Real Money Stories Podcast: Recent Episodes
Jason Butler
Join FT columnist and global personal finance expert Jason Butler as he interviews real people about their money journey and challenges and how they overcame them.
This week I speak to Nick Earls and Eric DiNicola, co-founders and principals of Winterspring Capital, a company looking to simplify the process of passive real estate investing.
Nick and Eric share the highs and lows of their empire-building journey and some of the most important things they learnt along the way.
This week I speak to Jamie York, a rapidly rising star in the world of property investment and Managing Director at Aspire Property Group.
Jamie bought his first investment property whilst at university. Through his property consultancy, Aspire, Jamie works closely with investors to build a profitable and growing portfolio of rental properties across the UK.
More recently, Jamie has started to train and mentor small groups of novice investors with the aim to transform their basic property venture into a fully functioning, out-sourced business.
Also check out Jamie’s YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/c/JamieYork
This week I speak to Ellie Swift, entrepreneur and marketing and mindset coach.
Ellie left her corporate job to pursue her dream of running her own business. Investing her time and energy into her company, Swift Ventures, she built a multi-six figure business in under two years through the power of online marketing strategy, social media and mindset.
https://ellieswift.com/
This week I speak to Shahar Abrams, experienced crypto investor and professional in the blockchain industry, on a mission to improve personal finance education nationally.
Travelling down the data science route, Shahar worked at IBM for a number of years. When he came across Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad, it put him in a frame of mind to focus more on active investing for himself. Specifically, he wanted to dive deeper into crypto assets, and has been developing his investment strategy through trial and error ever since.
You can checkout more about Shahar and how to work with him at roadtobabylon.org.
This week I speak to Kizzy Parks, president of KPC, a Florida-based consultancy team.
Since 2008, Kizzy’s consultancy firm has been at the forefront of customised services that meet the needs of Federal agencies in the US. But when Kizzy first embarked on her entrepreneurial journey, she had $600,000 of debt and a company just about hitting breakeven.
A superb interview from which a lot of inspiration can be drawn. You can connect with Kizzy here.
This week I speak to Max Rofagha, a man on a mission to build the world's largest and most engaged finance community at finimize.com.
Wanting to financially educate himself, Max was perplexed at the complexity and reliability of financial resources available. This gave him his next business idea: to explain to every day people in under 3 minutes, what is happening in the world of finance and why you should care.
You can check out more about Finimize and the resources they offer here.
This week I speak to Cathi Harrison and Jo Campbell from Verve Group Financial Services.
We discuss entrepreneurialism, female roles in the finance sector, what it really takes to have your own business and how to keep your children grounded.
I also discuss the importance of having a spending system (you can download my version for free here) and why I have finally decided to switch my car to an electric vehicle.
Links mentioned:
The simple money mistakes you make every day (blog)
This week I speak to Jazz Rose, entrepreneur, property investor, mentor and speaker.
Shaped by his won challenges and experiences, Jazz is on a mission to transform people’s relationship with money. You can check out more about Jazz’s work, as well as access his popular Money Tracker, here.
This week I speak to husband and wife team Peter Hyson and Hillary Rowland.
Through their Next Chapter Retreats business, Peter and Hillary help successful people to live their best life and redefine success and true wealth.
We talk about the role of purpose, lasting legacies, meaning and the role of money and material success. And Peter and Hillary share some of their own life stories and lessons, including how they used money to quite literally save Hillary's life.
This week I speak to Mark Brinkley, author of The Housebuilder's Bible and freelance writer.
Mark offers some invaluable insights as to why we are obsessed with property as a way of building wealth.
And, although it might not be an obvious route, building your own house can be an option for building financial security and wealth.
I also discuss apprentices as well as how much do you spend compared to the average?
Links mentioned:
Get The Housebuilder's Bible at 25% off with this link:
https://amzn.to/3AnvqHd
Apprenticeship information: https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/
Family spending in the UK: April 2019 to March 2020 by The Office for National Statistics: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances/expenditure/bulletins/familyspendingintheuk/april2019tomarch2020
This week I speak to Laura Janes, the founder and director of Uniquity, the marketing firm on a mission to build better financial services brands that reach the customers that matter.
Having trained as an actuary in pursuit of the career she thought she ought to have, Laura soon realised that she did not want to work solely with logic and statistics but needed to incorporate her flair for creativity.
Do check out Uniquity here.
This week I speak to Dr. Oliver Robinson, Associate Professor of Psychology in the School of Human Sciences at the University of Greenwich.
Oliver led the First Direct money personalities research, helping to discern particular types of people in terms of how they handle their money, and how they construe happiness and wellbeing in relation to their money.
I also discuss just how much do you need to fund a comfortable retirement and whether crypto investing is bad for your health.
This week I speak to Laura Adams, personal finance and small business expert, author and host of Money Girl podcast.
Laura discusses the mistake of confusing ‘a fear of numbers’ with being bad with personal finance. She also shares what she learnt from losing 5-figures in a dodgy investment.
I also discuss Premium Bonds and Income Protection Insurance. You can get a quote for income protection insurance via Cura Money here: https://www.curainsurance.co.uk/quote/?referral_id=NDcz
In this week's episode, I speak to Yatin Shah, co-founder and CEO of IILW, the largest independent wealth manager in India, which oversees more than $24Billion of family wealth.
Yatin tells how losing over 70% of his father's investments through speculative investment trading was a valuable life lesson on the importance of preserving and growing wealth.
He explains why founding his wealth management business during the global credit crunch laid good foundations for future growth.
And Yatin shares what working with some of the wealthiest self-made Indian families has taught him about money and happiness.
This week I speak to Maria Nedeva, business school professor and founder of The Money Principle.
Maria shares her extraordinary money story of how she was in £100,000 of debt and managed to pay it all off in only a few years.
Now she has dedicated herself to teaching people in financial trouble how to build sustainable wealth.
Links mentioned in the show:
AARP Investment Fraud Vulnerability Study
Which? Scam Alert Service
Documentary: Money, Explained
This week I speak to Pete Cann, a man on a mission to bring laughter to a million people in 2021.
Pete previously had a very poor relationship with money and battled with a gambling addiction for many years. With the support of this wife and Gamblers Anonymous, Pete managed to conquer this addiction and create a much healthier financial relationship.
When Pete discovered the health, happiness and wealth benefits that laughter can bring he made it his life mission to bring laughter to more people through Laughter Yoga.
You can check out Pete’s work here.
If you or someone you know is struggling with a gambling addiction, there are resources there to help you.
This week I speak to Laura Whateley, consumer affairs journalist and best-selling personal finance author.
Laura explains that she fell into writing about personal finance after starting her journalist career. She went from money not being ‘her thing’ to writing a best-selling book on personal finance.
