The Making Money Simple Podcast

Charlotte from @lookingafteryourpennies joined me on this episode to discuss a very common question - if you have some extra money per month, should you use this to invest more or pay off your mortgage quicker?

First, we talked about the benefits of investing more per month. Conclusively, by investing more per month, you're likely to earn a higher return. This is because the stock market averages around 8% per year over the long term. But, even if this annual average return is much lower at 3% then this is still likely to beat the interest rate you will pay on your mortgage. Hence, from a mathematical point of view, investing is likely to be better.

Second, we talked about the benefits of using this extra money per month to pay off your mortgage quicker. Doing this is likely to be psychologically better, as people don't like debt, even if it is a mortgage. Paying off your mortgage quicker allows you to achieve debt-free status earlier and lifts a weight from your shoulder. Eliminating this large monthly payment also puts a lot more money in our pockets each month. 

Charlotte and I then went on to discuss whether we could do both at the same time - and this is exactly what Charlotte does personally!

We then went onto talk about further pros and cons of each approach, as well as looking at - based on certain personality traits - whether one approach or the other may be better.

Listen to the podcast for full details!

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CK from @cktalksmoney joined me on this episode to talk all about mortgages. This episode is your crash course guide to understanding mortgages.

First, we talked about what a mortgage actually is and how the process of getting a mortgage works. CK broke it down very simply and walked us through the process of how getting a mortgage works in practice. As part of this we also spoke about using a mortgage broker, the pros and cons of this, and how this compares to using a bank.

Next, we talked through the costs involved with buying a property. Whilst the deposit is a large part of this, it's certainly not the only cost we will incur in buying a property. There may be a range of other costs and fees we need to incur, including solicitor fees, valuation fees, mortgage arrangement fees, stamp duty, cost of any furnishings, and so on. It's important to factor in all costs we will incur before jumping into buying a property.

To finish we spoke through 95% mortgages which were reintroduced earlier on in the year. Whilst they provide another option to us, and make it slightly easier getting on the property ladder, it is probably better for most to save for a larger deposit. The main cons of these 95% mortgages is the larger mortgage monthly payments and the risk of negative equity.

Listen to the podcast for full details!

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Thando and Lindie from @skilledfinances joined me on this episode to talk about managing your money whilst being in a couple.

First, we talked about whether there is a 'blueprint' that could be followed when it comes to managing your money in a couple. Thando and Lindie shared their approach and some specific questions to ask your other half to help get the conversation about money going.

Next, we talked about how to manage your money as a couple. Should you use a joint account? Should you budget together? Should you track your net worth and investments together? Ultimately, it depends on the situation, but the guys shared some great tips to help.

To finish I proposed some situations like, what to do if one partner is not good at managing their money, or what to do if one partner simply isn't interested in money at all. Thando and Lindie helped to shed some light on how to deal with these more difficult situations than can arise in a relationship. 

Listen to the podcast for full details!

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Niaz & Shaq from @millennialmoneyuk joined me on this podcast to discuss all things crypto. 

Right at the start of the discussion Shaq broke down what Bitcoin is and some of the features it possesses. These features include: decentralised, transparent, immutable.

Niaz then explained one of the key reasons why Bitcoin has had such a great time over the last twelve months, due to institutional investors and hedge funds buying into Bitcoin. This is a stark contrast to 2017 where the majority of transactions were being driven by retail investors. 

Once we covered some basics, we moved onto discussing our respective crypto strategies and what cryptos we are each specifically invested in. Interestingly, we had all been involved in the 2017 crypto boom and had learnt some vital lessons from this. 

We all took a similar view, focusing on the largest cryptos - BTC and ETH - and choosing to invest into them regularly to avoid trying to time the market. It's important to note that crypto has only been around since 2008, which is thirteen years. Hence, it is still a very new asset class and as a result of this is both risky and volatile. However, saying this, the three of us agreed that at this point crypto is more likely to stay than go to zero, so a small % portion of your portfolio invested in crypto could be wise.

