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Digital Will

Not heard of a digital will? A digital will is an inventory of your digital assets.  It can form part of a normal will or be a side letter. It is really important to have a note of all the passwords that your loved ones will need to access documents you have created and online accounts you have; also for them to be able to use your social media to let people know you have died, and even to find the location of precious photos and documents that might be required.You can create a document wi...

Caring for parents and dealing with overwhelm

This month’s guest blog is written by Kayane Watson, a certified Thrive Coach, exploring how to deal with the overwhelm of caring for elderly parents.  Do you often find yourself overwhelmed by the emotional demands of caring for an elderly parent while struggling to meet their expectations?Caring for an elderly parent is a profound act of love and commitment, but it might come with challenges that can leave you feeling drained, frustrated, or even at times guilty. Many adult childre...

Share the love

It’s Valentine’s day today and so we would like to wish you love and kindness. On February 17th, in just a few days,  it is National Random Acts of Kindness Day.  No coincidence that these two dates fall within a few days of each other.  Last year the Evening Standard gave us a fabulous list of ideas you could do on this day and we thoroughly endorse all of them.      You can have a read here. If you can do one of those things for an older pe...

Letting things go

Some people find the act of decluttering simple, and some find it very difficult.  It can be a bit like baring your soul to a counsellor - difficult at first, but rewarding as you spend more time doing it, and something that will open you up to new possibilities at home and in your life as you let go of your ‘stuff’. When we are decluttering with clients, we find that we are operating in a similar role to that of a counsellor.  We hear  so much about clients’ memories, ...

Transitioning to domiciliary care

If you are looking at getting help from a domiciliary carer for your loved one, there are some practical things to think about once you know you will be using their service: Declutter the rooms they will need to be in.  This is important because your loved one’s home is the carer’s work place and it needs to be safe for them too.  Extra equipment in the home may well be needed so there should be space for this, and for the carer and your loved one to be able to move around as ...

January 2025 newsletter

Read our latest newsletter here....

Relationship breakdowns

We are starting a series of guest blogs, once a month and our first one is written by Sapphira Gold who is an Associate Solicitor at Hanne & Co and she specialises in private family law. "As family solicitors, we often find that January brings with it a raft of enquiries about relationship breakdowns. After a busy festive period when family tensions may have arisen, this can lead to questions about what to do if those difficulties or differences can no longer be overcome and one or both...

What if the charity shop doesn't want your unwanted items?

When decluttering, which you might be doing as a new year’s resolution, we recommend that clients give unwanted items to charity (if they can’t easily be sold).  Doing so:Helps someone buy the item cheaper than they would newHelps the charity get money to support the cause/s they were set up forHelps create space in your home more quickly (if you want to sell something it hangs around for a long while before you list it and then someone comes to buy it!) But not everything can be g...

Brrr...it's chilly!

Have you ever had a broken-down boiler?  It could be caused by all sorts of things but one of the most common is a frozen condensate pipe.  And with the weather we've been having this is very likely.    But the good news is that you don’t actually need a boiler engineer to sort this out. This helpful article from Worcester Bosch can help you identify your condensate pipe and thaw it out.   https://www.worcester-bosch.co.uk/heating-advice/frozen-condensateAnd ...

New Year's Resolutions

Happy new year!  A time of new year’s resolutions for lots of people.   These are good in many ways as it is like setting goals – things you want to achieve or things to make you feel better.  Last year my new year’s resolution was always to eat dinner at the dinner table.  I think that lasted until September, so I did well as only 8% of new year’s resolutions are kept until the end of the year. I will try harder this year!  I also set a goal of hitting 5 mi...

Christmas family reflections

We hope you all had a fantastic Christmas day with your friends and family, or if you were alone, that you enjoyed the peace and quiet.  We know many people who prefer a quiet one, so if that’s you, we hope quiet was delightful.*  Some of you might still be doing lots of entertaining.You may have had a chance to reflect on anything different you noticed about your loved ones whilst visiting them.  You might be thinking about calling them to thank them for their hospitality, or i...

What's in your relative's fridge?

We started our weekly short blogs a year ago on December 21st  with a reminder to look out for your loved ones over this Christmas when you go to visit them.  And we thought it was worthwhile repeating the message.Whilst you are with your relatives and friends and having a lovely festive and relaxed time, they may not want to tell you about anything happening to them as they may feel too proud or embarrassed, or be in denial (or all three).    However, you may notice som...

Christmas shopping

If you’re not yet finished with your Christmas shopping, we’ve listed some websites below to help you.   If you want to help a charity, why not go with one of the big charities who sell new items online.  Have a look at these three as an example.  Or if you are looking for a secret santa why not pop into your local charity shop and get something bigger for your money? https://giftshop.redcross.org.uk/https://onlineshop.oxfam.org.uk/christmas-giftshttps://giftshop.bhf...

