The Meaningful Money Personal Finance Podcast

This week, we’re going to be talking about Net Worth. What does that even mean, and how do we build and protect our net worth? This is a subject I’ve been asked to cover by various people who have emailed me, so let’s take a good look under the bonnet of this throwaway jargon term - net worth - so we can get the most from it.

This week, I’m going to be talking to Roger Whitney, a financial planner from the US known as the Retirement Answer Man. He blogs and podcasts over at rogerwhitney.com. We’re going to be looking at four steps to run your personal finances like a business.   The best-run businesses are tight ships. Their managers keep a close eye on cost-saving, increasing the income and finding operational efficiencies. But in my experience I have met white a few business owners whose personal finances are in chaos. Today I want to see which lessons form good business management can translate into personal finances, and Roger Whitney is going to help me do that. I really enjoyed chatting to Roger, and though we had never spoken before, it becomes clear that we’re driven by a similar desire to help ordinary people understand their finances better  - so I hope that comes across.

Here we are at session number 91 - Happy New Year! - we’re going to be talking about a fantastic initiative by the excellent Graham Clark over at Moneystepper.com to help you set goals for your net wealth and savings rate, and track progress in 2015.

In light of the changes to pensions announced in the Budget, some are predicting the death of the annuity. These venerable financial tools have been around for decades, and I don't reckon they're going anywhere anytime soon. In this week's podcast I explain why...