The Meaningful Money Personal Finance Podcast

Not often this happens. I never get a cold, so I'm a bit annoyed! But I'm in no shape to talk for 30 minutes into a microphone, so if you don't mind I'm going to take a week off, and return next week to close out the season on Behavioural Finance.

This week, I’m talking to a financial coach called Simonne Gnessen, author of Sheconomics and Founder of Wise Monkey Financial Coaching, who works with people in all kinds of financial situations to help them deal with their personal finances more effectively. There’s a lot to learn here, and some practical advice too for changing financial behaviour.   Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download Sponsor Message This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk Changing Financial Behaviour I've been aware of Simonne and her work for some time, and I can't quite believe it has taken me this long to get her on to the show. It turns out she regularly recommends that her clients listen to this show, for which I'm very grateful. Simonne is carving a special niche for herself in the UK as a most unusual creature, a financial coach. I ask her about her work and the difference she has made in people's lives, specifically regarding changing financial behaviour One tip which Simonne suggested was to ask yourself this question: "If money came to tea, how would it behave,what would it look like, how long would it stay and what would it say about your relationship with it?" The answers to that question might give you some idea of how your relationship to money is, or is not optimal. It's a great interview, and Simonne's heart for her clients really comes across - enjoy! Resources mentioned in this week's show Simonne's website: Wise Monkey Financial Coaching Book: Sheconomics, by Simonne Gnessen Card game: Money Habitudes Course: Do Something Different Training: Financial Coach Practitioner Certificate Resource for business owners: Beanbag (Simonne didn't mention this on the call, but it's worth a look) Transcript And, as always, a full transcript is available by clicking the mahoosive blue button below: Join the conversation I love to read and respond to your comments, so please do join in and share. Question: What resonated with you from what Simonne talked about? Why? And what might you do differently as a result? Share the love If this show is of any use to you, it would help me massively if you would take the time to leave me a review on iTunes. This has a huge impact on keeping me near the top of the rankings, which in turns helps more people to find the show and to subscribe. Just click the button below:

I do love it when listeners get in touch, which happens nearly every day. When Vanessa Kettner got in touch and we traded emails, it quickly became apparent that she had something to offer all of us, so I invited her on, specifically to talk about something she calls The Seinfeld Trick, or the power of small increments. Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download Sponsor Message   This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk The Power of Small Increments Vanessa Kettner got in touch via voicemail, which you'll hear in this week's show. She told a brief story of how she has used a little trick, learned from her mother. She has applied to various areas of her life, from learning a musical instrument, and latterly to improving her personal financial situation. She joins me to talk about her journey... In this show, you'll learn: The origins of what Vanessa calls The Seinfeld Trick How it enabled her to move up to first clarinet How she has applied it to educate herself financially... ...and also take action to improve her financial situation Resources mentioned in this week's show Book: Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed Goals Sheet: Here's Vanessa's own fold-up goals sheet which she keeps with her Oyster Card Designer: Lindsay Derecola (designed the fold-up goals sheet) - Portfolio, LinkedIn, Email Vanessa Kettner Contact Details Website: Personal Best - Personal Productivity Training & Coaching Email: Send Vanessa a message LinkedIn: Connect with Vanessa   Join the conversation I love to read and respond to your comments, so please do join in and share. Question: How might you apply the power of small increments in your financial life? Share the love If this show is of any use to you, it would help me massively if you would take the time to leave me a review on iTunes. This has a huge impact on keeping me near the top of the rankings, which in turns helps more people to find the show and to subscribe. Just click the button below:

Following on from part one of my interview with Greg Davies, this week we’re bringing you the second part, and this week we get nicely practical in helping you make good decisions… Sponsor Message This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk Beeswax & Ropes: A Framework for Good Decisions Greg Davies is the founder Centapse, where he will further develop the approach to behavioural finance that he has spent years studying. his new firm works with the financial services industry to make investing decisions easier. I think you’ll enjoy this chat with Greg if you haven’t listened to it before. If you haven’t listened to last week’s show, I suggest you do that first… In this show, you’ll learn: What Greg means by anxiety-adjusted returns his view on the classic investor profiles and the behaviours of each Whether better investment decision-making frameworks be learned About the concept of anchoring and its effect on financial decision-making How can ordinary investors be aware of their own decision making tendencies and adjust if necessary? Three things to look out for and do Three things to look out for and NOT do Resources mentioned in this week’s show Book: Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking Fast & Slow Website: Greg Davies’ company: Centapse Website: Investment philosophy website at Barclays

