October 24, 2019

Review: Make a Will Online – A Solicitor-Checked Online Will Writing Service

I was recently invited by a company called Make a Will Online to review their solicitor-checked online will writing service.

I have written before on Pounds and Sense about the importance of making a will, and the dangers (of which I have first-hand experience) of not doing it properly. In particular, I am very dubious about using ‘DIY wills’ and non-legally-trained will-writers, as I know all too well the problems that can occur when mistakes are made.

Make a Will Online (MAWO) offers solicitor-checked wills starting from just £29.95 for a single will or £39.50 for a pair. This is substantially cheaper than most similar services, e.g. FareWill charge £90 for a single will and £140 for a pair. MAWO also have mostly five-star reviews on TrustPilot. I was therefore keen to find out more about the service they offer.

How It Works

Creating a will with Make a Will Online involves a three-step process as follows…

1. Complete an Online Questionnaire

At the start of this you are asked to provide your address and contact details. These are used for the production of the will, to allow you to log in if you don’t complete your will in a single session, and to send you the completed document (via email).

You then answer a series of questions about whom you want to manage your estate (your executors, in other words), whom you would like to look after your children (if you have any), whom you would like to inherit your possessions, any special gifts or bequests you want to make, and any conditions you wish to attach to your will. You can also specify whether you prefer to be buried or cremated, and any special instructions you may have about the funeral.

2. Review, Confirm and Pay

At the end of the online questionnaire you are shown a summary of the information you have entered and can go back and make any amendments you wish. You then make a secure payment of £29.50 for a single will or £39.50 for a pair of wills. You can pay by credit/debit card or via your PayPal account if you have one.

3. Receive Your Will, Sign and Witness

Once you have made your secure payment, the will document is emailed to you, along with detailed instructions for making the will legal and a receipt for payment. Shortly afterwards, a solicitor will check the document to make sure that everything is in order. If anything is unclear, a member of the MAWO team will contact you by email.

The main thing you have to do to make the will legal is (of course) get it signed and witnessed. This has to be done by two adults who are not beneficiaries in the will. Full instructions for doing this are included in the email you receive once you have completed your payment.

You can choose to receive a printed version by post for £15.00 for a single will or £20 for a pair (though see below for a £5 discount voucher). Alternatively you can simply print out the emailed version of the will, staple the pages together as per the instructions provided, and have it signed and witnessed as above. Either way, you will then have a legal will which needs to be kept somewhere safe and secure until such time as it has to be referred to. Again, information about all this is included in the email you receive.

When you have finished making your will online, you can log in and make free changes to the document for 28 days. After that you can sign up for an optional lifetime updates service, which allows you to update your will at any time. This is free for the first year and then £10 per will per year (so in the case of a couple it would cost £20 a year).

My Experience

I created what was basically a duplicate of my existing will in order to try out the MAWO system.

I found the step-by-step process for completing the online questionnaire generally quick and intuitive. There are six main pages: Your Details, Executors, Guardians, Residuaries, Specific Gifts, and Funeral.

The Guardians section (see picture below) is only relevant if you have children; it allows you to specify whom you would like to look after them following your death.

Residuaries is where you name the people who are to receive the balance of your estate once any specific gifts (including donations to charity) have been disbursed. By default this is divided equally among the beneficiaries, but you can specify different proportions if you want.

The Funeral section is where you state whether you want to be buried or cremated, and any instructions surrounding the arrangements. You don’t have to complete this section if you don’t want to, though personally I think it’s wise to say whether you prefer to be buried or cremated at least, so your next of kin don’t have to agonize over this.

One thing I liked about all the pages is that there are ‘More Info’ buttons you can click on for more detail about the topic in question if you need it.

It’s also worth mentioning that different boxes open according to the selections you make. If you click on ‘Yes’ on the Guardians page (above), for example, new boxes will open allowing you to enter details of the person or persons concerned.

