ICR108: 10 ways to improve your financial resilience

In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about 10 ways to improve your financial resilience.

There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice.

10 ways to improve your financial resilience

This week on Informed Choice Radio, Martin shares his ten tips for improving your financial resilience.

This topic was prompted by a couple of things; the news that the German government is thinking about making it mandatory for citizens to stockpile food and water in case of a terrorist attack; and a conversation Martin had this week with fellow personal finance podcast David Stein.

We started by asking the people of Cranleigh how they would cope in case of a national emergency or the collapse of the banking system.

Martin shared the following ten tips for improving your financial resilience and explained the practical importance of each one:

Tip #1 – build a cash emergency fund Tip #2 – diversify your investments Tip #3 – deal with your debt Tip #4 – insure the essentials Tip #5 – control your expenditure Tip #6 – live simply Tip #7 – create multiple streams of income Tip #8 – get in better shape Tip #9 – plan ahead for the future Tip #10 – stockpile the essentials

We would love to hear what you think. Are you financially resilient? How would you cope with a collapse of the financial system?

Personal finance news update

-Gender pay inequality has widened, according to the latest figures from the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

-More than 1.6 million families in the UK are living with ‘extreme problem debt’.

-Oil prices fell this week, after an unexpectedly large inventory build in the US renewed fears about an oversupply.

-More money was withdrawn from investment funds distributed in the UK in July than in the past three years.

-Help to Buy ISAs have faced criticism this week after the revelation that the government will withhold adding its bonus until after the completion of the property purchase.

-People taking money out of their pension pots using the new pension freedoms are being hit with unexpected tax bills.

Get answers to your personal finance questions

Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin?

Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford.

You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail.