In this, my final episode as host of Money Espresso, I reflect on some recurring themes from a selection of the wonderful guests who joined me on Season Two.

These themes focus on enjoying the now, contentment, legacy, giving, joy and recognising your own value. We hear from Cathi Harrison, Holly Ryan, Clare Fielding, Neil Bage, Tom Ilube, Chris Budd, Nick Elston with some powerful closing words from Sue Baker.

I close with my personal thanks to our sponsors Paradigm Norton, our guests, you, the listener, and give you a little intro to our next hosts who will be carrying on the conversations.

Sit back, grab yourself an espresso (or drink of your choice!) and enjoy the reflections

If you would like to talk about your money matters do feel free to contact me on:

• Twitter - twitter.com/ruthsturkey

• LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/ruthsturkey/

In this episode I chat to Tom Ilube who shares his incredible achievements as a serial entrepreneur, philanthropist and the first black Chair of the RFU.

Coming from a mixed race family Tom speaks about his upbringing between London, Uganda and Nigeria and the resilience and techniques that taught him which would become formative in his business success. We speak about the racism he faced as a young black man in London in the 70s and the long arc of change.

He explains how he found himself in computing before most of us knew what they were and how he has approached philanthropy in an entrepreneurial way to maximise the impact he can make in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) education both in the UK and for young women in Africa. His aim is to change the narrative. He also gives me some wonderful advice about having better philanthropic conversations.

Finally, Tom talks about his vision for rugby in the UK and in particular the women’s game and shares his best money purchase for around £30 and his Money Pearl of Wisdom.

Sit back, grab yourself an espresso (or drink of your choice!) and enjoy the conversation.

• Tom can be found on LinkedIn here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomilube/

• Find out about Tom’s African Gifted Foundation here - https://www.africangifted.org/our-founder

• Listen to his Desert Island Discs episode here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00106jx

If you would like to talk about your money matters do feel free to contact me on:

• Twitter - twitter.com/RuthSturkey/

• LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/ruthsturkey/

In this episode I chat to Nick Elston who shares his journey from burnout to becoming a Mental Health Advocate, Inspirational Speaker and Transformational Speaking Coach.

Nick talks openly about his childhood Obsessive Compulsive Disorder which led to a mental health breakdown in adulthood. He explains the liberation of having nothing to lose and how talking openly about his experience enabled him to find community and commonality with those around him.

Nick explains how he sees his life in chapters, the circularity of life and the importance of being properly selfish. He also shares his love of country music and puts me on the spot to name my ‘walk on’ song!

Finally, Nick shares his best money purchase for around £30 and his thought provoking Money Pearl of Wisdom around knowing your own value in price negotiations.

Sit back, grab yourself an espresso (or drink of your choice!) and enjoy the conversation.

• Nick can be found on LinkedIn here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickelston/

• Find out more about Nick on his website here - https://nickelston.com/

• You can find Nick’s brilliant podcast here - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-nick-elston-show/id1565104808

If you would like to talk about your money matters do feel free to contact me on:

• Twitter - twitter.com/RuthSturkey/

• LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/ruthsturkey/

In this episode I chat to Cathi Harrison, founder and CEO of The Verve Group of companies, on her journey from ‘no money’ as one of six children to a single mother, to running a business of 70 people with ambitions for far more to come.

Cathi’s achievements by age 40 are remarkable. She oozes grit & determination. From being a freelance Para Planner 13 years ago, to running 4 companies and one not for profit now, Cathi is intent on changing the face of financial services. Coming from a background of scarcity she speaks of her drive to control her own destiny and making change happen.

Hear how her she doubled the size of the business during lockdown, the challenges she has faced, why women feel the need to get qualified to overcome gender discrimination and her views on building a workplace culture.

She tells me her highly evolved definition of ‘real success’, her desire for societal change around money and financial services and her kernel of idea to change another fusty industry.

Finally Cathi shares her best money purchase for around £30 and her Money Pearls of Wisdom.

Sit back, grab yourself an espresso (or drink of your choice!) and enjoy the conversation.

