The Meaningful Money Personal Finance Podcast

This month on MeaningfulMoney, we have dived deep into the world of tax planning, and I have hinted about tax-efficient investing as I’ve gone along. This week I want to give you a comprehensive checklist to everything you need to KNOW and then everything you need to DO to make the most of the many tax planning angles available to you when you are investing.

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This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk

By now, you know how I feel about tax. It’s necessary to pay it, even our duty to pay it in order to contribute to society.

But part of living in a developed economy is that the government uses tax breaks to encourage investing in certain ways. It’s those tax-efficient investing techniques I want to explore today. What I go through today will be all that 98% of you ever need to do.

If you tick off these things you’ll save as much tax as it is possible to save when investing. Any other questions or comment, leave them in the show notes.

Blog: Contrived Tax Planning

Checklist: Click the big yellow button below to download the checklist so you can tick off each step

Transcript: As always, there is a full transcript of this show available by clicking the big blue button below:

I love to read and respond to your comments, so please do join in and share. Question: What capital gains tax planning and inheritance tax planning measures have you taken?

Hugs and kisses to TimW123 and Rtheyalltaken for their reviews this week - much appreciated folks!

If this show is of any use to you, it would help me massively if you would take the time to leave me a review on iTunes. This has a huge impact on keeping me near the top of the rankings, which in turns helps more people to find the show and to subscribe. Just click the button below:

Last week, we covered Income Tax planning, but there’s a whole world of planning you can do outside of that, to feather your own nest. In today’s show I’ll cover the two other main personal taxes, and look at how you can do some good solid Capital Gains Tax planning and Inheritance Tax planning

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Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download

This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk

Capital Gains Tax (CGT) and Inheritance Tax (IHT) - both will likely figure at some point in your investing career, if they haven’t already.

But CGT and IHT are most definitely able to be planned around, and I’m here to be your guide. All tax allowances and rates are for the 2016/17 tax year, and this is UK-only folks - apologies to my overseas listeners. Check out the archive!

Everything I cover in this session will be enough for most people to never pay either Capital Gains Tax or even Inheritance Tax. Most of us don't have big issues with these taxes, but just need to know the best ways to work around them.

Podcast: Personal Taxation Overview

Podcast: Income Tax Planning

Video: Enterprise Investment Schemes

Transcript: As always, there is a full transcript of this show available by clicking the big blue button below:

I love to read and respond to your comments, so please do join in and share. Question: What capital gains tax planning and inheritance tax planning measures have you taken?

Hugs and kisses to Toxic_Fairy, and Dr Simon Li for their reviews this week - much appreciated folks!

If this show is of any use to you, it would help me massively if you would take the time to leave me a review on iTunes. This has a huge impact on keeping me near the top of the rankings, which in turns helps more people to find the show and to subscribe. Just click the button below:

Income tax is a fact of life for most people, but income tax planning opportunities are available to everyone who needs them, if you know where to look. In this week’s show I cover the obvious and not-so-obvious income tax planning tips you need to know.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download

This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support.

You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk

The current and previous governments have done a great deal to bring more people out of paying income tax by increasing allowances, of which more in a minute. For those of us who do pay tax, there are plenty of ways of saving tax legitimately and that’s what we’re looking at today.

By the way, I’m guessing there are not too many bazillionaire footballers and pop stars listening to this. These are the kinds of people who have fallen foul to tax avoidance schemes which turned bad.

Needless to say I’m not a fan of anything dodgy. In fact, I wrote a blog about the difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion, and why I think it is right and proper that we pay tax, even while using all the many allowances and reliefs that are offered to us to reduce tax.

BTW, this is a session geared towards UK taxpayers, as I have no idea how tax works anywhere else in the world!

The new extended personal allowance, personal savings allowance and dividend allowance, coupled with the existing benefit of pensions and ISAs will mean that the vast majority of people could well pay zero tax on all their investments and pensions (except when you take money out of a pension). It’s just a matter of organising things in the best way possible.