Income in retirement

Pensions – oh no, boring!!  But very important.   The Triple Lock is all very well and good but that might not be enough to live on.   We aren’t regulated so we can’t give you financial advice BUT we can point you to some places to help you:You can find a Society of Later Life Adviser near you on the SOLLA website.   https://societyoflaterlifeadvisers.co.uk/  It’s really important to make sure that the person you are talking to understands getting ...

Losing your landline?

Did you know that landlines are being phased out?  It’s not happening yet, and has in fact been delayed from 2025 to 2027.  The delay is because not all providers are ready and able to make the switch yet, and don’t all have plans in place to help vulnerable customers. The landline as you know it, will be phased out and you will need to be using VOIP (voice over internet protocol) technology, instead.  These rely on electricity and broadband and so there is much discussio...

Stories

One of the things that we love the most about our job is that we are able to hear our client’s stories.  It’s a great privilege.  We hear about their families, their jobs and their hopes and fears.  We find out about family rifts and reconciliations and sometimes we know things their children don’t know (ssshh don’t tell them!).  It's great fun, and is a great bonding experience.Someone else we know who gets to hear people’s stores on a daily basis, is Alice, from t...

Energy - confusing?

Do you find your energy bills confusing?  You are not alone.    There is far too much jargon involved so we thought we would explain a few things that might help simplify things.Fixed price v variable tariffsDeciding whether to go for a  fixed or variable is like betting on the horses and taking out insurance at the same time.  It’s a gamble, but it gives you peace of mind.   The variable may go up or down in the time you are in the contract but with a f...

Christmas made easy - part 2

Here is part two of our Christmas made easy tips!If you are hosting people over Christmas, start making a menu and a shopping list now. You can just jot down menu ideas and google recipes here and there, saving them by bookmarking them on your phone or desktop.Know and diarise when you are going to put in an online shopping order or go to the shops.   Lots of online supermarkets have a day when they release their Christmas slots, so do check online if you want one of those.If you are b...

Christmas made easy - part 1

This is a repost of our blog in November 2022, because we think it’s worth repeating.  Part 2 will be next week.It’s all about making lists.  So get a pen and paper ready, or a note section on your mobile phone and make some lists.Make a list of all of those presents you want to buy, and who for.  If you haven’t started ordering yet, we recommend doing so right away!  Leaving anything to the last minute is always stressful.  Mark off when you have bought something,...

What is a superconnector and why do you need one?

A super-connector is someone who knows the right people to help you, when you need help.  These are people who have access to a wide network of people to call on to assist where necessary.  Super-connectors are people that when you say ‘X happened to me today and I think I need to do Y’, they know just the right person to put you in touch with. As you get older there are many different people and professions out there who can help you, but the great news is you only need one as the...

Retirement Villages

Choosing to live in a retirement village / assisted living can be a fantastic solution for many older people who are looking to downsize, but it’s not right for everyone.  Here are some of the benefits:1. Community and Social Interaction:  If you live far from friends and family, there are built in social networks and plenty of other people ‘in the same boat’.  Regular social activities and clubs help build the sense of community.2. Safety and Security: Enhanced security mea...

It's not too late to start using Zoom!

Remember those heady days before the pandemic?  The days when hardly anyone was using Zoom.  I admit, I had the app, and had done some meetings, but I didn’t really know what it was capable of.  Now that the pandemic has passed, I spend a lot less time on Zoom and it’s transformed the way a lot of businesses run. Does it still have a place in the lives of those who aren’t working?   It can be very useful to have meetings with a travel agent, a will writer, a financ...

Making broadband simple

If you want to have access to the internet you need a device and to make the device work well and fast in your home, you need broadband.   But what if you haven’t had it before?  We come across clients regularly who don’t have it, so it’s not as uncommon as you might think. Broadband bamboozles us all, but imagine if you haven’t had it before.  There are so many technical terms so how do we explain what they all are?  And of course we want to make sure our older ...

Get ready for winter

As we head into autumn it is important to get yourself ready for the winter and make sure you are ready for the arrival of any cold snap:Check your heating works (which we first advised in August).Make sure you have lots of thin layers that you can wear on top of each other.   You can also get an ‘Oodie’ which is a giant over-blanket that you can wear to keep you warm inside your home.Get a really warm hat, scarf and gloves.  If your heating breaks down you can always wear the...

Be part of a community

So you’ve retired!  Many people look forward to this so that they can spend time with their grandchildren, go on holiday, visit art galleries and enjoy more of their hobbies.For others, the thought of giving up work is stressful and they worry about the lack of interaction with others and how to spend their time. Of course it’s a good idea to have a rest and some relaxing time immediately after retiring, but if you don’t have a purpose or specific things to do, your health, both ...