• Cathi can be found on LinkedIn here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathiharrison/

• At The Verve Group here - https://weareverve.co.uk/our-group-overview/our-people/

• Listen to Cathi’s podcast ‘That Mint Podcast’ - https://thatmintpodcast.co.uk/

• Learn about the We Are Change movement here - https://weareverve.co.uk/the-verve-foundation/we-are-change/

Glossary:

Cathi uses a few abbreviations during our conversation, here’s what they mean:

• Para Planner – a technical expert who analyses data and information to formulate financial advice

• Chartered Insurance Institute – the professional body for most financial advisers and financial planners.

• RDR – Retail Distribution Review – basically the banning of commission on most financial products in favour of fees.

• AR – Appointed Representative – which basically means an advisory firm who’s compliance decisions are governed by a third parties interpretation of the FCA’s guidelines

• FCA – The Financial Conduct Authority – the regulator for financial advice.

If you would like to talk about your money matters do feel free to contact me on:

• Twitter - twitter.com/RuthSturkey/

• LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/ruthsturkey/

In this episode I chat to Neil Bage who shares his journey from life guard and compère at Butlins in Bognor Regis to co-founding Shaping Wealth, a learning technology platform transforming the human experience of money. He has served as a Chief Behavioral Officer in the UK and was the founder of a multi-award-winning behavioural technology business.

Neil speaks with passion about his fascination around human behaviour and the tech based tool he developed to help financial planners really understand their clients. He explains how the financial services industry should be inverted to really focus on the clients and the power of better conversations.

Neil shares his experience of ‘real success’ and shares a deeply personal story to illustrate the beauty of contentment and the yin and yang of life.

Finally, Neil shares his best money purchase for around £30 and his Money Pearls of Wisdom.

Sit back, grab yourself an espresso (or drink of your choice!) and enjoy the conversation.

• Neil can be found on LinkedIn here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilbage/

• Find out more about Shaping Wealth here - https://www.shapingwealth.com/

• You can find Neil’s excellent Bitesize Behaviour podcast here - https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/bitesize-behaviour-podcast/id1534284786

If you would like to talk about your money matters do feel free to contact me on:

• Twitter - twitter.com/RuthSturkey/

• LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/ruthsturkey/

In this episode I chat to Bobby White who shares how his passion for making, cars, motion and diamonds led to a jewellery apprenticeship, buying his bosses business at 21 and making statement jewellery pieces for the stars.

Bobby’s is an artist with 100% commitment to design, craftmanship and making the very best and beautiful works of art. Bobby tells about the high and lows of his journey, the recent opening of his Mayfair boutique and how he harnessed You Tube to reach over 650,000 subscribers, expand his customer base and show first-hand the personality of his brand and the creation of his iconic pieces.

Bobby’s story is fascinating, be prepared to yearn for one of his gorgeous pieces by the end of it.

Finally, Bobby shares best money purchase for around £30 and his Money Pearl of Wisdom.

Sit back, grab yourself an espresso (or drink of your choice!) and enjoy the conversation.

• Bobby can be found at www.bobbywhite.com

• Insta @Bobbywhite

• Find Bobby’s You Tube channel here - https://www.youtube.com/c/BobbyWhite/

If you would like to talk about your money matters do feel free to contact me on:

• Twitter - twitter.com/RuthSturkey/

• LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/ruthsturkey/

In this episode I chat to Holly Ryan who shares her journey of loss, courage and a determination to be entirely herself.

She tells me how she fulfilled her greatest life ambition of motherhood as a single woman using a donor and the fertility treatment roller coaster ride, both emotionally and financially. And how, when denied the right to work from home 1 day a week, she ‘got out of her own way’, quit her job and, with a pocketful of ambition, began her own TV agency as a brand new Mum and businesswoman.

Finally, Holly shares best money purchases for around £30 and her Money Pearls of Wisdom.

Sit back, grab yourself an espresso (or drink of your choice!) and enjoy the conversation.

• Holly can be found at the In Crowd Agency here -http://www.incrowdagency.com/

If you would like to talk about your money matters do feel free to contact me on:

• Twitter - twitter.com/RuthSturkey/

• LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/ruthsturkey/

In this episode I chat to Chris Budd who shares his journey of personal discovery, selling his financial planning business to its employees and how a random tweet led him to found the Initiative for Financial Wellbeing (IFW).

