“A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing.”

Your adviser’s fees will be based on the extent of the advice you need, how much time it will take, and the size of the assets involved. Broadly, advisers often charge between 3 and 4 per cent of the asset in question (e.g. a pension pot), with the lower percentages being charged for larger assets (percentage charges on smaller assets may be higher).

Every adviser has different skillsets, but all will be happy to discuss their fees up front.

The cost of moving home

If you’re hoping to buy your own home, it may help to have this comprehensive guide to the costs involved in buying a house or flat and moving home. Always remember when you’re saving money for a deposit, you might need to stash away more than you think. There are lots of extra expenses involved in the home-buying and conveyancing process, from solicitor fees to removal costs.

What do I need to save for?

On top of your deposit, you’ll need some extra cash ready for the following:

Surveyors – before you can get your mortgage, your lender will want to value the property, and you’ll need to pay or this. Valuation surveys tend to cost around £200 – £300. However, unless the home is a new build, you should also arrange your own survey to reduce the chance of nasty surprises later. A HomeBuyer’s Report can cost between £500 and £2,000 (depending on size of property) and a more detailed building survey can cost up to £3,000.

Mortgage fees – when you take out a mortgage, you’ll have to pay certain fees to the lender depending on the type of mortgage deal. Fees may be as low as a couple of hundred pounds, but could run into a few thousand – so check with your mortgage adviser.

Mortgage term life insurance – if you have a partner, dependents, or a co-holder of the mortgage, it’s highly advisable to take out mortgage term life insurance. This means that if you die before the mortgage is paid off, the insurance will pay off the debt in full.

Conveyancing fees – the conveyancing process ensures your home purchase is fully legal and watertight, and is usually carried out by a solicitor. Fees for this are typically between £850 and £1,500. Your conveyancer should also conduct a range of ‘searches’ to prevent any unpleasant surprises like the discovery of mine-shafts under your property. These searches cost around £300.

Stamp duty land tax – How much you pay is worked out through a tiered system. You pay 0% on the first £125,000, 2% per cent on the next £125,000 – £250,000, and 5% from £250,000 to £925,000, and the tier continues with more tax for properties over higher thresholds. N.B. stamp duty relief is available for first-time buyers, so you may have a lower bill or none at all. However there are certain rules around this and not all first time buyers and properties will be eligible for this relief. 

Adding it all up, you can see that the bill will be around £1,500 for a £200k property. 

These costs will vary depending on the home you’re buying and other circumstances. Luck plays a role too, especially with surveys – if a major issue is discovered, you may have to start all over again.

Removal costs, furniture and decoration

Most people moving home use a removals company, which will cost. If you’re a first-time buyer and don’t yet own much furniture it’s possible to do it yourself – but then of course  you’ll want to buy some furniture! You can expect to spend around £2,000 on furnishings and an extra £1,000 on white goods such as fridge, washing machine and cooker – as a minimum. But you can save by buying second hand, looking at sites like Freecycle, and seeing if friends and family have items they no longer need.

Depending on the state of the property you’re buying, you may also need to factor in costs such as redecoration and/or home improvements too.

What about selling costs?

If you’re not a first-time buyer, you’ll also have to factor in the cost of selling your current home. The main one here is the estate agent’s fee, which comes directly out of the money your home fetches (usually between 0.5 per cent and 3 per cent).

You’ll need to shell out for your home’s EPC rating certificate upfront, which costs between £60 and £120. If you’re selling a second property (i.e. not your main residence) then you may also have to pay capital gains tax if its value has risen.

Can I put these costs on my mortgage?

The short answer to this is yes, you can add many of the costs of moving to your mortgage. However, in most cases you should resist the temptation to do so, as you’ll pay much more over time – and you can usually get better value finance deals elsewhere. Talk to your mortgage adviser to find out more about this.

Need help saving up a lump sum for buying a home? Then see our page on deposits.

Anyone may need long-term care at any age, but it’s most often necessary in later life. If you or a family member require this kind of support – or just want to plan ahead for the eventuality – then you will want to know what kind of care is most appropriate, and also how to pay for it.

