This weeks webchat will explain what the funds are, the benefits of investing in them and funds you may want to look at. With help from Andy Parsons, advice manager at The Share Centre and Tony Lanning, portfolio manager of the Gartmore multi-manager Balanced fund.

Spenders Or Savers, Shoes Or Stocks

By Alison Steed and Liz King

Are you a shopper or a spender? Would you rather put your money into shoes and handbags, or stocks and shares? Take this handy quiz to find out.

Online broker TD Waterhouse has put together a series of questions to help you identify whether you are more likely to splurge than save.

“While we all know it’s important to save money, the instant gratification of shopping can sometimes trump the peace of mind that comes from long-term investing,” says Sarah Dobson, UK Investor Centre Representative, TD Waterhouse, “but if you’ve ever woken up the following day with a “spending hangover”, you know the pleasure doesn’t last long.” 

Finding the right balance between enjoying disposable income and building an investment portfolio to meet long-term goals is key. It’s never too early to start investing, and the earlier, the better, as additional time can allow an investment to potentially grow which means you may be able to benefit from compound interest. Although it may initially feel like a sacrifice, paying yourself first means that instead of simply living for the moment, you could possibly build the foundation for a wealthier life in the long term. 

Ms. Dobson added that there can be many correlations between building a great wardrobe and building a solid portfolio. “Everyone likes to buy an ‘on trend’ piece or label but the foundation of your wardrobe should be those classic, timeless items that never go out of style.” She added: “The same is true for your investments - the bulk of your portfolio should be the equivalent of your LBD (little black dress): high-quality, attractive and reliable, rather than trendy.”

The Shopping or Saving? Quiz is designed to help would be investors think about whether they are striking the right balance between shopping and saving for their future. The quiz is available online at http://vote.pollstream.com/0464 along with tools geared to help calculate and project a hypothetical long-term investment goal, to see whether you are on track, and if not, how to get there.

Isa Allowance Countdown Use It Or Lose It

By Alison Steed

There are only a few working days left to use up your individual savings account (Isa) allowance this year, and with up to 1.5m savers set to lose out, you should take advantage of this valuable tax break before it is too late.

This estimate is from research from Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank based on how many savers could miss out if they leave things until the last minute.

The over 50s will lose out on more than the rest of us this year if they fail to make the most of the Government’s largesse, as they can deposit up to £10,200 into a mix of cash Isas and investment Isas this tax year, increasing returns by as much as 28 per cent thanks to no tax being applied to gains.

By putting this maximum amount into an investment Isa each year until they reached 65, with a return of 6.5 per cent a year before charges, the fund could have grown to a whopping £312,447 by the time they reach retirement age. This means £160,000 in investment returns would have been out of the clutches of the taxman.

Tom Stevenson, investment director at Fidelity International, says, "If you are aged over 50, you still have the opportunity to contribute £10,200 before the end of this tax year. The simple fact is that, if you don't use this allowance and choose to leave your investments or savings outside an Isa, you're agreeing to give part of your investment return to the Government. As you can see from our figures, that could amount to throwing away a huge amount of money over the years. An Isa puts all the money back into your pocket and your pocket alone."

For the rest of us, the limit is £7,200 until April 5, but this will rise to £10,200 from April 6. But you cannot carry over any of your Isa limit to the next tax year, so use it now before you miss out.

You can put £3,600 – or £5,100 if you are over 50 – into a cash Isa before April 5, and the same amount into an investment Isa before the end of the tax year.

If you have already used up your allowance, you will have to wait until April 6 for your next Isa allowance to kick in. But you should use this sooner rather than later in the next tax year to get more benefit from tax efficient savings.

British Adults And Pensions - Shop Around For Your Pension To Get Best Rates

BRITONS are becoming a cannier nation when it comes to shopping around for the best deals on everything from houses and cars to furniture, but are seriously losing out on their pension income in retirement.

Nearly half of us would try to get a better deal on a house or sofa, but just one in 10 of us would bother to shop around for an annuity to give them an income in retirement. Yet a woman with a pension pot of £50,000 who lived for 20 years into retirement could be as much as £11,000 better off by doing a bit of leg work to get the best deal, according to insurer MGMAdvantage Retirement Nation survey.

Just one in five people are aware of the Open Market Option (OMO) which allows you to search out the best annuity payments available for you, and if the woman in the above example happened to be in ill-health, she could get an additional £4,000 in income over the 20 years.

Aston Goodey, Director of Sales & Marketing at MGM Advantage said: "It's a real concern that we are all so comfortable haggling over the price of a car or new sofa but so reluctant to look around or to negotiate over the price of a pension annuity.  This is particularly worrying as you only have one chance in your life to shop around for the best possible annuity, but failing to do so could mean a difference of hundreds of pounds a month, and in some cases could even tip pensioners into poverty.

"We believe that many people close to retirement simply don't realise that they can shop around for the best annuity rate and increase their retirement income by such a significant amount of money.  For instance, last year over 60 per cent of people buying an annuity chose the one offered to them by their existing pension provider.  Shopping around is easy to do, especially with the help of a Personal financial adviser."

A third of us are simply unprepared for retirement, said Mr Goodey, and do not expect the drop in income they see in retirement.

The good news is that women are better than men at haggling over prices, and Londoners are far more accomplished, with nearly three in five prepared to barter over a price, while just a third of those in Northern Ireland would be prepared to ask for a discount.