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When Lewis Brain joined Digby Associates in April 2008, he had just finished sixth form and was starting out as an office junior.

Eighteen years later, he is a financial adviser helping clients plan for retirement, manage their investments and think about increasingly complex areas across their finances. His career has taken him through almost every layer of the business along the way.

At a time when young people are often presented with a daunting picture of the job market, Lewis’s story is a useful reminder that careers do not always begin with a perfectly mapped-out plan. Sometimes they begin by getting through the door, learning how a business works and being prepared to build from there.

Choosing work over university

Lewis had already completed work experience with Digby Associates, as well as a placement at Barclays, before finishing sixth form. He had studied Business alongside IT and technology, but knew that university was not the route he wanted to take.

“I’d studied Business at school along with IT and tech, three subjects that have probably become more useful than ever,” he says. “All three intertwine to make our industry what it is today.”

His first role at Digby Associates involved the kind of jobs familiar to many people starting their careers. As an office junior, Lewis spent several years learning the basics before gradually taking on more responsibility.

That foundation turned out to matter.

“I think understanding the roles as you progress is really important,” he says. “Everyone has to start somewhere, and if that means starting at the bottom, that’s ok, as it’s important to understand things from the ground up.”

It is an idea that feels particularly relevant today. The route from education into work is becoming broader than the traditional school-university-graduate-job path. The Government is currently expanding support for technical education and apprenticeships, including plans intended to create 50,000 additional youth apprenticeships, while professional bodies such as the Chartered Insurance Institute now offer structured routes into financial services for school leavers and people without previous industry experience.

Learning the business from the ground up

Lewis’s own progression was gradual. After working as an office junior, he moved into producing client valuations and managing colleagues diaries before progressing into paraplanning, where he helped prepare new business cases for Digby and other advisers.

Then, in 2017, came the opportunity that changed the direction of his career.

Digby Associates supported Lewis through Financial Adviser School, beginning the journey towards becoming an adviser himself.

“Had that not come about, I wouldn’t be doing the role I do today,” he says. “I’m the type of learner who needs to be taught through discussions and visual learning. I’m not the type to pick up a book and just soak up the information.”

That is perhaps another useful lesson for people entering work. Development does not have to look the same for everyone. Some people thrive academically, others learn by doing, and many develop most quickly through a combination of practical experience, professional qualifications and learning from the people around them.

There are now formal routes that reflect that too. The CII’s Level 4 Financial Adviser apprenticeship, for example, combines employment, training and the Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning, and can be used by people entering the profession as well as those progressing from administrative or paraplanning roles.

The value of learning from different generations

Ask Lewis about the biggest thing he has learnt during his career and he comes back to people.

“Listen to people who have done it before,” he says. “Even if they don’t do the same role now, they have lived and breathed it and the passing down of that knowledge is invaluable.”

He points to Digby Player, Paul Flower, Gary Stoker, Paul Watkins and James Long among those who have supported his development over the years.

That mix of experience is an important part of Digby Associates today. We have colleagues at different stages of their careers, from people beginning their journey in financial services through to advisers and members of the team with decades of experience behind them. Bringing those perspectives together means younger colleagues can learn from people who have seen markets, regulation and client needs change over many years, while newer generations bring different experiences, skills and ways of thinking to the business.

For Lewis, one lesson has remained consistent throughout: clients come first.

“Communicating with clients is key,” he says. “They are what keep all of us in jobs, and if those relationships aren’t managed appropriately then there won’t be any business to manage.”

A career that continues to change

One of the things Lewis still enjoys most is the variety.

No two weeks necessarily look the same. He might spend several days visiting clients, work from the office, spend time working from home or be dealing with very different financial planning challenges from one meeting to the next.

For Lewis, some of the most rewarding conversations are those where financial planning allows somebody to do something they had not thought possible, perhaps retiring earlier than expected or understanding how much income they can comfortably take in retirement. More recently, he has also been helping clients think about protecting family wealth as the Inheritance Tax landscape becomes increasingly important.

That changing nature of the job is also part of what makes financial services an interesting career for younger people. It combines technical knowledge with technology, regulation, communication and, above all, relationships with people.

It is not simply a job about numbers.

“Have confidence in your own ability”

Lewis’s advice to someone leaving school or college is refreshingly straightforward.

“Try different things and work in different places. If it means starting at the bottom, accept that everyone has to at some point. And try not to progress too quickly either, because understanding the roles as you move forward is a really important skill.”

He also encourages young people to make the most of professional qualifications where they are available, while being realistic about the commitment involved. Exams often require work outside normal hours, so finding an area you genuinely enjoy matters.

And if he could give his 18-year-old self one piece of advice?

“Be more confident in your own ability.”

