Sue has some capital set aside from Blue Ribbon Event’s earnings. But long-term illness would eat into this.It is clear, however, that additional critical illness cover of pounds 150,000 will be needed. Critical illness cover, which pays out a lump sum in the event of diagnosis of major diseases, including heart attacks or cancer, would go some way towards resolving this issue.Should anything happen, she could simply choose to use the capital to repay her mortgage or any other liabilities. Out of every pounds 10 paid into a policy in this way, the Revenue chips in pounds 2.30 for standard rate taxpayers and pounds 4 for those on the higher rate.Perhaps one of the most important issues is whether any debts could be covered in the event of long-term illness. This is tax effective because it is linked to a personal pension, thereby enjoying the same tax benefits from the Inland Revenue as with a personal pension.

There are now areas where planning would come in useful.Sue already has a term assurance policy with Norwich Union for pounds 20,000, so in the event of her death all her debts will be wiped out. She also holds about pounds 30,000 in an instant access account with Direct Line, paying 7.05 per cent gross, and has a separate account with Standard Life Bank, out of which she conducts her business finances.
So far, Sue has ploughed almost all her earnings back into the business and intends to sort out her pension planning and other financial areas on its first anniversary next month.The adviser: Roddy Kohn, independent financial adviser at Kohn Cougar, Wellington House, Wellington Park, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 2UR (0117-946 6384).The advice: For the past year, many of Sue’s personal finances have had to take a back seat,allowing her to concentrate on setting up and establishing her business. However, for now she does not intend to relocate the business out of her London flat, where it is based. Over the past few years, Sue has built up a small portfolio of individual company shares, including BT, Abbey National, Lloyds TSB, Railtrack, Rolls Royce and Thomson Holidays The shares are now worth about pounds 25,000. Since she set up her business, Blue Ribbon Events, almost a year ago it has achieved a turnover of almost pounds 300,000 and she is preparing to recruit her first member of staff. Like many women who decide to go it alone Sue Grossman has kept her feet firmly on the ground. Printing wizardry means that we are no longer confined to a mere 12 pages, offering the opportunity to expand our coverage of all areas The benefits will become apparent in the next few weeks Meanwhile, enjoy your reading..

It now includes shopping – on the assumption that all money-based activities we normally engage in can be housed under one roof. My suggestion, however, would be to contact an independent adviser or a stockbroker and take a fresh look at your investments: there is always some corrective action to take, no matter how minor.ON A marginally less gloomy note, welcome to a new-look Your Money section. Investment, as you will probably be sick of hearing, is for the long term. If you believe in the underlying value of your portfolio, the only thing to do is stick with it and hope to ride out the bad times. Any reader who took our advice will not have suffered to anything like the extent that the markets have.For those who didn’t, I have some small words of comfort. Many of our articles have concentrated on how to build some protection into investment portfolios, by going for lower-risk equities, investment and unit trusts, plus less risky vehicles such as with-profits endowments, corporate bonds and the like.

Now that this is self-evidently not true, and as the slowdown in the world economy continues – thereby potentially adversely affecting savings habits in the US and UK – does anyone seriously believe that investors will be so willing to put their money in equities?Over the past few months, our Your Money section has urged caution for investors. This confidence, we were told, would help offset the negative impact of the Far East’s crisis.But this avalanche of cash was always predicated on the most human of assumptions: that markets had done nothing but rocket upwards over the past few years and would continue to do so, albeit more slowly. It is by no means clear that Far Eastern economies have found the means to address the individual and collective crises they face. As this is being recognised the impact on the West, particularly in the US, one major source of investors’ funds, is becoming more apparent.Up to now, one argument against the doom-and-gloom merchants was that walls of money from US investors were continuing to pour into their country’s mutual funds, the equivalent of our unit trusts.

The FT-SE 100 share index had reached 6,200 and it seemed as if the oft-repeated warnings of a sharp market reverse were no more than the bleatings of a handful of Cassandras. As I write, the Footsie stands below 5,400, a drop of more than 14 per cent. Is this the “correction” that we were all afraid of? The immediate prospects are not good.
True, we have seen past reversals, such as the one in October last year, that almost immediately reasserted themselves.Even so, there are underlying worries within the world economy which, if anything, are becoming worse. THREE WEEKS ago, when I briefly surrendered to the by then desperate need for some summer sun, UK stock markets were riding at an all-time high. Many procedures, including hernia repair and cataracts and even hysterectomy, can be carried out without an expensive overnight stay.Self pay has grown by 20-25 per cent a year at Nuffield’s 38 hospitals and is increasing.Loans can spread the cost. BUPA typically charges 18.8 per cent for loans of pounds 2,500 to pounds 7,000 while Nuffield offers 0 per cent finance on some procedures.More than eight out of 10 people still prefer to use the NHS but for so-called elective surgery, self-pay is a necessary alternative for many.Andy Couchman is publishing editor of HealthCare Insurance Report.Example Self-Pay Costs At BUPA Hospitals:Procedure CostCataract pounds 1,800 – pounds 2,000Hip replacement pounds 5,500 – pounds 6,200Knee replacement pounds 6,500 – pounds 7,500Hernia pounds 1,250 – pounds 1,450Prostate pounds 2,650 – pounds 3,100Wisdom teeth pounds 950 – pounds 1,100Varicose veins pounds 1,250 – pounds 1,450Hysteroscopy pounds 950 – pounds 1,100Vasectomy pounds 325 – pounds 375Coronary artery by-pass graft pounds 9,600 – pounds 12,300. Heart by-passes, once exclusive to NHS hospitals, can now be performed in many larger independent hospitals.The growing use of keyhole surgery is another reason why self-pay is becoming popular, according to Nuffield Hospitals spokesman Ron Finlay.