Tom Prior - Adviser at Gravitas Wealth Management

My experience of leasing a car personally🚗

Yesterday, my 2-year personal lease agreement came to an end and I had the somewhat sad experience of handing a car back that I had grown fond of over the last 2 years🔑👋🏻

There are a lot of videos on social media about how a personal lease agreement is a “money drain”, i.e you would be better off buying a car (most likely second-hand) and then saving/investing any monthly savings instead of leasing a brand new car…

Let’s face it, there are lots of financial reasons for or against leasing a car, all of which you can find on Google😅 so, in this post, I’m going to talk about my personal experience. Not just from a financial perspective, but from a life perspective too.

So, having just had a personal lease car, what do I think? What are the pros and cons based on my personal experience?

Pros:

✅ Before I started the personal lease agreement, I wanted to pass on my previous car to my sister for less-than-market value. Therefore, I couldn’t raise quite as much capital to purchase a different car outright. This meant a lease agreement was more financially viable at the time.

✅ Equally, I didn’t want to/couldn’t commit a big lump sum in purchasing a new car as I was saving for my first home, so most of my capital was tied up in a Lifetime ISA.

✅ Convenience was important for me - maintenance, tyres and road tax were all included in the lease agreement. And I liked the peace of mind knowing that if a tyre punctured, this would be covered for free… and this happened no fewer than 3 times during the lease!😲 also, the car didn’t need to have an MOT!

✅ I “had” (but didn’t “own”) a car that I loved the look of and liked how it felt while driving… and there was no way I could have afforded it new😅

Cons:

❌ Yes, the high monthly payments started to irk me… especially as I’m a huge advocate of trying to keep your monthly direct debits down as much as possible. Also, as a personal lease, it was all paid from post-tax income…

❌ Having a brand new car was not all it’s cracked up to be - the car had several electrical issues early on, one of which was particularly bad/annoying. Plus, the horn and the cruise control didn’t work for most of the lease🤣 (however, these things were all covered by the manufacturer’s warranty which is very valuable).

❌ I was, particularly towards the end of the lease, worried about hitting the car! I purchased an additional insurance policy for chips and scratches but, even so, the car got chipped a couple of days before the end of the lease leaving no time for it to be fixed… again, annoying as I might be charged for this!

Other thoughts:

❓ I went nowhere near the agreed annual mileage but, had I not had a 3-month period where I mostly worked from home while on an Academy programme, I might have and this would have resulted in further charges.
❓ I didn’t need to cancel the lease early but, if I had, this also would have resulted in further charges.
❓ All around customer service, from the Lease company and the company that arranged the lease, was excellent. But you don’t need any of that if you own your car!

Overall, am I pleased that I personally leased a car? Yes I am!

Would I do it again? No, unless I can’t afford to buy a car outright in the future or it’s a company lease car!🤣

My third presentation at Pop Connect, this time at our Norwich Central group, with the help of 2 very special guests✨😉

In this presentation I focused on Retirement Planning, specifically the options available to business owners, both limited company directors and self-employed individuals👨‍💼👩‍💼

I hope that everyone who attended the meeting left feeling better equipped to save for the future as a business owner📈

If you have your own business, and you are wondering what your options are, don’t be afraid to pop me a message for an informal chat📱☕️

🚨AI is coming for Wealth Management🚨

That was more or less the headline I woke up to this morning…

Am I worried? You bet I am!😅

But not too worried… yet.

Yes, there will be people out there that think an AI chatbot or programme will be able to give just as good financial advice as me one day, but to them I will always say (at least) 2 things:

1️⃣ AI will only ever be as good as the information offered by the user. When it comes to our finances, the best advice can only come from robust questionning and ongoing discussions🗣️

2️⃣ People always have and always will “buy” from people. We do business with people we like. And you can’t like an AI chatbot, no matter how infuriatingly polite it is🤣

Finally, I have had a lot of discussions with clients and colleagues recently about wanting to “go back” or “rewind”⏮️

Technological advancement is supposed to be making our lives easier, giving us more time to focus on the things we enjoy doing. What is the result? Sentiment is at an all-time low. I would encourage anybody to consider this when they are about to divulge their financial situation to an AI programme🤔

How are your New Year’s resolutions going?🤔

Are you trying to spend less or save more? Are you trying to save more into your pension or investing for the first time?📈

One of mine and Ellie’s New Year’s resolutions was to go on a walk together 3 times per week… doesn’t sound like much but it can be difficult for us with me working in the day and Ellie working nights!☀️🌙 so far, we’ve managed to go on 2 walks together each week🌳

As with anything, just trying is what counts. Making those small improvements and trying to hit your goals, even if you don’t succeed straightaway, is what matters🤗

✨New Year, New Finances – Your Simple To-Do List✨

The start of the year is the perfect time to hit reset and get your finances working harder for you. Here’s a quick financial to-do list to get you on track 👇

✅ Review your household expenditure – knowing exactly where your money is going and how much you have leftover is key
✅ Start (or refresh) your monthly budget – such an important habit to get into
✅ Check the interest rate on your savings accounts - is the rate you’re getting as good as last year? Can your savings work harder for you?
✅ Consider your emergency funds - are you holding enough cash to cover something unforeseen?
✅ Update your protection – is the level of cover you have in place still sufficient to protect you and your loved ones?
✅ Retain your most recent pension statement - don’t let your pension provider loose track of you!

Getting organised now can make the rest of the year far less stressful😮‍💨

Here’s to 2026!🥂

A lot can change in a year or so🎉

✅Achieved CII Level 4 Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning 09/08/2024

✅Completed St. James’s Place Academy 20/12/2024

✅Achieved Competent Adviser Status (CAS) 27/05/2025

✅Graduated from the St. James’s Place Academy 10/10/2025

Receiving my graduation certificate from the St. James’s Place Financial Advisor Academy in the post earlier this week really made me think about how much has changed, and how far I’ve come, in a little over a year👨🏻‍🎓

To all my fellow graduates who celebrated on the day, CONGRATULATIONS🎊 especially to my friends in QFA29, my academy intake, I am so proud of what we all achieved👏🏻

And to my clients, who I have met and taken on this year. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for the trust you have placed in me with your future🌅