Joy

I have had financial advice and have been working with Jon now for over 25 years. So really, a very long time. He’s always in my corner.

Over 25 years he’s worked with me really on a range of different pieces. From one of my first mortgages, when I lived in and came down to Hitchin, and then working with me when I lost my mother. So he helped me with my inheritance, and how to manage that money. And then also, as my life’s evolved, and going into savings. What direction I need to take with money, where to put it, how to invest and all the rest.  It’s been an evolving path over those years. From basic mortgage through to savings and as I say some inheritance advice as well.

To have Jon in my corner has been really important over the last few years because it’s given me that point of reference. What should I do about this? This is happening… and he’s somebody I can trust, who knows me, who has the history of 25 years.

He knows how my situation has evolved, and what my focus is, what I see as a challenge, what I have issues with financially and how to guide me, and there’s a trust. So, I trust him because he knows that if he gives me advice, I trust it to be the best advice for me. It’s not linked to a range of products that comes from his business. It’s whatever is available to me, and sometimes his advice is to do nothing. That trust is the most important thing.

My focus now is what to do with my money, preparing for when I don’t need to work anymore. I keep telling him I want to stop working and paying – come to the end of the mortgage. It’s much more about getting money together now for future spend; consolidating pieces and trying to change my mortgage or things. So it’s moved from the start; it’s now, how do I now get money back to me? What’s the best place for it? What do I need to do for the next stage in my life?

My life’s changed with the advice because it’s allowed me to make decisions and take on options that I probably would never have even thought of or considered had I not had the advice from Jon. So certain types of savings, where to put money, how to invest things… Things I wouldn’t have ever heard of.

You can do all your research on the internet, you can look at different things, and there’s lots of information out there, but knowing your circumstances and what’s available from somebody who’s an expert in that area, the things that I didn’t even know existed… He’ll mention something and I would say, “I have no clue what you’re talking about but it sounds good tell me more!” I wouldn’t have known otherwise so it’s allowed me to take options that I would have never been able to take without working with him.