The Meaningful Money Personal Finance Podcast

Risk is an inherent part of wealth-building and wealth-enjoying, as we're talking about in this season. As you know by now, risk comes in all kinds of flavours, some of which are specific to different life stages. Today I want to talk about the risks you'll face with your money in retirement.

Pretty much nothing has changed when it comes to writing wills, arranging funerals and applying for probate in…well, in a very long time. Today I'm chatting with Dan Garrett, CEO of Farewill and he's on a mission to force change in what he calls the death industry!

Today I want to talk about investing in retirement, which is a big subject, to say the least. So I've called in someone who knows what they are talking about because they have helped build a system for my sponsors, Seven Investment Management, to provide a future-proof managed investment system for their clients. I imagine we'll learn a thing or two…

As we've said a time or two here, retirement represents quite a change from life at the coalface. You've done things the same way financially speaking for ages, and now things are looking a little different. Today I want to go over some financial housekeeping that will stand you in good stead for a spree-free financial retirement.

Hopefully it's a nice surprise when an unexpected episode drops into the feed! I'm adding this in here because I had the chance to chat with Tom Baigrie of life insurance advisers LifeSearch about their experiences in the current pandemic - it makes for an interesting conversation…

Transitioning into retirement is a big deal; a momentous occasion. Of course, for many of us, it is an occasion which is spread over months or years, if we opt for a gradual move away from working to live. But there will come a time when you find yourself retired. Today I want to look at what that means, and how you might be feeling, plus what you should think about now…

A key part of Meaningful Academy: Build Wealth is access to Voyant GO, the best financial planning app in the world. In today's show I want to give you a tiny snapshot of what it can do...

Welcome to a brand new season here on MeaningfulMoney. I'm looking forward to getting into a meaty season, following on from the previous one and looking into the point of it all: Retirement

MeaningfulMoney is 10 years old! Not sure where that time went...! Didn't feel right to pull out all the stops to celebrate, so here's a more muted celebration. Today I'm answering the questions that you have left in the Facebook group and on social media - all the stuff you've always wanted to know, and probably some stuff you didn't!

Today is an exciting day because I'm launching my flagship course on Meaningful Academy, the one that many of you have been waiting for. It's called Build Wealth, and it's ready RIGHT NOW!

Today I'm bringing back ever-popular guest Barney Whiter, AKA The Escape Artist for his input on the current situation, and the road ahead after COVID-19…

As many of you know MM is ten years old, this month, and the podcast is just over seven years old. When I started, I was one of very few voices in the UK putting out decent regular content. Now, thank goodness, there are more options than ever, and today I want to introduce you to the newest personal finance podcast in the space.

The world is pretty topsy-turvy right now, and for many of us, we're experiencing the biggest and sharpest test of our investing resolve in light of very volatile markets. Should we be doing anything in light of these circumstances? What is the future likely to look like? Today I'm bringing back Lars Kroijer to talk about what on earth is going on…

Just like that, you've made it. You stand at the brink of retirement, however you have defined that, and you're about to step across the threshold into the next phase of your life. What on earth do you do now?!

Retirement, as we've seen, is a very personal thing; it's unique for everyone experiencing it. Optimising your retirement experience then, is also going to be a very personal thing. But there are still some things that we can all consider as we approach the finish line to optimise things, and that's the topic for today.

I had a question in the MeaningfulMoney Facebook group the other day, from Tom, who asks about staying the course in challenging investment markets, now that they're actually upon us...

You've spent 40 years saving and investing towards your retirement. You've got pretty good at putting together and maintaining an investment portfolio. That'll just carry on into retirement, right? Not so fast - we're going to go deep today…

Neil Bage of Be-IQ and I riff about our response to what's going on with the Coronavirus and markets and everything else. We cover why it's important to understand that we're human, how to manage our emotional response and the necessity of being able to talk things through with trusted friends.

A few people have asked about the NEST pension scheme in the MM Facebook Group recently, and so I thought I'd try and put together a five-minute guide to the default workplace pension that many of you will have.

For many of us, retirement is more of a process than an event. Rather than a hard stop where one day we're working and one day we're not, many of us will reduce our hours, or move to a less stressful, lower-paid job for a few years before we finish altogether. Phasing retirement is easier than ever thanks to flexible pensions, and today I want to run through the practicalities and the implications of retiring gradually.

As I record this, There are almost 3,500 people in the MeaningfulMoney Facebook group asking questions. I get tons of emails every week and there are social media comments, podcast reviews and lots of other ways for people to get in touch me here. I've noticed a trend in the comments and questions I get of using absolutes when they shouldn't, and it has to STOP!

There's a reason lottery winners and Premiership footballers sometimes go bankrupt. If you're spending more than is coming in, you're getting poorer; and as you prepare for retirement, you're going to need to really get a grip on your cashflow.

