Penny Radio

You've heard of a Will - do you know why you need one though? What happens if you die without a Will in place? How do you write a Will? Tune in to Where There's A Will There's A Way today to find out answers to these important personal finance questions.

How about Lasting Powers of Attorney and Trusts? These are just as important as Wills but like their less famous (and less welcome) cousins!

The legal side of personal finance is often forgotten. Don't let this be the missing piece of the puzzle when it comes to taking control of your financial future. Check out the show notes to find out more.

Craig also reveals his guilty pleasure - the 1980s British wrestling scene!

Are you walking a personal finance tightrope without a safety net?! Is your safety net as strong as it should be? Or is it full of holes?

In this episode we take a look at insurance - what it is and why we have it. Most importantly we discuss how it can protect you and your loved ones from disaster and financial ruin.

We also delve a bit deeper into the State Welfare system and how it provides a bit of a weak but very important safety net.

Check out the show notes to record what insurance and State Benefits you already have and to identify any gaps in your safety net.

Maybe you want to figure out what State Benefits you are entitled to? You can use these State Benefit calculators.

Don't miss Craig's festive cheese on toast recipe and find out why he is actually Paddington's Dad!

We wrap up our quick foray into pensions by delving into what the State Pension is and why it is important to your future.

We also look at how the State Pension has been decreasing in value and how you may not end up with as much as you think, or at the point you want to retire. So to really take control of our financial futures, we need to build up our private pensions.

It's really important to know where we are now - how much State Pension we have built up. And how we can build up more. That way we can take control of our financial futures and get to where we want to be. Why not check out how much State Pension you have built up and what you may get for yourself? When will you get your State Pension? When could you afford to retire?

In other news, Craig reveals his latest podcast venture - Middle Child Syndrome. Be sure to check it out!

Do you feel like you need a PhD to understand pensions? Does it seem like retirement is lifetime away, so who cares anyway? Well this is the episode for you. Tune in to learn about private pensions and how they can help you take control of your financial future.

Have you ever asked yourself when can I retire? Or how much do I need to retire? Check out the show notes for a useful retirement calculator to help you figure this out and whether you are saving enough towards your golden years.

Don't miss Craig's useful travel tips and where to avoid if you're planning a staycation this Christmas and follow our campaign to bring better craft beer to Sainsbury's.

On this episode of Penny Radio we take a look at all the comings and goings of our bank accounts. We discuss how tracking your spending can help build your financial framework and helps you see if you are heading in the right direction. Most importantly we tell you how to do it as well. Make sure you check out the Comings & Goings show notes to help you do this for yourself.

Craig tells us how craft beer is never too far away; the best place to buy coffee in Horsham; and how to waste time at work and get away with it. All whilst celebrating a rare win for Newcastle!

We kick off a deeper dive into our current position - something we will be exploring over the next few episodes. This will help us figure out our own starting point when it comes to planning for our financial futures. This really is step 1 of our financial framework. If you know where you currently are and you know where you want to get to, then you can start figuring out how to get there. Find out how this can help stop you from getting lost in Marks & Spencer's when looking for biscuits. You know, those lovely round chocolatey ones!

Whenever we do look at our current situation we need to remember it really is only a snapshot or photograph of this current moment in time. Our situation is going to change over time and our financial framework will help us adapt to those changes.

Craig also regales us with memories of the 1998 World Cup, an interesting fact about Hartlepool diplomacy and makes some audacious claims about his gardening abilities!

Other biscuits at other retailers are also available, but Marks & Spencer's ones are not just any biscuits...

Welcome to the second season of Penny Radio - Knowing Me, Knowing You!  This season we will be focusing on where we are now and where we ultimately want to be. In this first episode, Going For Goals, we'll be taking a first look at what we want to achieve.

The sooner we start thinking about this, the more we can develop and refine this into achievable goals.  This is because setting goals can really be an ongoing process.  So as we go through this season and figure out our current position, we can do so with our aims in mind.  Figuring out where we currently are will really help us to think where we ultimately want to be.

What a shocking few months it has been! The World is in chaos, we are all in lockdown and the memes and Netflix have almost run out...  Whilst we are all sitting around, stuffing our faces with Easter eggs, saving the NHS and waiting to emerge into A Brave New World - we should probably take a few minutes to think about what all of this means for our personal finances.

Join my new co-host Craig and I as we dazzle you with our French; take a look at what being on lockdown means for our jobs and income; what we can benefit from; how to cope with paying debt and other bills; and whether now is the right time to invest or not.

Have you ever made a financial decision and then looked back and thought WTF was I thinking? Why did I do that?! Well if so, join the club! The way we act can really impact our financial wellbeing, now and in the future. And the way we behave is often because of the way we think and feel at the time and the way we feel about finance more generally.

Tune in today to find out the common behavioural pitfalls and biases we face when it comes to making financial decisions and how these can damage our financial wellbeing; how this can in turn impact our mental wellbeing; and how this can go on to impact our decisions and behaviour again in a vicious cycle.

If we know how our thoughts and feelings can impact our behaviour, then we can develop healthier financial behaviours. This will help us secure our financial wellebing and ultimately our overall wellbeing.

So. Behave Yourself!!!