I can't spend this much time looking at Behavioural Finance without bringing in the wisdom of Greg Davies, until recently Head of Behavioural Quant Finance at Barclays Bank and now founder of Centapse, a firm dedicated to applying sophisticated behavioural insight to help people (and organisations) make better decisions. My original interview with him happened back in May last year and is still my favourite ever interview here on MeaningfulMoney. In it, Greg speaks of having a framework for making good financial decisions. Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download Sponsor Message This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk Beeswax & Ropes: A Framework for Good Decisions Greg Davies will introduce himself in this first part of my interview with him, though since that time, Greg has moved on to found his own company called Centapse, where he will further develop the approach begun at Barclays. I think you’ll enjoy this chat with Greg if you haven’t listened to it before, and don’t forget there's lots of practical stuff to come next week in part two. In this show, you'll learn: What Behavioural Finance actually is, as defined by the expert Why the story of Ulysses and the Sirens is such a powerful metaphor Some of the key behaviours that investors frequently display Resources mentioned in this week's show Book: Daniel Kahneman's Thinking Fast & Slow Website: Greg Davies' company: Centapse A full transcript of this week's show available by clicking the massive blue button below: [Insert Leadbox script here] Join the conversation I love to read and respond to your comments, so please do join in and share. Question: Did any of Greg's comments resonate? If so, which one and why?" Share the love If this show is of any use to you, it would help me massively if you would take the time to leave me a review on iTunes. This has a huge impact on keeping me near the top of the rankings, which in turns helps more people to find the show and to subscribe. Just click the button below:

Last week we asked some searching questions in a bid to know ourselves a little better when it comes to our relationship with money. This week I want to look at some common money mistakes and how to avoid them. That way, we might have a chance of seeing these mistakes coming, and maybe just side-step them before they derail us.   Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download Sponsor Message This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk Seven Common Money Mistakes If we want to make the best financial decisions possible, it makes sense to learn from others’ mistakes. No sense in reinventing the wheel if someone else has been there and done it. So this week I want to look some common money mistakes that I have seen all too frequently during my time as an adviser. The longer I do this job, the more convinced I am that a large part of my job is to coach people not to make these mistakes! The seven common mistakes I see all too often are: Taking either too little or too much interest in your finances Getting lulled into a false sense of achievement Underestimating longevity Procrastination Coming over all emotional Making investment decisions based on news flow Rushing into retirement Listen to the show to see how I suggest you avoid each of these... Join the conversation I love to read and respond to your comments, so please do join in and share. Question: Have you made any of the mistakes listed here? If so, what was the outcome? And what would you do differently next time? Share the love If this show is of any use to you, it would help me massively if you would take the time to leave me a review on iTunes. This has a huge impact on keeping me near the top of the rankings, which in turns helps more people to find the show and to subscribe. Just click the button below:

In the course of my work as a financial adviser, I have become more and more aware over the years that my job is as much about counselling and coaching as it is about knowing the financial stuff. I have watched people make bad financial decisions, against my advice of course, and seen people rewarded for making good decisions. In recent years I’ve become aware of the term behavioural finance and come to understand a little about it. But what is behavioural finance, and why does it matter to you? What is Behavioural Finance? There are many definitions of what behavioural finance is, but one of the best I came across is fromInvestopedia: “Behavioral finance is a relatively new field that seeks to combine behavioural and cognitive psychological theory with conventional economics and finance to provide explanations for why people make irrational financial decisions.” In other words – and I’m at the risk of over-simplifying a very complex and nuanced subject here – behavioural finance is the study of how investors get in their own way, and hamstring their financial progress by making bad decisions. If we can understand why we do certain things, and become aware of them as a result, we can be prepared and hopefully side-step some of them when they arise. Resources mentioned in this week’s show Here’s the worksheet I mentioned to give you some questions to ask, and write down the answers to help you self-evaluate your attitudes to money.   Join the conversation I love to read and respond to your comments, so please do join in and share. Question: What is your biggest ever money mistake? What is the best financial decision you ever made? Share the love If this show is of any use to you, it would help me massively if you would take the time to leave me a review on iTunes. This has a huge impact on keeping me near the top of the rankings, which in turns helps more people to find the show and to subscribe.

In this episode, I chat to Michael F. Kay, a Certified Financial Planner from the US and author of a new book called the Feel Rich Project. I was approached by Michael’s people and offered a pre-release version of the book. Prior to the interview, I had skimmed it, but since I have read it properly, and it’s a great read, not least because it’s a great reminder to keep money its place. I think you’ll enjoy this interview.   Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download Sponsor Message This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk The Feel Rich Project with Michael F. Kay The thing which attracted me most to Michael’s book when his team approached me was its title, The Feel Rich Project. It is a great reminder that feeling rich is about much more than having money. But the book isn't just full of touchy-feely stuff, there are some really practical steps to take, with worksheets to help you along. I really got a sense that Michael is a kindred spirit, keen to spread the message that simple financial planning can lead to major freedom in many other areas of life. Resources mentioned in this week's show Michael's Book: The Feel Rich Project Email Michael for the worksheets: Click here and don't forget to attach proof that you have bought the book! Contact Michael on Twitter And of course, there's a full transcript of the show available by clicking the big blue button below! Join the conversation I love to read and respond to your comments, so please do join in and share. Question: Did Michael's message resonate with you? If so, how? Share the love If this show is of any use to you, it would help me massively if you would take the time to leave me a review on iTunes. This has a huge impact on keeping me near the top of the rankings, which in turns helps more people to find the show and to subscribe. Just click the button below:

Over the past nine weeks we’ve been talking about investing for success. Over that period and for several months before that, I have had requests for my thoughts about motivational guru Tony Robbins most recent book, Money, Master the Game. So, to round off season two of this podcast, I’ll review the book and let you know what you should take from the book, and what you might want to leave on the table.   Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download Sponsor Message This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk Money Master The Game Review Money, Master the Game is an important book, I think. It is a fairly comprehensive look at what you need to know to succeed with money, from a guy who has made pots of it, and who has the ear of some of the most successful financial minds in the world. I think that if someone asked me to recommend just one book on personal finance, I might even consider recommending Robbins’ book as that one book, but I do have reservations. So I’m going to tell you what you need to know first, and do my best to précis the book’s layout and main points. Then we’ll look at the things you need to DO, or indeed not do, as a result of reading the book.   Resources mentioned in this week’s show Article: Barry Ritholtz for the Washington Post, Why The All-Weather Portfolio Is A Washout Podcast: The One-Page Financial Plan with Carl Richards eBook: Three Steps to Financial Freedom

Over the past eight weeks, we’ve covered the basics of investing; enough so you can probably get started. Now I want to round up what we’ve learned in ten steps to investment success. Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download Sponsor Message This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk Ten Steps To Investment Success Clearly, there is more to investing than we’ve been able to cover in about four hours of podcast time over the past eight weeks. But what we have learned is probably enough for most folks to dip their toes into the deep waters of investing. What follows is the past eight weeks distilled into ten clear steps for you to follow. Listen back to sessions 1-8 of this season for more clarification on anything I go through. In this session, you'll discover: How to get clear on what you're aiming for with your investments How to increase your savings level without it hurting How and where to get your risk tolerance measured Why you should stick to strategic asset allocation and ignore tactical allocation The easiest way to get all this stuff right How and why you should choose your platform and tax wrapper How often you should review your portfolio and what you should consider when you do How to make sure you get out of your own way when investing Resources mentioned in this week's show Risk Measurement: myrisktolerance.com Platform Guide: the lang cat guide to direct platform investing And of course, there's a full transcript of the show available by clicking the big blue button below!  Join the conversation I love to read and respond to your comments, so please do join in and share. Question: How many of these steps have you taken? Share the love If this show is of any use to you, it would help me massively if you would take the time to leave me a review on iTunes. This has a huge impact on keeping me near the top of the rankings, which in turns helps more people to find the show and to subscribe. Just click the button below: