9th August Instructor Newsletter

I’ve just got back from a full 13 hour day at the Olympics and I’m buzzing. The event was so slick, the organization was flawless, just being there soaking up the atmosphere was something I will never forget. I was chatting to Helen Skelton, the Blue Peter presenter who was hosting for the BBC and we both agreed this is such a pivotal moment for the UK Fitness and Sports Industries.

There will be so many opportunities, ideas and new ventures springing up post London 2012. I don’t know where it’s going to take the fitness industry but I think we need to be aware, read everything that’s going on, get involved and provide the right environment and vehicle for new people who want to get fit and are motivated after the Olympics.

This could be the moment the other 85% of the UK population get enthused and inspired to begin getting fit and we need to be ready with the right programmes.

The country has got Olympic Fever; class numbers seem to be increasing all over the UK as the general public embrace sport, fitness and being healthy.

What part can we play?
What classes and programmes can we create?
Where in the community can we fit it?

As always I hope this newsletter will inspire and motivate to launch a fresh September timetable with new classes, formats, branding and ideas.

Sit down grab a drink and pen and paper and write down all of your ideas and throughts as you read through the newsletter.

I’d love to get your thoughts and ideas on this tweet me @RachelHolmes

30 Minute Quick Workouts in The Community by Rachel

Have you given 30 minute classes much thought recently?

The biggest reason people don’t workout is they are time poor, so, how about launching a series of 30minute quick workouts. I posed this question on my Facebook page yesterday and got a lot of great comment and debate.

Michelle Jones is running 30minute Extreme classes in her leisure centre and in the community, she reports packed sessions.

“I’ve been running 30min extreme classes for the last 3 years and they are very popular, people these days have less and less time with children, careers etc. My classes are HIIT and people wouldn’t do 2 back to back due to the intensity so the aim for me is for them to work at a higher intensity. My aim is to be effective and create more time for people. It does take time to educate the customer who would normally do a 1 hour session” Says Michelle

Brainstorming names for these 30 minute classes include Quick HIIT, Quick Cardio, Quick FatBurning, Extreme HIIT, Extreme Cardio, Fast HIIT, Fast Fitness. I am sure you can come up with some cool, nifty titles. I love Fast Fitness.

Personally I can only create and teach a class that I would love to go to myself, and right now I just want to rock up to a session, work out to the max with no filler exercises and hobble away. This kind of session suits me down to the ground.

Tina Sewell also runs a full program of 30minute classes in the community

“I have been running 30 minute classes for the last two years in the community and they have a massive attendance! We include everyone from the age of 10 to my oldest participant who is 90! But don’t be fooled they are intense classes, each one is different and we have ten on our timetable. Really successful” says Tina

30minute HIIT could work well early morning or a quick stop over on the way home before bums hit sofas, and the general public are becoming much more aware that to really burn fat you’ve got to work at a higher intensity and a shorter duration works perfectly.

Jill Gardner has also been running her 30minute classes called FitStop, these have also become a major hit in Milton Keynes.

If you are looking at a time table revamp for Autumn what about adding in some Fast Fitness Workouts?

You could run a course of 2 per week for 6 weeks and see what the uptake is.

My predication is more and more 30minute workouts popping up on the timetable.

Let me know your thoughts Tweet me @RachelHolmes

Rachel’s Projects coming up on Choreographytogo

Here is whats coming up on Choreographytogo over the next few weeks.

Fitness Pilates Boutique

Monday 13th August I am opening the Fitness Pilates 7 Day Boutique, 2 Pilates workouts a day plus mind set coaching and clean eating diet plan. I’ve previously ran 3 Boutique and now I’m condensing all of the 14 day material into a 7 day summer school of chilled out bliss. I have 20 places and you can book here

19 Day Create your Online Fitness Business Course
This has been my most popular online course as yet and I will open the doors again this year on Monday 3rd September. This course is £147

The Dirty 30 Back to School Workout Club will kick of again on 1st September with 30 new daily home workouts you will need weights, Kettlebells, Step, skipping rope and Body Bar.

Kick Start Fat Loss 21/2 Stone + to lose
My unique KSFL for people with 21/2stone or more to lose will run again starting next Monday 13th August for 21 days

https://www.choreographytogo.com/shop/ksfl-2-stone-2-lose/

KSFL Detox Back to School is a 14 day detox starting Monday 3rd September.