Insights you’ll learn:
- No one has this all figured out
- The old ‘rules’ of money have changed
- Talking about money is a powerful way to build confidence
- The language we use around money matters
Links to items mentioned in this episode:
Money: A User's Guide: The Sunday Times bestselling guide to taking control of your personal finances
By Laura Whateley
FT Money Clinic podcast with Claer Barrett
Jason’s latest column for FT Money
Family & Finances Report - Schroder Personal Wealth
This week I speak to Roland Rawicz-Szczerbo, serial entrepreneur, qualified financial advisor, director and owner of Time4Advice and Angels High.
As a child, Rowland admired the drive of his father who, as a Polish immigrant, came from nothing but worked his way up and had a successful career as managing director of a major company.
It took a dabble in an electrical engineering degree, and then a medical photography one, for Roland to realise what he wanted was to unleash his entrepreneurial streak instead.
As a young professional, Roland describes his antics living in London in the late 80s, which includes a very entertaining story about priceless family heirlooms, a Sainsbury’s bag and an East London criminal gang. Or as Roland puts it, ‘the sort of lunacy that happens when you're a youth in town’.
Superb stories from a superb guest. Expect to see another collaboration between Roland and me in the future, which may or may not be on solid ground!
This week I speak to Caroline Hughes, tech lawyer and co-founder and CEO of award-winning fintech start-up Lifetise.
Caroline began her career as a solicitor and was well along the path towards becoming a partner in a big law firm. But she decided to change career and co-found Lifetise, to help consumers under 40 to plan how to afford their most important life goals.
You can check out more of Caroline’s work at Lifetise here.
This week I speak to Greg Davies, a specialist in applied behavioural finance, decision science, impact investing, and financial wellbeing. He started the banking world’s first behavioural finance team at Barclays in 2006, which he led for a decade.
Greg explains how he used himself as a guinea pig to put his research into action during the global credit crunch.
He explains the four things you need to do to have a successful investment experience.
And he explains why doing what feels comfortable is rarely good for your finances.
Find out more about Greg’s work at Oxford Risk here.
You can take the Money Types quiz on First Direct’s website here.
You can check out my YouTube channel here.
This week, I talk to NHS doctor Nikki Ramskill who, having seen firsthand how money stress affects the health and wellbeing of her patients and colleagues, is also a money coach.
Nikki candidly shares her early relationship with her finances which, largely influenced by her money personality, was full of impulse spending, accumulating debt and never saying ‘no’.
Now Nikki is helping women build abundance into their lives by providing financial literacy and gradually breaking down the taboo around talking about money.
You can find out more about Nikki’s money coaching here.
This week, I have the pleasure of speaking to Paul Lewis, financial journalist, speaker and presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Money Box.
Paul talks very candidly about his early experiences with money, including how important he believes it is for parents to discuss money with their children.
Paul also shares his stories about managing money during his university days and dabbling with bank loans.
Paul has won more than a dozen awards, including Headline Money Journalist of the Year in 2010 and Association of Investment Companies Broadcaster of the Year in the 2012 Roses Media Awards.
I really loved being able to talk to Paul in-depth about his money beliefs and experiences and I hope you gain a lot of insights from listening to it.
I also review the options for buying an electric car, including the tax benefits. Plus, I look at a recent research paper which examines whether financial markets properly account for climate change risks.
The Economics of Climate Change:
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3715848
This week, I speak to Megan Brennan, portfolio manager at Sarasin and Partners LLP.
Megan explains the timeless money lessons her father taught her, which are the foundations of her relationship with money, and how she ended up as a fund manager, despite not knowing what she wanted to do after university.
She also discusses why aligning your investing style with personal values is becoming more popular and essential to long-term returns. We also explore how to reconcile differences in money values, beliefs, priorities and styles when forming a relationship.
Plus, I report on the findings of a new report on the essential elements of high financial wellbeing, review a new book on how to get out of debt fast, and share what new content is coming to my YouTube channel.
This week, I speak to Tim Harford, “the Undercover Economist”, Financial Times columnist, BBC broadcaster, the author of nine books and the presenter of BBC Radio’s “More or Less” and “How To Vaccinate The World”.
Growing up in what Tim describes as 'a very British way’, the topic of money was one rarely discussed in the Harford household. The cost of living was a lesson learned during Tim’s teenage years and early adulthood that was not void of a few trip-ups along the way.
Tim’s personal stories of progress, years of research and recognition as an expert in his field offer a unique and insightful perspective to our ongoing discussion about the journey to mastering our money, worrying less, and living more.
You can check out Tim’s latest book, How To Make The World Add Up, by clicking here.
This week I speak to Holly Morphew, award-winning financial coach and founder of Financial Impact, the company helping people create wealth and feel confident when it comes to money.
Holly and I discuss the fear around money and how to change this, building wealth by plugging spending leaks and maximising your income, and how behaviour around money is far more significant than strategy. She also offers some great advice to younger generations about not being afraid to live frugally while you build some solid foundations for your future.
Holly has such a lovely, vibrant and positive way about her and I really enjoyed speaking to her.
This week, I speak to Daniel Mangena, author, entrepreneur and motivational speaker.
Daniel describes his early relationship with money as a mixed one. His parents were Zimbabwe immigrants and they initially lived a comfortable lifestyle. However, through various business foibles, Daniel saw his family’s financial situation shifted from abundance to scarcity over the course of his upbringing.
Undergoing many highs and lows in his own business ventures, Daniel found himself exploring the path of mindset and manifestation when it comes to living a fulfilled life and crafting your own path.
Wishing to help others do the same, he has made it his mission to help people find an alignment with their dream life of abundance, joy and purpose.
You can check out more of Daniel and his work here.
This week I speak to Kalpana Fitzpatrick, finance editor for Hearst magazines, which includes Good Housekeeping, Red, Prima, Cosmopolitan.
Kalpana’s parents taught her the importance of education and a good career to achieving financial independence. After university Kalpana pursues a career in journalism; which evolved into writing about personal finance.
Determined and ambitious, Kalpana now holds the position of finance editor for Hearst magazines and is the resident money expert for BBC Sounds Money 101 podcast. Her passion for talking about women and money, financial literacy for children, and young people and money see her featured regularly on TV, radio and conference panels.
This week I speak to David Blatt, founder and CEO of CapStack Partners, real estate expert and international speaker.
David had a very modest upbringing and always had an innate desire to work hard and apply himself. As a young man trying to break into real estate David ‘interviewed’ people in the industry to find out the essential principles of what it took to make it in the industry.
David was prepared to take a pay cut to become a receptionist at a real estate firm, in return for instruction on how to do deals. Eventually, he began to get involved in these deals, and the rest is history.
A fantastic episode that explores the benefits of putting money into assets, which will, in turn, provide you with a passive income to fund your lifestyle after you no longer wish to work. My recent blog post The Truth About Renting Versus Buying Property might be of interest if you want to explore this further.
