Monthly Archives: September 2026

For a long time, success was easy to picture. A bigger house, a newer car, better holidays and more visible signs that things were going well. But for many people, particularly once careers become established and family life gets busier, the thing that starts to feel most valuable is something much less tangible: time.

Time with children before they grow up. Time to travel while you are healthy enough to enjoy it. Time to exercise, see friends, care for parents or simply have a Friday afternoon when nobody needs anything from you. Increasingly, financial planning is not just about accumulating more. It is about creating more choice over how you spend your time.

When earning more doesn’t always feel like having more

One of the strange things about modern life is that income can rise while life still feels increasingly squeezed. A more senior job may bring a larger salary, but it can also bring longer hours, greater responsibility and less freedom. A bigger house can be wonderful, but it may also mean a larger mortgage and more pressure to maintain the income required to pay for it.

Over time, some people reach a point where they start asking a different question. Instead of focusing on how they can earn more, they begin to ask how much they actually need. That can be a surprisingly powerful shift because it changes the role money plays. Rather than simply being something to accumulate, it becomes a tool for creating greater flexibility.

What would you do with an extra day?

Imagine someone told you that from next year, every Friday was yours. No work, no emails and no meetings. What would you do with it?

Some people would spend more time with family. Others might take up something they have been putting off for years, travel more or simply enjoy having a little more space in the week. The interesting thing is that these are not really financial goals, but money can determine whether they are possible.

That is where financial planning becomes less about numbers on a statement and more about designing the life those numbers are supposed to support. Knowing what you can afford can sometimes open up options that had previously felt unrealistic.

Financial freedom doesn’t have to start at retirement

We often talk about financial independence as though it is a single destination. You work full time, save as much as you can, retire and then finally gain complete control over your time.

Real life does not have to work like that.

Financial freedom can arrive gradually. It might mean moving from five days a week to four, taking a three-month sabbatical, changing to a job you enjoy more even if it pays slightly less, taking a longer holiday, or deciding in your late fifties that you no longer need to chase the next promotion.

None of those decisions necessarily requires someone to be extraordinarily wealthy. What they do require is an understanding of what is affordable, what needs to be protected and how different choices could affect the longer-term picture.

The danger of waiting for “one day”

There is an understandable tendency to postpone enjoyment. One day we will travel more. One day we will slow down. One day we will spend more time with the grandchildren. One day we will finally use some of the money we have spent decades building.

Planning for the future is important, but there is also a risk in assuming the future will always provide the same opportunities that exist today. Health changes, families change, children grow up and priorities shift. The aim of good financial planning should not be to spend everything now, but neither should it be to preserve every possible pound for later.

The challenge is finding the balance between enjoying life today and protecting the future you still want.

Sometimes the most useful number is “enough”

This is why one of the most valuable things financial planning can provide is clarity around what “enough” actually looks like.

How much income do you really need? How much should you keep in reserve? What would happen if you worked one day less each week? Could you retire earlier than you thought? Could you help your children now without compromising your own future?

Once those questions have answers, money can begin to feel less like something that simply needs to be accumulated and more like something that gives you choices.

Sometimes those choices are about buying something. But sometimes the thing you are buying is time.

A different definition of wealth

A healthy financial position will always matter, as will savings, pensions and investments. But perhaps wealth is broader than the value of everything you own.

It can also mean having enough flexibility to work a little less, take the trip, help your family, retire earlier or simply decide that you have enough.

Because the real value of money is not just what it allows you to own. It is what it allows you to do.

And increasingly, perhaps the greatest luxury of all is having more control over your own time.

A pay rise is usually something to celebrate.

After months or years of hard work, seeing your salary increase should, in theory, leave you feeling more financially secure. Yet many people are surprised to find that, a year later, they don’t feel much better off than they did before.

So, what happened?

Often, the answer is something known as lifestyle inflation.

What Is Lifestyle Inflation?

Lifestyle inflation happens when our spending gradually rises alongside our income.

It rarely happens overnight. Instead, it creeps in quietly.

Perhaps you start eating out a little more often. You upgrade your car sooner than planned, subscribe to another streaming service, book a more expensive holiday or move into a larger home.

None of these decisions are necessarily wrong. In fact, one of the rewards of working hard is being able to enjoy the things that matter to you.

The challenge is when every pay rise is absorbed into higher day-to-day spending, leaving little improvement in your long-term financial position.

