Build Financial Resilience
Build financial resilience
by Stockport Credit Union
Managing your money well doesn’t require a big income or complex financial tools — it starts with small, consistent habits.
Start Small, Think Big
Saving even a small amount regularly can make a big difference. It helps you build a routine, develop discipline, and create a financial buffer for life’s unexpected moments. According to recent research, 1 in 6 UK adults (16%) have no savings at all, and 2 in 5 (39%) have £1,000 or less. That means millions of people would struggle to cover a single month’s expenses if faced with an emergency.
By saving just a few pounds a week, you can start to change that. The best process is to set up regular savings that suit your budget. Over time, those small amounts add up — giving you peace of mind and more control over your finances.
Plan Ahead for Christmas
We all know how expensive the festive season can be. That’s why we offer a Christmas Savings Account—a simple way to save throughout the year and access your funds in October, just in time for the holidays. It’s a great way to avoid the stress of last-minute borrowing or overspending.
With 23% of Brits having £200 or less in savings, planning ahead for Christmas can make a huge difference. Our members tell us that having a dedicated pot for festive spending helps them enjoy the season without the financial hangover in January.
Borrow Better, Save Smarter
Sometimes, borrowing is unavoidable. Whether it’s for car repairs, school uniforms, or unexpected bills, ethical and affordable loans are available that work differently from high-cost lenders. You can even save while you repay.
That means by the time your loan is paid off, you’ve also built up a savings pot — so next time, you might not need to borrow at all. It’s a smarter, more sustainable way to manage your money.
Why It Matters
Recent reports show that 1 in 5 UK adults have less than £100 in cash savings, and 10% have no savings at all. These figures highlight just how important it is to build financial resilience — especially in uncertain times.
Whether you’re saving for Christmas, building an emergency fund, or looking for a fair loan, there’s lots of advice available.
Stockroom: A New Chapter for Stockport's Creative Heart
Stockroom: A New Chapter for Stockport's Creative Heart
Stockroom is more than just a library — it's a vibrant community space designed to inspire, connect, and celebrate the spirit of Stockport.
Nestled in the heart of the Merseyway Shopping Centre, Stockroom is more than just a library — it's a vibrant community space designed to inspire, connect, and celebrate the spirit of Stockport.
The opening weekend in May was a testament to Stockport’s Council’s commitment to revitalising its cultural landscape with community at its core.
Visitors were welcomed into a space that seamlessly blends modern design with locally-driven initiatives.
What inside Stockroom?
A modern library with over 20,000 books, digital learning areas
Stockport's historical archive: preserving and showcasing Stockport's rich history.
Children's Creative Learning Space: a dedicated area fostering imagination and learning for young minds.
Stockroom Studios: versatile spaces hosting activities from yoga and toddler play to literature and stand-up comedy.
Café Bar: a welcoming spot to relax, enjoy food and a drink with friends, family or on your own
Stockroom is not just a venue but a catalyst for creativity.
It’s year-round programme includes collaborations with local artists, performers and cultural organisations, and includes regular weekly and monthly events like storytelling, Lego club, knitting, yoga, photography, ‘crafternoons’ and jazz on a Sunday!
For more information visit www.stockrm.org or follow on Instagram @stockr__m
Join the FunFest Team!
Fun Fest Holiday Club is a fun-filled destination for children during the school holidays. If you are looking for a rewarding and fun-filled job during the school holidays, then Fun Fest is the place to be!
Fun Fest Holiday Club is a fun-filled destination for children during the school holidays. Offering a menu of 40+ activities for children to create their own activity program, we host sessions from Harry Potter to Crafty Creations, Sublime Slime to Around the World. Every day is packed with adventure, creativity, and excitement. Each morning and afternoon block offers a choice between 2 activities – a creative and an active session. Children are in a safe environment to develop skills or try something new with their friends.
Being a Fun Fest worker is a unique and rewarding experience, providing endless opportunities to engage with children and help them build memories that last a lifetime.
A typical day in the life of a Fun Fest Holiday Club worker is full of activities; from planning out the day's schedule to supervising and participating in games and crafts. The day starts early to support parents who need extended childcare hours. As staff members arrive, they are updated with plans for that day and note of any children who need additional support.
Fun Fest Holiday Club workers play a critical role in keeping the children engaged, safe, and happy. They act as mentors; providing guidance and support to the children as they work on themed topics, are challenged actively and explore the natural world around them. Additionally they often act as referees, ensuring that games are played fairly and safely, and that all the children have an equal chance to participate. We encourage free play throughout the day, getting outdoors as much as possible. Although there is a structure at Fun Fest, we encourage children to share ideas and interests to incorporate into the day – it is their Holiday Club after all! Fun Fest Managers support the staff and processes on site. With a keen knowledge of safeguarding, they ensure policies and Ofsted guidelines are adhered to on a daily basis.
Throughout the day we encourage Fun Fest staff and children to note what worked well or needs adjustment for the week ahead; to continually improve the child's experience. This is an excellent opportunity for workers to share ideas and support each other to ensure that every day is a success.
Working at Fun Fest Holiday Club is not just a job; it is a chance to help children learn and grow in a fun and supportive environment. There are promotional opportunities and inhouse training modules to develop key skills. You can choose to work flexible hours and we offer free childcare from the age of 3+ for your own child. Competitive rates and holiday pay for every staff member; at Fun Fest we recognise qualifications and hard work that goes into childcare roles.
If you are looking for a rewarding and fun-filled job during the school holidays, then Fun Fest is the place to be! Please email info@ladybridgehr.co.uk for an application pack.
The difference between financial planning and traditional financial advice
The difference between financial planning and traditional financial advice by Tim Walsham, Claritas Wealth.
by Tim Walsham, Claritas Wealth
The ‘old school’, traditional method of providing financial advice went something like this.
An initial meeting to conduct a ‘factfind’ and work out what financial products you already have. There would be a relatively superficial discussion around what you wanted to achieve financially in order to establish goals and objectives.
The adviser then goes away and researches those existing products for suitability and prepares some recommendations.
The second meeting would be a presentation meeting where the adviser would go through a report and try to persuade the client to ‘sign up’ to the recommendations and take out various products and maybe switch some existing investments and pensions to be looked after by the adviser.
On an annual basis there would be a review meeting where the adviser would run through the performance of the investments and chat through any changes in your circumstances. There would be some discussion around whether you were on track to achieve your goals but it was all a bit woolly.
All in all, pretty uninspiring.
This is still going on in some quarters of the financial advice profession but there is a better way.
Modern financial planning advice looks a bit more like this –
A first meeting (Discovery) that is much more about you than your money. The adviser will want to know everything about you; how you got to where you are today and where you want to be in the future. What are your hopes, dreams, aspirations and fears? What does a good life look like for you? This initial discussion is a world apart from the old school ‘factfinding’ meeting. It’s all about your life, not your money.
The next step (that is missing from the traditional model) is to construct a financial plan before making any product recommendations. You’ll go through a process where the adviser will look to work out the cost of your desired lifestyle and calculate whether you’re currently on track. If not, what needs to happen to get you on track?
There might be a second meeting to gather some of the hard facts and discuss what scenarios will be created in the financial plan (e.g. different retirement dates or spending levels etc).
The third meeting is where the financial plan is discussed in an interactive way using powerful financial planning software (that understands tax and pensions etc) and can be amended live in the meeting. It’s not a presentation and it has nothing to do with selling financial products.
The financial plan is all about balancing what you spend now versus what you spend later and avoiding regrets.
Advice will be given across all areas of your financial planning, not just investments, e.g. estate planning or position on death or incapacity etc.
Then and only then will financial product recommendations be made. Because the time has been spent to get to know you and understand what’s important to you, we know how much money you need and when you will need it. The recommendations therefore flow out of the financial plan; it’s simply a case of matching the money to when you need it and making sure that the right amount is available at the right time.
On an ongoing basis, the discussions about your life and changes in the wider world will continue. We know that things will change. It’s inevitable but the financial plan can be amended easily to reflect these changes.
The end goal is that you reach a ripe old age, look back and feel like you’ve given life a really good go. The old school traditional financial advice model is really unlikely to do that.
The Post Local Area Donation Challenge
It all begins with an idea.
Can your local community be the top donors and raise funds to enable that community to receive The Post to their door?
We are only able to print and pay for distribution in volumes of 1,000, and so to deliver directly to 1,000 homes, we need to raise £250 and we are aiming to deliver to as many homes as possible in each local area in each borough currently covered by a Post Community Newspaper.
As an example, based on a local area with approximately 5,000 homes, to deliver a copy of The Post to every home in this local area would cost £1,250 per month, requiring a donation of 25p per household, per month - that’s less than a single packet of crisps. This would mean an annual donation of £3 per household to deliver directly to homes every month - that’s less than just one cup of coffee bought at a coffee shop.
The figures given above only work if every household donates and so distribution to every home in any one local area can only be achieved if sufficient donations are received to cover every household.
We know donating is not possible for everyone. And so should only some donations be received, we will focus on using the donations to fund delivery to the streets where donations have been made to ensure at least some homes receive their local community newspaper. Should anyone feel they are able to donate a little more to support those who may be unable to donate, this would be greatly appreciated.
Initially, donations for this ‘challenge’ will run until the end of September 2025 with the aim to deliver door-to-door with any funds raised for October (and beyond if possible).
Can you rally your street/neighbouring streets/local community to get behind this campaign to support residents by ensuring they receive their local Post Community Newspaper?
Which local community will raise the most donations to support their neighbours to receive positive and essential local news and information in print?
We’ll keep you updated on donation totals so you can see which communities are raising the most toward door-to-door distribution for their local area.
Please note: we will use all donations to cover the cost of door-to-door delivery. We need to be able to cover the cost of a minimum of 1,000 newspapers to deliver to entire streets in the area where donations have been made as it is not possible to deliver to just one or two homes that have donated should the cost of that 1,000 not be met.
Heatons and Reddish Bee Trail
Returning over the school Whit Holiday at the end of May, the Heatons and Reddish Bee trail will see local shops and community venues display bee-themed decorations to make a buzz around the local area.
Complete the trail of participating venues, collect the letter in each window, and answer the bee-related question. A fun, free family activity to enjoy while getting out and about in the local area.
Trail sheets available to download here soon, with print versions available to pick up from participating venues.
Trail Dates: 26 - 31 May 2025
Location: The Heatons and Reddish (SK4 & SK5)
Participating Venues:
Reddish Library (Reddish)
Life Leisure Houldsworth Village (Reddish)
Marbury Edible Garden (Heaton Chapel)
FEED (Heaton Chapel)
Supportability (Heaton Moor)
Blue Door Flowers (Heaton Moor)
Blaggs (Heaton Moor)
Art Club (Heaton Moor)
Heaton Moor Park -Tennis Court (Heaton Moor)
Macaris (Heaton Mersey)
Supported by