This week, I speak to Lucy Mullins, Co-Founder and COO of StepLadder, a fast-growing and award-winning FinTech company pioneering collaborative finance and revolutionising the home buying process. Through their collaborative lending circles StepLadder are supporting people to buy their first home faster, reach their financial goals, and championing financial wellbeing.
Lucy won the Female Founder award at the Unbound Innovation awards in 2019 and delivered the winning pitch for StepLadder in the Future of FinTech Battle. She got to the final of The Pitch in 2019, was shortlisted for TechWomen100 and won the Innovator of the Year at the Women in IT awards in January 2020.
This week, I speak to Asesh Sarkar, Global CEO and co-founder of Salary Finance, a fast-growing FinTech platform working to improve the financial health of employees in the UK and US.
Asesh was born in the UK to immigrant parents, who had no support and little money. Just as he had seen his parents toil to provide for the family growing up, Asesh also had to overcome his lack of academic ability by working extra hard.
Pursuing the career that suited him, as opposed to what his parents originally suggested he should do, led to a decade in finance and consulting, before eventually becoming the youngest ever partner at PA Consulting. From there he took a leap into the unknown to become a social impact entrepreneur, founding breakthrough FinTech platform, Salary Finance, in 2015.
A great episode with some great takeaways, especially for those with self-limiting beliefs about careers and money who have an entrepreneurial vision.
Bonus: I also unpick some of the latest money statistics and give you my take on what they all mean for your financial wellbeing.
Make sure you are following me on Instagram and Twitter @jbthewealthman for daily money content.
This week I speak to Tamsin Caine, Chartered Financial Planner at Smart Financial and Director of Financial Planning at Smart Divorce, the specialist financial advice group for people facing divorce.
Tamsin began Smart Divorce following her own experience with a marriage breakdown. She now advises people in the same situation as she once was, enabling them to take back control of their life and finances. Tamsin sees her work as all about helping their clients live their best possible life.
Tasmin is a very down-to-earth lady and easy to talk to. If I was going through a financial calamity in my life, I think she is someone who I would want on my team!
In this episode, I speak to Ryan King, assurance associate at EY and social media finance enthusiast.
Ryan discusses the beginning of his interest in and around the subject of money and investing, as a teenager in school to a young adult making his way through university.
This desire to educate himself through reading and media spurred Ryan on to create his own online platform, Making Money Simple. Through this, he aims to help those in their 20s and 30s educate themselves about all things financial through easy to understand graphics, audio, and video.
A very genuine discussion from which young people, in particular, can draw many useful insights from.
If you would like to check out Ryan’s page, click here.
This week I speak to Davinia Tomlinson, founder of rainchq, which helps women take control of their money.
Born and raised in Birmingham, during her formative years Davinia benefited from a strong female financial role model, in the form of her Windrush generation Caribbean grandmother.
Davinia’s early career in the investment management sector involved a close shave with debt, with overdrafts and credit cards enabling her to keep up with high spending colleagues. However, she quickly realised it was not the relationship with money she needed or wanted to have.
Now, via her online platform and social media, Davinia is on a mission to help women build financial resilience and sustainable wealth to live their best life.
You can check out Davinia’s website and Instagram here.
This week I have the pleasure of speaking to one of the leading expert in financial psychology, Dr Brad Klontz.
I uncover answers to questions that even Brad himself has never discussed before: what was his understanding of ‘wealth’ in childhood? How did this evolve and change in adolescence?
We also discuss the role of money scripts (a concept first coined by Brad himself), the role of mindset in helping or hindering your path to financial success and avoiding money conflicts in relationships.
Few know more about the psychology of money than Dr Klontz, so listen, learn and enjoy.
You can check out more about Brad here: https://www.bradklontz.com/
Also, do check out his upcoming book, Money Mammoth, available to pre-order here (I’ve ordered mine!): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Money-Mammoth-Unlocking-psychology-extinction/dp/1119636043
This week I speak to former investment banker, Stacey Lowman, about why and how she swapped her high earning city job for a much simpler life travelling around Europe in a camper van.
Key insights include:
- Why careers which use money as a measure of success can make you unhappy.
- Why you need to be wary of the amount of time you spending earning and working.
- The tenuous link between a high income and being good with money.
- How redefining success so that it is aligned with your values helps in developing a plan to achieve it.
- Why you need to be happy when you are single, so you can be happy in a future relationship.
- Why you need to track your progress with money.
Stacey’s story is a wonderful example of how you can loosen money’s power over your life, and make sure that your money habits, decisions and behaviours are intentional and effective.
You can check out Stacey’s work at https://www.pachiramoney.com/.
This week I speak to Emmanuel Asuquo, qualified financial advisor and founder of the financial empowerment company, The Eman Effect UK.
Riding high as the youngest ever financial adviser at Barclays, a flash company car and extravagant spending. Emmanuel had it all. Then new financial rules led to redundancy, a bad credit rating and a massive rethink of the role of money.
This is a great conversation with a very engaging and humble man who knows the effect of childhood poverty scars, the true role of money, and what it means to live life on purpose.
I laughed a lot during our discussion. I think you will as well. Enjoy!
And do check out Emmanuel on instagram @theemaneffectuk.
This week, I speak to Robyn Laidlaw, Head of Distribution, Europe for Vanguard Asset Management.
Born and raised in New Zealand with a nine-year residency in Australia, Robyn now lives in the UK, heading Vanguard’s sales and servicing activities within the UK market and across Europe.
Robyn shares her mindset that you have to take personal responsibility for three areas: your life, your financial situation and how you develop your career.
She also talks about how her family have found it useful to have money experiences that they can have a shared understanding and an emotional commitment to. If this is something you think your family could benefit from some help with, get in touch with my Generation Next consultancy via the website.
Some great insights from a lovely lady who is setting a great example for women aspiring to leadership roles.
This week, my guest is Dr. Daniel Crosby, psychologist, behavioural finance expert and Chief Behavioural Officer at Brinker Capital.
Daniel talks about financial sacrifice and the relationship between happiness and money (it might not be what you expect!). He also shares his ‘three Es’ when it comes to financial wellbeing: education, environment and encouragement.
An episode absolutely jam-packed with great insights and priceless gems from a world expert on behavioural finance.
This week, I speak to Tara Gillespie, investment consultant at Redington Ltd and co-founder of the financial community, Best Intentions.
Tara describes her early memories of “wealth”, growing in in an ex-pat community in Dubai, and her “never again” moment when she got into money trouble at university.
There are lots of great money insights in this episode including Tara’s "‘Just get started’ approach to investing, why you should be wary of willpower, and the importance of financial boundaries and barriers.
This week I speak to Sam Sloma, Chartered Financial Planner and Managing Director at Engage Financial Services.
After a career as a professional footballer, Sam retired at 26 and set his sights on the next chapter of his life.
Six years into his career change, Sam became a Chartered Financial Planner and went on to set up Engage Financial Services in 2017.
Sam is a wonderfully warm and "down to earth" guy. His openness makes this money story a great listen.
This week I speak to Timi Merriman-Johnson, finance manager and founder of Mr MoneyJar.
Face-to-face with an eviction notice and overwhelmed by expensive living costs, four years ago Timi decided enough was enough. It was time to improve his life by getting better control of his money.
Through a process of self-directed learning, gradual changes and a consistent approach, Timi now has money confidence.
Through his popular ‘Mr MoneyJar’ alter ego, he helps others do the same.
A very candid episode with a focus on how to take that next step to better educate yourself about money.
You can check out Timi and his fantastic money conversations on the Mr MoneyJar show, every Monday at 18:30 GMT, over on Instagram @mrmoneyjar. (And see if you can spot a familiar face in the archives!)
This week I speak to Prerna Khemlani, chartered accountant and advocate for women building wealth through investing.
Growing up in India and Spain, Prerna saw the her mother juggle the family finances living off a single income after her father’s untimely death.
Driven by her desire to feel financially secure, Prerna taught herself to feel more confident with money in general and investing in particular. Now she is helping others to do the same.
An episode with plenty of inspiration for the younger generation looking to better their money attitude, skills and habits. You can check out Prerna and her work at https://www.thisgirlinvests.co.uk/ and on Instagram @thisgirlinvests.
This week I speak to financial services veteran, Phil Smith.
Phil tells how he went from saving his schoolboy pennies in a TSB piggy bank to looking after billions of pounds of other peoples' money as chief executive of financial services support services provider Embark Group.
Seizing the opportunity to work in an embryonic business based in Asia turned out to be the springboard to Phil's future career, wealth and family success.
Phil is a wonderfully warm and candid individual, who retains incredible humility despite now leading a business which generates in excess of £100M per annum. And he has an optimistic message and encouraging words of wisdom for young people who are apprehensive about their career prospects in the current environment.
This week, I speak to Caroline Strawson, award-winning trauma therapist and coach.
Having escaped an abusive marriage and crippled by over £70,000 of debt, Caroline once knew what it was like to be at rock bottom in every sense.
Despite being a financially-vulnerable single mum, Caroline was determined to avoid having a ‘victim’ mentality, and worked tirelessly to turn her life around for herself and her two children.
Caroline not only survived, but thrived, after extreme emotional and financial trauma. Her story provides a great sense of hope for anyone going through tough circumstances.
Now a multi-award winning, international therapist and coach, Caroline now helps people recover from the trauma of narcissistic abuse, and live life on their own terms.
To find out more about Caroline’s work visit her website at: https://www.carolinestrawson.com/
This week on the Real Money Stories podcast, I speak to Ken Okoroafor, founder of The Humble Penny.
Ken grew up in Lagos, Nigeria until his family moved to the UK when he was aged 14. As well as the culture shock of adapting to life in the UK, Ken was acutely aware of financial differences between his secondary school classmates.
‘Ashamed’, ‘lonely’ and ‘unseen’ are all words he uses to describe how he felt due to his family’s lack of money and different ethnicity to others around him.
Finishing university with a first-class degree, Ken decided accountancy would be a good path to pursue. Undeterred by the lack of black representation in the industry, he was successful in getting a position in one of the UK’s top 10 firms.
Having temporarily succumbed to the effects of ‘lifestyle creep’ early on in his career, Ken got himself back on track, reminding himself what really matters in life.
Having achieved financial independence aged 34, he and his wife, Mary, decided to share their money story in order to empower others via The Humble Penny.
You can check Ken out at: https://thehumblepenny.com/ and https://youtube.com/thehumblepenny
This week I speak to rising social media star and financial adviser Lisa Conway, aka Miss Lolly.
Lisa recounts her early dream of wanting to live in one of the beautiful big houses she passed on her way to work, but having no idea how she'd make that a reality.
Juggling several low paid jobs, keeping a lid on her social spending and eventually carving out an accidental career in financial services, were the foundations of her later economic success.
Being resilient and adaptable was essential when Lisa's husband's work dried up a few years ago, while Lisa was juggling being a young mum and building her business. By examining her limiting beliefs with a performance coach, she grew her income by 50% in one year. Lisa now has a waiting list to take on new clients and a rapidly growing social media business.
Lisa talks honestly and candidly about the importance of knowing what you want and value, and the importance of doing the hard work to get and keep the life you want.
Check out Lisa’s website here: https://misslolly.com/
In this Real Money Stories episode, I speak to Rob Moore about how he went from broke artist to multi-millionaire serial entrepreneur in five years. Rob is an entrepreneur, investor, author, founder of the Rob Moore Foundation and co-founder of Progressive Property and Progressive Success.
Rob explains how he has handled setbacks and mistakes, the role of luck versus effort and why human relationships are so vital to his success. We also discuss what it means to be happy and prosperous and what money can and can't do for you.
Despite being wealthy, Rob emphasises why he thinks it's so important to have a clear idea of his lifestyle costs, to avoid losing control of his money. And he outlines the importance of being clear on his personal values to help guide his money-related decisions and actions.
This is a super episode filled to the brim with great wisdom. Make sure that you listen to it more than once.
This Real Money Stories episode features Gull Khan, former Banking and Finance Lawyer, who left behind her corporate job to become a Money Mindset Expert.
Gull spent her early childhood in Pakistan with great affluence. But an alteration to her family situation meant her and her mother had to move to the UK and replace opulence with scarcity.
Determined to reverse her situation through hard work and commitment, as a student Gull strove for good grades and successfully went on to law school. However, she decided that money and helping people with their financial prosperity was a more personally-rewarding career route her.
Gull’s story, spanning Asia to Europe, scarcity to wealth, and dependence to independence, outlines a tumultuous, yet successful money journey which everyone can listen and learn from in some way.
In this episode, I speak to Mick McAteer, founder and co-Director of The Financial Inclusion Centre, a UK not-for-profit policy and research group dedicated to promoting financial markets that work for society.
Growing up in the tough climate of Northern Ireland’s Civil Rights Movement, Mick had a strong sense for equality instilled in him from a young age. Working alongside his father selling produce door-to-door was not only hard work, but dangerous work too.
Moving to London in the mid-80s, Mick worked to make ends meet working in a junior position in risk analysis. Spurred on by a growing family, he strove to achieve a comfortable but modest lifestyle.
A social pioneer and champion of justice, Mick’s story makes a great listen. Check out www.inclusioncentre.org.uk.
In this episode, I speak to money coach for women, Catherine Morgan.
