Financial Wisdom from a Grinch: Festive Lessons for 2025

Every year I take a Christmas movie and try to shoehorn a few financial lessons into its narrative, with varying degrees of success. A favourite in my household for some years has been The Grinch (Cumberbatch, not Carrey), so this year we’re going to create some financial lessons inspired by its famously festive hating character, with a few playful rhymes along the way.

The 2025 chatter was noisy and bleak,
it soured my Monday and spoiled my week.
First came the tariffs, all twisty and tall;
then Liberation Day dramas that rattled us all.

The budget leaks dribbled with trembly suspense,
while AI bubbles made everything tense.
With headlines so heavy, all murky and grey,
I wanted to curl up, close my eyes and hide far away.

The news has been pretty negative for a while and, while markets have been volatile and there’s plenty of concern around a possible crash, what’s often obscured by all of this noise is a simple fact: the global stock market has delivered a positive return this year.

There is always bad news and speculation around future obstacles for investors. But if you can dial down the noise from the media and remember that their job is to sell clicks, with bad news travelling faster than good you may be less likely to react negatively or miss out while waiting for certainty.

Lately I’ve felt a bit of a Grinch, in a pinch,
not wanting to gift or move assets an inch.

“What if there’s tax?” I’d mutter with dread,
with Rachel Reeves waiting to bonk my poor head.

But this fear of gifting, oh what a mistake
for the longer I hoard, the more tax I may make.

There’s no magic ceiling on sharing good cheer,
and giving while living keeps burdens less severe.

So rather than fret like a miserly sprite,
I’ll spread some of my wealth and sleep better tonight.

Inheritance Tax is becoming an increasingly significant tax generator, and with pensions due to be brought into the taxable estate from 6 April 2027, more and more households will find themselves leaving a liability for future generations.

A common misconception is that gifting triggers an immediate tax charge. In reality, there is no upper limit on gifts that can be made. Gifts above £3,000 simply start a seven-year clock, during which some or all of your nil-rate band (£325,000 in 2025/26) may be used. Starting that clock sooner rather than later is often preferable, and proactive legacy planning is the best way to ensure more of your wealth ends up where you intend it to.

Sometimes the fear of running out of money can loom like a shadowy, grumbly worry,
making you tiptoe through life in a tight little hurry.

Yet while you’re healthy and wealthy enough to roam and to play,
that fear can steal chances you’ll wish for someday.

Instead, let your heart grow a little in kind
by crafting a proper Financial Plan, clear and aligned.

With clarity and confidence guiding each choice,
you’re far less likely to miss out through fear, and live life with a cheerier voice.

The best tool at your, and your Financial Planner’s, disposal is a robust Financial Plan. Understanding what you want to spend, what you can spend and how much you need to fund that spending should inform everything from tax wrappers to investment strategies, not the other way around.

Revisiting this plan as your priorities and lifestyle change helps ensure you remain on track for the outcome you want. This approach will be familiar to our clients, where we always work back from the lifestyle you want to enjoy now and in the future.

So, there we have it our own festive, rhyme-tinged financial lessons for 2025. And if you’re feeling down in the dumps weighed down by budgets and new about Trumps, Carbon is here to help you see clear and spread the good cheer!

Happy holidays from all of us at Carbon.

This article is an original commentary and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Dr. Seuss Enterprises.