Also, watch for  the articles and videos on the MeaningfulMoney.tv site. I put out a blog post on Monday, the podcast on Wednesday and a video on Friday, and February is tax month, so that’ll be the general theme, at least until I run out of stuff to talk about!

If you have any questions about this personal taxation overview, leave a comment below.

Podcast: Personal Taxation Overview – including a downloadable cheatsheet with worked income tax examples

I love to read and respond to your comments, so please do join in and share. Question: What income tax planning measures have you taken? Have you invested in different tax wrappers?

Hugs and kisses to Troy50, Rob Mildren and Steve Binns for their reviews this week – much appreciated folks!

If this show is of any use to you, it would help me massively if you would take the time to leave me a review on iTunes. This has a huge impact on keeping me near the top of the rankings, which in turns helps more people to find the show and to subscribe.

Personal taxation is changing. It’s been a while since we looked at this subject, one of life’s inevitabilities, so let’s dive in to my personal taxation overview, and see where we end up!

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download

This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk

Yes, tax is changing, as it often does. I heard somewhere that in the UK have the largest tax code, when printed out as a series of books, of any developed country in the world. I don’t know if that is true, but one things for sure, it IS a complex thing to understand, and yet it is so necessary.

As ever though, I am here to simplify things for you and to cut down the reams of paper into bite-size chunks that you can APPLY to your everyday life and investing. We’ll cover the three main personal taxes: income tax, capital gains tax and inheritance tax.

This time, I’ll be looking at what you need to know, and then over the next two weeks I’ll look at what you can do to mitigate some of these taxes.

BTW, this is a session geared towards UK taxpayers, as I have no idea how tax works anywhere else in the world!

It’s tempting to get into some actionable stuff here, but listening to tax info is dry, so I wanted to keep it short-ish. Next week we’ll look at income tax strategies, but for a visual cue to how this all works, download the cheatsheet by hitting the yellow button below.

Also, watch for  the articles and videos on the MeaningfulMoney.tv site. I put out a blog post on Monday, the podcast on Wednesday and a video on Friday, and February is tax month, so that’ll be the general theme, at least until I run out of stuff to talk about!

If you have any questions about this personal taxation overview, leave a comment below.

As always, there is a full transcript of this show available by clicking the big blue button below: 

I love to read and respond to your comments, so please do join in and share. Question: Is your tax situation going to be better or worse after the changes in April 2016? What are you doing about it?

Hugs and kisses to Joshua Tharby for his review this week - much appreciated fella!

If this show is of any use to you, it would help me massively if you would take the time to leave me a review on iTunes. This has a huge impact on keeping me near the top of the rankings, which in turns helps more people to find the show and to subscribe. Just click the button below:

Most of us leave our retirement savings later than we should. The best way is to start saving as early as possible, but how many 20 year olds do you know who are planning for their retirement?! But if you have left it late, all is not lost, and in this session I’ll be giving you some top retirement savings tips to help you catch up…

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download

This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk

So, you’ve hit your 40s, or even your 50s and you realise with a gulp that you haven’t taken your retirement savings very seriously thus far. It’s time to take action, and while it might seem like you have a mountain to climb, there’s no better time to set off climbing than right now.

You’ll need to strap in though, and get serious. But you can do that. After all, it’s your future on the line. So, as usual, I’ll cover a couple of mindset things you need to know first, and then spend the rest of the time looking at some practical things you can do to achieve you goal of retiring before you hit age 85.

I’ll say it again: it is never too late to make strides towards funding your retirement. The later you have left it, the more sacrifices you’ll need to make, but this is your future comfort we’re talking about, and the retirement savings tips discussed in this show are worth following up. You don’t have to live like a monk now, but I am reminded of Dave Ramsey’s favourite saying: Live like no-one else, so that later, you can live like no-one else.

If you’re concerned about anything, leave a comment below.

Video: Pay off debt quickly with the Debt Snowball

Podcast: Making More Money

Podcast: Direct Investment Platforms

Podcast: How much do I need to retire, with Todd Tresidder

Website: FinancialMentor.com (Todd's site)

As ever, a full transcript is available - just click the enormous blue button below!

I love to read and respond to your comments, so please do join in and share. Question: Are you late in starting saving for your retirement? What steps are you taking to catch-up?

Hugs and kisses to ACSWL, Lawrence Pease and davidnicholas59 for their reviews this week - much appreciated folks!

If this show is of any use to you, it would help me massively if you would take the time to leave me a review on iTunes. This has a huge impact on keeping me near the top of the rankings, which in turns helps more people to find the show and to subscribe. Just click the button below:

If you have pensions or investments, what if your provider fails? Do you lose everything? What protections are there in place? In this week’s show, I’ll be looking at what happens when it all goes wrong.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download

This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk

Today’s financial landscape is more complex than it has ever been. We’ve got platforms, wrappers, funds, trusts, and lots of different levels of investment. You might hold some shares within a fund, within an ISA held on a platform. That’s four levels of custodianship!

But what happens if one or other of those providers goes belly up? While unlikely, it cannot be discounted, as the financial crisis of 2007/8/9 taught us. Prior to that, this ‘what happens if’ question was largely theoretical. But then people started losing money in Icelandic banks, and stuff got real.

So we need to understand what protections are in place for investors - UK investors of course - and look at some principles for making sure you’re as protected as possible, wherever you live.

I think that as with all things to do with worst-case scenarios, you should be knowledgable, but not let any of it drive your actions too much. It can be pretty hairy, handing over your hard-earned dosh to someone else to look after, but we do live in a developed part of the world with various protections in place. You must exercise caution and do your research, and then, to a certain extent, trust the system to look after you, as it has for countless people before you.

If you’re concerned about anything - either email me or  leave a comment below.

In any sphere of life, there are things which are big news one day, then fade away the next, and then there are the timeless things which stand the test of time. This follows in personal finance too, and today I’ll be looking at some financial fads and fashions, as well as some timeless truths for those looking to increase their wealth.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download

This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk

There is so much marketing in personal finance, and so many conflicting voices telling you what you need to know and what you need to do, ahem, that it can be hard to know what is true and permanent.

You want to avoid these short-term financial fads and fashions, and I’m here to look at some examples and show the timeless alternatives which have stood the test of time, and crucially, how to tell the difference.

You are responsible for your own wealth. You might hire an adviser - a good idea - to help you make big decisions, but it’s your money at the end of the day and you have to take ownership. Do your homework and take you time with all decisions. If you’re concerned about anything - either email me or  leave a comment below.

I love to read and respond to your comments, so please do join in and share. 

Question: Have you invested in any of the fads and fashions I talk about this week?

It’s a New Year, a time for taking stock, planning ahead and getting motivated. Today I have eight questions for you to ask yourself at the head of the year. Questions to help you focus you attention on your financial health this year.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download

This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They specialise in multi-asset investing, bringing institutional investing techniques to ordinary people like you and me. 7IM put their name to my show and to my site because they believe in what I’m doing, trying to get decent, easy-to-understand financial information out to the world. I’m very grateful to them for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk

Back in New Year 2014 (when I had also just moved house, co-incidentally) I did a session on goal setting. Obviously it is the time of year to do sessions like that, and that session is worth going back over, but this year I want to do something a little different and give you some questions to ask yourself to get you thinking about what you want to achieve this year and how you might go about it.

So, just a few questions to start the year off in the right frame of mind and to set yourself on a track to financial success and abundance this year. I’d love to know how you have answered these for yourselves, so do leave a comment below:

***A full transcript will be available shortly - check back soon (Out of routine for the New Year, sorry!)***

I love to read and respond to your comments, so please do join in and share. Question: How have you answered these questions for yourself? What have you decided as a result?