Evidence

What households noticed after our consultations

These notes come from real engagement types on this site — planning, retirement review, inheritance conversations, and cash flow checks.

“We came in with a messy mix of old life policies and no shared view of monthly spending. The planning sessions forced us to put numbers on paper, which was uncomfortable at first but left us with a clear order of priorities.”

Claire & Mark H. — Family Financial Planning — Belfast area

“I had three workplace pensions from previous jobs and a State Pension forecast I barely understood. The retirement review walked through each pot in ordinary language and showed how they might sit together when I stop work at sixty-seven.”

Derek O. — Retirement Income Review

“Our inheritance conversation with the children stayed civil because someone else held the agenda. We did not leave with a finished will — that was never the point — but everyone finally heard what the others assumed.”

Helen R. — Inheritance Conversations

“The cash flow check found nearly two hundred pounds a month leaking through overlapping subscriptions and an outdated energy tariff. Not glamorous advice, but it funded the emergency pot we had postponed for years.”

Aisha T. — Cash Flow Health Check

“Response times were steady rather than instant, which suited us; we preferred careful written notes over a rushed call. The follow-up summary after our second meeting became the document we still open before big spending decisions.”

Paul N. — Family Financial Planning

Longer client stories

Sorting cover before a second child arrived

Claire and Mark booked Family Financial Planning eight weeks before their second child was due. They arrived with two old life policies, no shared budget, and a remortgage due the following spring. The first session mapped monthly outgoings; the second compared cover levels against both salaries and childcare costs.

The written plan recommended keeping one policy, reviewing the second at remortgage, and building a three-month emergency fund before increasing ISA contributions. Claire later said the discomfort of putting numbers on paper was the useful part — it stopped them guessing.

Three workplace pensions and a State Pension letter

Derek brought a Retirement Income Review after receiving his State Pension forecast. He had left pots with three former employers and was unsure whether to consolidate. We listed each scheme’s charges and any guaranteed benefits, then sketched how the State Pension weekly amount might sit beside drawdown from the largest pot.

He chose not to consolidate immediately — one scheme had a useful guaranteed annuity rate. The review’s value was knowing which pot to leave alone, not forcing a single answer.

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