Eighteen years, and still looking forward

Lewis’s career has changed enormously since he first walked into Digby Associates as an office junior in 2008, but in many ways his story reflects what we want a career here to be able to offer: the opportunity to learn, take on responsibility, gain professional qualifications and develop at a pace that works for the individual.

There is understandably plenty of discussion about the challenges facing young people entering the workforce. But there are also opportunities to build meaningful careers through routes that may not always be obvious at school or college.

You do not necessarily need to know exactly where you want to end up when you start.

Lewis certainly did not join Digby Associates at 18 with an 18-year career plan mapped out in front of him. He started with an opportunity, learnt from the people around him and kept moving forward.

And nearly two decades later, he is still doing exactly that.

Budgets are often judged by the biggest number in the Chancellor’s speech. Did Income Tax go up? Was there a new levy? What happened to pensions? Who gained and who lost?

But the interesting thing about John Healey’s first Budget is that some of the most important changes sit beneath those headline questions.

The main rates of Income Tax remain at 20%, 40% and 45%, and the Personal Allowance stays at £12,570. Yet from April 2027, the way some other forms of income are taxed will change, while the Government has also altered its approach to ISAs, first-time buyers and lower-income pensioners.

So rather than asking simply whether taxes went up or down, perhaps the more useful question is:

What is the Budget encouraging us to do differently with our money?

Saving outside an ISA becomes a little less attractive

One of the clearest changes concerns savings interest.

From 6 April 2027, the Income Tax rates applying to savings income will rise by four percentage points, taking the basic savings rate to 24%, the higher rate to 44% and the additional rate to 49%. The Personal Savings Allowance and starting rate for savings remain unchanged.

That matters particularly at a time when higher interest rates mean more people are earning meaningful amounts of interest on cash.

Someone can quite reasonably look at a savings account paying an attractive rate and feel their money is working hard. But once savings exceed the relevant tax-free allowances, the return after tax becomes increasingly important too.

At the same time, the Government has decided to retain the £20,000 ISA allowance, including the £20,000 Cash ISA limit, rather than proceeding with the previously proposed reduction in the amount younger savers could hold in cash ISAs. It is also exploring a future incentive for people investing through a Stocks and Shares ISA for the first time.

That combination is interesting. The Government is not forcing savers out of cash, but it is making the tax shelter provided by an ISA potentially more valuable for people with larger cash balances.

Landlords face a similar calculation

Property income is also being separated from the standard Income Tax rates.

From April 2027, property income will be taxed at 24%, 44% and 49% at the basic, higher and additional rates respectively. The Government says the measure is intended to help fund its wider support for households and businesses.

For landlords, that adds another factor to an already complicated calculation involving mortgage costs, maintenance, regulation and the eventual tax treatment of any property sale.

It does not suddenly make property a good or bad investment. But it reinforces a broader point: the return that matters is rarely the headline return. What you keep after tax, costs and inflation is usually much more relevant.

The £20,000 ISA survives

Before the Budget, there had been considerable discussion about reducing the Cash ISA allowance. That did not happen.

The Government confirmed that the annual ISA subscription limit will remain £20,000 for 2027/28, while the Junior ISA and Child Trust Fund limits remain at £9,000.

That may sound like an absence of change, but sometimes what a Budget leaves untouched is important too.

ISAs remain one of the simplest ways of shielding savings and investment returns from Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax. With tax on savings income increasing outside those wrappers, using available allowances appropriately may become even more relevant.

Of course, whether cash or investments are suitable within an ISA depends on what the money is for, when it might be needed and the level of risk someone is comfortable taking.

A change for first-time buyers

There was also movement on Lifetime ISAs.

From 29 October 2026, someone using a Lifetime ISA to buy a first home costing more than the current £450,000 property cap will face a 20% withdrawal charge rather than 25%. The property price limit itself has not changed.

Further ahead, the Government plans to introduce a new First Time Buyer ISA from April 2029, replacing Lifetime ISAs for new savers. Existing Lifetime ISA holders will still be able to continue using their accounts under the existing rules.

For younger savers, it is therefore another reminder that the vehicle used to save for a home can matter almost as much as the amount being saved.

Some pensioners get a little breathing room

The Budget also addressed an awkward problem created by the interaction between the State Pension and the frozen Personal Allowance.

From April 2027, a new Pension Tax Allowance will mean people above State Pension age whose total income is no greater than the value of the full new State Pension will not be brought into paying a small amount of Income Tax simply because the State Pension has risen above the Personal Allowance. The relief will taper away for people with slightly higher incomes and is currently intended to run through to 2029/30.

It is quite a technical solution to a technical problem, but potentially a welcome one for pensioners with relatively modest incomes.

The bigger pension and Inheritance Tax change is still coming

One thing the Budget did not reverse is the major change already scheduled for April 2027.

