) compared with £28,282 at the start of June, a rise of £183. As the screen capture below shows, my income port is up by a respectable £2,861 (11.18%) after fees since I opened it last June (about a year ago).

JPM Income portfolio July 2026

I still have a smaller, growth-oriented pot using JPM Investing’s Smart Alpha option. This is now worth £3,262 compared with £5,239 a month ago. As I mentioned last month, in early June I withdrew £2,000 from this portfolio to pay for some building work, so if you deduct this the value of the port has actually risen by £23. Here is a screen capture showing performance over the last month.

JPM Smart Alpha port July 26

Finally, at the start of December 2023 I invested £500 in one of Nutmeg/JPM’s thematic portfolios (Resource Transformation). In March 2024 I also invested a further £200 from referral bonuses (something I no longer receive). As you can see from the YTD screen capture below, this portfolio is now worth £1,043 (rounded up) compared with £1,038 last month, a small rise of £5.

JPM thematic port July 2026

Overall in June (and allowing for the £2,000 I withdrew) the value of my JPM investments rose by £220 or 0.65%. In addition I did, of course, receive £222.45 in income from my income portfolio. In total, then, I am £442.45 up for the month.

Excluding income generated (and again allowing for the £2,000 withdrawal) the overall value of my JPM investments is up by £3,997 or 12.99% since the start of July 2025. If you add to this the £1,119.29 of income generated by my Income portfolio to date, that gives a total profit for the last 12 months of £5,272.84 – a pretty good return in these uncertain times.

Some volatility is always to be expected with stock market investments, but in the longer term they tend to even themselves out (and typically outperform bank savings accounts, although that is never guaranteed). In general the worst thing you can do is panic and sell up when downturns occur (as happened in March due to events in the Middle East). You are then crystallizing your losses rather than giving the markets time to recover. That is something I discussed last year in this blog post.

You can read my full original Nutmeg/JPM review here. If you are looking for a home for your annual ISA allowance, based on my overall experience over the last nine years, they are certainly worth considering. They offer self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs), Lifetime ISAs and Junior ISAs as well.

Moving on, I also have investments with P2P property investment platform Housemartin. As discussed in this post, the company rebranded last year from Assetz Exchange.

My investments with Housemartin continue to generate steady returns. Housemartin focuses on lower-risk properties (e.g. sheltered housing). I put an initial £100 into this in mid-February 2021 and another £400 in April. In June 2021 I added another £500, bringing my total investment up to £1,000.

Since I opened my account, my HM portfolio has generated a respectable £328.30 in revenue from rental income. I have made a small net loss of £17.60 on property disposals. Capital growth generally has slowed, in line with UK property values generally.

At the time of writing, 21 of ‘my’ properties are showing gains, 5 are breaking even, and the remaining 18 are showing losses. My portfolio of 44 properties is currently showing a net decrease in value of £64.57. That means that overall (rental income minus capital value decrease and loss on disposal) I am up by £246.13. That’s still a respectable return on my £1,000 and does illustrate the value of P2P property investments for diversifying your portfolio. And it doesn’t hurt that with Housemartin most projects are socially beneficial as well.

  • A further consideration is that property investments on Housemartin are less likely to be affected by stock market downturns, as happened in March due to events in the Middle East. This again demonstrates the potential value of such investments for diversifying your portfolio during challenging times.

The net fall in capital value of my Housemartin investments is obviously a little disappointing. But it’s important to remember that until/unless I choose to sell the investments in question, it is largely theoretical, based on the latest price at which shares in the property concerned have changed hands. The rental income, on the other hand, is real money (which in my case I’ve reinvested in other HM projects to further diversify my portfolio).

To control risk with all my property crowdfunding investments nowadays, I invest relatively modest amounts in individual projects. This is a particular attraction of Housemartin as far as i am concerned. You can actually invest from as little as £1 per property if you really want to proceed cautiously.

  • As I noted in this blog post, Housemartin is particularly good if you want to compound your returns by reinvesting rental income. This effectively boosts the interest rate you are receiving. Personally, once I have accrued a minimum of £10 in rental payments, I usually reinvest this money in either a new HM project or one I have already invested in (thus increasing my holding). Over time, even if I don’t invest any more capital, this will ensure my investment with Housemartin grows at an accelerating rate and becomes more diversified as well.

My investment on Housemartin is in the form of an IFISA so there won’t be any tax to pay on profits, dividends or capital gains. I’ve been impressed by my experiences with Housemartin and the returns generated so far, and intend to continue investing with them. You can read my original review of Assetz Exchange/Housemartin here and my article about the rebranding to Housemartin here. You can also sign up for an account directly via this link [affiliate].

In 2022 I set up an account with investment and trading platform eToro, using their popular ‘copy trader’ facility. I chose to invest $500 (then about £412) copying an experienced eToro trader called Aukie2008 (real name Mike Moest).

In January 2023 I added to this with another $500 investment in one of their thematic portfolios, Oil Worldwide. I also invested a small amount I had left over in Tesla shares.

In January this year, as Oil Worldwide hadn’t exactly been setting the world alight, I decided to switch my entire investment in this to another smart portfolio, InTheGame. This port, focusing on the computer gaming industry, had been the top performer for some time in my eToro virtual portfolio.

Unfortunately just as I switched away from Oil Worldwide, President Trump decided to invade Venezuela. This gave the oil industry a significant boost, which I would otherwise have benefited from. Meanwhile InTheGame went south, partly due to the war in the Middle East. At one point I was down by over 10% on this investment. Fortunately in the last three months InTheGame has made a good recovery and is now in profit by 12.45%.

As you can see from the screen captures below, my original eToro investment (total value £888.36 in pounds sterling) is today worth £1,264.92, an overall increase of £376.56 or 42.39%.

  • Note: eToro now displays the value of investments in your native currency, although you can change this if you wish.

EtoroMainJul26

EtoroPortJul26

You can read my full review of eToro here. You may also like to check out my more in-depth look at eToro copy trading. I also discussed thematic investing with eToro using Smart Portfolios in this post.

As mentioned above, my new investment in InTheGame is currently up by 12.45%. And my copy trading investment with Aukie2008 is showing an impressive overall profit of 69.49%. Of course, I have held this investment for quite a bit longer.

My Tesla shares, which I purchased as an afterthought with some spare cash I had in my account, are down marginally this month but still showing an overall profit of over 288% since I bought them. If only I had put a bit more money into this!

You might also notice that I have small holdings in Prosus NV, a Dutch internet group, and South Bow, a Canadian energy infrastructure company. To be honest I don’t understand how I acquired these, but I assume they are some sort of bonus I was awarded. In any event, I am happy to have them in my portfolio.

Moving on, I published various posts on Pounds and Sense in June. I have listed below those that are still relevant.

In Get a Free Share Worth up to £100 With Trading 212, I revealed that this promotional offer had reopened. If you haven’t done it before, you can get a free share worth up to £100 just by signing up to this popular share trading platform. My own free share in AMD is now worth £361.04! This offer closes on 9th July 2026. Learn more and sign up via my blog post.

And in The Best Realistic Side Hustles for Over-50s, I set out some easy side hustles that can work well for people in their fifties, sixties and beyond. If you’re looking for some simple, flexible ways to supplement your pension, build up a holiday fund, help cover rising household bills, or just earn some extra spending money, you’ll find a range of realistic ideas here.

Finally, I should mention that EDF Energy have enhanced their switching offer. Until 13th July 2026 you can get a FREE £75 (increased from £50) credited to your energy account when you switch to EDF via my referral link. Terms and conditions apply.

I’ll close with my customary reminder that you can also follow Pounds and Sense on Facebook or Twitter (or X as it is now). Twitter/X is my number one social media platform and I post regularly there. I share the latest news and information on financial matters, and other things that interest, amuse or concern me. So if you aren’t following my PAS account on Twitter/X, you are definitely missing out!

  • I am also on the BlueSky social media network under the username poundsandsense.bsky.social. Twitter/X remains my primary social media platform, but I also post details of my latest blog posts, third-party articles and other financial news and resources on BlueSky for those who prefer to follow me there.

As always, if you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave them below. I am always delighted to hear from PAS readers 🙂

Disclaimer: I am not a qualified financial adviser and nothing in this blog post should be construed as personal financial advice. Everyone should do their own ‘due diligence’ before investing and seek professional advice if in any doubt how best to proceed. All investing carries a risk of loss. 

Note also that posts on PAS may include affiliate links. If you click through and perform a qualifying transaction, I may receive a commission for introducing you. This will not affect the product or service you receive or the terms you are offered, but it does help support me in publishing PAS and paying my bills. Thank you!

If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:
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