Spike Keizer approached me about something he found out about the default NEST pension fund. It could have huge consequences for you if you're under age 27 and investing in the NEST pension.

Planning a retirement is complex enough when there's only one of you, but if you're in a long-term relationship and you're planning this together, there are even more variables you need to consider, and that's the topic for this week's show…

As I record this on February 28th 2020, world stock markets are down, quite a bit and predictably, that's making for some juicy headlines and associated investor nervousness. But what about you? Are ya worried? ARE YA?

I've had a few people recently ask about starting a pension. Now for many this will seem very basic, but clearly there's a need for a simple, straightforward video on setting up a pension for the first time:

Last week we spent some time getting current with all our amassed pension plans investments bank accounts and insurance policies. Today we need to decide what we are actually going to do with all that information…

This week is a big deal for many wealth-builders because it marks the official release of a pension plan by Vanguard, the darling of the FIRE movement. I want to go over the basic specs of the plan, and provide a little bit of balance…

We spent some time last week talking about refining our vision and setting our goals for retirement. Now we know where we're going, we need to just stop and take stock of where we are now and really understand what provision we've already made towards our goal of financial independence.

Last week we went over the basic rules of Capital Gains Tax and how it works. Like any set of rules, there are planning angle you can consider to minimise your exposure to this tax.

Before we reach retirement, it helps to have a vision of what it might look like. In this season we're dealing with the things you need to think about as retirement looms over the horizon. It's no longer a hazy, one-day possibility - it's coming up fast, so we need to get serious about what we want it to look like, so we can be ready.

Bizarrely, one of the most frequently- watched videos on my YouTube channel is one from 2010 simply called Capital Gains Tax. Not much has changed since then, but there are a couple of things to mention to bring that video up to date, which is what I'm doing today!

Here we are with a brand new season of the MeaningfulMoney podcast, all about the run-in to retirement after a life of building wealth. Today I want to ask an important question right at the start - What is retirement?

If you're preparing to take over control of your elderly relative's finances it can seem properly daunting. So let's look at some things which you and your parents together can do to make the transition easier.

Buy Now, Pay Later schemes have always been around, but they seem to be gaining in popularity and are presenting a danger, particularly to young people as they are leading many into more serious and greater levels of debt. Today I want to address this subject with someone who has seen the results of this problem…

A power of attorney is an important part of pretty much everybody's financial planning, or should be. But it's especially the case for elderly parents and yet, it's not an easy conversation to have…

Today my guest is Mark Bogard of Family Building Society. They reached out to me because of some research they have done into the cost of supporting children, particularly once they are adults, the implications of this for the parents, and quite a bit more. It's an interesting conversation - I hope you enjoy it…

Today I want to start a short series here on Five Minute Friday dealing with some things to consider and to be aware of when helping older family members with their finances.

Today I get to bring you what is easily my favourite interview in my nearly ten years of the MeaningfulMoney project. It was my privilege to chat with JL Collins, author of The Simple Path To Wealth, which is quite simply the greatest personal finance book ever written.

Dropping something a little different into the feed this Friday, summarising and reviewing a book which has impacted me massively since I read it some 15 years ago - Getting Things Done by David Allen.

A reminder of the basics is never a bad thing. No matter how advanced you are with your personal finances, and no matter what Lifestage you're in, it's always a good idea to review the basic truths about money.

This New Year 2020 I am announcing the public launch of Meaningful Academy - Financial Foundations, a brand new course to help you set your finance off in the right way.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Welcome to 2020 and a new decade! Let's kick things off by affirming some time-honoured truths about money which will stand us in good stead for the weeks, months and years ahead.

It's time to draw Season 15 to a close by answering some of the questions you have asked along the way.

Over the past couple of weeks we've taken a look at how income tax and National insurance work. For those of us who are building wealth, the logical next step is how to save money on those taxes using some useful reliefs.

What a season this has been! We've covered a lot of ground, from setting goals, to establishing daily actions. From robust reviews to using leverage. We've covered more ground on behavioural finance and last week we had the inimitable Escape Artist offering his take on the long journey to FI. Today I want to summarise things really, with an emphasis on staying the course

Last week we covered income Tax, and this week we need to finish that off by talking about the other income tax, which masquerades as something else - National Insurance

Today I'm speaking, for the second time, to Barney Whiter, AKA The Escape Artist. Barney is a leading voice in the FIRE movement in the UK, and I wanted to get his take on working towards Financial Independence, the challenges along the way and the practicalities of it all.

Income Tax is a part of all our lives, but how does it really work? It's important to know how income tax works, so that we can understand ways to pay a bit less of it...

In the long journey towards financial independence, life sometimes happens. When it does, you're going to need to adjust, deal with the challenges and refocus. Today I want to help you do just that.