Finally, you are taken to a page where you can review what you have put, alter this if necessary, and proceed to payment. As already mentioned you can pay with a credit or debit card or via PayPal.

Once I had paid I received an email almost immediately with my will attached and a page of instructions for making it legal. About two hours later I received an email confirming that a solicitor had checked my will and not found any issues with it. Had I so wished, I could then have printed out the will document, stapled it together, and got it signed and witnessed. It would then have been fully legal.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I was impressed with the speed and simplicity of Make a Will Online. If you have a fairly straightforward will (as most people do) I see no reason not to recommend it. Of course, if your personal circumstances are complicated, or you have a substantial estate which may incur death duties, there is no substitute for seeing a solicitor face to face. This will inevitably cost quite a bit more, however.

One small reservation is that it’s still up to you to arrange to have your will signed and witnessed to make it legal. Full instructions are provided for doing this, and it’s not exactly rocket science. It is up to you, though, to ensure that you follow the rules correctly – no-one else will check this for you.

As always, if you have any comments or questions about this post or Make a Will Online, please feel free to post them below as usual. If I can’t answer a query myself, I will ask my contacts at MAWO for their response.

Special Offer – As an affiliate for Make a Will Online I can offer a discount code to anyone signing up via this blog post. Just enter the code MAWO5 at the checkout to get £5 off the price of a printed will. That’s a letter O in the code, not a number zero, by the way!

Disclosure: Make A Will Online kindly gave me the opportunity to try out their service free of charge. In addition, this post includes affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission for introducing you. This will not affect the price you pay or the service you receive.

If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:

October 17, 2019

How to Avoid Money Mule Scams (Infographic)

Nick Everything Else infographic 0 Comments

Today I am sharing an infographic from the credit reference agency Equifax.

If you have ever seen a job ad which seemed too good to be true, you might have missed the opportunity of a lifetime – or (far more likely) you could have narrowly avoided becoming a money mule.

Money mules are often ordinary people who unwittingly assist criminals by helping them launder money. People who work as money mules are often taken in by job ads offering them the chance to work from home as ‘payment officers’ or ‘finance assistants’, earning large sums of money per week. But what they don’t realise is the cash they are earning is a commission on the money (generally the proceeds of crime) they are transferring.

The infographic reveals how to spot a fake job offer, what’s going on behind the scenes when you work as a money mule, and what will happen to you if – or more likely when – you get caught.

Thank you to Equifax for an eye-opening graphic. Of course, I appreciate that most readers of this blog will believe they are too money-savvy to fall for these scams. Nonetheless, when you (and perhaps your family) are in financial hardship, ads that appear to offer an easy route out can be very enticing.

Also, if you know any older (or younger) people who may be susceptible to such scams, it’s important to look out for them and offer advice and support when appropriate.

As Pounds and Sense is aimed primarily at middle-aged and older people, it’s also worth noting that the 2019 Cifas Fraudscape report found that the largest rise (35%) in money mules was among people aged between 41 and 60.

In summary, the old mantra still applies: if it sounds too good to be true, it almost certainly is. There are genuine ways to make a sideline income, and of course I cover them regularly in Pounds and Sense. Get-rich-quick schemes seldom if ever work, however, and can rapidly plunge you into a world of trouble.

As always, if you have any comments or questions about this post (or the infographic), please do leave them below.

If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:

October 15, 2019

Ratesetter Rings the Changes

Nick Saving Money, Investing crowdfunding, reviews 2 Comments

Updated 30th March 2020

I have mentioned P2P lending platform Ratesetter a few times on Pounds and Sense – most notably in my Ratesetter review.

Ratesetter is one of my favorite lower-risk P2P lending sites. It lets you save via a tax-efficient IFISA and/or an ordinary (taxable) Everyday account.

Although their rates aren’t the highest – currently 3% to 4% – I like the fact that risk is spread across all loans on the platform, with a provision fund to cover any defaults. This means that if someone you have lent money to via the platform defaults, it shouldn’t affect your returns. It also means that – unlike some other P2P lending platforms – there is no need to diversify your lending across the platform in order to control risk.

The Changes

Originally you could invest in Ratesetter in a choice of three different products: Rolling Market, One Year and Five Year.

The Rolling Market was the closest to an ordinary savings account, letting you withdraw some or all of your money any time without penalty. With the 1-year and 5-year products you could still request withdrawals before the full term of the loan, but in those cases a percentage charge was applied. This was 0.3% with the 1-year product and 1.5% with the 5-year product.

Under the new system, loans are spread across all three types of product. What was called the Rolling Market is now an Access account. As before, you can withdraw money from this at any time without penalty. There is just a ‘fair usage’ clause, which prevents investors from lending new money for 14 days after a withdrawal.

Instead of the 1-year and 5-year products, there are now the Plus and the Max. The Plus product pays more interest, but if you want to withdraw you have to pay a ‘release fee’ of 30 days’ worth of interest based on Going Rate at the time of release. And with the Max product, which pays more still, you are charged a release fee comprising 90 days of interest, again based on Going Rate at the time of release.

The Going Rate is the current interest rate for loans in the three product categories. Previously this was set by the market, based on supply and demand. That meant it could fluctuate, sometimes considerably, from day to day and even hour to hour. The interest rate you received could therefore vary a lot.according to when you invested (and when any returns were reinvested).

Under the new system, interest rates are set by Ratesetter themselves. This makes Ratesetter feel more like an ordinary savings provider. Currently the Going Rates are as follows:

Access: 3.0%

Plus: 3.5%

Max 4.0%

If you are already a Ratesetter investor, you may therefore want to reassess the type of product in which your money is held.

If – like me and many others – you put your money into a Rolling Market (now Access) product, you may want to think about transferring some to a Plus or Max account to take advantage of the higher interest rates. There is no greater risk in these accounts, and the only downside is that you will lose 30 or 90 days’ interest if you withdraw early. Doing this is likely to deliver better overall returns, so long as you remain in for at least six months in the case of a Plus account and a year in the case of a Max account. (These are only very approximate figures, as the interest rates paid can change.)

If you want to do this, you can’t (unfortunately) transfer money directly from one type of product to another. Rather – and I have confirmed this with Ratesetter – you will need to start by withdrawing your money from the product it is in currently (e.g. Access) so it goes into your holding account. You can then invest from your holding account into the new product (e.g. Max) that you want. Bear in mind though the 14-day rule mentioned above.

My Thoughts

Overall, I like these changes to Ratesetter. The new Going Rates are admittedly a little lower than the previous market rates. However, I think the greater stability and certainty over the interest rate you will be getting more than make up for this. I also like the new, simpler terms for withdrawing money from your account. I will continue to invest in Ratesetter and regard it as one of the safer (if less exciting) components of my portfolio.

As I’ve noted before on Pounds and Sense, P2P lending does not enjoy the same level of protection as bank and building society savings, which are covered (up to £85,000) by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Nonetheless, the rates on offer at Ratesetter are significantly better than those from most banks and building societies. And the existence of a substantial across-the-board provision fund with a strong record of protecting investors from losses clearly offers reassurance.

It’s also reassuring that with all three products you can access your money if needed at any time, even though in the case of Plus and Max you will be charged a release fee for this. Obviously, you shouldn’t therefore put money into the Plus or Max products if you think there is any likelihood you will need it back within a month or two.

Clearly, no-one should put all their spare cash into Ratesetter (or any other P2P lending platform). Nonetheless, it is certainly worth considering as part of a diversified portfolio. Not only are the rates of return higher than those offered by banks and building societies, they are relatively unaffected by ups and downs in the stock market. P2P lending isn’t a way of hedging your equity-based investments directly, but it does definitely help spread the risk.

If you would like more information about Ratesetter, please see my original Ratesetter review (which I will be fully updating soon).

Welcome Offer

Currently if you are new to RateSetter you can get £100 added to your account for free just by signing up and depositing £1,000. Full terms of the offer are reproduced below, and you can also find them on the RateSetter website.

You can take advantage of this offer so long as you

have not previously registered with RateSetter;
register after 27th March 2020; and
deposit a minimum of £1,000 through the RateSetter ISA or Everyday account and this is matched within 56 calendar days of opening an account.

Your bonus will be credited to your Everyday Account and invested in RateSetter’s Access (instant access) product at the going rate (currently 3%) within 30 working days of qualifying. From here you can transfer it to your ISA account if you like or simply withdraw it.

My Thoughts: This is a great offer from RateSetter if you are new to the platform. If you invest £1,000 and keep it there for a year, then including the £100 welcome bonus you will get a total return of between 13 and 14 percent for the first year (depending on whether you opt to invest your money in the Access, Plus or Max product). As a matter of interest, this is the same welcome offer I took advantage of when I signed up with RateSetter two years ago, and my bonus £100 was credited without any issues (or prompting from me) twelve months later.

Obviously if you need your £1,000 at any time, you can withdraw it (normally within 24 hours). This will though mean you don’t receive the £100 welcome bonus at the end of the first year.

Clearly, this is a generous promotional offer by RateSetter and I assume it won’t be available forever. If you want to take advantage, therefore, don’t wait too long. I will remove this information if/when I hear the offer is no longer valid.

If you have any comments or questions about this post, as always, please do leave them below.

Disclosure: As stated above, this post includes my referral link. If you click through and make an investment, I will receive a bonus for introducing you. This has no effect on the terms or benefits you will receive. Please be aware also that I am not a qualified financial adviser and nothing in this post should be construed as individual financial advice. You should do your own ‘due diligence’ before making any investment, and take professional advice if at all unsure how best to proceed.

If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:

October 9, 2019

Review: My Money Pocket – A New UK Cashback Website

Nick Making Money, Saving Money reviews 0 Comments

I recently received an email telling me about a new (free) cashback site called My Money Pocket. As a fan of cashback sites I was very happy to check it out.

My Money Pocket is a UK site. It is therefore entering an arena currently dominated by what might be called the Big Two here, Quidco and Top Cashback.

As with those two sites, My Money Pocket offers members the chance to earn cashback by following links to a variety of online retailers. These are affiliate/referral links, and My Money Pocket receives commission for any purchases made by people clicking through them. My Money Pocket then shares this commission with the member concerned.

Getting Started

Before you can use My Money Pocket to get cashback, you do (of course) need to register on the site. All they require for this is your email address and a password. On the plus side, that makes signing up very quick and easy. On the minus side, I find it slightly odd that they don’t ask for your name, which means you can’t see this when you are signed in. That could be problematic if you share your computer with other family members, as you may not know which of you is actually logged in!

I did ask My Money Pocket why they don’t ask for a name when registering, and they said it was to avoid privacy issues. Personally, though, I would much sooner see “Welcome, Nick” (or whatever) at the top of the screen to reassure me that I am actually signed in to my own account.

Once you are logged in you can start earning cashback by clicking through the links provided to a wide range of online stores. Most of these are also available with Top Cashback and Quidco, but the cashback rates (and terms) are different – better in some cases, worse in others. As with all things shopping related, it really does pay to shop around!

The website looks bright and welcoming, but a large area at the top is taken up by an offers carousel, which personally I find a bit obtrusive. I thought the site navigation was okay, but not quite as intuitive as the Big Two. I would prefer a traditional tabbed navigation menu of the sort that is used on Top Cashback and Quidco (and many other websites), but maybe I am just being a bit old-fashioned.

There is a drop-down Categories menu at the top left of the screen. This takes you to cashback offers in the following categories:

Fashion
Food and Drink
Health and Beauty
Electricals
Travel
Broadband
Entertainment and Leisure
Utilities
Gifts
Mobile
Home and Garden
Free Cashback
Gaming
Shopping
Office and Business
Sport
Gambling

Within most of these categories there are sub-categories as well. Incidentally, ‘Free Cashback’ lists offers where you don’t have to spend money to get cashback – for example, you might just have to request a quotation for your car insurance.

As with Top Cashback and Quidco, once you have made a purchase with one of the merchants on My Money Pocket, you will then have to wait for your cashback to be tracked, approved, paid and credited to your My Money Pocket account. You will then be able to withdraw this money, either to your bank account (through BACS) or via PayPal.

One other feature is that you can refer other people to My Money Pocket and receive £5 cashback yourself when they have earned a minimum of £10 in cashback. Note that all links in this blog post include my referral code 🙂

Final Thoughts

It’s early days for My Money Pocket and the site is still to some extent a work in progress. Nonetheless, there is nothing to lose by signing up for free now and checking out the deals on offer. As I said earlier, I would recommend checking and comparing My Money Pocket, Top Cashback and Quidco to see which site is currently offering the best terms for any retailer you intend to buy from.

As always, if you have any questions or comments about this post, please do leave them below.

If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:

October 3, 2019

Review: The Best 10 Low Cost Home Business Plans

Nick Making Money reviews 0 Comments

Today I am reviewing an e-book (and bonuses) titled The Best 10 Low Cost Home Business Plans by my UK blogging colleague Gerri Spiers. Gerri was kind enough to send me a free review copy.

As the name suggests, this is a guide for anyone hoping to set up their own business, whether to escape a job they dislike or simply to provide a route out of unemployment. Many of these businesses could also be run part-time to provide a sideline income and/or to fit in with childcare or other caring responsibilities. They could also work for older people or people with disabilities who may not want (or be able to cope with) a full-time job.

The Best 10 Low Cost Home Business Plans is a downloadable 112-page ebook in the standard PDF format. It is professionally written and presented, with illustrations where appropriate. There are also clickable hyperlinks to relevant websites and resources (this is a particular benefit of the ebook format, of course).

It wouldn’t be fair to Gerri to reveal exactly what all the businesses are. However, what I can say is that they are generally the type of business I see many ordinary people in my area running today, and they address a large target audience that clearly needs such services. These are not, for the most part, online businesses, but real-world local services for which there is a proven demand. They are definitely not get-rich-quick schemes. You will need to be prepared to roll up your sleeves and put in some hard yards – but if you do this, the rewards should definitely come.

Although (as per the title) these can be run as home-based businesses, many will also involve going out and about to meet clients, provide services, negotiate with suppliers, and so forth. As the title indicates, none of these businesses would be expensive to set up.

For each plan, Gerri sets out what the business involves, whom it is best suited for, the skills and/or qualifications required, and how much you may be able to earn. She also sets out a range of useful resources, organisations to join, and so on. The resources are predominantly UK based – not surprisingly, as Gerri lives here – but many of the plans would work just as well in other parts of the world too.

Gerri also goes into some detail about how to market the business in question. The book is particularly strong on this, with sensible, practical suggestions that will raise awareness of your business and help attract more clients to it.

In the opening chapter the book sets out some general advice about setting up a business. This is concise but sensible, and links are provided to additional resources for further information. Finally, the book closes with a chapter of useful websites, and some inspirational final thoughts that will have you champing at the bit to get started 🙂

One small criticism is that, while there is a table of contents at the front of the ebook, it is not hyperlinked to the chapters in question. For ease of reference and navigation this would have been helpful.

Bonuses

In addition to the main ebook, buyers get two bonus items.

The first of these is a 92-page PDF ebook titled 50 Tried and Tested Hacks to Help Grow Your Online Business (see picture below).

I was slightly surprised that the title of this ebook refers to online business, whereas the main guide is more about running a ‘real world’ business. It is, however an in-depth guide to promotional techniques that can be used to promote any type of business.

Each of the 50 ‘Hacks’ takes up one to three pages. In them Gerri sets out a particular marketing strategy or tactic followed by a single paragraph ‘takeaway’ which sums it up. For example, one suggested strategy is to offer a number of differently priced upsells. The takeaway for this is: ‘Offer a range of differently priced upsells to customers to increase the total of each sale. Upsells are complimentary or additional options on an offer a customer is already purchasing. Include at least one.’

I thought there were some great tips in this bonus guide, and some – such as using the word ‘only’ when quoting prices – that seemed to me rather stating the obvious. But then again, I am a 63-year-old semi-retired copywriter, so maybe what is obvious to me isn’t as obvious to someone who is just starting out!

One thing I did like about the bonus guide is that (unlike the main ebook) the table of contents at the front has active links.

The third and final bonus is a downloadable cashflow forecast spreadsheet, in Microsoft Excel format. Anyone who is planning on starting a new business should have one of these, as it will indicate the predicted flow of money in and out of the business, and highlight when and how any possible cashflow problems may occur. In addition, if you are applying for a loan from your bank or a grant (if you can find anyone offering these now!) you will need to provide one of these as part of your business plan.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I was very impressed with The Best 10 Low Cost Home Business Plans. If you are considering setting up a business from home and looking for some realistic ideas that won’t cost a fortune, there is no doubt you will find much to inspire you here. The plans are varied and don’t generally require any special skills or training. Whatever your background, whether you are male or female, old or young, you are bound to find one idea – and probably more – that could form the basis of a successful, money-making business for you.

The guide (and bonuses) should also represent a valuable resource once you have started your business, with lots of practical tips and techniques you can use to attract more clients for your business and grow your income.

For more information, click on any of the links in this review or click here to go to Gerri’s website.

As always, if you have any comments or questions about this post, please do leave them below.

If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:

October 1, 2019

Is Your Will Up To Date? The Essential Checklist (Infographic)

Nick Everything Else infographic 0 Comments

Today I’m bringing you an infographic created by I Will, a firm of solicitors who specialize in will writing.

I thought this summed up neatly the importance of keeping your will up to date as your life circumstances change, so I wanted to share it with readers of this blog. It’s quite a long graphic, so please take a little time to scroll down it, and I’ll see you at the other end!

Thanks again to I Will Solicitors (not an affiliate link) for permission to use their graphic. There are some valuable tips in it, not least the advice to review your will every five years or sooner in the event there are major changes in your life.

As I have said before in Pounds and Sense, I highly recommend using a properly qualified solicitor when writing or updating your will. I have had a couple of experiences when failing to do this has caused problems..

One concerned the will of my late partner. We had created mirror wills some years before, using a well-known postal will-writing service. At their suggestion we named the will-writing company as joint executors, as their representative said this meant they would be able to step in and help if required. Sadly my partner passed away and I then discovered that having the company as a named executor meant I couldn’t have the local solicitor I wanted handle the estate on my behalf. It took several months (and a lot of hassle I could really have done without) to get them to renounce their interest in the will so that my preferred legal firm could take over.

Another instance concerned a family member who passed away a couple of years ago. I don’t want to go into detail about this, for obvious reasons, but he had used a family friend who ran a will-writing service to create his will. The will was poorly drafted and did not make clear exactly how the estate should be divided up. It didn’t help either that there were multiple updates of the will, some of which were of doubtful validity. The result was a bitter dispute between two of the main beneficiaries, which ended with an outcome that was probably far from what he had intended.

So my top tips with wills would be (a) make sure you have one, (b) have it drawn up by a qualified solicitor, (c) give careful thought to whom you name as executor, and (d) review it regularly and update if needed. For other advice, please refer to the infographic above!

Just a reminder also that, as mentioned in my last post, October is Free Wills Month in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Under this scheme you may be able to have your will drawn up or updated free of charge with participating solicitors. Please see my blog post for more information about this.

If you have any comments or questions, as ever, please do post them below.

If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media: