Family Income Benefit

What is it?

Family Income Benefit pays a regular monthly tax-free income if you die. Normal life insurance will pay out a lump sum to your estate or Trustees if you were to die during the policy term. Family Income Benefit will pay out a regular monthly sum of money for a set period of time. As this is a different way to pay out, Family Income Benefit can often work out as a cheaper option to usual Life Insurance which you often take out to cover the amount owing on your mortgage.

Why would I need Family Income Benefit?

Most people who require and see the benefit of this type of insurance are those with children. If a parent were to die this can cause potential hardship to a family, especially if it is the main wage earner who has passed away. Even if the deceased were the homemaker, there is a potential that childcare is going to be required while the other parent goes to work. Your children may have hobbies and clubs that they attend. If the household income has reduced due to a death, then these activities may have to stop as they are now not affordable.

By having a Family Income Benefit policy, a monthly sum would be payable to assist with the household budget and maintain the children’s lifestyle as much as possible.

Another reason why someone may want to take out this type of cover is if they have appointed Guardians for their children. Leaving someone the job of raising and caring for your children is a massive responsibility and will come at a price. Often a Family Income Benefit policy can be set up in Trust for the benefit of the children to help their new family to look after them at what will be an already distressing time.

How does it work?

You would need to decide on how long you would want your Family Income Benefit policy to last. Most people who have this type of cover will have the policy last until the expected age that their youngest child is financially independent or until their mortgage is paid off. Things to consider when working out how much benefit is going to be needed are, what are the usual monthly costs of the children, are there possible school fees to pay now or in the future, fees for clubs and hobbies etc. All of these things mount up, so it is useful to sit down and go through your budget to come up with a realistic figure.

Of course, the figure that you come up with may be correct at today’s prices but what about rising costs? The good news is that it is possible to index link the benefit to the Retail Price Index so that the benefit payable will be in line with inflation.

Family Income Benefit is a relatively inexpensive alternative to normal life cover and is only available through a protection specialist such as Southern Mortgages. If you would like to know more or get a quote, then please call our office on 01702 746811 or book an appointment.

https://calendly.com/sue-mortgage/one-to-one

Photocredit: Canva February 2022 

Getting your business featured on Google Maps is fundamental in getting your business found.

It’s a familiar feature of internet searches and a quick and easy resource.

We’ve all used Google Maps to find a hairdresser or restaurant. It’s a great resource that millions of users access every day. The benefits of being included in these search results are HUGE.  This means, finding out how to do this is really important.

The answer is Google My Business

By creating a Google My Business profile, your business will appear whenever a user searches for a business like yours on Google Maps. Plus your business profile will also appear on the main Google Search Page.

A Google My Business profile is easy to create and keep updated, and he only thing you will need is an address for your business and a phone line.

Just go to https://www.google.com/business/ and click manage now

You will need to add your business name, street address, phone number and website. You will then be given two options to verify your business; by post or by phone call.

A phone call is the quickest way to verify, and once you have, your profile will be live on Google.

There are lots of different features you can use to your advantage on Google My Business. You can list your services, add photos and even include products. You can also add weekly posts to highlight specific product or services.

Once your profile has been live for a month you will also be able to see how many visitors are landing on your profile and how many have called you, asked for directions or visited your website.

It’s a free and invaluable tool which will increase your online presence. There really is no hitch, it’s that easy!

Check out our blog on ‘must-have’ digital marketing tools to discover other ways to improve your marketing. https://brightred.digital/news/must-have-digital-marketing-tools/

In November I spoke about ways in which you could recharge your batteries as a busy business owner. With the the busy Christmas Season come and gone, perhaps now is the time to hear a few more…

Switch off devices 

Evidence is building up about the disruptive effects of devices, like when you’re sleeping, never mind the amount of time they take up as you scroll endlessly through news, social feeds and the rest. Switch them off and put them in a drawer during mealtimes and keep them out of your bedrooms. You don’t need to be on call 24 hours and it’s OK to set clear lines about when you are available. 

