Financial Adviser Explains How to Get Ahead in 2026
Making Money
Savings choices: pension vs ISA after employer match
Lisa recommends maximising employer match, then balancing pensions for tax relief with ISAs for flexibility.
To kick off the year we asked for your biggest money questions, which we're answering with financial adviser and friend of the podcast, Lisa Conway-Hughes.
This is Lisa’s advice firm LCH Wealth: https://lchwealth.co.uk Set up a Financial Diagnosis Session with Lisa via her assistant Abi: abi@lchwealth.co.uk
Correction: At 5:06 Lisa misspoke and said Tom would need 12-24k for 3-6 months of expenses as an emergency fund. She meant to say 6-12k (as in her example he'd have 2k expenses per month).
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This is not financial advice. The reason it’s not financial advice is because it’s not tailored to you. We explain the principles of building wealth but if you want personalised advice, it’s worth speaking to a financial advisor. As with everything financial, please do your own research. We really encourage that because no one cares more about your money than you and if you learn the basics then it will change your life.
Chapters:
00:00 - Franchise Exhibition ad
00:39 - Happy New Year
03:29 - House or Pension at 30
09:56 - Rent vs Buy
15:08 - Salary Sacrifice rules have changed
16:56 - TaxZap ad
18:10 - How to derisk for retirement
22:10 - Running out of money
27:22 - How to retire early
29:37 - Pensions savings at 30/40/50
33:07 - Self-employed and pensions
38:11 - Vanta ad
39:16 - Will you get a state pension?
42:12 - Tax trick for low earners
46:45 - How to stop worrying about money?
49:55 - Know your number
54:19 - Can you spend more?
59:02 - How to pay less tax in retirement
01:02:33 - Pension or ISA?
01:04:22 - Inheritance tax
01:06:20 - Where to save to pay less tax?
01:07:15 - Basic money principles
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