It’s More Common Than You Might Think

Behavioural economists have long recognised a phenomenon known as hedonic adaptation, sometimes referred to as the hedonic treadmill. It describes our tendency to quickly become accustomed to improvements in our circumstances. A pay rise, a newer car or a bigger home may initially feel like a significant step up, but over time those things become our new normal and the satisfaction they bring begins to fade. The concept is explored in the Behavioural Economics Guide to Hedonic Adaptation.

Economist Richard Easterlin’s work on income and happiness also found that as our income rises, our expectations often rise alongside it, meaning yesterday’s luxury can soon feel like today’s necessity. You can read more in his paper, Income and Happiness: Towards a Unified Theory.

This helps explain why earning more does not always lead to feeling wealthier. Without consciously deciding where additional income should go, higher earnings can gradually be absorbed into higher everyday spending, leaving little improvement in long-term financial security.

The result is that, despite earning more than ever before, many people continue to feel as though they’re living from one payday to the next.

A Different Way to Think About a Pay Rise

Rather than asking, “What can I spend this on?”, it can be worth asking a different question:

“What opportunity does this extra income give me?”

It might allow you to:

• build an emergency fund more quickly;
• increase your pension contributions;
• invest for the future;
• reduce your mortgage sooner; or
• save towards a goal that’s been on hold.

Of course, it’s important to enjoy your success too. The aim isn’t to avoid spending altogether, but to strike a balance between enjoying today and preparing for tomorrow.

The 50:50 Approach

One simple strategy some people find helpful is to split any pay rise.

For example, if your take-home pay increases by £200 a month, you might choose to enjoy £100 of that increase while directing the other £100 towards savings, investments or your pension.

This allows your lifestyle to improve without missing the opportunity to strengthen your long-term financial security.

Over time, even relatively modest amounts can make a meaningful difference.

Small Changes Can Have a Big Impact

Imagine receiving a pay rise every few years throughout your career.

If each increase resulted in just a small boost to your pension contributions or regular savings, those additional amounts could benefit from years, or even decades, of compound growth.

It’s one of the reasons financial planning is often about consistency rather than dramatic decisions.

Small improvements, repeated over time, can produce significant results.

You should always remember Investing can help your money grow over time, although the value of investments can go down as well as up.

Making It Automatic

One of the easiest ways to avoid lifestyle inflation is to remove the decision altogether.

If you decide to increase your pension contributions or monthly savings, consider arranging for the money to leave your account shortly after you’re paid.

When saving happens automatically, you’re less likely to miss the money and less tempted to spend it elsewhere.

It’s Not About Spending Less

Lifestyle inflation isn’t something to fear.

There’s nothing wrong with enjoying the rewards of your hard work, taking better holidays or treating yourself and your family.

The key is making those choices deliberately rather than allowing spending to increase without really noticing.

Financial confidence often comes not from earning more, but from knowing your additional income is helping you move closer to the goals that matter most.

Final Thoughts

A pay rise creates an opportunity, but what happens next is often more important than the increase itself.

Rather than allowing every extra pound to disappear into everyday spending, taking a moment to think about your longer-term priorities can have a lasting impact.

After all, the most valuable pay rise isn’t always the one that changes your lifestyle the most. Sometimes, it’s the one that changes your future.

For many people, retirement is something to look forward to. After years of working and saving, it is a chance to enjoy more time with family, pursue hobbies and live life at a gentler pace.

However, the reality is not the same for everyone.

Recent government figures show that around 1.9 million pensioners in the UK are living in relative poverty after housing costs, equivalent to around 16% of all pensioners. While the increase compared with the previous year was not statistically significant, the figures are a reminder that financial security in retirement cannot be taken for granted.

What Does Pensioner Poverty Mean?

When people hear the word “poverty”, they often imagine people without enough to eat or somewhere to live.

The official measure is slightly different.

Relative poverty refers to households whose income is below 60% of the UK median income after housing costs. It is designed to show how people’s incomes compare with the rest of society, rather than simply whether they can meet their basic needs.

While many pensioners own their homes outright, others continue to rent or face rising living costs, making housing an important factor in retirement finances.

Why Are Some Pensioners Struggling?

There is rarely one single reason.

For some, retirement income simply hasn’t kept pace with increasing household costs.

Others may have spent time out of the workplace caring for family, worked part-time for much of their career or been unable to build significant private pension savings.

Life events can also have a lasting financial impact. Divorce, bereavement, ill health or retiring earlier than expected can all affect income later in life.

Research from Age UK consistently shows that single pensioners, particularly older women, are among those most at risk of financial hardship in retirement.

The Importance of Planning Early

One of the clearest lessons is that retirement planning is becoming increasingly important.

The State Pension provides an important foundation, but for some people it is unlikely to provide the retirement lifestyle they hope for on its own.

Building workplace pensions, making additional retirement savings where possible and reviewing retirement plans regularly can all make a significant difference over the long term.

Even small contributions made consistently over many years can have a meaningful impact thanks to investment growth and compound returns.

It’s Never Too Late to Review Your Plans

While starting early has advantages, reviewing your finances is valuable at any stage of life.

For those approaching retirement, understanding how different pensions, investments and savings work together can help provide greater clarity about future income.

For those already retired, reviewing expenditure, tax allowances, benefits and pension arrangements may identify opportunities to improve financial security.

For example, many pensioners who are entitled to Pension Credit do not claim it, despite it potentially increasing income and unlocking access to additional support. Information about eligibility is available through Pension Credit on GOV.UK.

Where investing forms part of your plans, it’s important to remember that while investments can help your money grow over time, their value can go down as well as up.

Looking Ahead

Retirement should be about having choices and confidence, not worrying about whether your income will last.

While government support plays an important role, personal planning remains one of the most effective ways to improve financial resilience in later life.

Whether you are in the journey into retirement, taking time to understand your current position and review your long-term plans can help ensure that your finances continue to support the lifestyle you want.

After all, good financial planning is not simply about building wealth. It is about creating the confidence to enjoy it when the time comes.

Approver Quilter Financial Services Limited. Aug 2026

For many of us, January is seen as the time for fresh starts. We set New Year’s resolutions, join gyms, promise to get organised and think about the year ahead.

But ask many people when life really starts to feel “back to normal”, and they’ll often say September.

The summer holidays are over. Children return to school. Commutes become busier. Diaries begin to fill up again, and routines that paused for a few weeks begin to reappear.

In many ways, September feels like Britain’s second New Year.

It also makes it an excellent time to take stock of your finances.

A Natural Reset

Behavioural psychologists have identified what they call the “fresh start effect”. Research suggests that people are more motivated to adopt new habits following what researchers describe as “temporal landmarks”. These are moments that create the feeling of a new chapter, whether that’s a birthday, the start of a new job, New Year’s Day or the beginning of a new school year.

September provides exactly that.

It offers a natural opportunity to pause, reflect and think about where you are today, and where you’d like to be in the future.

A Good Time for a Financial Health Check

Just as many of us use September to organise wardrobes, calendars or the children’s school bags, it can also be a useful time to organise our finances.

That doesn’t necessarily mean making dramatic changes.

Sometimes it’s simply about asking a few straightforward questions.

• Are you still saving enough towards your long-term goals?
• Have your spending habits changed over the summer?
• Is your emergency fund where you’d like it to be?
• Have you reviewed your pension recently?
• Are your investments still aligned with your objectives?

Small reviews carried out regularly can often be more valuable than major changes every few years.

Life Doesn’t Stand Still

One of the reasons financial planning is an ongoing process is that life rarely stands still.

Children become financially independent. Careers evolve. Retirement moves closer. Parents grow older. Priorities change.

The financial plan that suited you five years ago may no longer reflect your circumstances today.

September can provide a useful reminder to check whether your plans are still supporting the life you’re trying to build.

Looking Ahead, Not Just Looking Back

The final few months of the year often disappear surprisingly quickly.

Before long, Christmas arrives, followed by another New Year and another list of resolutions.

Taking stock in September gives you the opportunity to make considered decisions before life becomes busier again.

Whether that’s increasing pension contributions, reviewing your investments, updating your Will or simply putting a little more aside each month, small actions now can have a meaningful impact over time.

Final Thoughts

Financial planning isn’t something that should only happen when markets move dramatically or tax rules change.

Sometimes, the best time to review your finances is simply when life gives you a natural opportunity to pause and take stock.

September offers exactly that. Before the final few months of the year gather pace, it can be the perfect moment to ask a simple question:

“Am I still on track for the future I want?”

If you’re not sure of the answer, that’s often the best place to start the conversation.

Source: The concept of the Fresh Start Effect was introduced by researchers at the Wharton School, including Katherine Milkman, who found that temporal landmarks such as the start of a new month, birthday or school year can motivate people to pursue goals and adopt positive behaviours. Read more in the paper The Fresh Start Effect: Temporal Landmarks Motivate Aspirational Behaviour published in Management Science: https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/10.1287/mnsc.2014.1901