Catherine tells how early childhood traumas led her to have self-doubts which manifested as overspending and a slightly cavalier approach to money. She explains how she has completely reinvented her relationship with money over the past twenty years to build a healthy income and create a solid financial foundation, by helping others to help themselves be better with money.
This episode has some wonderful insights on how working on your inner self can help you build positive money habits, behaviours and routines, so that money is your servant, not your master.
Check out Catherine’s podcast In Her Financial Shoes and her website for financial coaching for women, The Money Panel.
In this episode of Real Money Stories, I speak to Peter Deane, director at Lower My Charges.
Growing up in a modest family home, Peter learnt the importance of being careful with money. Stacking shelves in supermarkets to factory work, as a teenager he learnt money’s value.
What these early experiences also taught Peter was that he would rather run a business than just work in it. Beginning his career, he moved through the finance industry from big jobs to even bigger ones in order to satisfy his desire for more responsibility.
A great episode which highlights the importance of pursuing what you are passionate about, with the money usually following right behind.
This week I speak to Emma Maslin, money coach aka The Money Whisperer.
Emma had a good relationship with money from a young age and observed an entrepreneurial streak in both her father and grandfather.
As a graduate from university, Emma qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2006 in a “Big Four” accountancy firm where she worked in corporate finance, valuing businesses for takeovers.
Deciding to put her natural understanding of finances to another use, she started a blog to help people with basis financial situations. Quickly she realised that she could have a great impact on the financial education of others if she could teach the right money mindset with the aid of practical guidance and tools. Training as a money coach, she now does just that.
A great episode delving into the truth of your financial mindset and how you can reshape it with the right guidance and tools.
This week I speak to Darren Laverty, a financial well-being strategist at Secondsight.
Growing up, Darren learnt from his dad’s example that to have money, you had to work hard for it.
Dabbling in all sorts of jobs, from car sales to nightclubs, Darren found none of these career paths were for him. Finally, a passing idea to pursue a path in life insurance took his fancy. It turned out to be a good fit.
A self-confessed “over optimistic attitude” saw Darren plunge into a high-spending lifestyle. Materialism took over his life. Having hitting rock bottom with insurmountable overdrafts and debts, he realised it was time for a change.
Together with his wife, Darren was gradually able to achieve his desire to become debt-free and take back control of his money.
Now, in his role as a financial well-being strategist at Secondsight, he teaches people how to start the seemingly enormous task of becoming financially free. The relationship between financial well-being and emotional well-being is one which Darren wants to everyone to fully realise.
This week I speak to Sarah Lord, Chief Client Officer for Succession Wealth.
A comfortable upbringing allowed Sarah freedom to explore opportunities, from completing a medial biochemistry degree to working a ski season.
By a stroke of chance, Sarah found herself eager to pursue a career in the financial services. Now she boosts position number two at one of the leading firms in the advice sector.
Sarah explains to me how money is about the freedom of choice and the ability to have experiences. This attitude to money was influenced by her childhood and, in turn, one which she hopes to pass on to her own children.
An episode filled with humble perspective and contemplation on the full wealth of opportunities out there for the taking.
This week I speak to Neil Moles, CEO of Progeny group.
Growing up in a modest household on the Yorkshire Dales, Neil learnt that there always had to be an element of planning concerning money.
A job at a building society at the age of 16 saw Neil pursue his love of maths and his passion for interacting with people. This combination led him into the world of financial advice.
Neil shares some great client stories and experiences. And he speaks frankly about the importance of personal responsibility, the challenges of growing a business, and the growing culture of entitlement towards money.
With many young people having to rethink their career options, Neil also makes the case for considering a role in financial services as rewarding professionally, financially and emotionally.
This week I speak to Dr Lien Luu, Chartered Financial Planner and Associate Professor in Finance at Coventry Business School.
Growing up in Vietnam, Lien’s first impression of managing money from her parents was a simple and frugal approach without luxuries.
As a 13 year old, Lien and her family fled as refugees from the conflict and humanitarian problems in their home country. Arriving in the UK as a refugee, via a precarious sea journey as one of the ‘boat people’ exodus, she experienced a cultural shock. By western standards she was confronted with a sense of embarrassment at her family’s financial situation.
Yet taking control, she decided hard work was the route to a better life.
A humbling perspective on the value of money, the power of determination and the satisfaction of frugality.
This week I speak to Don Fraser, chartered financial planner and director at Capital asset management.
The power of peer-pressure spending and the contagious notion that affluence ought to be rewarded by material consumption are emotive behaviours that Don experienced first-hand.
Boasting a 41 year career in finance and fortified by his own lessons, Don shares his formula for mastering money emotions. YOU too can make decisions for your hard-earned cash with clarity and confidence.
This week I speak to Kathryn Knowles who combines the roles of business owner, insurance expert, mum, wife, fitness enthusiast and environmentalist. A modest upbringing taught Kathryn the importance of minimising debt, working hard, saving and spending in line with her values and priorities. Buying her first house while still at university led to Kathryn, her husband and three young children eventually living in their dream home, mortgage-free, by the time they were 34. Kathryn and her husband seized the opportunity to buy the company that employed them, putting Kathryn's PHD in business and accounting to good use. They have developed the business - Cura - to be a leading specialist in the field of UK personal protection insurance. As Kathryn says, "You've got to have that vision of what you want" before you can go about achieving it. Then you have to align your spending with your vision. It worked for Kathryn, and it can work for you.
This week I speak to entrepreneur Ian Beestin.
Ian's early money experiences of helping his dad count out the church collection money and collecting weekly customer payments on his milk round, stood him in good stead.
Ian explains how he turned £9,000 of regular savings into £50,000 by the time he was 24, and the capital for his first business investment. Having a hobby - drumming - that cost nothing and generated cash, is one of Ian's secret to being able to save so much at a young age.
A total loss on his first investment didn't deter Ian, and he and a friend started a business that revolutionised the selling of ISAs and investment bonds. Within the first two years they had generated over 100,000 enquiries with minimal marketing spend, and more business than they could handle.
Selling his business at the age of 31 created the solid financial foundations for Ian and his family, which gave him options to explore different roles, hobbies, and interests.
Now running his third business - financial education and engagement platform Moneyalive - Ian is continuing to make waves and deliver value.
Ian is an incredibly humble and down to earth person, who underplays his achievements. But we can all learn from his passion and enthusiasm for business, being true to his principles and favouring saving over spending.
This week I speak to financial services entrepreneur Holly MacKay.
As founder and head honcho of communications agency Boring Money, Holly is on a mission to cut through the BS, jargon and complexity of money and personal finance.
Although I have known Holly for over 15 years, I didn't know her back story.
From university at Cambridge to chalet maid in the alps, Holly mixed working, having fun and learning useful life skills. A trip to Australia taken on a whim ended up with a job in financial services. Homesickness brought Holly back to the UK, where she quickly landed a corporate executive role with a big financial services company.
Tiring of corporate politics and keen to go beyond her comfort zone led Holly to set up her first business, 'I had no idea I needed a separate business bank account!' Overseeing a conference just days after the birth of her child was all in a day's work for Holly, 'Although I wouldn't recommend it.'
An unsolicited telephone call while walking along the Thames one day led to the sale of her business for a life-changing sum, 'There was certainly a degree of validation about it.' observes Holly,
But Holly doesn't sugarcoat her life. The breakdown of her marriage and the challenges of balancing family, business and personal priorities, mean she has developed resilience, humility and empathy.
A great episode which I hope you enjoy listening to as much as I enjoyed recording.
This week I speak to fintech entrepreneur Abraham Okusanya.
From growing up in relative poverty in rural Africa. 3am starts working in the family business while still at school. And obtaining a scholarship to study in the UK. Abraham shows that where you start need not hold you back.
A dalliance with consumer debt, at the same time as he was made redundant at the height of the financial crisis, galvanised Abraham to recalibrate his life.
Honest money conversations with his new wife, learning new money skills and starting his own consultancy were all part of his money recovery plan.
An epiphany during his consultancy work led Abraham to start a financial software company, Timeline App. Today Abraham and his team help people answer the toughest question we all have, 'Am I going to be OK financially?'
This is a lovely conversation, full of humility, honesty and good humour, which touches on so many aspects of our relationship with money.
This week I speak to Claire Walsh, the Head of Advice Strategy at Schroders Personal Wealth, one of the largest financial advice firms in the UK.
Claire tells of how her parents' frugal approach to money and their insistence that she take responsibility for her own spending as a teenager, shaped her money beliefs and laid good financial foundations.
Juggling learning with earning, and being prepared to work hard, while also enjoying life, eventually led to a short-lived career as a primary school teacher, before pivoting into the world of finance as a graduate trainee for American Express.
A chance comment by Claire's now ex-husband that 'You'd be good as a financial adviser ‘eventually led to another career pivot, which involved a big pay cut, lots of studying and breaking through the male dominated financial services sector.
After a successful and enjoyable ten year career as a professional financial planner, Claire decided to pivot her career again to take a senior leadership position at Schroder Private Wealth, where she is working hard to make a big difference to many more people's lives by sharing her passion, values and knowledge of the power and value of good financial planning with colleagues, customers and the media.
https://www.spw.com/
This week I speak to financial services entrepreneur Alan Smith.
Alan tells how his relationship with money was influenced by the childhood experience of his family going from living a life of opulence and luxury, to one of living on the breadline, following the collapse of his father’s property business in the 1970s.
A brief brush with debt and high living early in Alan’s career was brought into check by a doubling of his mortgage payments following the interest rate hikes of the early 1990s. Alan explains why and how he made the leap from comfortable, successful corporate executive to unprepared small business owner with an uncertain future.
And be sure to listen to the end when Alan shares what he has learned about money from his clients and the money success framework that he know teaches his children.
www.capital.co.uk
This week I speak to marketing expert Carrie Bendall.
During a modest but comfortable childhood in Scotland Carrie quite literally learned to watch the pennies and, by helping in the family business, the value and importance of hard work.
Higher education at ‘one of the most magnificent places in the world’ saw Carrie develop and hone her formidable event organisation skills and love of people. A chance encounter at a party Carrie had organised for her father, led to the start of an amazing career in PR and marketing.
A family tragedy in her early 20s taught Carrie how precious life really is and the importance of friendships, a good network and living in the present, ‘I’ve always [invested] in socialising. I’ve always thought that a good thing to do.’
After 15 amazing years in London, Carrie reset her life and career to enable her to start a family, set up a beautiful home and create a wonderful new life in the Suffolk countryside. Learning to budget for fun, life enriching experiences and guilt-free spending, as well as maintaining a degree of personal financial independence, has allowed Carrie and her family to balance enjoying life today without forgetting tomorrow.
http://www.inspiredc.co.uk/about-us/
In this epsiode I speak to leading economist, broadcaster, writer and author Liam Halligan.
From humble beginnings growing up in an Irish family in North West London, Liam saw his dad work hard to build a construction business during the tough economic times of the late 1970s.
Intellectual curiosity and natural ability led to a life changing scholarship at a leading independent school, which eventually led to studying at Warwick and then Oxford University. Balancing various casual jobs and a plethora of sporting activities during his student years, Liam thought he was destined to become an academic.
Early economic fact finding missions included walking from the top to the bottom of Sweden, a motorbike trip across Africa and a cycling tour of Washington DC, where he took a research post.
A Subsequent research post in Moscow in the ‘Wild West’ years of the mid 1990s led to a chance opportunity to write an op ed for the Moscow Times, which led to his own economics column in that newspaper. Liam’s reputation as a major economic thinker of the emerging post-Soviet region was sealed. As Liam jokes “A lot of people have made a lot more money than me out of my economic analysis of the Russian economy at that time!”
Despite a short stint in financial services and the potential to ‘make a lot of money’ working for an investment bank, Liam decided to pursue his passion for economics research, thinking and writing, with stints at The Economist, The Financial Times and for over the past decade as economics columnist for The Telegraph.
Working three hours a day fixing up an unmortgageable house before he started work at Channel 4 News, enabled Liam to build the property wealth which underpins his family’s financial security.
Liam likes to live a very simple and relatively low-cost lifestyle, and instead finds real riches in his family, his music and seeking the truth about money, people and the economy.
His one indulgence? A Martin 15 series steel string electro-acoustic guitar. Now that’s living a rich life!
A wonderful episode full of the honesty, humility and candor that is Liam's hallmark.
This week I speak to Alex Holder, lifestyle writer and author of Open Up: Why Talking About Money Will Change Your Life.
Alex's story starts with a humble working-class childhood in northern England. Money was tight and peer pressure to have the latest fashion brands caused Alex some embarrassment as a teenager.
University life in London saw Alex accumulate significant consumer debt, as she enjoyed all that the capital had to offer.
A lucky break as an intern at an advertising agency led to a phenomenally successful career which saw Alex go from earning £15,000 to over £130,000 per annum in less than 10 years!
But despite her high income, Alex spent every penny she earned and more, to maintain the lavish and glamorous lifestyle which she thought was a sign of success and that her peers expected of her. She became more and more disillusioned with her career in advertising, and felt shame and embarrassment at her flippant attitude to money and increasingly precarious financial situation.
The birth of her son and a desire to become a full-time writer was the epiphany she needed to take stock of her life, reassess her priorities and improve her relationship with money.
Going through cold turkey on her lifestyle spending enabled Alex to get out of debt, build savings, change her career, and move her family to live in Portugal.
As Alex says 'Earning more money wasn't about more freedom. Learning to live on less money was real freedom. [You need to remember that] you're not alone. Seek out other people [who] are in the same situation, because often getting advice from people, peers that [are living a] similar life to you is much more valuable than getting advice from an expert.'
This episode is packed with great insights on impulsive spending, work and identity, dealing with peer pressure, the importance of priorities and making positive changes to your relationship with money.
This week I speak to Simonne Gnessen, one of the UK's leading money coaches and trainer, about her own money story.
A humble childhood taught Simonne that money wasn't the source of happiness and fullfillment, but could provide some options and flexibility.
Working as a student in a shoe shop while at university gave way to travelling before eventually training as an actuary. But a sudden change of heart to find work that really fullfilled her led Simonne decide to train to become a financial adviser.
Disillusionment with the sales culture that prevailed in financial services at the time, and a chance encounter with a financial adviser who suggested the possibility of becoming a coach, motivated Simonne to re-engineer her career a third time.
From humble and tentative early beginnings in the early 2000s, Simonne tells how she developed one of the first money coaching business in the UK, to the stage where she has now trained nearly 100 other money coaches.
Simonne has some wonderful insights and wisdom on working, earning, spending, saving, borrowing and investing in yourself.
https://financial-coaching.co.uk/
This week I'm joined by the UK media's favourite residential property expert and buying agent Henry Pryor.
Henry tells of how a false start at agricultural collage saw him fall into the world of property with a firm of chartered surveyors, followed by a rollercoaster 10 years with a major property firm, and a decade of extravagent spending.
After a short daliance with another property firm, Henry started his first business, met his now wife, and started a family.
After selling his first business, Henry explains why and how he started his current business, which was based on the previously unheard of concept of helping people to buy a home, rather than selling them one.
And Henry makes the important point that taking considered risks is a key part of his approach and what has helped him improve his financial situation and life enjoyment. And do listen to the end when Henry explains why he includes his competitors on his website and never asks clients to sign a contract.
Henry's interview is peppered with great insights, wisdom, humour, humility and honesty. I could have spoken to him all day so I suggest you listen to this one twice.
This week I speak to financial services entreprenuer Robert Gardner.
Rob's money story starts with him growing up in South America, generating cash from collecting returnable soft drinks bottles, trying to buy food before prices rose while he was in the shop, and rushing to change his father's salary from the local currency to US dolllars before it fell in value.
Nearly losing all his family's holiday money by leaving his money belt in a hotel room taught Rob an important lesson on the importance of keeping hold of money. Surreptitiously working while at boarding school allowed him to buy his first car at 18, but a too good to be true motor insurance policy taught Rob another very important money lesson.
Learning to live frugally and modestly and adopting what Rob calls his 'artificial horizon' rule for his cash buffer, are the cornerstones of how he has built his wealth. Taking a calculated risk to shake up the sleepy world of pension investment consulting ended up being very rewarding.
And through his charity Red Start, Rob aims to teach at least 1 million how to effectively budget, save, and invest their money.
This epsiode is so full of wisdom you might want to listen to it twice, and make sure you share it with people you know and care about. They'll thank you for it.
https://redstarteducate.org/
This week I speak to financial education champion and ex City fund manager Helen.
Helen tells how she learnt the value of money from her mother's careful management of the family budget and then going on to do a variety of low paid jobs when she was a student, including a stint as a fitness instructor.
Being able to speak German lead to an interview with a major UK bank, and a job as a trainee investment manager, for which she had no qualifications or experience.
Helen gives some great insights into how she and her husband transitioned to being parents, including how they both convinced their employers to let them both work 4 days a week, so they could balance their careers with raising their family. And the detailed written analysis Helen was required to give her employer to justify flexible working puts into sharp relief today's legal right to request flexible working.
Many happy years in Edinburgh gave way to even happier days in Suffolk. Followed by Helen deciding to retire from fund management at a relatively young age, so she could focus on building her own social purpose business - missmoneyready - which enables children and young people to learn about money through the unique financial education platform Helen had designed and had built.
Helen is a lady on a mission and she really does understand how to have a good relationship with money.
This week I speak to Will Rainey, who explains how he turned his love of numbers and a desire to build financial wealth into a career as an Actuary.
Will tells of how he quickly got control of his spending so he could avoid consumer debt and buy property. He explains why having aligned money values and priorities with his future wife was essential to making wise money decisions.
Be sure to listen to the end when Will explains why and how he and his wife broke out of their comfort zone to reinvent their lifestyle and careers, despite having young children.
And Will explains how he now helps other parents to save for their children's future through his start up Blue Tree Blog:
https://www.bluetreeblog.com
In this week's epsiode I speak to personal performance expert and coach David. David explains how his modest upbringing instilled in him a healthy respect for money "If you didn't have the money, you just didn't have it."
David shares his experience of being made redundant twice and how, despite being in the early 1990s recession, he found his dream job training for a big corporate by "..treating looking for a job, like a full time job".
David tells of why and how he started his own training business, and how persistence eventually paid off and gave him the freedom and money to live life on his own terms. And he explains why his lifelong hobby of collecting football programmes is a passion rather than an investment.
All in all there are lots of insights in this episode on money values, building resilience, self-improvement and building human capital. As David says "If you don't look after yourself or your business, who is going to do it for you?"
www.davidyeabsley.co.uk
This week I'm joined by multi-millionaire property investor Chris Prefontaine, who explains how he learned the value of money early on by doing gardening and odd jobs in his community before taking on a full time job while also studying at university.
Chris knew he'd met the love of his life when he was 20, partly because she was as keen as him to save to accumulating some money, rather than socialising and buying stuff.
And Chris explains how he built up his property business, only to see much of his wealth wiped out by the 2008-10 global credit crunch. The slow journey back from the brink has seen Chris build an amazing property and training business, which is now managed by one of his children.
This week I speak to Nick Throp, the founder and MD of communications agency Like Minds.
I first met Nick when I came across his company's MoneyMinded workplace financial wellbeing portal. Nick and his team have an amazing ability to communicate money issues in a refreshing, honest and engaging way. So I was very keen to find out about Nick's own money story.
Nick explains how his modest but comfortable and secure early years gave way to a challenging teenage period, when he was sent to a private school and felt intimitated by kids from richer families.
And Nick explains how we recovered from an early relationship breakdown to find not only his emotional soul mate, but his future business partner.
A slightly longer epsiode that's packed full of great insights, amusing anecdotes, and timeless lessons. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed recording it.
Like Minds https://www.likeminds.uk.com/
This week, I’m joined by social entrepreneur Yann. As a first-generation immigrant to the UK, Yann explains the challenges he faced as a young person, reconciling the different cultural norms between his native Nigeria and his new home in the UK.
