Rachel is banking on your help

Rachel has been on tour for a while promoting her new CD (and if you don’t have it yet then get on to her website and buy a copy (www.rachelhair.com) but she’s back now and looking for your help.

“It’s the new financial year, spring has sprung, the new Cd is just about launched and it’s time to get back to my finances.

I’m wondering what advice the experts have on bank accounts to suit the self-employed?

When starting off I was always told i needed a business bank account, so I opened one up but I confess I have never actually used it, mainly because it’s at a different bank to my personal account.

Is it really bad to be working all my money just out of my personal account?

As a sole trader are there benefits in having a business account to filter money through before it all starts to go to pay my mortgage and other bills?

Maybe it’s just me being lazy but the thought of having two accounts and having to switch money between them at all time to ensure my mortgage, bills and grocery shopping is still paid for on time just stresses me out!

Also with regards to bank accounts overall, I have a personal bank account, a savings account and an ISA, all at the same bank. Is there any harm in that, or should I be shopping around for things like ISAs at different banks?

Is it good to have your accounts at different banks or is it just fine to always be with the same bank?”

Lots of questions there so let’s have your views before we ask our panel of experts to help us out.

Me and My Money – Dr Hilary Jones

Dr Hilary Jones has been the resident medical expert on Daybreak since before it was Daybreak. Early-morning rises haven’t stopped him taking a sensible approach to his money. In the first of a two-part Me and My Money special he talks about his attitude to cash. next time he’ll talk about his knowledge or his consumer rights, and whether he thinks Doctors are paid too much.

What’s been your most expensive buy?

Other than houses, my most expensive buy would be a special edition BMW 20 years ago. Beautiful car but it must have cost the best part of £7,000 just to drive it out of the showroom and it was subsequently stolen from the street and broken up by thieves to make more BMWs. It’s the last time I ever bought a new car.

Did you learn about money as a youngster?

I learnt that money was very tight and hard to come by. My first job was a paper round paying me a few pence per week but I never threw money around after that.

Do you invest in the stock market?

Yes, but I get someone who knows what they’re doing to do it for me. I don’t take any huge risks. With 5 kids dependent on you, you can’t afford to.

Do you take risks with your money?

No. Every pound I’ve ever earned I’ve had to earn myself, so I would find it stressful to gamble with it.

Would you borrow to set up in business?

Yes, provided the interest rate was reasonable. I do believe you have to speculate to accumulate, but even then somehow I’ve always managed to avoid borrowing.

Are you comfortable banking and buying on-line?

I am now. It took me a while to get used to navigating the system, but since I can’t bear queueing or shopping, this works well for me.

Have you made any real mistakes?

Nothing major. I have some regrets about not following my gut feelings and investing in companies in the past that I’ve thought were likely to do very well, but that’s because I have probably been too cautious.

Are you a spender or a saver?

50/50. I like to have a little put aside for a rainy day or in case the proverbial fecal matter hits the fan, but I enjoy spending a little too.

Do you enjoy dealing with your money?

No. It’s just not something I’ve ever really been into. I have to struggle with keeping abreast of all the new developments in the medical world as it is.

What are your priorities in the next ten years?

To pay off the mortgage, get the kids through University and with a roof over their heads and to enjoy the fruits of many years’ hard work saving lives.

What’s your best and worst buy?

Best buy has got to be every house I have bought so far, and the worst buy either that silly but pretty BMW, or a couple of vintage cars I owned which I eventually lost money on.

Does having money make you happy?

It’s a question of amounts. I see so many unhappy very rich people and so many miserable very poor ones. I think what makes you happiest in life is love, and a good sense of humour. You can’t really buy that.

Cash, cheque or credit card?

Credit card every time. Unlike the Queen. Rarely carry much cash.

Cut spending or increase taxes?

Increase taxes. But only for the very rich. The threshold should be just above what I am earning. Obviously.

Me and My money – Alan Reid

 Alan Reid, original member of Scotland’s great Battlefield Band and now in his fifth decade as  a working and travelling musician, answers Moneysucks? questions and hopes his answers will help a new generation of musicians understand how to cope with life on the road.

Q. What’s been your most expensive buy?

A. Apart from a house (mortgage shared with my wife) I would say buying a car.

Q. Did you learn about money as a youngster?

A. Not especially but I seem to have inherited prudence from my family

Q. Do you invest in the stock market?

A. Yes, though that’s because returns from other sources are usually paltry

Q. Do you take risks with your money?

A. Some, but my aims are long term and I tend to put money away and then not worry about it.

Q. Would you borrow to set up in business?

A. Not at the moment but I wouldn’t rule it out if I was confident about returns.

Q. Are you comfortable banking and buying on-line?

A. Yes, especially since if I’m travelling on line banking helps me keep tabs on my finances

Q. Have you made any real mistakes?

A. Oh yes but nothing that cleaned me out.

Q. Are you a spender or a saver?

A. Saver

Q. Do you enjoy dealing with your money?

A. On the whole yes. I like to feel I’m in control of it.

Q. What are your priorities over the next ten years?

A. To keep working and be reasonably successful

Q. Best buy/worst buy?

A. Best. My Scottish Widows pension and life insurance policies and the subsequent nest egg from demutualisation. Worst. Taking £2000 of Halifax shares rather than the cash.

Q. Does having money make you happy?

A. As long as I have enough to live on. My needs are modest. However my income is precarious because of my profession.

Q. Cash, cheque or credit card?

A. Mostly cash for small purchases. Credit card for convenience and security.

Q. Cut spending or increase taxes?

A. A mix. Cut some spending and increase direct taxes.

Consumer

Q. Do you put up with shoddy service or complain?

A. More than I should. I’m more likely to not be a return customer. I have though written a few letters of complaint.

Q. Are you a savvy consumer?

A. I research the internet to compare prices

Q. Would you take back faulty goods or put up with them to avoid a fight in the shop?

 A. I’d take them back and behave as if I expect the shop to be reasonable

Q. Do you need a receipt to return faulty goods?

A. You need some form of proof of purchase unless a kind salesperson remembers you.

Music

Q. Do you work effectively at home or are you a time-waster?

A. I find it difficult to manage time and sometimes to prioritise so it varies.

Q. Was money education built-in to your university course?

A. No

Q. How do you budget your way through the feast and famine of a life in music?

A. Well I never have a lot of money so I look ahead and cut spending when necessary. But I’m very fortunate that I have a wife with a good job.

Q. Do you have an easy relationship with the taxman?

A. So far.

Q. Are you planning for the day you stop making music or do you spend what you earn in the here and now?

A. I have a private pension and several of those aforementioned long term investments but I’m not setting a date for stopping music. And I like to have some money for emergencies.

Q. Do you have to balance performing and teaching or has teaching taken a back seat now?

A. I’ve never been able to get any teaching,

Q. What’s the difference between playing for enjoyment and playing for work?

A. Playing for work means that because you need to work to earn money sometimes you accept work you may not look forward to. Playing for fun may mean you can turn down work you don’t fancy

Q. Do you think students studying to be musicians treat it differently to those who learn for fun and get into music ‘by accident’?

A. Music students by definition have decided on a career path so they will have more of a structured approach than the  ‘accidental pros’. They will also have the pros and cons of having a peer group around them. But I’m not so sure that many ( in folk music) take the accidental path any more.

Q. Do you play for free? And if so what are the rules?

A. I do very occasionally for charity or benefit. But I have no set rules, just take each case as it comes