The Spark Blog

Category: Financial

  • How to Be Happy – part 3

    How to Be Happy – part 3

    According to American pundit William Bennett, the pursuit of happiness can be thought of this way: ‘Happiness is like a cat, if you try to coax it or call it, it will avoid you; it will never come.  But if you pay no attention to it and go about your business, you’ll find it rubbing…

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  • Avoiding Christmas Debt this year

    Avoiding Christmas Debt this year

    Christmas is an expensive time of year for all of us as we buy presents, decorate our homes and enjoy nights out. Costs can soon add up and Christmas debt is a significant problem with 1 in 4 adults in the UK feeling pressured into overspending at Christmas. Loans, credit cards and Christmas debt Many…

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  • Can I ‘have it all’ and Mental Health?

    Can I ‘have it all’ and Mental Health?

    As part of Mental Health Awareness week we are considering this year’s theme: surviving or thriving? 21st century society leads us to believe that we can ‘have it all’. Where all is defined loosely as everything an individual might desire at some point in their life. The reality – and whether we end up surviving…

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  • Divorce is Not the Only Option

    Divorce is Not the Only Option

    January is the busiest month of the year for couples beginning divorce proceedings. But by choosing to turn to counselling first your marriage does not have to become just another New Year statistic. Peak season for divorce Within legal circles January is widely regarded as the peak season for divorce. Statistics vary but the initiation…

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  • Christmas, Money and Debt

    Christmas, Money and Debt

    Nearly half of all Scots surveyed in a recent YouGov poll are already in debt before they spend on Christmas. Nearly 20% said they were struggling to cope and feeling stressed by personal debt on credit cards and loans. Christmas debt and relationship breakdown Debt is a major cause of stress and relationship problems for…

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  • What Does Debt Do to Relationships?

    What Does Debt Do to Relationships?

    These days it is easy to become immune to the scale of the statistics quoted by news programmes, websites and in the media. Those concerning debt are a prime example. Consider this: according to research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, in 2015 1.25m adults and 312,000 children were destitute in the UK. That is 1.56m…

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