Yann describes how his emotionally secure upbringing enabled him to avoid seeking the acceptance of others through overspending and to reject conspicuous consumption and to live within his means.
And Yann explains how he recovered from the failure of his first social enterprise to go on to create other successful ventures, focused on helping people help themselves through education.
You can follow Yann on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/yannwtanoe_e.e.r/
This week, in a departure from my usual anonymous guest, I'm joined by Financial Times personal finance editor Claer Barrett. As well as being a great journalist (and my commissioning editor!) she has a wealth of wisdom and knowledge about personal finance.
Claer explains how her humble upbringing taught her to respect and value money, and not to be obsessive about material comforts. And she has some stark advice for female listeners - a man is not a financial plan!
Claer tells how and why she realised that her love of playing and creating music was going to be her hobby and not her career. She explains why she believes you make your own luck in life by being proactive and and knowing what you want out of life.
Drawing on her own experiences and what she has learned from being the FT Money editor, Claer shares lots of priceless money tips and tricks. A great episode packed full of humour, humility, sense and optimism.
This week I speak to experienced financial services executive Antony, who explains how his love of maths and science enabled him to study at one of the UK's most prestigous universities, which opened the door to a graduate trainee position at a major consulting firm.
Antony explains how he and his wife navigated competing priorities and demands on their money over the years, based on their deermination to put the wellbeing of their four children first.
And be sure to listen to the end, when Antony gives his thoughts on saving, investing and insurance, based on wisdom gained from a 40 year career in finance.
In this week's episode I talk to money coach Fanny, who explains how her early comfortable upbringing, including expensive private schooling, gave way to austerity, including moving to a tough state comprehensive school.
Fanny also talks about how her determination to avoid being poor and be independent made her strive for financial success a bit too much, and how she regained perspective and balance in her life.
A cracking episode which is full of wisdom, insights and humour.
https://fannysnaith.com/
This week I speak to data scientist Andreas, who explains why and how he decided to move to the UK to continue his education to provide a solid base for his future career.
And with freshing honesty Andreas explains that, despite being brilliant with numbers, even he finds his emotions sometimes get in the way of his money decisions.
This week I speak to HR professional Willorna, who shares the highs and lows of her spending habits, career changes and family evolution and what it has taught her about her relationship with money.
Willorna's story is incredibly candid and honest and it's well worth listening to the end for her reflections on what she has learnt about money.
This week I speak to Ben, who explains how how went from washing cars to eventually working with his father in a fast growing fintech business.
Ben explains how he handled the free spending culture of his investment banking peers in his early career, and why he decided to buy two small houses, rather than one big one, when he wanted to stop renting.
This week I speak to entrepreneur Vivian, who explains how she used her education as a solid foundation upon which to develop her business skills and contacts.
And she explains how she navigated numerous financial challenges and obstacles, including having three children, to derive life meaning and purpose as well as support her family's lifestyle needs.
http://bubeleapp.com/
This week I talk to Ray, who explains why spending his early pay cheques on life experiences, rather possessions and socialising, helped him build valueable life skills.
He goes on to explain how investing in doing an MBA in his late 20s and working for someone else for several years, equipped him with the experience and confidence to start, grow a successful business which he eventually sold for a sizeable sum.
This week I speak to Judith, who explains why and how she heeded her grandmother's advice to stand on her own financially and how she managed to avoid debt.
Judith also explains how she navigated the financial tsunami of 2009 when she also got married, stopped work to have a child and moved from London to Edinburgh.
This week I speak to Tom, who explains how he and his wife resisted the temptation to develop a high rolling as their household income rose substantially, to enable them to become financially independent.
And do listen to the end to hear Tom explain why he intends to keep working as long as he can, despite not needing to do so.
This week I talk to Georgia, who explains how her grandmother's influence helped her channel her enthusiasm for business to work smart, not just hard.
Georgia explains how she avoided almost flunking her degree after running off to the other side of the world and how she stayed motivated doing menial jobs. She shares the pain of learning corporate sales and how she benefited from having a great role model to guide her.
And be sure to listen to the end when she shares some priceless pearls of money wisdom, which she wished she had known when she was 20.
This week I speak to Verity, who explains how developing effective saving habits when she was young enabled her buy her first home.
And Verity explains how she and her husband are gradually improving their money conversations and creating a more intentional spending approach to having more fun, without feeling guilty.
This week I speak to marketing agency owner Phil, who explains how he came back from the brink of almost losing all his wealth, to make money his servant, not his master.
This week I speak to IT worker Jonathan, who explains how he learnt the value of money and financial resilience doing paid work when he was a teenager.
Jonathan also explains how he and his wife's life values and priorities helped them ignore the siren calls of others to buy a bigger home, thereby becoming completely debt-free in their mid 30s.
And be sure to listen to the end when Jonathan explains why he stays humble and continues to improve his understanding of money.
This week I speak to financial journalist Iona, who explains how her mother's canny and careful approach to money helped lay the foundations for Iona to keep her own lifestyle simple and low-cost.
We discuss how social media and reality TV can lead to emotionally driven spending, the role of personality in career choices and why she has never had a credit card.
This week I speak to journalist and media business owner Robin, who explains how his parents' early sacrifices to fund his education enabled him to attend Oxford University, which led to him associating with the UK's new prime minister and several other members of the current cabinet.
Be sure to listen to why and how, after 20 years, Robin made the leap from a well-paid job as a television journalist, to starting and running his own media business, and how he navigated the financial highs and lows.
The Evidence Based Investor
In this week's espiode I speak to Laura, a self-employed accountant who is married with two young boys. Laura explains how the break up of her parents when she was a teenager caused her to develop some money avoidance habits that, when combined with her spontaneous personality, almost caused her to go off the financial road.
Laura also explains how she made the change to become a saver, is teaching her children how to have a good relationship with money and how she reconciles her and her husband's different money perspectives.
In this week's episode Jason speaks to 50 something Annabel, who recounts how she recovered from some money mistakes when she was at university to gradually build wealth through property. Annabel also shares how a successful claim on a critical illness policy gave her the financial support to recover and go on to form her own start up business in her 50s.
This week I speak to David, who has turned his five year journey of discovery on how to become financially independent, into a compelling new book - RESET: How to Restart Your Life and Get F.U. Money: The Unconventional Early Retirement Plan for Midlife Careerists Who Want to Be Happy.
This week I speak to 30 something Hanna, who shares how her spending and borrowing in her 20s almost consigned her to financial oblivion, but how she is now only months away from being 'bad' debt free.
This week I speak to 40 something Chris, who explains how he used his parents' money challenges when he was a teenager, to help him develop good money habits as an adult.
In our first episode of Real Money Stories, Jason speaks to 25 year old Sally about her money journey and what she learned from a rash decision to buy a new car.