Issue #66: April Round-Up

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Let’s Talk About April 🤑

Alright friends, April was a MONTH!!

I know I say this every month, but SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED!

From crashing markets, new wages kicking in and me visiting Downing Street again (yes, seriously), let’s unpack it all before May gets any ideas.

Here’s everything you might have missed ⬇️

Just a Reminder…

Here's a summary of April’s financial updates and news:

1. Interest Rates

Ok firstly I know this is meant to be about April, but I am LITERALLY REPORTING LIVE AS I WRITE THIS from the Bank of England (can you tell I’m excited) 🫣

The new interest rates have just been announced - they’re DROPPING the rates from 4.5% to 4.25%, the lowest rate since May 2023.

This means…

💰Cheaper mortgages (yay)
📉Lower returns on savings (boo)

So a win for some, a loss for others 🤷‍♂️ no doubt it’ll fluctuate again soon.

2. The New Tax Year Began

April 6th marked the start of the 2025/26 tax year - and with it came a few key changes:

Firstly, National Minimum Wage is up 🎉

• 21+ now get £12.21/hr

• 18–20s are now on £10/hr

• Under 18s & apprentices now get £7.55

So while that’s a win for employees, those with small businesses suffer from National Insurance increases from 13.8% to 15%, with the threshold to pay these NI contribitions being lowered from £9100 to £5000 per year ☹️

If you’re a SME business owner, defo look up if you’re eligible to get relief from this - there are plenty of resources out there on Google 🤝

3. The Stock Market Crashed 📉

I know you didn’t miss this one, I’ve been shouting about it all month 🤣

Thanks to Trump’s annoucements of tariffs, the stock market was a rollercoaster - with the S&P500 especially taking a HUGE HIT (along with our portfolios)😭.

The S&P 500 plunged over 10% in just three days only to bounce back with a massive 9.52% gain in a single day, marking its 8th best day in history😅absolutely wild

Let’s remind ourselves though…

This is normal.
Investing is long term.
In the entire history of the S&P500, it has ALWAYS recovered.

My Favourites This Month 💭

🎧 What I’m Listening To

The Gary vs Priestly podcast - LOVE!

📚 What I’m Reading

Sponsor Magnet - a gem if you’re a creator or brand looking to build connections and secure deals. Packed with strategy and actually actionable stuff!

🎧 Audiobook

Gary Stephens - ICON

📺 What I’m Watching

Race Across the World - no spoilors here… is anyone else watching?!

My Life Lately!

Another jam packed month for me personally, so here are some of the things I’ve been up to:

🏛️ Filmed a segment outside Downing Street on the new minimum wage changes (that place doesn’t get any less surreal!)

You can see it on my social media pages!

🔨The house work continues… yeah, turns out building a house is another full time job 🤣

If anyone wants to lend a hand, please do 😅

🏎️ Raced cars around Silverstone - yep this was A DREAM of mine, bucket list item ticket off!! ✅

🎥 Filmed with The King’s Trust and met some amazing young entrepreneurs and creatives!

Alrighty, that’s it for today friends - here’s to lighter evenings, nicer weather and fewer market crashes! 🤭

Oh, and if you ever want to chat, or a question answering, please just hit reply to this email!

See you next week 🙂 

^{DISCLAIMER: None of the above is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly education and should not be taken as investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and always do your own research.}