Over the last year, the team here at Lyons Financial Services has looked to help our clients work their way through the Covid restrictions as best you can. We came across a useful piece from one of the Health Insurers about avoiding injury, and thought that it was useful to share with you.

Since pretty much all aspects of life have been upended over the last year, most people have found themselves adjusting to a completely new routine. This can be a positive; new hobbies, lots of walks and more time spent with family, or challenging; figuring out a comfortable way to work from a box room. But, as Mark McGroarty from Human Centred Movement explains, little changes can make a huge difference. 

Common Covid Complaints

Mark and his team have been kept busy for the last year, largely due to the huge number of people dusting off their runners and heading out for some 5k radius exercise. “One of the few benefits of life with Covid is that we've been forced to get outside”, he says. "That bit of movement has breathed new life into a lot of people”. Unfortunately, for those who push themselves a little too hard, results have included sore knees, strained ankles, and even, says Mark, “shoulder injuries from sea swimming!”

A Marathon, Not a Sprint

The good news is that these types of injuries are largely avoidable. When it comes to starting something like running, Mark says it's all about common sense. “You wouldn’t expect to learn French in one day”, he reasons. “You’d master the basics first. The same is true for running. Try walking your chosen distance initially, then jogging, then eventually, running”. By setting long-term goals and celebrating all the little achievements along the way, you’re more likely to stick with – and enjoy – your new hobby. 

Working from Home

The HCM team has also seen lots of sore necks and stiff shoulders, thanks to uncomfortable makeshift workspaces. There are lots of things you can do to make your home environment as comfortable as possible. Mark says the trick is to keep moving. "Take advantage of the fact that you're in comfortable surroundings, and don’t lock yourself into one position. You have the option of kneeling, using the floor, or even setting up the ironing board as a standing desk.” Remember to regularly stretch your legs too, and head out for a brisk walk at lunchtime if you can. “It’s about getting as much variety into your working day as possible.” If your back or neck pain is persistent, Irish Life Health members have access to an exclusive service called Back-Up benefit. In just three simple steps, you can access expert personalised advice to help prevent, improve or correct most back and neck pain. 

Move with Mark 

To help people get moving, Mark hosts a simple three-minute class every morning on HCM’s Instagram. Completely free and open to everyone, it's a great way to start the day. He’s also a big advocate of using the breath to heal the body, something that’s very useful in the current climate. “We’ve had people in with knee pain, and all we did was have them lie down and do some breathing exercises.” Incredibly, their pain eased. “It’s not that breathing was a magical fix”, he adds, “it was that they took themselves out of that high anxiety state. A simple breathing routine can change everything."

For more on Human Centred Movement, click here.   

In today’s era of consumerism on a grand scale, it can be hard to maintain a clear and constant perspective about the value of money. Many of us muddle along, surviving, making mistakes and getting by. However this is no example to give to the next generation who are likely to pick up on our behaviours and habits. Instead we need to carefully teach our children about how to act responsibly with money and to give them the best chance of building positive financial habits for life.

We’ve set out a few areas that you might like to talk to them about as they begin their lifelong relationship with money.

1. Establish a savings routine

This can start as soon as children start to receive pocket money. Encouraging them not to spend it all as they receive it and instead to save for a bigger treat to be bought every few weeks or months can set in place the benefits of delayed but ultimately greater rewards. We all know the benefits as we’ve got older of saving for holidays and cars instead of borrowing and paying back far more than the actual cost.

2. Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves

Another old saying that many of our parents used but it's also one well worth remembering and passing on to our children. This tip is all about small amounts eventually making a big difference, teaching children the value of not getting complacent and wasting what seem like insignificant amounts of money to them.

3. Understand debt

Borrowing money is a part of life and often makes good financial sense. Getting a mortgage to buy a home or even a loan for a car are often necessary. However borrowing money simply to support a lifestyle you cannot afford is a recipe for disaster. 

Credit cards can feel cool to children! That is until they get their bill and suddenly realise the rates of interest being charged… Children should be taught about the dangers of credit cards in particular and loans in general, and that they are only suitable as part of a structured financial plan. 

4. Share your own war stories

Unfortunately we’ve all made financial mistakes over the years. Maybe too much property in the boom, maybe we didn’t get proper independent financial advice early enough in our lives.  Tell your children about lessons you’ve learned and how they can learn from them, and avoid making the same mistakes as you. 

