Claire Wilkinson Financial Planning

30/04/2026

Investing can feel like a rollercoaster — and that’s because emotions play a bigger role than most people realise.

This “cycle of emotions” highlights the journey many investors go through.

With markets feeling uncertain and volatile right now, it’s a great reminder:
✅ Stay calm
✅ Stay focused on the long term
✅ Don’t make reactive decisions

🤔🤔🤔 Here’s something I often think about…

🏷️ If you walked into a shop and saw two identical pairs of jeans — one full price and one 50% off — which would you pick? 👖

Most people would say the one on sale.

🤔🤔🤔 But when it comes to investing, we often do the opposite.

When markets are “on sale”, people can feel nervous and invest less.

When prices are higher, confidence grows and people want to invest more.

⚖️ It’s also completely normal to experience both the highs and the lows — that’s part of investing.

📈 The challenge is… we don’t get a label telling us when it’s a “sale”

✨That’s why having a plan — and sticking to it — matters far more than trying to time it perfectly.

27/02/2026

Happy Friday! 🎉

📚 After lots of studying, I’m really pleased to have passed my CF8 Long Term Care Insurance Exam today.

🏡 It means I can now help clients plan for the potential cost of care later in life — and more importantly, the impact it could have on their finances and families. 💷

🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒 Planning ahead can make a huge difference, and there are options that can help take some of the pressure off if care is ever needed.

Now… time to enjoy a weekend of no studying! ☕📚

17/02/2026

Pancake day and the sun is shining! 🥞☀️

🥞 Pancake Day ✔️
☀️ Sunshine ✔️
📊 End-of-tax-year planning ✔️

There’s still time to review your figures and see how much tax you could potentially save before the end of the tax year!

🥞 Pancake Day at TMP 🥞

20/01/2026

‼️ 85% of UK adults want a human involved when making important financial decisions

That stat really made me think.

👥 I personally like speaking to a real person.

💬 Sometimes it’s just a quick chat, a fresh pair of eyes, or a few tweaks that can make a huge difference.

📶 Most of the time, the outcome is positive — and often a relief. Whether that’s avoiding unnecessary tax, making better use of allowances, or earning extra interest you didn’t even realise you were missing out on.

🖥️ Tech is brilliant. Tools are helpful.
But when it comes to important financial decisions, that human conversation still matters. 👥💬

05/01/2026

Lovely break and Happy New Year

2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣6️⃣ Back to work on a snowy morning and my view from the office, starting with a morning of comparing pensions to establish whether a transfer is genuinely in the client’s best interests.

🗓️ The differences in past performance comparisons were very clear on this one. It’s a timely reminder of the importance of regularly reviewing investment performance, across cash savings, investments, and pensions.

📈 Even without adding more money, small differences in returns can make a significant impact over time.

➕➕➕ Thanks to the power of compounding, a few extra percentage points can make a substantial difference in pounds and pence, and ultimately in what you’re able to withdraw in the years ahead.

💷 One thing you won’t complain about later is having more money than you expected.

I often hear in meetings, “I wish I’d done this earlier.”

With a new year underway, now is a great time to check in on your finances.

23/12/2025

Wishing you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 🎄✨🎅🏻

Our office will be closed from 1pm today (23rd December) and reopen again at 8:30am on Monday 5th January.

As the year comes to a close, we would like to thank our clients for your valued support.

Wishing you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 🎄✨

10/12/2025

🎄🍫 It’s the little things… loving the hot chocolate corner in the office for a great charity and helps get me through my long-term care reading. Planning ahead makes all the difference — helping clients feel supported, prepared, and confident in their care. ☕✨

25/11/2025

⚖️ With the Autumn Budget now just days away, many will be waiting anxiously to see just how hard the axe falls and where.

📰 Catch up with the weekly financial news here

Last week's market update in 6 minutes: https://ow.ly/SVeN50XwRaU

📈 In the UK, last week saw the Office for National Statistics reveal that UK inflation had fallen to 3.6% in October.

💼 Meanwhile tensions rose between Japan and China after Japanese Premier Sanae Takaichi said a Chinese invasion of Taiwan could trigger a military response from Japan.

07/11/2025

🌟 What a Week! 🌟

A week off always feels amazing… until that first week back is like a whirlwind! That is THIS WEEK!

📍It’s been a busy but brilliant week in financial advice — packed with inheritance tax planning, discussions around care costs, will structuring, and identifying the need for powers of attorney and reviewing pensions and investments.

But one theme has popped up a lot this week… Trusts!!!

They’re such an important part of protecting families and planning for the future — yet so many people ask me the same simple question?????

👉 “What actually is a trust?”

In short — a trust is a legal arrangement that helps protect your assets for the people you care about. You (the settlor) place assets under the control of trustees, who manage them for your beneficiaries — often giving you control, flexibility, and potential tax advantages.

One type I’ve been working with a lot this week is the discretionary trust — giving trustees the flexibility to decide who gets what and when, ensuring your wealth is used exactly as you’d want.

🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒 It’s a great area of planning and one that can make a real difference for families, both now and for generations to come.

management

05/11/2025

Inheritance tax planning has been a big focus recently — and it’s great to see the impact thoughtful advice can have.

This week, after putting together gift plans, excess income strategies, and loan planning options, it’s helped one client potentially save £316,000 in IHT.

It’s more than the numbers, it’s about giving families peace of mind and ensuring their hard-earned wealth goes where they want it to.

21/10/2025

📍 Cash Flow Forecasting Meetings Today at the SJP Office in Newcastle

📊 Today’s focus: Cash flow forecasting — helping clients visualise where they are right now and what their future could look like if nothing changed.

🧮 We explored how small adjustments can make a big difference — exploring a range of options from saving into an ISA alongside a pension to understanding the long-term impact of life events such as illness, an accident, or even the loss of a partner (tough conversations, but essential ones).

➕ We also looked at the positive side — how bonuses, future pay rises, and changes in goals can shape the bigger picture.

🔀 This plan isn’t a one-off — it’s something we review together each year and adapt. That’s the beauty of ongoing financial advice: having someone to guide you, simplify the rules, and make adjustments as life changes.

🛤️ Tax rules and government legislation are constantly evolving, and life can be unpredictable. Keeping on top of it all can be a full-time job in itself. That’s where tailored advice really adds value — helping you stay on track, adapt, and plan with confidence. 💡

🎲 And while it’s never easy to think about, one of the worst-case scenarios is when protection hasn’t been put in place — those difficult life events do happen, and i do not want to see a family left struggling to make ends meet, with no life cover or means to keep up with the mortgage.

🗺️ That’s why having these conversations early — and reviewing them regularly — is so important. Planning for the unexpected is just as vital as planning for the goals.