World Fitness Pilates Day – Brand new training day with Kelly Reed by on click here for details and booking

Harness the Power of The Olympics by Rachel

Another question I have posed this week on my Facebook page is to find out if your classes are busy during the Olympics and excitedly everyone that responded said BUSY BUSY BUSY!!!

How amazing and brilliant!

Let’s really try and capitalize on getting our timetables, classes and courses out ready for people to book onto…… while Olympic Fever is still HOT.

Fitness, Health and Sport is THE hottest topic right now!

1.Rename some of your classes, new marketing, branding, new theme.
2.Look at offering 30minute workouts.
3.SGT – Read past newsletters there is oceans of info on Small group training.
4.Use innovative marketing tactics to spread your message – Go to all the local takeaways and buy the back1/4 of the menu. This is a tactic I’ve used a million times as they get delivered to hundreds of homes in your catchment.
5.Network with other local professionals…. in fact just get out there and network.

Please join in the debate on the Choreographytogo Facebook Page click here

Can you fix obesity with a band-aid? by Jill Gardner

Imagine you keep getting a blister from an ill fitting shoe. Each time you wear it, it causes a blister. You put on a plaster, let it heal and then the same thing happens again.

The plaster offers a temporary relief, and enables you to wear the ill fitting shoe a little longer but always the blisters return. And so the cycle continues.

The blister is a symptom of a poorly fitting shoe. Just the same as a ‘weight problem’ is a symptom of something. The ‘diet, mindset and lifestyle’ is the poorly fitting shoe.

What do I mean?
Excess weight is a symptom
Excess fat is a symptom
Fatigue and brain fog is a symptom
Chaffing thighs is a symptom
High blood pressure is symptom
These are all symptoms of a bigger problem.

Simply trying to ‘lose weight’ is the proverbial plaster. Sure you can lose weight and it will stay off for a while – if your really lucky up to 2 years . But for most (over 90%) the weight just comes right back quicker than it went and often with a little extra too!

So how do we sort the ill-fitting shoe?

Well first we have to measure up what the problems are: Is it too small, too tight, the wrong shape, too narrow, too wide, too flat, too high, wrong style……..

If you don’t stop, learn and make changes you will keep buying the same ill fitting shoe time over.

How do we avoid this with?

You have to find out what fits YOU! And no two shoes are the same. Buying a shoe off the shelf and hoping it will fit is going to lead to a lot of blisters and therefore a ton of plasters for a very long time to come.

The plaster is a temporary fix. Instead we need to stop the blisters from happening in the first place. This requires us to take a different approach and ask questions:

Why do we overeat in the first place?
Why do we have excessive hunger or cravings?
Why are we stressed?
Why aren’t we sleeping?
Why do we eat too much sugar?
Why don’t we exercise?

If these issues are not addressed, then we will be forever putting plasters on our blisters until either the plasters run out or the blister no longer heals……

Big love, small tummies! Jill – The Fat Controller www.facebook.com/hateitchangeit
www.hateitchangeit.co.uk @itsjillgardner

Yvonne Radley OLympic Fever

Everyone is high on Olympic fever and you should definitely use the mood of the nation to catapult yourself further than you’ve ever gone before in the publicity stakes.

I’m not talking about putting on Olympic classes, or training your clients like athletes – I’m talking BIG, outside the box, publicity.
What’s the one thing that would guarantee you a front page spread on your local front paper?

What if your company was to get a message from one of our GOLD winners!! That would be amazing.

So here’s what I did on Sunday morning after our EPIC Super Saturday, I tweeted Jessica Ennis, Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford congratulating them on their wins. You feel it anyway, you want to reach out to them and tell them what an inspiration they are to you and your clients and I may not get a response. But if I do, Imagine, I would send that tweet straight off to my local media outlets and followed up very quickly with a press release.

If you guys would like to do the same here are their addresses @J_Ennis @Mo_Farah and @GregJRutherford

Whatever you do guys, always aim for the top, sometimes it pays off. Let me know if you get a response.

Yvonne Radley from yvonneradleymedia.com

Jess Ennis Fever by Cori Withell

If you have not been watching the Olympics – WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!? I virtually have not moved off my settee since they started not wanting to miss any of it and if I am honest, I really didn’t think I would get that hooked. Then came the turn of the best all round athlete in the world – Jessica Ennis – serious girl crush or what! She oozed Olympic fever, emotional whilst being strong, inspirational, motivational, dedicated, determined, humble, honest – there simply are not enough words in the English language to epitomise what she projected every time she competed and was interviewed. Even watching the highlights again got me emotional but it also got me thinking…..

Do WE inspire our clients? Do we truly motivate them to achieve what they want to achieve or are we too busy worrying about other stuff or wanting them to achieve what we want them to achieve to make ourselves and our businesses look good?

A harsh question yes, but one that needs to be asked.

How often do we not want to teach, not want to train a client, want to stay at home but go out anyway? Are you a good enough actor to pull this off or can your clients see that your heart really is not in it and you would rather not be there? Teaching, training etc when ‘you are not in the mood’ or ‘are carrying too much emotional baggage’ are incredibly hard to pull off – the light in your eyes dies and clients DO pick up on this so be warned!

Then there is the other aspect – do you really look at what the client wants and tailor training and coaching to them OR are you wanting to be a success on YOUR terms? This is not necessarily wrong but if you are wanting to become the local fat loss expert and are attracting clients whose goals are different, would you not be better attracting the clients you want and will reflect your business well rather than working with those who come to you and trying to mould them to fit your criteria?

Would it not be better to stand in front of your client/s just being you as you, with no hidden agenda and inspire them because of who you actually are? Inspire people by being you! Isn’t that what Jess Ennis did? Of course it is! She didn’t put a front on, she didn’t try to be something she isn’t – she went out there with her goal and well and truly smashed it. Inspiration in more ways than one, don’t you agree?

Health and happiness x
Best wishes
Cori x

Golf Fitness – Paula Denvir

Do you play golf, do your clients?

Today millions of people play golf throughout the world. One could argue golf is more popular now than at any other time.
Despite the popular image of golf as a leisurely sport, it is a serious athletic pursuit that can produce injury and trauma. In fact, golf is one of the higher injury producing sports played.
Studies show that professional and amateur golfers have similar injury rates but experience different types of injuries. For professional golfers the most common injuries can occur in the low back followed by the left wrist and shoulder. The elbow is the most common injury site experienced by the amateur golfer followed by the low back and shoulder.
Golf is a game that requires high levels of skill, eye-hand coordination, flexibility and mobility, muscular power, timing, strength and endurance. It requires golfers to have at least moderate levels of aerobic conditioning, muscular strength and endurance. Golfers who practise often can take as many as 300 swings per practise session, which requires key levels of flexibility in the hips, legs, and shoulders to be successful.
This means golfers are repeatedly exposing their bodies to high levels of force and do so while moving through a large range of motion. To do this safely, the body must be properly trained and in balance to perform a sound swing time and time again.
Happy golfing !!
Paula Denvir

Golf Fitness Specialist
http://www.facebook.com/paula.denvir.9

Creativity and creative inertia by Vicki Scovell.

I am sitting and sitting and sitting, and nothing is happening. The computer screen remains blank. My mind is wandering away from my desk, into the kitchen, and dawdling next to the larder where selections of miniature cakes wait for my daughter’s birthday tea tomorrow. In the next room, the kids are properly winding each other up and it is only a matter of time before one of them ‘accidentally’ hurts the other and it all kicks off. I’m trying to ignore them, but they really are very loud and distracting. I try to block them out by looking out of the window. Now this has become entirely distracting; the sky is a wonderful mixture of dark and light, with clouds every colour between deep navy blue and white. Sharp bright sunlight strikes the edges of them, picking out their bizarre shapes in gold and bronze. I ponder how many French Fancies I can safely eat without ruining the Birthday tea-party, but I only like the pink ones, and it will be too obvious if one has gone. In the next room the children are having a competition to see who can cry most realistically.

Somewhere in my hunter-gatherer mind, a reflex overrides me trying to ignore them, and my consciousness is drawn by the wailing. I quash the primal maternal instinct, and bin it quickly. We are weeks into the school holidays and ‘maternal’ is not on the list of adjectives which I would use to describe myself. The clouds have softened to a colour like a collar doves wings, and the screen on my computer is white. A fleeting idea scuds across my consciousness, I smile to greet it like a dear friend, lift a finger to type, and- MUUUUUMMM, I’M HUNGRY. Great. I bellow something about the fact that dinner will be ready soon even though I am unsure of the exact status of the fridge and larder (other than the cakes). I mentally scramble after the rapidly fleeing idea, which eludes me entirely and escapes over the creative horizon.