Chris is a man of many talents; business founder, author, speaker, podcaster, coach, musician and force behind the IFW. He generously shares the events that shaped his life, made him ‘moderately successful’ and led him to understand that life is not about accumulating money, it’s about finding what truly makes you happy and using money, which is often less than we think, to support that end. Chris is on a mission to equip more financial advisers, planners and coaches to support their clients to find their true meaning and happiness.

Finally, Chris shares his best money purchase for around £30 and his two Money Pearls of Wisdom.

Sit back, grab yourself an espresso (or drink of your choice!) and enjoy the conversation.

• Chris can be found on LinkedIn here- https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-budd-80b75413/

• Find out more about the Initiative for Financial Wellbeing here - https://initiativeforfinancialwellbeing.org.uk/

• Buy Chris’ book ‘The Financial Wellbeing Book’ here - https://shop.pennybrohn.org.uk/products/the-financial-wellbeing-book with all proceeds going to the Penny Brohn UK Cancer charity

• You can find The Book of Joy by the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu here - https://uk.bookshop.org/books/the-book-of-joy-the-sunday-times-bestseller/9781786330444

If you would like to talk about your money matters do feel free to contact me on:

• Twitter - twitter.com/RuthSturkey/

• LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/ruthsturkey/

In this episode I chat to Patrick Hunt, a perfect guest for Money Espresso as the creator and designer of the Rok Hand Press Espresso machine, with a fascination for coffee, people and money.

Patrick is a product designer with a passion for beauty and sustainability. It was such a treat to speak with someone who makes things!

We cover a whole array of topics in our chat ranging from making the perfect espresso, helping his children understand money by watching It’s a Wonderful Life, breaking the ‘Gold Standard’, crypto, what it means to feel rich, the challenges of running a small business post BREXIT and Covid, how we need a ‘bottom up’ approach to decarbonising our lives, the concept of ‘give and take’ and the satisfaction of repairing things to travel with you on life’s journey.

Finally, Patrick shares his best money purchase for around £30 and his Money Pearls of Wisdom.

Sit back, grab yourself an espresso (or drink of your choice!) and enjoy the conversation.

• Patrick can be found at Rok Coffee here - https://www.rok.coffee/ or on Instagram @rok.coffee

If you would like to talk about your money matters do feel free to contact me on:

• Twitter - twitter.com/RuthSturkey/

• LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/ruthsturkey/

In this episode I chat to an incredibly inspiring woman, serial entrepreneur, author, TED X speaker and founder of Leaders Quest and Co Leader of Future Stewards, Lindsay Levin.

Lindsay tells me how she combined her fascination with people, leadership and travel, with a burning desire to use her business skills to help businesses do and be better, to create the not-for-profit Leaders Quest. Lindsay has sat with prisoners on death row, worked with community leaders in the slums of Mumbai and brokered talks between Israelis and Palestinians. She eloquently describes our shared humanity.

She has seen at first hand the impact of climate change inspiring her to co-lead the launch of Future Leaders alongside Christiana Figueres after the Paris Climate Agreement in 2016. In this role she spearheaded the launch of TED Countdown a global partnership to accelerate solutions to the climate crisis. If you are looking to be inspired, this is the episode for you.

Finally, in a relevant twist on my normal closing questions, Lindsay shares her best non money purchases for around £30 and her Climate Pearls of Wisdom.

Sit back, grab yourself an espresso (or drink of your choice!) and enjoy the conversation.

• Lindsay can be found on LinkedIn here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsaylevin/ or at Leaders Quest here - https://leadersquest.org/who-we-are/people/lindsay-levin/

• Find out more about Countdown2022 - https://countdown.ted.com/

• Watch Lindsay’s powerful TEDx talk here - https://www.tedxexeter.com/speakers/lindsay-levin/

If you would like to talk about your money matters do feel free to contact me on:

• Twitter - twitter.com/RuthSturkey/

• LinkedIn - http://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthsturkey/