The Financial Wellbeing Podcast

Episode 131 – Preparing for Change with Steve Johnson In this episode, the guys are joined by Steve Johnson, founder of the Wellbeing Science Institute, for a fascinating conversation about elite sport, financial wellbeing and preparing for change. Steve explains why supporting an athlete means looking beyond performance. From finances and relationships to identity, career and emotional wellbeing, a whole-person approach can help athletes perform at their best while also preparing for life beyond sport. Welcomes & Introductions Chris Budd – Founder of Ovation Finance and the financial wellbeing movement. Tom Morris – Managing Director of Ovation Finance. Award winning, Bristol-based, chartered, B-Corp certified and employee-owned. Fancy a chat with Tom Morris and the team at Ovation? Contact details here What’s on Today’s Podcast? A chat with Steve Johnson, founder of the Wellbeing Science Institute. Steve began his career as a personal trainer and sports psychologist before moving through management, financial services and investment management. For the last 12 years, his work has returned to elite sport. His wellbeing programmes take a holistic approach, helping athletes consider not just sporting performance, but their physical, psychological, emotional, relationship, community, career and financial wellbeing. Tight Ass Tommo Light-hearted money saving tips, guaranteed to make you smile and think twice about your spending habits. This time, food is on the menu. Chris suggests going vegetarian to cut one of the more expensive parts of the weekly food shop, while Tom makes the case for visiting your local butcher. Better quality, support for a local business and, depending on what you buy, it might not cost any more. Interview with Steve Johnson Looking at the whole person, not just sporting performanceWhy financial wellbeing matters for elite athletesThe pressures of earning significant sums at a young ageIdentity, status and the question of “Who am I?”Knowing who to trust when money and success arrive quicklyWhy most elite athletes struggle to make a livingThe financial challenges facing women in professional sportStaying at the elite level, not simply getting thereFinancial literacy and the influence of agentsWhy wellbeing can be a performance enablerPreparing for injury, changing contracts and the end of a sporting careerNormalising change rather than treating transition as unexpectedThe importance of understanding who you are and what matters to youThe losses athletes can experience when they stop competingWhat elite sport can teach us about retirement, selling a business and redundancyWhy financial education needs to start earlier and feel relevant to young people Conclusions from the Guys Reflecting on the interview, David highlights Steve’s approach of starting with the person rather than focusing solely on results, contracts or performance. Tom reflects on how easy it is in sport, and in life generally, to become focused on the outcome. Paying more attention to wellbeing and the process along the way can help people enjoy what they are doing, while potentially supporting better outcomes too. Chris picks out two particularly important ideas from the conversation. The first is normalising change. Whether it is an athlete facing injury, somebody retiring, a business owner selling their company or somebody being made redundant, change should not necessarily be treated as an unexpected event. Recognising that transitions are a normal part of life gives us an opportunity to prepare for them. The second is not defining ourselves solely through our job, status, income or wealth. Chris reflects on business owners who spend years preparing their company for sale, only to complete the transaction and suddenly ask themselves, “Who am I?” Preparing financially for a transition matters. Preparing the person for what comes afterwards matters too. Steve Johnson is the founder of the Wellbeing Science Institute. After beginning his working life as a personal trainer and sports psychologist, Steve went on to work in management, financial services and investment management before returning to elite sport. He developed what he describes as the world’s first elite athlete wellbeing management programme, working with both athletes and the people who support them. His approach considers the whole person, helping athletes to perform while also building the skills and self-understanding that can support a fulfilling life beyond sport.

Episode 130 – What If Your Financial Goals Are Wrong? In this episode, David Lloyd is joined by Chris Budd and Tom Morris to ask a deceptively simple question: Are the goals we are working towards actually likely to make us happier? Along the way, there is a tenth anniversary, free museums, homemade kitchen islands, unrealistic sporting ambitions and an important conversation about the difference between accumulating money and using it to support a meaningful life. Welcomes and Introductions Chris Budd – Reflects on the tenth anniversary of The Financial Wellbeing Book and the impact its ideas have had since publication. Tom Morris – Managing Director of Ovation Finance. Award winning, Bristol-based, chartered, B-Corp certified and employee-owned. Fancy a chat with Tom Morris and the team at Ovation? Contact details here Tight Ass Tommo Featuring free museums, YouTube tutorials and reusing old parts of your house in DIY projects. Are Your Goals Making You Happier? Setting objectives is generally seen as good advice. Financial plans need goals. Athletes work towards targets. Businesses need direction. People who focused mainly on financial success reported lower life satisfaction over time. Goals connected to relationships, helping others and social involvement were more likely to improve wellbeing. That does not mean wanting a comfortable home, financial security or nice possessions is wrong. It means those goals need to sit alongside the things that give life meaning. Goals and Motivations Tom explains the difference between a goal and a motivation. A goal usually has an endpoint, such as retiring at a certain age, buying a house or completing a qualification. A motivation is often ongoing. It might involve creativity, purpose, pride or helping others. Some motivations are intrinsic, meaning we pursue them because they matter to us. Others are extrinsic, meaning we pursue them to impress or please someone else. Understanding the difference can help us decide whether an objective genuinely belongs to us. The Cost of the Wrong Objective Imagine working longer hours for years to buy a bigger house, only to realise that the original house was perfectly adequate. The financial target has been achieved, but the cost may have been time with family, friendships or neglected interests. A goal can be financially successful and still fail to improve your life. Are Your Goals Achievable? Dreams have value, but our happiness should not depend entirely on something unrealistic. The episode recalls Olympic diver Leon Taylor, who became so focused on winning a medal that the goal caused stress and unhappiness. Once he refocused on his love of diving, he performed at his best and won an Olympic silver medal. The lesson is not to stop stretching yourself. It is to find the right balance between ambition, enjoyment and reality. Three Questions to Review Your Goals The team suggests asking yourself: When do you feel most excited and energised?Who or what do you want to make a difference to?How do you want to help? Your answers may point towards family, creativity, community, charitable work, learning, teamwork or simply having more time available. You do not need one grand life purpose. Something purposeful is enough. Where Financial Planning Helps Many people assume they need more money than they actually do to feel secure. They continue saving and delaying the things they want to do because they are unsure what is possible. Cashflow planning can help test different ideas. Could you reduce your working hours? Retire earlier? Help your children now? Travel more? Return to an old hobby? A good financial plan does not simply tell you how much money you have. It helps you understand what that money can make possible. Final Thoughts Everybody has a financial plan, even if it has never been written down. The important question is whether that plan is leading towards something meaningful. Review your objectives and ask: If I achieve these goals, what will actually be better about my life? If the answer is unclear, it may be time to discuss them with your Financial Planner.

Episode 129: What are you building towards with John Moore In this episode of The Financial Wellbeing Podcast, Chris Budd is joined by his friend John Moore for a moving conversation about success, trauma, purpose and what really brings wellbeing. John shares how building and selling a successful business, followed by a terrible accident, changed the direction of his life. They explore impatience, listening to your inner voice and why happiness comes from relationships, purpose and connection, not accumulation. Welcomes & Introductions Chris Budd – Founder of Ovation Finance, the Institute for Financial Wellbeing and author of the original Financial Wellbeing Books, you can view all three here Fancy a chat with Tom Morris, Chartered and award winning Financial Planner at Ovation? Contact details here What’s on Today’s Podcast? In this episode of the Financial Wellbeing Podcast, Chris Budd is joined by his friend John Moore for a conversation about success, trauma, purpose and what it really means to live well. John was a successful businessman who had built and sold a company, cleared mortgages and created freedom and choice in his life. Then one decision changed everything. But this is not just a story about what happened to John. It is a story about what he learned afterwards. Tight Ass Tommo Light-hearted money saving tips, guaranteed to make you smile and think twice about your spending habits. David shares a cautionary tale about dogs, vets and why pet insurance can be a very good idea. Producer Tommo also brings us a listener-submitted Tight-Ass Tommo tip from financial planner Darren Cook, involving teenage children, Saturday jobs and handy staff discounts. Interview with John Moore John’s early career, business success and selling his first companyWhy he planned to divide his time between business, community and charityThe accident that left him in hospital for nearly five weeksLearning to forgive yourself after a serious mistakeWhy impatience can be both a strength and a weaknessListening to your inner voice and the warning bells we sometimes ignoreThe search for purpose after a major life eventWhat John learned from working in careBuilding a business around joy, values and human connectionWhy happiness does not come from accumulationHow relationships, purpose and connection support financial wellbeing Conclusions from the Guys Life is short, fragile and precious. Money matters, of course. A good financial plan can create choice, security and confidence. But the point of that plan is not just to have enough. It is to use what you have to build a life that means something. Ask yourself What are you building towards? And is it still the life you actually want?

Episode 128 – The Fisherman Parable In this episode of the Financial Wellbeing Podcast, we visit the well-known Fisherman Parable: a story about money, happiness and what it really means to have enough. Chris, David and Producer Tommo explore why the parable is useful, but perhaps a little too simple. Money may not be the source of happiness, but it can provide security, choice and peace of mind. The real question is not just “how much is enough?” but “enough for what?” Introductions Chris Budd – Founder of Ovation Finance, author of The Four Cornerstones of Financial Wellbeing, trustee of a hospice and, as someone else once described him, the “grandfather of financial wellbeing.” Tom Morris – Managing Director of Ovation Finance. Award winning, Bristol-based, chartered, B-Corp certified and employee-owned. Fancy a chat with Tom Morris and the team at Ovation? Contact details here Tight Ass Tommo Featuring long-running manga series One Piece on BBC iPlayer, selling your car and not ironing your shirts! The Fisherman Parable Explained There was this chap lazing on the beach, sipping a beer. He’s fishing with his rod propped up beside him, and he lives in a grass hut on the shore with his family. A businessman comes up to him and asks the fisherman, “How many fish have you caught?” And the fisherman replies, “Three. Enough for my family for supper. I’m going to go and have a siesta soon.” So the businessman replies, “You know what, you could catch a lot more fish if you tried a bit harder.” And the fisherman says, “Well, why would I do that?” And the businessman says, “Because as well as having fish for yourself and your family, you’d have more that you could then sell for a profit.” The fisherman replies, “Then what would I do?” And the businessman says, “Well, with that profit from the sale of the extra fish, you could buy a boat. Then you could catch even more fish and make more profit. Then you could buy yourself another boat and pay someone to go out and fish for you. “After a while, you could have a whole fleet of fishing boats catching and selling loads of fish, making lots of profit.” And the fisherman replies, “Then what would I do?” “Wow,” the businessman says, “you could use the profit to perhaps build a nice bar on the beach that can then create more profit. You can use that profit to build some hotels. And within a few years, you’d be a very wealthy man.” And then the fisherman asks, “Then what would I do?” And the businessman says, “Well, then you could be so wealthy you wouldn’t have to work at all, and you could spend your time lazing on the beach, sipping beer and fishing.” What is that parable is all about then? Why the Parable Is Too Simple Link to Episode 113 – Maslow, Money and Happiness Episode 125 – Feeling Financially Safe Real-Life Examples of Financial Wellbeing Start With Happiness, Not Money What Would the Fisherman’s Financial Plan Look Like? Conclusions From The Guys