Now the nearly-birthday child is doing this thing where she wanders in, does some dangerous-looking gymnastics, asks me to look at her about 20 times, stands with her hands on the back of my chair, using it to propel herself up into the air about 15 times, and then goes out. She then waits for around 10 seconds and the door opens and she does it again. I take a moment out to consider whether it is more time-efficient to google ‘adoption’ or ‘valium.’ The crying competition escalates behind the door, and the screen is still as blank as virgin snow. I sigh in a way that would look good on the stage, possibly even bringing a tear to your empathetic eye, but there is no one here to appreciate it, or offer solace, and so I abandon my desk and make pasta for the kids.

I present them with their supper and pray that if they are eating they might actually shut up for ten minutes so that I can think. My prayers are ignored, they are now shrieking and jumping on and off the sofa while the food cools. The windows are completely steamed up from making pasta, which means I can’t gaze at the clouds, and so it’s just me and the blank, white, un-blinking screen. Everything has gone quiet in the other room, so now’s my chance. Oh no, too late, they have both come in to get glasses of water. For some reason this involves leaning on my chair whilst arguing about who should turn on the tap.

The child which can’t turn the tap on alone loses, and the situation moves towards meltdown, as the child who can turn the tap on shouts instructions at the struggling one whilst refusing to physically help. After spraying water all over the floor and work surfaces, they leave the room a hummingbirds beat of a wing before I go nuclear. All in all, it’s not going very well. I have fifteen minutes left to make some sort of start before I go out to work. I decide that there is only one thing to do, and that is to give up. I spend the time tidying my desk so that when I get back it looks like the sort of place where a person might write something brilliant.

Writers block is a terrible affliction. By the time I sit down to write I usually have a mass of jottings; an embryonic piece waiting to be fleshed out. This week….. nothing. I have not been lazy, I have been trying for days, but nothing has come along to inspire me, and everything has come along to distract me. All creative processes are inherently tricky; writing, choreographing, planning classes and PT sessions. You may not think of planning Bootcamp as an inherently creative process, but really it is another sort of writing; you need a great script to keep people interested, but it takes a lot of time and energy to keep coming up with fresh and original ideas. The creative process may not be pinned down into time slots which can be defined as ‘work’ and more often than not, inspiration comes at times when you are not prepared to greet it. I occasionally come up against a block when planning classes and PT sessions; I get ‘stuck’ with a group of ideas or method of training, and I can’t quite shake myself out of it. This is one of my greatest fears. When I started exercising I attended an aerobics class which was extremely popular. I went on and off, and it NEVER changed; the same pattern, content and music. It had been running for years, with a huge following, and was extremely outdated. And yet it continued to be popular. Even WORSE, several of the local instructors whose classes I tried, used the same format. I began to think of it as McAerobics; very popular, always know what you are going to get, but basically not very good for you. When I had qualified and was teaching, I ended up sharing a class with the teacher and her class whilst their hall was refurbed. We did 30 minutes each, and me and my class whooped the others. The poor lambs (I deliberately use the word LAMBS as in- to the slaughter) were a) institutionalized and b) unfit. Some of them were attending their class 2 or 3 times a week, and yet their fitness had ground to a halt. They could not cope with variation; I threw in some grapevines which had people breaking limbs in the panic which ensued. Anyway those experiences make me worry about grinding to a halt creatively.

As fit pros we have a duty to keep our classes and training sessions moving, experimenting with different ways of teaching, novel methods and new ideas, especially with a loyal group of people who you see several times a week. Variation proves to be mentally and physically stimulating, and no progress in fitness will come from endless repetition. But, the creative drive can be illusive. By its very nature you can’t turn it on or off, but you CAN draw it out of yourself. Here are some of the ways that I find inspiration, and kick-start thought. For your general confusement, I have mixed up writing and teaching, to keep you on your toes.
If nothing is happening, and the stress is building up, so that you know that nothing IS going to happen, get up and do something else; go for a walk, listen to music, read a book or get on with something.

Tell yourself that you will do this for 20 minutes or so before getting back to your work.

Brainstorm regularly; get big bits of paper and cover them in ideas, then take the best ones and put them on another piece of paper, and keep scribbling.

Watch plenty of clips on You Tube, even if 60% of them tell you what you DON’T want to be doing/saying/presenting yourself. Download Rachel’s stuff, as you may not have the opportunity to get to the cutting edge conferences for ideas, but she does. I recently I found the Dirty 30 a springboard to plenty of new boot camp ideas.
Get into a studio/room with a video camera. Letting the camera run, is a great way of recording ideas. I put on some music which I completely love, press record on the camera, and see what happens. Yes you can feel like a tit, but once you let go of that, lots of ideas can flow out. It is disruptive to stop movement and rush to grab a pencil and paper, and some of the things that I scribble down are completely meaningless to me the next time I look at them; hig rt, under lat (pull up); all I can remember about this was that it was awesome and ground-breaking, but I have no actual recollection of what it actually was. If I had recorded it I may have changed the world……

Music for me is key to releasing stress, unlocking ideas and letting movement out. Different sorts of music will affect your brain patterns. If I need to get cleaning done I will play some banging dance music which takes me through it, if I need to take time out to focus on writing, I will listen to something beautiful and classical to calm my mind. If I am planning classes, it needs to touch me on a level which will get the ideas out; not necessarily music I would use in class. I often find myself doing yoga to Drum and Bass, or at the other end of the spectrum some meditation music; each gives me a different angle on it.

There is nothing like actually getting out there and training with other people. I attended Unite, and it felt like coming home. To be surrounded by like-minded people, all brimming with their own ideas, projects and views, was truly invigorating, and boy can classes go places when they are peopled entirely by Fit Pros who move together like a school of fish. You can feel a bit isolated as a community instructor, and so booking into several courses a year is an invaluable way to see what others are up to, make connections and fill up on inspiration.

So there you go, I finally managed to come out with something, beat the writer’s block, and also have an exceptionally tidy desk. FYI I did not eat the French Fancies, succumb to Valium, or have the children adopted. Although the full combo has a deeply appealing side. Until next time,

Vikki Scovell Grab me on FB or Twitter @fitbite

“Lark in the Park”
By Claire Mockridge
Ante/Postnatal Fitness Expert

Hi there everyone,

Firstly, I’d like to say a big thank you to those of you who have posted in my private Facebook Group for Ante/Postnatal Instructors recently. The Group’s got a lovely little support network forming at the moment, and I simply love helping you, so it’s win-win.

I’m continuing on with a similar thread of “get out into your community” this week. I attended a local FREE community Event recently called “Lark in the Park” which is organised by the local Council. The Event is held outdoors in a local park, in the perfect location to my catchment area for potential clients and it truly is a silly event for me not to miss.

There are rides for children, taster sessions, freebies and giveaways, information about local services, arts and crafts stalls etc – a real eclectic mix of local businesses that merge into one big community Event.

The best thing for me isn’t the amount of potential business there wandering around, or the fact that it’s FREE, it’s actually the community feel the Event has to it. Clients from 6 years ago stop by, introduce their “baby” who’s now at school(!), ex-pregnant clients whisper that “they might be coming back to me sooner than they think!”, and current clients take time out to chat about how much they love my pre/postnatal classes. It’s just brilliant.

Anyway, today’s message to you is simply this. Find an Event that you could attend locally where you could either sell your wares yourself, or just go along as a spectator, and introduce yourself to the other stallholders who you think you could build a relationship with. Get out there, meet the local small business owners, and bring the “community” spirit back into your marketing.

EARLY BIRD PRICE £57 “Go forth and multiply” Postnatal Marketing ends midnight Friday 10th August 2012: www.clairemockridge.com/marketing.

Or, connect with me here:
Closed Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/clairemockridge/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/clairemockridge1
Twitter: www.twitter.com/clairemockridge
Blog: http://clairemockridge.wordpress.com/

Bye for now.

Claire Mockridge
Ante/Postnatal Fitness Expert

Nudge Nudge…..Win Win
By Andrew Crawford

Was it just me…or did Meares deliberately give Pendleton a couple of ‘helpful’ nudges which saw her get relegated and ultimately led to the silver medal?

Did you see it? Nudge nudge…wink wink…!!!

I have been doing a lot of crying this last couple of weeks….not from sorrow but ‘tears of joy’…these games have been phenomenal despite the turbulent beginnings. As a nation the UK is ace. Third in the table behind China and the USA…….and we are only a ‘small’ country compared to the size of those 2…..can you imagine the talent that lies ‘within’???

I have watched and indulged myself in sports I have previously bypassed. Things like the Equestrian and indoor cycling in the velodrome..it’s been absolutely fantastic….what about you?

Oggey oggey oggey…….Hoy Hoy Hoy……real men do cry…we’re not ashamed to show our emotions. Didn’t our Knight from ‘Campbell-Land’do us proud? Tee hee……..

Like him or hate him, Bolt has bought something different to the sport. Let’s see if he can retain his 200m title tonight which should see his status become a legend..!!

Lest we forget….each and everyone of these athletes have dedicated their lives to achieve various goals and objectives….what we are seeing is the results of their efforts. Some of them have worked every day for 4 years to get to their present standard so whether gold silver or bronze, we must celebrate their achievements.

