Today, Jeremy Hunt is presenting the budget. Taxes go up and down, allowances come and go, and I’ll be listening live to it at home.
But it’s more important that you read the text of the document and base your plans on that and not what the Mail tells you in a clickbait article made to make your blood boil.
In the past, I’ve tried to write about my opinion on the budget. But I’m not doing that today.
There’s better sources (I reckon the Monevator site will have something worth reading this weekend).
But I would only say that your finances are extremely vulnerable at the moment. The fact is that the government needs money (in the form of taxes) for the ever increasing cost of running services for an ageing population.
Taxes will go up, or allowances will be cut. So it’s important that you understand what the impact of government policy is on your money.
This could mean that you are better off selling investments now to avoid capital gains later.
Or start investing into your SIPP again this tax year or the next tax year, or both or neither. Open LISA or not? Who knows.
What works for you won’t be the same as for someone else. (I’ve largely stopped to avoid the lifetime allowance).
It could mean that you invest in home insulation or a heat pump, or electric car – or not – on the basis of what the policy changes are.
But, don’t get distracted by easy to read newspaper articles or blog posts about it. Read the document yourself and make your own mind up.
Failure to understand the rules doesn’t give you a free pass to complain about anything. Ignorance is a poor defence – little changes now (for example investing in an ISA this tax year or harvesting some capital gains) can make a difference of thousands in your tax bill, and that’s something we can all do with on our way to financial independence.
Good luck, GFF
Gentleman's Family Finances 
The great lesson I’ve learnt about budgets is that the journalists take about a week and a half to catch up with what’s been announced. So I’ll look at the papers on about March 25th. That will also be past the next interest increase (?) from the BoE.
Mind you it doesn’t leave much room for action before the end of the ISA year.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Time is a ticking.
A bigger headache is the CGT reduction and harvesting gains and losses.
LikeLike
The Sunday broadsheets are maybe the best place to go.
That said, I’m listening now and I’m yet to be shocked by personal changes
LikeLike