John approached us to review his financial situation as he was struggling to make ends meet. John is retired and reliant on his State Pension, a small annuity and investment income from a portfolio that he had established many years ago. John’s major monthly expenditure was the mortgage on his main residence. Audley advised him to surrender some of his investments which were low income producing so that he was able to repay his mortgage, reducing his income requirement. We then reviewed his remaining investments to maximise the level of sustainable income. By repaying the mortgage and reorganising his investments John now has a higher surplus monthly income.