In addition, you as a Fitness Professional have the responsibility to find and hone the next generation of champions…’I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way…’

So come on tell me…….who’s body have you seen and said to yourself….’Cor…I wish I had that body…’…Jessica Ennis??? Nah….in winter, there’s nothing to ‘grab hold of’….to keep you warm….you like a bit of ‘meat’ don’t you?…beef cake…whatever that means.!!

So Andrew,

What has a bit of nudging, Bolt, Jessica Ennis and a hunk of beef cake got to do with Accountancy & Tax?

Well, up until the time you were exposed to the event/ result, there was a vast amount of time of preparation….this was their ‘Investment’.

There are many forms of investment however and these are measured in terms of short term, medium term and long term.

Short Term Investments

Putting away a bit of cash for your girlie weekend next month

Medium Term Investments

Buying a flat which you will sell off in a few years time.

Long Term Investments

So what are we talking about here? Relationships? or monetary terms? Both are linked as relationships take time and money to develop!!

This is investing in a undefined unknown entity…why?

Because the end is not known. We live in the hope that the time spent cultivating our investments will ultimately pay ‘dividends’ in the future.

We can measure investments in terms of financial and non financial elements. The non financial being time and effort. Just like our athletes….one of the gold medal rowers said….’We have been training everyday for 4 years…’ now THAT is investment…!!!

Returns………Gold medal and future gains. Perhaps a Sir etc…

Types of Investment – (Monetary)

ISA’s

This is called Individual Savings Accounts. The cash ISA limit s £5,640 and an overall limit of £11,280.

The beauty of this is that you can invest your money and have tax free income.

There used to be a mini and maxi ISA (I’ve still got my books) but now there is a Cash ISA and a Stocks & Shares ISA.

These are open to anyone over 18 years old. If your over 16 you can have a cash ISA.

Investment Trusts

These are companies that buy and sell shares. If you invest in this type of trust, you become a shareholder.

Be warned that shares rise and fall in value, so you take the risk and benefits of owning them.

You are able to spread your risk by investing in many different companies (if you’ve got a spare few grand, come and talk with me about investing in my companies….lol)….it’s safe…promise…scouts honour..dib dib and all that!!!

You will be taxed, just like normal shares, so you will receive the 10% credit.

Unit Trusts

This is a less risky investment strategy as your investment will be ‘pooled’ with thousands of others then spreading the risk across a wide range of shares or other investments.

Halifax offered this, (No…I’m not Howard…!!!) and for me, my investments have increased over the years. This is a medium to long term strategy.

OEIC’s

These are Open Ended Investment Companies.

These shares are created when you make an investment and cancelled when you cash in.

Closed ended funds have a fixed number of shares to be bought and sold.

These are medium type of investments as they may go up or down as time passes.

Endowment Policies

This is a policy which has a savings element and a life assurance policy for an agreed period. The minimum period is 10 years.

A tax free benefit is normally paid out at the maturity or on death…whichever is the earliest.

If you wanted to, you could sell your policy but you may pay charges, which is usually the case.

Investment Bond

An investment bond is in fact a whole of life policy usually paid for with a lump sum (or single premium). Proceeds can be taxable if you are a higher rate taxpayer and may also be taxable for lower rate taxpayers

The money invested is used to buy units in a selected fund. Most insurance companies offer a wide range of funds from low to high risk.?

Annuity

This is a contract where the insurance company agrees to pay you a guaranteed income either for a specific period or for the rest of your life in return for a capital sum.

With a guaranteed annuity, income is paid for your life, but in the event of early death within a guaranteed period, the income is paid for the balance of the guaranteed annuity period to your beneficiaries.??The capital is non-returnable and hence the income paid is relatively high.

I must stress that any type of investment involves a bit of risk s if you don’t mind that then choose one or many type of investment that suits your risk factor.

You may not be thinking of investments right now because your ‘living it up’ and having a cracking time with the girlies….and boyz..!!

Finally…..the other type of investment you might be thinking about (or is it just me?)…is in the opposite sex…….once you invest your time, invested a bit of money, made some commitments, you would expect some ‘dividends’…(non financial)!!! Nudge nudge, wink wink…!!

Speak soon

Andrew Crawford

There is more free resources at this site…

www.fitnessindustryaccountants.com

www.facebook.com/andrewjamescrawford

www.twitter.com/@tax4fitness

Have a wonderful day everyone

Much Love Rachel xxx