Look after your friends 

Allow work to take over and the days can zoom by. Your friends don’t want to disturb you because you’re busy. But they might need you just like you need them. So don’t wait for an emergency to decide to spend time with friends. Spend good times regularly with them too because it’s good for your head and fun. 

Kindness 

Which brings us to kindness, often underrated or given short shrift. It’s however an intrinsic part of caring for customers, friends and family. Offer kindness and it will carry you for miles and reward you well. 

 Good mental health 

We talked about looking after your gut so let’s look after your brain too. Give it a breather and stop stuffing jobs and to-do lists into it for at least a few minutes a day. There’s plenty out there to help you work out how to pause and briefly switch off the world. 

Grow a garden 

You can grow your own vegetables although don’t expect to become self-sufficient unless you’ve got a small field. Even a handful of veg from a window box is a joy, along with a bunch of flowers you’ve grown. What’s to stop you having tomato plants in your work kitchen? Food, beauty, exercise and meditation all rolled into one activity.

We as Virtual Assistants are as guilty as the rest about not holding on to good habits. So we’ll be making a commitment to our community of Pink Spaghetti Virtual Assistants and our clients to look after ourselves a bit better from now on too. 

If you’d like to find out more about I can help, I'm ready to answer all your questions. Why not contact me - abbie@pink-spaghetti.co.uk, or visit our website to discuss how my experienced virtual PA service can support your business and give you back more of your precious time.  Click here to contact us now.

Photo: Canva January 2022

As we head into a new year, often we may feel refreshed and invigorated to stick to goals we have set ourselves! If one of your resolutions is to feel more stylish, confident, or even work on making new connections, get a new job, or build your business – one way to start can be understanding your wardrobe and style in a better way.

Where to start with a new personal style

The first step to discovering your new style, is to understand what you want to portray through your fashion. A few questions I always ask my styling clients are:

• What are the first few words you’d like people to think of when they see you?

• Who are your style icons or inspirations?

• Do you feel a certain way in particular colours?

When you know these, it can help you start developing a sort of style mood board, which is what I create with my personal styling clients on Pinterest, to help you see a selection of options in one space that will help you with future purchases.

Remove items from your wardrobe that don’t fit within your style

When you know the type of style you want to portray through your clothes, that you feel confident in and showcases the personality you’d like to convey, you can then start to edit your current wardrobe.

Having a wardrobe detox helps with several things when it comes to developing your personal style:

• It will save you time each day – no more wondering what will go with what!

• Your wardrobe will work smoothly together as full outfits that you can mix and match easily.

• You’ll no longer have any clothes that you don’t feel comfortable in – removing items that don’t fit you is one of the most important parts of this process, as well as the ones you don’t love or feel confident in when you put them on.

Once you have a wardrobe of items you already own, that work within your style you can move onto the next step – finding new items that work with your current ones!

How to find clothes that work with your personal style

Now you have a wardrobe that you can maximise outfits from, that makes you feel your best, and you have a curated mood board for your style inspiration, you can begin your shopping journey!

As a personal shopper myself, I am sure you wouldn’t be surprised to hear that I think making a shopping experience fun, enjoyable and functional is the most important part of your shopping experiences! You’ll want to make sure you do a few things before heading to the shops (whether online or in person).

• Note which items you want to purchase to create outfits from your current pieces in your wardrobe.

• What new items do you want to get to create new outfits?

• What is your budget for this particular shop, or perhaps your quarterly shop? Knowing your finances that you are happy to spend each season for particular items will make sure you know what you can invest in and what you need to save for.

• What colours do you want to add to your wardrobe, if any?

• Which accessories would be a great addition to your collection to help develop fuller more diverse outfits? Whether it’s a belt, a bag, shoes, jewellery, or hair pieces, accessories can transform a look and finish an outfit!

When you have a plan, and an understanding of the style and messages you want to convey through your styling choices, your shopping experiences should be more economical and more useful for you. When we reactively buy because of new year’s sales, a sudden need for something quickly, and without thought, it can cause us to buy items that we ultimately don’t wear. Fast fashion, trends, and garments that don’t last cause us to spend our valuable money on pieces that don’t suit our style for the long term. Taking time to consider what you want your style to showcase, why you want to create that style for yourself – perhaps for your work wardrobe, your confidence, journeying into a new age bracket, or merely to feel great – can truly make a huge difference to how you feel.

Clothes and fashion should work for you – not against you. I hope you will walk into the new year with more confidence and joy each day, and if you’d love help to do this using fashion as one of the tools to manage this, please get in touch.

PERSONAL STYLING TIPS: 7 PERFECT PARTY OUTFIT IDEAS

Parties – let’s face it, dressing up can be a big headache if you are unsure on what to wear. Whether you already have a fabulous wardrobe or not, the dressing up side of parties, particularly during the festive season, can become tricky.

In this article, I wanted to share 7 of my favourite party outfit ideas that are headache-free and some that may already be in your wardrobe!

Try Out a Suit

Something I think will always be “on trend” is wearing a suit! If you have a colourful, well proportioned suit, you can transform it for each and every occasion as you see fit.

When it comes to dressing for a party with your suit, over and above the office-look, here are a few ways to play with it:

1.       Add some sparkle – whether it’s with a sequined cami top under your blazer, or with a sparkly pair of earrings, add a little sparkle to make your suit more festive.

2.       Add colour – if your suit is in a more formal, classic colour such as black, brown, or navy, adding some colour will make it more party-appropriate. If you can, I’d recommend finding a colourful blazer to go with your suit trousers, but you can also find colourful luxurious trousers in a velvet or satin, which can be a great switch-up.

3.       Add party heels! Finally, the quickest way to change up your suit for a party is adding a pair of beautiful heels. Think stilettos that peek out from your trousers for a perfect look, or for more comfortable option a pair of sequined block heeled boots.

If you want to try out a blazer that is particularly fun, festive, and party ready, as well as feeling totally personality filled, then now is a great time to get one. Perhaps invest in a colourful suit, or one in a fabric like velvet – go all out, it is the season for fun!

A Classic Little Black Dress

A go-to on anyone’s essentials list for easy to throw on looks is the Little Black Dress. I shared some insights into how to style a little black dress for any body shape here, and if you want to have something simplistic and easy to put on that you’ll feel great in, then the LBD is a great option.

However, if you want to add a little fun and festivity to the look, you may want to play with your outer wear and your accessories.

Transforming your little black dress can be as simple as adding the right jewellery for your festive party look, to adding fabulously quirky disco boots, or even a cape! If you want to turn up feeling warm as well as festive and have that moment when you slide off your coat to show off your outfit, then a warm fluffy coat can be a good option.

Co-ord Sets for Christmas

Co-ords, much like the suit, are very on-trend and will be a really easy way to make your outfit work for you in a flash. Think a skirt and top combination in the same colours or patterns, but that can be worn separately, too. The reason I love co-ord outfits is that they are so easy to put together in a rush. However, they can sometimes feel a little more “trendy” depending on where you get them, so perhaps less appropriate for a sustainable wardrobe. My top tip for finding a co-ord that would work for your Christmas parties but also for future wears, is to make sure it is in a colour that is within your palette and fits your personal style.

They can also feel a little casual, so make sure you look closely at the fabric options, if you want your look to work for a more formal occasion. For example, this recycled polyester deep purple crop top and midi skirt co-ord can be a good option for parties and separately for future events.

Festive Jumper – but styled up!

For a less formal event, or one with a little fun, you can go for a fun festive jumper that’s elevated and can be reused for future. The one thing that can happen when you are getting fun Christmas jumpers is you only wear them once – which isn’t incredibly sustainable. However, if you find a festive yet sophisticated jumper or cardigan, then you can still have that fun, without wasting money or harming the environment.

A few festive tops that I found are:

·       Pearl embellished jumper – a great option for fun, quirky, yet sophisticated looks.

·       Sequinned blouse – now, this is very sequined and glittery, but it can work really well for a festive event, as well as a party throughout the year as it isn’t “Christmas” themed.

·       Black and silver v-neck jumper – this is more casual in terms of the look, but paired under your favourite blazer and with a satin skirt, you can dress this up very easily.

·       Short sleeved navy glitter polo neck – and if you’re indoors so don’t need too many layers, this short sleeved glitter polo neck in a lovely warm fabric, can work well.

Cocktail Dress

This style of dress is an elevated version of the Little Black Dress. Think different colours, fun elements such as ruffles, and will fall above the knee. When you go looking for a cocktail look, you can be a little more formal and consider that this outfit may only be worn for parties or dates, due to the length it may not be suited to black tie or formal events.

The great thing about cocktail dresses is they can come in a huge variety of colours, fabrics, and designs so finding one that suits your personal style is the most important part of this process. You may already have a cocktail dress in your wardrobe, so throwing it on with some jewellery, a clutch bag, and your heels will be one of the simplest but most effective looks.

For an elegant and easy look that is just below the knee and in a demure style, try this lilac cocktail dress with faux wrap top and pleated skirt – it has a gentle shimmer so can be easier to approach than a more festive option.

If sparkle isn’t something you gravitate towards, then this black almost grunge styled dress with ribbon detail and autumnal flower design is right up your “rock chick” cocktail look.

Sequined Dresses

For a sparkly, festive, glitter-fest of an outfit then you really can’t go wrong with a sequined dress. Becoming even more popular this year, I have seen plenty of beautiful sequined dresses that will work for any occasion. The great thing about sequins is they will sparkle and light up your day – however, they can sometimes look a little cheap, so if you are going full sequin and need to buy a new dress to treat yourself to this fun style then invest in a good quality dress.

Whether it’s a silver sequined mini dress with voluminous sleeves & a pencil skirt,  a colourful rainbow-like sequined dress with a higher neck, or an almost 20’s inspired sequin fringe midi dress, you will find a great selection of options.

Styling a sequin dress can be a little more tricky, so let the dress do all the talking and let your accessories complement it. For example, dark tights and a black pair of heels if you are wearing a shorter dress (and to keep your legs warm) or a pair of simple strappy heels – and you are ready to rock the dance floor!

Try Out a Jumpsuit

If a dress just isn’t your style, or you want to be able to throw on a full outfit that is ready to party all night in then you can’t go wrong with a jumpsuit! We are lucky enough to have a whole host of options for jumpsuits at our fingertips, so if you are opposed to the classic dress style, this is your year to try out the jumpsuit!

A few jumpsuits I have found online that would be great for any party, are:

·       For the smart/casual party – Try out this fun wide-legged gold-polka-dot jumpsuit. It’s fun, sparkly, and comfortable too! 

·       For the unique black-tie event – this incredible white (also available in yellow and black) cross-halter jumpsuit is beautiful. No need to add a necklace, as the neckline is doing all of the work. Add some bangles and rings and you’re ready to drink cocktails and eat canapes.

·       For the festive party – if you want to feel festive, but don’t want to wear a Christmas jumper, then I have found this velvet deep burgundy jumpsuit!

·       For the girl’s night out –for a fun, flirty option for any type of party with the girls or over brunch, this elegant one-shoulder cape-detailed jumpsuit in salmon is beautiful.

·       For the theatrical event – I can’t say how incredible this art-deco inspired bronze jumpsuit is (it is a big investment, however) and you will definitely make all the eyes in the room turn. It has long pleated sleeves that go all the way to the floor, so perfect for a theatrical event, particularly if your company is hosting a themed Christmas do this year – or just to feel fabulous.

 I hope this 6 Christmas party outfit ideas have inspired you to get all dressed up! If you are looking for the perfect gift for under the tree for that loved one or friend that deserves confidence in all that they wear, I’d love to help – I am offering Christmas vouchers this year that can cover a particular service, or go towards a service so they can treat themselves to wardrobe happiness in 2022.

Photocredit: Canva December 2021