I'd like to be a mini Martin - any suggestions?

Edinburghlass_2

Someone asked about this before and Martin did in fact reply to them but I can't find it now.

You need to realise that the forums are but a very small part of what MSE is all about and the articles on the Main Site are researched for weeks and sometimes months by Martin's paid staff, BGs are voluntary and here to make sure the forums run smoothly and any opinions given, like all users of MSE are just that, opinions and not endorsed by Martin.

Have a read of this...

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/site/about-the-site#works

Martins_apprentice

Thank you for your interesting ideas Dustangle although I feel I will not be applying to be a solicitor any day soon (or joining the criminal fraternity). I do understand your figures but would not need the average wage to support myself.

If what you are saying is (in plain English) don't do this then that is fine. However I do not want to work with debt management, that is for the professionals and I would not profess to be qualified. It was an idea to help people to cut their everyday bills, which seems to be a very contentious issue.

ManAtHome

Martins_apprentice wrote: »

I would give specific advice to the best of my knowledge, a couple of choices if possible and then it would be up to them what they felt was best. The same as any other advice service I guess

Not the way it works - either you're recommending or just leaving them to make up their own mind. What if something not on the list works out better (check out threads on endowments) - where there's blame.. etc etc.

I do know what you're getting at, but you must have noticed that "best of my knowledge" doesn't keep the real vultures at bay..?

Martins_apprentice

ManAtHome,
I'm not a mortgage advisor and would never give advice on something that requires a qualification. But it does look as though this is throwing up the questions that I wanted answering. This wasn't meant to be rocket science but it seems to be heading that way as it involves money and recommendations (even if it's saving money!).
Also I have not had any supportive posts so that may tell me something.

Edinburghlass_2

Another article to read is Martin's Money Makeover here...

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/protect/money-help

especially the paragraph "can I get someone to do this for me"

Martins_apprentice

Martins quote:

Can I get someone to do this for me?

“Aaaarghhh!” I’m asked this all the time, and hate this question; asking it means you’ve missed the whole point of MoneySaving. The process doesn’t just save you cash, it empowers you to understand how companies will take your cash through ignorance, apathy and inertia. Yet even if that wasn’t the case, there aren’t any MoneySaving advisers, the service doesn’t exist, and even if it did, their cost would eat up much of the gain"

I'm going to stick my neck out here (and probably get it shot off) and say that what if there was a service that didn't eat up much of the gain (very reasonable fee) and teaches their moneysavers not to be apathetic and ignorant by showing them HOW to be moneysmart whilst saving them money?

Edinburgh? Go on, I can take it....

Martins_apprentice

And if Martin is asked that all the time, does that not say something???

boltonangel

Martins_apprentice wrote: »

ManAtHome,
I'm not a mortgage advisor and would never give advice on something that requires a qualification. But it does look as though this is throwing up the questions that I wanted answering. This wasn't meant to be rocket science but it seems to be heading that way as it involves money and recommendations (even if it's saving money!).
Also I have not had any supportive posts so that may tell me something.

As a mortgage advisor myself I find the idea of someone (no matter how well intentioned) trying to save other people money on their mortgages without any formal training a scary prospect.

If you visited someone who had a fixed rate mortgage it could well be cheaper for them to move to a tracker rate for example, but not always better.
Would you simply recommend the cheaper product?
And to be honest if you are recommending at all you need an advisor qualification such as CeMAP.

Martins_apprentice

boltonangel wrote: »

As a mortgage advisor myself I find the idea of someone (no matter how well intentioned) trying to save other people money on their mortgages without any formal training a scary prospect.

If you visited someone who had a fixed rate mortgage it could well be cheaper for them to move to a tracker rate for example, but not always better.
Would you simply recommend the cheaper product?
And to be honest if you are recommending at all you need an advisor qualification such as CeMAP.

Hi Boltonangel, as I said in that quote I would not give advice on mortgages.

nervousftb_3

I'm afraid I'll have to add more negativity, simply because I don't think it's a particularly viable business idea. It would take a lot of time to overhaul a families finances, and there is no guarantee that you would actually end up saving them that much money at all. What if you spent hours helping someone only to save them a tenner? Also, to what extent would you take it? Would it just be bills such as insurance/electricity/gas, or would you delve into shopping bills? Phone bills? Using less petrol? Using less electricity/gas or simply switching provider? How long would you dedicate to each family? What if they wanted help over a period of time before they see reductions in their monthly bills, how long would you continue to charge them and how much help would you offer?

Don't get me wrong, I do actually think that there are people who would be willing to pay for this service, but it just seems a bit of a minefield and there are too many elements to it to make it into a viable business proposition. As mentioned above, the possibility of being sued is probably too big a risk to make it worthwhile, and you may well find that your lack of financial/accountancy qualifications is a limiting factor. I have never heard of anyone offering this service before - there's probably a good reason for that.