5. Don’t be afraid to haggle

Your children need to understand that they have real buying power in relation to a lot of the products and services that they purchase. They offer the potential of being very long-term customers, the types that brands really want to attract. So whether they are opening a bank account, booking a hotel, getting car insurance, buying a car, some electronics or even just clothes, they should get into the habit of making sure they get the best price by a bit of good old-fashioned haggling. 

6. Plan your financial future

This is probably the most important lesson of them all… Financial planning shouldn’t start when people hit their forties and start worrying about retirement. Financial planning should start at a very young age; when children are thinking about all the things they want, but can’t afford! Choices have to be made, careful decisions need to be taken and a plan needs to be put in place to manage their limited resources to achieve the maximum effect and/or enjoyment.

7. Fund your pension early

Every 10 years earlier that you start a pension, your fund approximately doubles. So children need to be taught that pensions are not for old people! They are for savvy young people who have planned their financial futures and who want to make their financial objectives throughout life easier to achieve.

8. Get cover while it’s cheap and accessible

Life assurance, income protection and other such products are much cheaper and easier to get (younger people are healthier, underwriters take a more benign approach) so young people should get cover in place early. They should look potentially at convertible policies that they can maintain cover on, into the future. These could be very valuable, particularly if they are unfortunate to suffer from ill health as they get older.

Pretty much all of our conversations these days open with a quick chat about the current situation with Covid. While it’s all a bit bleak at the moment with the latest surge in cases, hospital admissions and most unfortunately deaths, there is light at the end of the tunnel in the shape of the rollout of the vaccine starting to gather pace. This of course is the gamechanger for 2021.

So we’ve decided to keep our positive outlook to the fore and want to set out five simple tips in relation to your finances that will ensure you can enjoy life to the maximum when all of the restrictions ease, and we all get back to life as we knew it before.

Stay healthy

What has this to do with your finances? Well particularly for all of you who are self-employed or running your own business, your health is crucial for your financial wellbeing. Short-term sick pay benefits will be a fraction of what you earn, if available at all to you. But apart from the impact on your immediate earnings, the future growth of your business will probably suffer too, as you rightly focus on your recovery and not your business.

If you are unable to work because of illness over the longer term, many of you have income protection in place – a very worthwhile cover that will go some way towards replacing your income. But of course a long term illness is never good news.

Take care of yourself, follow the guidelines and stay as healthy as possible to protect your income, today and in the future.

Plan a holiday

Do you remember them? When we all used to get on planes and go off to nice warm places? Those days will come again, hopefully later in 2021. So now is the time to start thinking about that longed for holiday. Get your whole family talking about it and thinking of where to go. Then get everyone working on it… and by this I mean saving for it. After all, one of the big pluses of our restricted lives over the last year has been the significantly increased levels of household saving. So give yourself an attractive saving goal.

Of course if holidays are not your thing, plan a big reward for later in the year that is something really meaningful to aim for.

Pay yourself first

So hopefully now you’re committed to saving. You’ve got a clear goal, that nice holiday later in the year. This can go any of 3 ways,

1. You’re not in a position to save or you choose not to save. This makes the prospect of the holiday much more distant. How will you afford it at the time?
2. You choose to save whatever is left over in your account at the end of each month. A bit better than no. 1 above, but not much better to be honest. Money left in your account seems to find a way to get spent.
3. You save your chosen amount immediately after you are paid each month. And you then manage your spending to get through the month. Known as “paying yourself first”, this is the route to successful saving.  

Review your spending

Have a look at all of your spending and identify any wastage or opportunities for savings. This could mean fewer takeaway dinners, re-negotiating your energy / telephone / TV subscriptions and shopping around for better deals. Any savings achieved will improve the quality of your holiday.

Monthly (online) shopping trips only

Do you remember back in the day when you used to go into town on a bit of a shopping trip? Maybe it happened a few times a year where you made multiple purchases. Now that we are all shopping online and it’s so easy, our habits have changed. We’re constantly and mindlessly browsing and then seeing stuff we like. And then it’s just so easy to buy it without thinking about it too much… and maybe end up regretting it a bit later.

The answer might be to go back to the old way of shopping. Decide how much you have to spend and then go shopping, just once a month. But now online. If you see something you like during the month, don’t buy it then, wait for your monthly shopping trip. This way, you’re likely to avoid or at least challenge your impulse purchasing behaviours.

All that’s left then is - where are you going on that great holiday?