A quote from the Dickens novel David Copperfield shows that the need for careful budgeting is nothing new. The title character quips:
“Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.”
While the numbers are many multiples of those Copperfield cited, the same puzzle exercises the mind of the Chancellor of the Exchequer each year at Budget time. This year, the current incumbent, Rishi Sunak, faces a particularly challenging prospect.
COVID-19 has stretched UK finances in an unprecedented manner. While some groups of the population will argue they have not had the support they needed, schemes such as rate relief and furlough have been expensive and have taken their toll. Sunak’s task now is to try and balance the books ahead of his announcement tomorrow.
That may have implications for investors. As ever, there have been rumours about the measures that could be adopted to claw back some of the money that has been spent in the past year. Areas such as the tax-free element of pension schemes, or beneficial treatment of some savings plans could be targets.
Each year, the Budget announcement leads to many people needing to review their financial planning. This time around, there may be even more reason to do so. If you feel you could benefit from a review of your financial planning in the Chester area, we at Hartey Wealth Management would be delighted to help.
