About this blog

by Andrew Morris on 18 January 2010  |  0 comments
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Welcome to our brand new Wednesday Wealth Dilemma blog. On this blog, lovemoney.com's CFO Andrew Morris discusses his wealth dilemmas and asks you to help him figure out some answers.

Who am I?  

I'm the bean-counting Chief Financial Officer here at lovemoney.com. I qualified way back in the early 1980s, so long ago that the Internet was known as the Arpanet, Charlie & Di were tying the knot, along with Ken & Deirdre, and the Bank of England base rate was 15%. You get the picture.... I've been around the block a couple of times. 

I spent most of the 1980s working in Bermuda. I say working, but let's be honest, the focus was largely on bars, beaches and Bacardi. And travel. And lots more that definitely didn't involve financial planning, other than consciously reckless profligacy (an economic policy that seems to have been adopted around the world more recently). They say if you can remember the '60s you weren't there. Well, I vaguely recall leaving Heathrow in 1982 but the rest of the decade is a bit of a blur.  

Where am I now? 

Fast forward almost 30 years and I'm in my early 50s and married to Gill, who owns a successful kitchen design business in leafy Surrey. Not having created and nurtured any children has of course made a significant difference to our finances.   

Financial priorities?  

• We're looking to pay off remaining mortgages on our UK home and a so-called investment property in France.
• I'm also wrestling with the constantly competing challenge of funding a pension or growing savings outside the pension straitjacket, as I'm sure a lot of you are. It's not easy, is it?
• Our target is to be in a position to retire early enough to enjoy our hard-earned wealth.... but not too early to have to worry about not having enough to fund our dribbling dotage. Phew, just writing that down spells out what a conundrum this is. I'm all for jumping on a flight to Zurich when the clock strikes 75ish, but I'm not sure Gill wants to be quite that clinical.  

So where do you come in? 

Here's the fun part. Large numbers of lovemoney's registered users are potentially in a similar position to us.  Baby-boomers, empty-nesters....however you want us to be pigeon-holed.  OINKS (own incomes, no kids)? Let's get down and dirty together to grow our wealth before it's too late! 

On this blog, I'll write in future posts about some of my current financial strategy and dilemmas, including: 

• Pay down debt or grow a savings pot?
• Pensions v ISAs v other savings and investment vehicles?
• SIPPs v stakeholders?
• Cash in an old endowment, or hold on?
• Funds v index trackers v individual shares?
• Keep or sell an investment property?
• Wills and tax planning considerations
• Cheap flights to Zurich...buy a ticket now or wait?

Let me know what you think about these issues, and let's collectively scratch our heads and speed our way towards retirement. And what are you doing to grow your own wealth in the aftermath of the most calamitous financial meltdown for generations? Please let me know using the comments box below. 

I hope what I scribble down in the coming months may strike a chord and stimulate you to think about how you are growing your own wealth in these challenging times. And encourage you to participate in our brave new world of social finance here at lovemoney.com. Together, maybe we can crack this wealth creation malarkey.

"Being rich is having money; being wealthy is having time" - Margaret Bonnano

The small print 

• anything I write relating to Growing your Wealth is my personal opinion, and not that of lovemoney.com
• I am neither qualified nor authorized to give personal financial advice
• As CFO of lovemoney.com, I have quite a busy day job that demands most of my focus. For expert help, check out our expert help page!