Towards the end of the podcast we also touched on why some very large investors, such as Ray Dalio and JP Morgan, have made u-turns on crypto. As well as why some other very large investors, such as Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, continue to talk down on Bitcoin.

Listen to the podcast for full details!

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Tara from @allourbestintentions joined me on this podcast episode to discuss SIPPs.

A SIPP, or Self Invested Personal Pension, is one option available for us in the UK to invest for the long-term. These differ to Workplace Pensions (which is what I currently have), so we first started by talking about the difference between the two.

Tara then talked us through how the pension tax relief works, as well as the basics of what SIPPs are and who they are for.

We also discussed the various SIPP providers that are available for us in the UK and gave some tips to help people decide which is the best provider for themselves.

Listen to the podcast for full details!

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Anna from @pandabossanna joined me on this episode to talk about passive income streams and side hustles.

Building up passive income streams, whether that's through investing or a side hustle, is a goal that many people have so that they can be 'free' from working a 9-5 job.

We started off the podcast by defining passive income and how it compares to active income. Anna and I also touched on the reality of building passive income streams in that they require a lot of upfront work by us which is why it's important to think long term.

We then segwayed into talking about side hustles and how starting a side hustle in something you're interested in is a great way to build up passive income streams as we can monetise through ad revenue, affiliate schemes, and more.

Listen to the episode for the full details! 

Laura joins me on the podcast to discuss how she saved £15,000 and then £25,000, before taking the plunge to making her first investment in 2020. 

Many people are in a similar position where they are able to save money but struggle to get started investing, whether that's out of fear or out of procrastination, or a bit of both.

In this episode we talk through Laura's journey of how she managed to save huge sums of money even on a relatively low salary. We then discuss how she started to educate herself on investing before making her first investment. As well as finishing the episode by touching on how she feels now that she is an investor and whether she plans to keep investing going forward. 

Listen to the podcast for more details.

Timi from @mrmoneyjar becomes the first person to make his second appearance on The Making Money Simple Podcast to discuss all things index funds.

Timi starts us off with the basics and breaks down exactly what index funds are, before we move onto discussing the pros and cons of using index funds when investing. Ultimately, index funds 'track the market' and are low cost in comparison to active funds that try to 'beat the market' and are higher fee. Aside from this pro, other pros include that index funds are very passive and hands-off investments with the goal being to buy consistently, and buy and hold for the long term, to one day live off of our investments. 

We move onto discuss index funds vs active funds in more detail, drawing on Jack Bogle's wisdom from The Little Book of Common Sense Investing which showed that over a 45+ year period 80% of active funds didn't only not beat the market... they no longer existed. 

Listen to the full episode as we discuss index funds and active funds in detail and explain why index funds are the easiest, and arguably the best, way to invest for the long term.

Mr Avo joined me on this episode of The Making Money Simple Podcast to discuss money discipline.

The conversation was free flowing and we discussed a range of topics, from opportunity cost, to instant vs delayed gratification, to lifestyle inflation, to how to set yourself up for success on payday.

In particular, we talked about frugality and how it is important to strike a disciplined balance. Whilst having an avocado toast on the weekend won't be too detrimental to your wealth building journey, daily expenditures can certainly rack up over the course of the year.

It's important to strike a healthy balance between treating yourself but also investing for the future. As ultimately the goal of investing is to one day build up your 'nest egg' to a point where you can do whatever you like on a daily basis.

Listen to the full episode for more details.

In this 15 minute episode I break down everything you need to know about ISAs. ISAs are the best way to grow your money as all of the gains are tax-free!

The things covered in this episode include:

- The basics - what are ISAs, how they work, the £20k annual allowance and how this works

- 4 types of ISA - Cash, Innovative, Stocks & Shares, Lifetime

- I look at S&S ISAs and Lifetime ISAs in more detail, including the different approaches to S&S ISAs and which Lifetime ISA is best for your situation

- How many ISAs you can contribute to each year

- 2 ways to switch your ISA

- ISAs vs Pensions

And a lot more. Listen to the entire episode to up your ISA knowledge!