What is long term care?

‘Care’ is a very broad term. It can mean support in everyday tasks which an able-bodied person could reasonably be expected to do for themselves (i.e. non-medical care), or medical services to treat ongoing conditions, including the general effects of old age. Care can mean anything from a home help visiting a few times per week, to receiving 24-hour care in a residential home.

What kind of care do I need?

Whether you are looking for care for a family member or for yourself, the first step is finding out exactly what services are available. Contact your local adult social services department, and your local authority will be able to carry out a full assessment of your needs, called a means test.

This means test will also determine what support (if any) will be available via your local authority, and how much you may have to fund for yourself. Even if you do qualify for some support, you may decide to pay for a higher level of care.

How much does care cost?

The exact cost of your care will depend on various things, such as the type of care you receive, how many hours per week you need it, where in the UK you live, and your care provider. Here is a broad summary of the costs you can expect for different kinds of care.

Care in your own home

Care at home usually costs between £10 and £30 per hour, depending on the provider and when you need them (e.g. night times and weekends may be more expensive). The average hourly rate is around £15, so for three hours of care every day you could expect to pay just over £16,000 per year.

A residential care home

The average cost of a residential care home in the UK is around £32,000 per year. However, this can vary significantly depending on where you live. 

A nursing home

Nursing homes are generally more expensive (£43,000 per year on average) but like care homes their fees vary by region. 

Ways to pay for long-term care

Ways to pay for care may include:

• Pension income
• Savings and investments
• An immediate care plan
• Your home

Care is usually expensive, and in the case of full-time care it is often very expensive. If you struggle to see how you could meet this challenge, your first port of call should be an independent financial adviserwho specialises in long-term care. Remember too that funding arrangements may take time to put in place, so the sooner contact a specialist, the better.

Your options for funding long-term care may come from one or more of the following.

Pension income, savings and other assets

Your private income (e.g. from pensions, the State Pension and any savings or investments you may have) can cover at least some of your care, but if your care needs are significant you will probably need other solutions too.

Immediate care plan

This is sometimes called an immediate needs annuity, and like an annuity this product is set up in exchange for a lump sum. It’s designed to pay the shortfall between your income and your care costs for the rest of your life, and pays directly to the care provider. Some immediate needs annuities may increase their payments automatically to keep pace with care costs.

Your home

You could sell your home to pay for some of your care costs, or release some value from it. Alternatively you could rent out all or part of it to boost your overall income.

Your financial adviser can go over all the options with you to find the best solutions. Being long-term care specialists, they should also be able to offer practical recommendations on the types of care available, and even on individual care providers. Importantly, they can also show you that long-term care can be affordable, and need not impose a burden on your family.

Long term care insurance

Currently there are no mainstream insurance products for covering long term care. The closest thing to long term care insurance is the immediate care plan or immediate needs annuity (see above), which can be set up to rise with costs and/or inflation.

Another option is to use any remaining pension pot that you may still have left to buy an enhanced annuity. An enhanced annuity takes into account any health conditions you may have, to give you a potentially higher income. Ask your financial adviser about this.

What if I can’t manage my own finances?

Conditions like dementia, or simply the effects of old age, can make it hard or impossible for a person to manage their own finances. This can happen to anyone, so it is highly advisable to set up Lasting Power of Attorney while you are fully competent. In doing this, you choose a person or persons (usually family members) who can do this on your behalf during your life. Talk to us about setting this up – it’s never too soon to arrange it, and it can be just as vital as making a will.

Arranging any funeral can be a major expense, even if you try to keep costs to a minimum. Given that a funeral of some kind will be necessary eventually, it makes sense to plan for this cost well in advance.

Here you can get a rough idea of what kinds of funeral arrangements are available, how much they might cost, and how you can source the money to pay for the send-off that your loved one deserves.

What will this funeral be like?

Remember that no two funerals are identical. Your loved one is unique, so their funeral will be too. If you are using a funeral director, you’ll have an initial meeting at which you set out your wishes: e.g. whether your loved one is to be buried or cremated, the kind of coffin, the number of cars, the music and a host of other decisions and details. It’s therefore a good idea to work out most of these details while your loved one is alive (they will probably have their own preferences), as this may well be a stressful time.

Everyone wants to give their loved one a special funeral. Bear in mind however that the decisions you make will affect the cost – and remember that paying your respects doesn’t mean you have to pay a fortune. Find out more about arranging a funeral.

How much does a funeral cost?

Basic funeral costs are made up of the funeral director’s fees, third-party costs and local authority fees.

The average cost¹ of a cremation in the UK is currently £3,300 while the average burial is £4,500. However, costs vary significantly from region to region, and some funeral directors may charge more than others. In some parts of the country (particularly London) average costs may be over £5,000, but in some places you would pay nearer £3,000. Similarly, funeral director fees even within the same area can vary by as much as £2,000 for similar services, so it is worth shopping around.

The cost of burial plots can also vary a great deal, depending on factors such as position and whether the deceased was a local resident.

Here’s a breakdown of typical funeral costs.

The costs listed here generally cover only a basic ceremony and funeral director services. In most cases you will have additional costs such as stationery (invitations, order of service etc), flowers, catering for the wake and so forth. Headstones, memorials and other masonry will also be extra, and again the price can vary a lot.

According to the Sun Life Cost of Dying report 2017, funeral costs are rising by an average of 5 per cent per year.

Ways to pay for a funeral

It’s good to work out in advance how any funeral will be paid for.

First talk to a number of local funeral directors to obtain price quotes for the kind of services you’re after. It’s much easier to do this kind of shopping around before the person has died, as you have more time to think and reflect on your choices.

When you have some quotes, think about your payment options. If you are planning your own funeral, there are several ways you can ensure the costs will be met without placing a burden on your family.

Savings transferred to a relative

The simplest solution may be to set aside a portion of your savings to cover the cost. This money will need to be gifted to the person who is to pay for the funeral (otherwise it will form part of your estate and won’t be readily available). You can gift up to £3,000 a year without risk of inheritance tax, so two years should be enough to set up a fund that could pay for most funerals.

The downside is that funeral costs may have risen by the time you actually die. Also, you will need to be sure that they won’t spend the money on anything else in the meantime.

Life insurance and a trust

For a more reliable method, you could take out a whole-of-life insurance policy that will pay out enough money to cover the funeral expenses. This should be set up to pay into a trust, in the name of the person who will pay for the funeral, so that the money is available quickly and not subject to inheritance tax. You will need a solicitor to do this for you.

Make provisions in your will

You can ensure your funeral costs will be covered by your estate, by stating this in your Will. However, it can take up to a year for assets to be released (the probate process), so usually someone will have to pay for the funeral themselves and be reimbursed later. This may cause temporary financial difficulties, so discuss this with whoever is likely to pay for the funeral.

If your relatives are unable to cover the costs at the time of the funeral, there are some legal services that will forward the money and recover it (plus their fee) from the estate later on. However this isn’t an ideal solution, so it’s worth considering one of the alternatives offered here.

Take out a funeral plan

A funeral plan lets you pay for your funeral directly in advance, usually in a series of instalments. In theory, the advantage of doing this is being able to pay at today’s prices (since funeral costs rise every year), as well as spreading the cost.

However, a funeral plan is not necessarily the best value option for you. Paying in instalments may mean paying a higher price overall, especially if you have a long payment period. Also, a funeral plan generally will not cover some key elements, such as a burial plot, memorials, flowers and catering. This may give you false reassurance that the funeral is completely paid for, when it is not. Also bear in mind that funeral plans are not regulated by the FCA, so if your provider runs into difficulties you may lose all the money you paid in.

In most cases you should be able to achieve better value outside of a funeral plan, such as by saving into an ISA and setting out your wishes to your loved ones in writing. Ask your financial adviser about the best way to cover funeral costs.

¹ 2015 National Funeral Cost Index Report, Royal London

² Sun Life Cost of Dying report, 2017