From 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and pension death benefits will form part of an estate for Inheritance Tax purposes. The Budget made some technical amendments around how the tax will be administered, but the underlying reform remains in place.

For families with significant pension assets, that remains one of the most important planning changes on the horizon.

It also demonstrates why looking at a Budget in isolation can sometimes be misleading. Some of the biggest changes affecting people over the next few years were announced previously and are simply continuing on their journey towards implementation.

And some help will be felt much sooner

Not everything in the Budget was about long-term tax planning.

The Government announced a £100 Household Energy Payment for households in Council Tax bands A to D in England, alongside plans to remove standing charges from domestic gas bills. It also extended other cost-of-living measures as part of what it described as providing households with some immediate “breathing space”.

Those measures may be more immediately noticeable for many households than some of the tax changes that take effect next April.

The Budget’s quieter message

Taken together, the Budget feels less like a wholesale rewrite of personal finances and more like a series of nudges.

Keep more savings within tax-efficient wrappers where appropriate.

Think carefully about the after-tax return on cash and property.

Recognise that pensions are increasingly being returned to their original purpose of funding retirement rather than acting primarily as an estate-planning vehicle.

And, as ever, pay attention not only to what changed, but to what stayed the same.

The danger after any Budget is to react to each announcement separately. A new tax rate can make one option look less attractive, while an unchanged allowance can make another look more valuable. But financial planning works best when those pieces are considered together.

The right response is therefore unlikely to be to reorganise everything because the Chancellor has spoken.

It is to ask whether the Budget has changed anything that genuinely matters to your plans.

Because while Budgets change the rules, they do not necessarily change the reason you are saving, investing or planning in the first place.

Read the full Budget 2026 document from HM Treasury

Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may be subject to change in the future. The value of investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invested.

Budgets have a habit of turning into a national guessing game. In the weeks beforehand, almost every tax, allowance and government spending programme seems to find its way into the rumour mill.

This one arrives against a particularly complicated backdrop. Chancellor John Healey will deliver his first Budget on 28 October, alongside a new economic and fiscal forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility. He has promised fiscal discipline, while the Government is also facing pressure from higher borrowing costs, energy prices and demands for additional spending (see the Government’s Budget announcement here).

Rather than trying to predict the contents of the red box, here are ten things worth keeping an eye on when the Chancellor stands up at the despatch box.

1. Income Tax: Watch the Thresholds, Not Just the Rates

The Government has continued to rule out increases to the main rates of Income Tax, National Insurance and VAT. But the rate itself is only part of the story.

The Personal Allowance is currently £12,570 and the higher-rate threshold £50,270, with legislation already in place to keep those thresholds frozen until April 2031. As wages rise, more income can therefore become taxable even if the headline tax rates do not change, something often referred to as fiscal drag.

So one box on our Budget Bingo card is simple: does the Chancellor leave those thresholds untouched?

2. Capital Gains Tax

Capital Gains Tax has already generated plenty of speculation. Reports had suggested the Government could consider bringing CGT rates closer to Income Tax rates, but Healey has now ruled out full equalisation.

That does not necessarily mean CGT is off the table altogether. A more modest change could still be considered, and the Treasury is also reportedly looking at possible reliefs designed to encourage people to reinvest gains into UK businesses (Reuters).

For investors and business owners, this will be one of the areas worth listening to particularly closely.

3. Inheritance Tax and Pensions

There is already a major change approaching in this area. From 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and pension death benefits will be included within an estate for Inheritance Tax purposes.

That change has now been legislated for, so the important question is whether the Budget brings any further adjustments to the rules around pensions, estates or Inheritance Tax planning as implementation gets closer.

Even if nothing new is announced, the approaching 2027 deadline means this is an area many families may need to revisit.

4. ISAs

Another change already in the pipeline concerns Cash ISAs. From April 2027, the annual Cash ISA subscription limit for people under 65 is due to fall to £12,000, while the overall ISA allowance remains £20,000. Those aged 65 and over will retain a £20,000 Cash ISA limit.

With the Government keen to encourage more people to invest rather than hold long-term savings entirely in cash, it will be interesting to see whether the Budget confirms the direction of travel or adds anything further to the ISA landscape.

5. Property Taxes

Property is another area that has attracted plenty of attention. A new annual charge on homes worth more than £2 million is already due to come into effect from April 2028.

There had been speculation that the £2 million threshold could be reduced to £1.5 million, but this is reported to be ruled out. The Budget could nevertheless provide further details on how the levy will operate, valuations and whether property taxation forms part of any wider reforms.

For homeowners, the detail may prove just as important as the headline.

6. Energy Bills

This is likely to be one of the most immediately noticeable areas for households.

The Government removed VAT from domestic electricity bills from 1 October, a move it estimates will reduce the annual Ofgem price cap by around £45. But the measure has so far been funded on a temporary basis, while energy costs remain under pressure.

There is therefore considerable interest in whether the Budget provides more targeted support, extends existing help or sets out a longer-term plan for household energy costs. Reports have suggested further support for lower-income households is among the options being considered.

7. Fuel Duty and the Cost of Driving

It may not grab the same headlines as Income Tax or pensions, but fuel duty affects millions of households and businesses directly.

The temporary fuel-duty reduction currently in place is scheduled to end in January, meaning the Chancellor must decide whether to allow it to expire or extend the support. With fuel prices and wider energy costs under pressure, this is another relatively small Budget decision that could have a noticeable impact on everyday spending.

One for anyone who watches the numbers on the petrol pump almost as closely as the Chancellor watches the OBR.

8. Businesses, Business Rates and Sector Taxes

Businesses will also be looking for clues about the Government’s approach to growth. Burnham’s administration has already signalled changes to business rates and greater powers for local and regional authorities, while speculation has also included the possibility of further taxes on particular sectors, including banks.

For business owners, the important details may not be a single headline tax change. Changes to rates, investment incentives, local taxation or sector-specific measures could all affect the cost of running and investing in a business.

9. Where the Government Chooses to Spend

Budgets are not only about tax.

Higher defence spending, public services, welfare, social care and cost-of-living support are all competing for limited room within the public finances. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned that the Chancellor faces around £35 billion of spending pressures in the years ahead if existing public service ambitions are to be delivered.

Where Healey chooses to spend, cut or delay spending could therefore be every bit as significant as the individual tax announcements.

10. The Numbers Behind the Budget

Finally, perhaps the most important part of the day may be the bit that receives less attention than the Chancellor’s headline announcements.

The Office for Budget Responsibility will publish a new economic and fiscal forecast alongside the Budget, covering areas including economic growth, inflation, borrowing and government debt.

Those forecasts help determine how much room the Government believes it has to spend or cut taxes. They can also influence financial markets because investors will be looking closely at whether the Government’s plans for borrowing and spending appear credible.

The IFS argues that the debate about the Chancellor’s fiscal “headroom” can sometimes obscure the bigger question: whether the Government has a credible long-term plan for spending and borrowing (IFS).

Eyes Down

There will inevitably be more rumours between now and 28 October, and some of the things attracting the biggest headlines today may never make it into the final speech.

That is why it is worth separating what has already been announced, what is genuinely under consideration and what is simply speculation.

For households, investors and business owners, the important question after the Budget will not just be which boxes we managed to tick on our Budget Bingo card. It will be what the collection of changes means when viewed together, and whether anything needs to change in your own financial plans.

In the weeks before a Budget, something strange happens to personal finance. Rumours become headlines, possibilities start being discussed as though they are policies, and perfectly sensible people begin wondering whether they need to move investments, take money out of a pension, make gifts or change plans they had been perfectly comfortable with a few weeks earlier.

With the next Budget now confirmed for 28 October, the speculation is already building. From pensions and Capital Gains Tax to property and inheritance, almost every part of our finances appears capable of becoming a potential Budget story before the Chancellor even reaches the despatch box. GOV.UK

Sometimes those rumours eventually turn into policy. Often they do not. The danger is making a permanent financial decision in response to something that was never permanent in the first place.

Why uncertainty makes us want to act

Doing nothing can feel surprisingly uncomfortable when we think something might be about to change. If there is a suggestion that a tax allowance could disappear next week, acting today can feel safer than waiting to discover whether the rumour was true.

There is a perfectly understandable logic behind that. Nobody wants to look back after the Budget and think they missed an opportunity simply because they waited a few days.

The problem is that acting quickly can create consequences of its own. Money withdrawn from one part of a financial plan may lose tax advantages. An investment sold because of a possible tax change may create a tax liability today. A gift made earlier than planned may be difficult to undo. Decisions that made perfect sense under the policy people were expecting can look very different once the actual Budget is published.

The important distinction is between responding to a confirmed change and trying to outrun a rumour.

We have seen this before

Pensions provide a particularly useful example.

Ahead of recent Budgets, speculation repeatedly suggested that the amount people could take tax-free from their pensions might be reduced. According to AJ Bell’s analysis of FCA data, the run-up to the previous two Budgets contributed to around £14 billion of excess pension withdrawals in 2025 compared with pre-election averages. Yet the tax-free cash rules were not subsequently cut.

That left some people having taken money out of pensions earlier than they otherwise might have done. Once withdrawn, that money may sit in a bank account, become subject to different tax treatment or simply no longer benefit from the same pension environment. AJ Bell has specifically warned that taking pension tax-free cash is generally an irreversible decision and should not be driven purely by Budget speculation. Its guidance on taking pension tax-free cash explains some of the considerations here.

The lesson is not that people should never act before a Budget. Sometimes there may be a genuine reason to do so. It is that fear of what might happen is not, by itself, a financial plan.

Today’s certainty can become tomorrow’s old rumour

Another difficulty with Budget speculation is how quickly it changes.

Capital Gains Tax has already provided an example this year. There has been considerable discussion about whether rates could move closer to Income Tax rates. Yet this week reports indicated that Chancellor John Healey had ruled out full equalisation, even while leaving open the possibility of other changes. Reuters reported the latest position on Capital Gains Tax here.

Someone who had fundamentally changed their investment plans several weeks ago on the assumption that a particular CGT change was inevitable would therefore already be responding to an outdated version of the story.

That is the problem with trying to plan around leaks, briefings and speculation. You are not just trying to predict government policy. You are trying to predict which of dozens of possibilities will survive the political process and appear in the final Budget.

Ask what would actually change for you

When Budget speculation begins to feel urgent, it can help to bring the conversation back to your own circumstances.

If a rumoured change happened, would it actually affect you? Would it change something you were already planning to do, or is it creating a completely new decision? Is the potential benefit of acting now meaningful enough to justify the disadvantages if the rumour proves wrong?

Those are often much more useful questions than simply asking, “What should I do before the Budget?”

Consider somebody who had already planned to take pension income this year to fund their retirement. A Budget announcement might influence the timing of a decision they were going to make anyway.

That is very different from somebody withdrawing a large sum they do not need simply because they have read that tax-free cash might change.

Likewise, somebody already planning a gift to their children may reasonably want to understand whether forthcoming tax changes affect the timing. That is different from giving money away purely because of speculation around Inheritance Tax.

The financial decision should still make sense even when the Budget headline is removed.

The Budget is one day. Your plan is much longer.

It is easy to forget this during the build-up.

A Budget can undoubtedly change tax rules, allowances and incentives. Some announcements will require people to reconsider parts of their finances. Others may create genuine opportunities.

But most financial plans are built around objectives stretching years or decades into the future. Retirement, helping children, buying property, building investments or passing wealth to the next generation are rarely decisions that should be completely rewritten because of a fortnight of political speculation.

That longer perspective can be particularly useful when the headlines become noisy.

The question is not whether the Budget matters. Of course it does.

The question is whether every Budget rumour deserves a reaction.

Wait for the Budget you actually get

On 28 October, we will finally know which of the countless rumours became policy, which disappeared and which subjects were never mentioned at all.

There will then be another important stage: understanding the detail. Budget announcements often come with implementation dates, transitional arrangements and technical rules that are difficult to capture in the first headline or television interview.

That is when it makes sense to look again at your plans and ask whether anything genuinely needs to change.

There is a big difference between being prepared for a Budget and trying to predict one.

Being prepared means understanding your finances, knowing where potential changes could affect you and being ready to respond once the detail is clear.

Trying to predict it means making important decisions today based on tomorrow’s newspaper headline.

Sometimes the most sensible thing you can do before a Budget is simply wait until there is something real to respond to.

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There is a particular kind of spending that has become part of everyday culture over the last few years.

The coffee on the way to work. A nicer lunch than you really needed. A new book, a bunch of flowers, a takeaway on Friday night or something small ordered online after a difficult week.

Individually, none of these purchases is especially significant. Collectively, they have become part of what is sometimes called the “little treat economy”, where relatively modest indulgences provide a small moment of enjoyment when bigger purchases feel increasingly difficult to justify.

And there may be more behind it than simply poor budgeting.

Capgemini’s latest global consumer research found that seven in ten consumers treat themselves to small indulgences as a way of coping with financial pressures. At the same time, consumers are becoming much more deliberate about where they spend their money. Capgemini

So perhaps the interesting question isn’t why we keep buying little treats.

It is what those purchases are doing for us.

When the bigger things feel further away

For previous generations, financial progress was often associated with fairly obvious milestones: buying a home, moving to a larger one, starting a family, upgrading the car or taking a big annual holiday.

Many of those goals remain important, but they can also feel increasingly expensive or distant. When the bigger reward is years away, spending a relatively small amount on something enjoyable today can feel much easier to justify.

There is a behavioural logic to this. Human beings tend to value rewards that are immediate and tangible. Saving £8 towards something years away does not provide quite the same emotional response as meeting a friend for coffee this afternoon.

That doesn’t necessarily make the coffee a bad financial decision.

In fact, one of the more interesting consumer trends emerging in 2026 is a move away from simply asking whether something is cheap or expensive and towards asking whether it feels worth it.

TikTok’s 2026 trend report calls this “emotional ROI”, describing shoppers as increasingly judging purchases by the enjoyment, usefulness or meaning they receive in return. The same report identifies a growing #richinlife trend, where people define richness less by conspicuous consumption and more by the experiences and choices that make life feel fulfilling. TikTok For Business

That feels like a much more interesting financial question than whether somebody should stop buying coffee.

The problem with treating enjoyment as the enemy

Personal finance advice can sometimes make everyday spending sound like a character flaw.

Cancel the subscriptions. Stop eating out. Make coffee at home. Never buy lunch. Cut out everything unnecessary and put the difference into savings.

There is obviously nothing wrong with looking carefully at spending, particularly when money is tight. But taken too far, this creates a slightly strange idea of financial success in which the objective is simply to spend as little as possible.

Most people do not want money purely for the satisfaction of seeing a larger number on a statement. They want what money makes possible.

Interestingly, recent UK consumer research suggests that experiences remain high on that list. KPMG found that, after holidays, days out were one of the biggest priorities for summer spending, followed by eating out and entertaining friends and family at home. KPMG

Those are not necessarily examples of financial indiscipline. They are examples of people spending money on their lives.

The £5 purchase probably isn’t the real problem

There is another reason to be wary of obsessing over every small indulgence.

It can distract from the decisions that actually have the greatest effect on our finances.

How much are we spending on housing? Are we carrying expensive debt? Are we saving regularly? Are there subscriptions or insurance policies we genuinely no longer use? Are we making thoughtful decisions about the large purchases that cost hundreds or thousands of pounds?

Those questions are likely to matter considerably more over the long term than whether somebody bought lunch twice this week.

That doesn’t mean small spending is irrelevant. Hundreds of unnoticed purchases can clearly add up. But there is an important difference between unconscious spending and deliberate enjoyment.

If you spend £30 every month on something you barely notice, perhaps it deserves questioning.

If you spend £30 doing something you genuinely value with somebody you care about, that may be doing exactly what money is supposed to do.

From “little treats” to intentional spending

There are signs that consumer culture itself may be moving in this direction.

After years of haul videos, viral products and algorithm-driven shopping, some social media trends are beginning to celebrate the opposite. “Underconsumption” content has encouraged people to use things for longer, repair what they own and resist buying every new product that appears in their feed. More recently, the conversation has begun shifting again towards purchases that people consider genuinely worth the money. British Vogue

The common thread is intention.

Rather than asking, “Can I afford to buy this?”, the better question might sometimes be, “Do I actually value this?”

That small change can make spending decisions much clearer.

You may discover there are things you happily spend money on because they genuinely improve your life, alongside other habits that have simply become automatic.

A financial plan should leave room for living

This is perhaps where the idea connects most naturally with financial planning.

A good plan should not simply tell somebody how much they need to save for a future that may be decades away. It should also help them understand what they can afford to enjoy now.

That balance will look different for everyone. One person may care deeply about travelling. Another might prioritise good food, hobbies, family days out or going to live music. Somebody else may happily spend very little on all of those things because what they value most is the security of knowing they have money put aside.

None is inherently more financially responsible than the others.

The important thing is that the choice is conscious.

Perhaps, then, the lesson of the little treat economy is not that we should stop treating ourselves. Nor is it that every small indulgence can be dismissed because “life is for living”.

It is that money works best when we understand what we want it to do.

Saving for tomorrow matters. So does protecting ourselves against the unexpected.

But a financial life in which every pleasure is postponed indefinitely probably isn’t much of a financial plan either.

When we buy most things, price is an obvious place to start.

If two products appear to do the same job, choosing the cheaper one seems perfectly sensible.

But pensions are slightly different.

The Government and Financial Conduct Authority are currently developing a new Value for Money framework for workplace pensions. One of the ideas behind it is surprisingly simple: judging a pension purely by what it costs doesn’t necessarily tell you whether it is delivering good value.

The proposals are intended to encourage greater consideration of the outcomes savers actually receive, including investment performance and the quality of services provided, rather than focusing predominantly on charges. GOV.UK

And that raises a much broader question.

What does good value actually mean when it comes to your money?

Cost Matters, But It Isn’t the Whole Story

Charges matter because every pound taken in fees is a pound that isn’t invested for your future.

Over many years, seemingly small differences in costs can add up.

But looking at cost in isolation can be misleading.

Imagine two pensions. One costs slightly less than the other, but the more expensive pension offers a different investment strategy, better functionality or services that are more appropriate for the person using it.

Simply looking at the headline charge wouldn’t tell you which represented better value.

The same principle applies much more widely across financial planning.

The cheapest option and the best-value option are not necessarily the same thing.

What Are You Actually Paying For?

This is where the conversation becomes more interesting.

With any financial product or service, it’s worth looking beyond the headline percentage and asking what you are actually receiving in return.

With a pension, that might include the investment options available, how those investments have performed, the quality of administration, the flexibility available when you eventually want to access your money and whether the pension continues to suit your circumstances.

And when financial advice is involved, value becomes broader still.

An adviser isn’t simply there to select an investment.

They might help someone understand whether they’re saving enough, make use of appropriate tax allowances, structure their retirement income, avoid unnecessary tax, plan for their family or simply provide reassurance when markets become uncomfortable.

Some of those things are relatively easy to measure.

Others aren’t.

The Value of Avoiding the Wrong Decision

There’s another part of financial value that rarely appears neatly on a statement.

It’s the decisions you don’t make.

Selling investments during a market fall. Taking too much income from a pension too early. Holding money in an unsuitable place for years. Missing an allowance. Making a decision based on a frightening headline rather than your long-term plan.

Good financial planning isn’t only about trying to make your money grow.

Sometimes its value comes from helping you avoid decisions that could take you further away from what you’re trying to achieve.

Value Is Personal

Perhaps the most important point is that value will not look identical for everyone.

Someone in their thirties building a pension may care predominantly about long-term growth, appropriate investment choices and costs. Investments usually fluctuate in value. Over shorter periods, this means the value of investments can go up and down. Historically, investors who remain invested for longer periods have been more likely to achieve positive returns, although this is not guaranteed.

Someone approaching retirement may place much greater value on understanding how much they can afford to spend and how their different pensions, savings and investments can work together.

Someone later in retirement might be thinking about family, inheritance and how their wealth should eventually be passed on.

The numbers matter in every case.

But so does what those numbers are there to achieve.

Looking Beyond the Price Tag

The Government’s proposed Value for Money framework is specifically concerned with workplace pensions, but the principle behind it is a useful one for all of us.

Price matters.

Performance matters.

Service matters.

And, ultimately, outcomes matter.

When you’re making decisions that could affect your finances for decades, the better question isn’t always:

“What’s the cheapest option?”

It might be:

“What am I getting for what I’m paying, and is it helping me achieve what I actually want?”

That is a much more useful definition of value.

The Government’s current consultation on the Value for Money framework can be found here: Value for Money Framework consultation on GOV.UK

For a long time, keeping large amounts of money in cash came with an obvious drawback: interest rates were extremely low.

That has changed. Some fixed savings accounts are currently offering rates above 5%, while Moneyfacts reports that fixed savings rates have strengthened again. At its latest meeting on 17 September, the Bank of England held Bank Rate at 3.75%, although three members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted to increase it to 4%.

For savers who remember earning next to nothing on cash, that can make today’s rates look particularly attractive. And it raises a perfectly reasonable question: if I can earn a decent return without taking investment risk, why would I invest at all?

The answer comes down to what the money is actually for.

Cash Has an Important Job

Cash should form part of most financial plans because money that may be needed at short notice generally needs to be accessible and relatively predictable. That could include an emergency fund, money set aside for a house move, a holiday or other known expenses over the next few years.

If you are planning to replace the car next summer, for example, exposing that money to short-term market movements may not make much sense. There is real value in knowing that £20,000 will still be there when you need it. But that does not necessarily mean cash is the best home for money you may not need for another 10, 20 or 30 years, where a longer time horizon can change what is appropriate.

A Good Interest Rate Isn’t the Same as Long-Term Growth

Today’s savings rates look attractive partly because of what came before them. For much of the period following the financial crisis, interest rates were exceptionally low, so the current environment feels very different. But cash rates move over time, often in response to changes in the Bank of England’s Bank Rate and wider economic conditions.

At its September meeting, the Bank of England held Bank Rate at 3.75%, although three of the nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted for an increase to 4%. The Bank also highlighted increased risks to the inflation outlook, which is a useful reminder that the direction of interest rates is never guaranteed.

An attractive savings rate today therefore tells you relatively little about what cash might earn over the next decade. Investment decisions, by contrast, are generally made with a much longer time horizon in mind, so it is important not to let a particularly attractive short-term savings rate drive a decision about money intended for many years into the future. Investments are designed to help grow your money for the future over the longer term. You should keep in mind that both are exposed to market movements, meaning values can go down as well as up, and you may not receive back the full amount invested or saved into a pension.

Inflation Still Matters

There is another number worth considering alongside the interest rate on your savings account: inflation. UK inflation currently stands at 3.1%, according to the Bank of England. If your savings are earning 4% while prices are rising by roughly 3%, the purchasing power of your money is not actually increasing by the full 4%.

That does not make cash a bad option, but it does mean the headline interest rate does not tell the whole story. Over longer periods, the objective of investing is generally not simply to preserve the number sitting in an account, but to give money the opportunity to grow faster than inflation. That potential for higher long-term growth comes with risk, of course, and the value of investments can fall as well as rise, particularly over shorter periods.

The Question Shouldn’t Be Cash or Investments

This is where financial planning becomes more useful than simply comparing rates. The question is rarely just whether you should hold cash or invest. A more useful question is how much of your money needs to remain in cash, and how much could be working towards longer-term goals.

The answer will depend on your circumstances. Someone approaching retirement may understandably want a larger cash reserve than somebody in their thirties with decades before they expect to access their pension. Likewise, someone planning to buy a house next year will have very different priorities from someone investing for grandchildren who are still at primary school. The right balance depends on what the money is for, when it may be needed and how comfortable you are with investment risk.

Don’t Let Today’s Rate Make a 20-Year Decision

Periods of higher savings rates can create an interesting temptation. Cash feels safe, the return is visible and, compared with markets that move every day and occasionally produce uncomfortable headlines, it can seem entirely rational to leave long-term money sitting in cash while waiting for a “better time” to invest.

The difficulty is that nobody reliably knows when that better time will arrive. A decision made because of today’s savings rate can end up shaping what happens to your money for many years, which is why separating money by purpose and timescale can be so useful. Cash may be more appropriate for money you are likely to need in the near term, while investments can be better suited to money that has time to ride through the inevitable ups and downs of markets.

Different Money, Different Jobs

Cash and investments are not really competitors because they serve different purposes. Cash can provide certainty, accessibility and peace of mind, while investments offer the potential for longer-term growth. For many people, a sensible financial plan will therefore include a combination of both, with each playing a different role depending on when the money may be needed and what it is intended to achieve.

So rather than asking whether today’s attractive savings rates mean investing no longer makes sense, the more useful question might be:

What job do I need this particular pot of money to do?

Once you know that, deciding where it should sit becomes much easier.

Approver Quilter Financial Services Limited September 2026

One of the nice things about the summer holidays is that I occasionally get to revisit the client-facing side of the business.

These days, as Non-Advising Principal, most of my time is spent working on the business rather than meeting with clients. However, with colleagues taking some well-earned holidays, I had the opportunity to sit in on a few client meetings this week.

Three in one day, in fact.

It almost felt like the old days.

Something struck me as I drove home afterwards.

All three clients had investments elsewhere alongside the work we do for them. That’s becoming increasingly common. Let’s call the platforms Harry Lippup and Adrian Jerome Bellingham. I suspect you know who I mean! And before anyone thinks I’m criticising them, I’m not. They’re excellent businesses and very good at what they’re designed to do. They give people easy access to investments, clear valuations and plenty of information.

But they also reminded me of something important.

Every so often someone will ask, “What does a financial adviser offer that I can’t do myself?”

It’s a fair question.

If all you need is somewhere to buy investments, many platforms do an excellent job.

But financial planning has never really been about simply finding a home for your money.

It’s about asking the right questions.

I remember a conversation from several years ago with someone who proudly told me he had built up around £60,000 in an ISA. He then questioned the value of financial advice.

I asked whether he had ever contributed to a pension.

The answer was no.

He was 60 years old.

Now, that wasn’t advice, and it certainly wasn’t a recommendation. No adviser could make a recommendation without first understanding a client’s circumstances, objectives and attitude to risk.

But it illustrated an important point.

He wasn’t asking the right question.

He was focused on the performance of his investments.

A financial planner would first consider whether the money was held in the most appropriate place for his circumstances and objectives.

Those are two very different conversations.

That’s often the difference between having access to investments and working with a professional who can challenge your thinking and help you explore the bigger picture. Sometimes the greatest opportunity isn’t improving investment performance. It’s taking a step back and looking at the wider financial picture.

The same principle applies to retirement planning.

A client may believe they need £2,000 a month to live comfortably in retirement.

Through cashflow modelling and careful planning, an adviser may identify that their circumstances could support a higher level of expenditure while remaining aligned with their long-term objectives.

That can lead to a very different conversation.

Rather than focusing solely on whether retirement is affordable, the discussion can become about how someone wants to spend their retirement, whether that’s travelling more, helping family members or making the most of the wealth they’ve accumulated over time.

One of the things I’ve observed throughout my career is that people rarely seek professional financial planning because they want access to another investment platform.

More often, they’re looking for guidance, insight and reassurance.

Reassurance that they’re making informed decisions.

Confidence that they’ve considered the opportunities available to them.

And sometimes reassurance that they may be able to enjoy life more than they originally thought.

Investment performance will always matter.

But in my experience, much of the value of financial planning comes long before investments are discussed.

It comes from asking better questions.

Approver Quilter Financial Services Ltd. 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.