The Wallet

🔮 When Clare Seal faced a difficult financial situation in 2019, she turned to Instagram to make herself accountable, posting anonymously as @myfrugalyear. In under a year, she had grown a following and went on to start The Financial Wellbeing Forum. Clare is also Glamour’s Money Matters columnist and the author of three books.

💥 Today on The Wallet: 

1️⃣ It’s essential when you embark on a journey to improve your financial wellbeing, you are not wasting your energy or beating yourself up about the things where you don't have any control. Try to instead focus on what you can do and take small steps forward. 

2️⃣ It’s easy to try and overcome financial baggage in quite a superficial way but it’s paramount to unpack why you’ve been doing the things you’ve been doing in the first place. It’s about understanding your behaviour to move forward and learning to forgive yourself and trust yourself again.

3️⃣ You can earn as much as you want, but if your spending is out of control and you don't know what your money's going to, it's really difficult to find any sense of financial wellbeing. Overspending can be a self-soothing technique. The biggest thing is identifying emotional triggers and finding alternative ways to assuage them.

You can follow and connect with Clare at:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myfrugalyear 
• The Wallet: How Am I Repaying My £27k Credit Card Debt?

Resources featuring more advice from Clare:

• ‘I've knocked £10k off my debts in a year - and these are the money-saving hacks I swear by.’ 
• Why taking care of your finances is not a passive act
• The Real Life Money Journal: A practical guide to help you understand your relationship with money and take control of your finances 
• Pre-order her new book - Five Steps to Financial Wellbeing

Our podcast partners PensionBee are also offering you a £25 pension contribution (£20, plus £5 in tax relief) when you sign up. To claim the offer, follow this link: https://www.pensionbee.com/vestpod. Capital at risk. 

I’m Emilie Bellet, founder of Vestpod - a thriving community that financially empowers women, author of You’re Not Broke, You’re Pre-Rich and host of The Wallet! You can learn more about Vestpod, join our events and subscribe to our newsletter at www.vestpod.com and on Instagram @vestpod. Join our private Facebook group: @vestpod. 

We're here to answer your questions! Follow this link (https://telb.ee/abrzt) or email me the recording at [email protected].

* Please note that we are not certified, financial advisers! The articles and information made available on Vestpod and this podcast are provided for information and educational purposes only and do not constitute financial advice.*

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

☎️ Tamara Gillan is a successful entrepreneur, founder and CEO of The WealthiHer Network. Her mission is to bring together the UK’s leading financial institutions to work in partnership for the first time to celebrate and support female wealth. As a single mother, Tamara has had to fight for her own success and passionately believes women deserve to be recognised and championed by the financial sector.

💸 In this episode, we’re keen to #BreakTheBias around women and investing for IWD. We’ve had enough listening to the messages that women aren’t interested, have a lower tolerance for risk, or don’t care about growing their wealth. The truth is that women are great investors, so how do we break the bias by inspiring women to grow and protect their wealth?

💥 Today on The Wallet: 

1️⃣ 72% of women do not think that the finance industry is talking to them or catering to their needs. There are still inherent biases in the process.

2️⃣ When women can ask any question and share experiences with other women, it changes their overall engagement with investing. It changes their propensity to invest in something with a slightly higher risk profile. 

3️⃣ When we ask for a pay increase or pitch our business, we often negotiate against ourselves. When you go into that situation, make sure you sit and look them in the eye and believe you are worth it. As women, we need to remember our own worth. 

You can follow and connect with Tamara at:

• https://www.wealthihernetwork.com/ 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamaragillan 
• Twitter @WealthiHerNetwork
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tamtamgillan/?hl=en
• Five Things You Need to Know About Tamara Gillan

Our podcast partners PensionBee are also offering you a £25 pension contribution (£20, plus £5 in tax relief) when you sign up. To claim the offer, follow this link: https://www.pensionbee.com/vestpod. Capital at risk. 

I’m Emilie Bellet, the founder of Vestpod - a thriving community that financially empowers women, author of You’re Not Broke, You’re Pre-Rich and host of The Wallet! You can learn more about Vestpod, join our events and subscribe to our newsletter at www.vestpod.com and on Instagram @vestpod. Join our private Facebook group: @vestpod. 

We want to open up a direct conversation with you on the podcast. You can submit a proud money moment, a question or a comment on a previous episode. You just need headphones and mic at the ready and follow this link (https://telb.ee/abrzt) or email me the recording at [email protected].

* Please note that we are not certified, financial advisers! The articles and information made available on Vestpod and this podcast are provided for information and educational purposes only and do not constitute financial advice.*

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TW: This episode contains references to suicide. Please listen with care.

💸 Clare lost her husband to suicide in 2011 and has since been committed to raising awareness and understanding of mental health issues. The pandemic saw a growing number of people pushed into debt, with 2.5 million people estimated to have considered suicide as a result. Clare talks about how there is always help available, no matter how bad things seem.

💥 Today on The Wallet: 

1️⃣ When you’re in a financial crisis and seeking help, the first conversation (where you open up about the reality of the situation) can be the hardest.

2️⃣ You do not need to struggle on your own behind closed doors. There's help available to help you through a financial crisis, including charities, helplines, and medical assistance.

3️⃣ Even if you are not struggling right now, it’s possible that someone you know could be. It’s crucial to look out for warning signs, normalise conversations around the link between financial and mental wellbeing, and check in when a friend, family member or colleague seems unusually withdrawn.

Connect with Clare:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clareefrancis 
• Twitter: @clareefrancis
• Staying Resilient Through Life Changes, With Clare Francis

Resources:

• StepChange: https://www.stepchange.org/
• Citizens Advice: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/ 
• Mind: https://www.mind.org.uk/
• Samaritans: https://www.samaritans.org/ 
• Barclays Money Problems: https://www.barclays.co.uk/money-management/managing-money-problems/

Our podcast partners PensionBee are also offering you a £25 pension contribution (£20, plus £5 in tax relief) when you sign up. To claim the offer, follow this link: https://www.pensionbee.com/vestpod. Capital at risk. 

I’m Emilie Bellet, founder of Vestpod - a thriving community that financially empowers women, author of You’re Not Broke, You’re Pre-Rich, and host of The Wallet! Learn more about Vestpod, join our events and subscribe to our newsletter at www.vestpod.com and on IG @vestpod. Join our private FB group: @vestpod. 

Be featured on this podcast! Submit a money question to (https://telb.ee/abrzt) or email me your question as a voice note ([email protected])

*Please note that we are not certified, financial advisers! The articles and information made available on Vestpod and this podcast are provided for information and educational purposes only and do not constitute financial advice.*

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lu Li is passionate about NFTs and Web3. In 2015, she founded Blooming Founders, a platform and ecosystem designed to help early stage female entrepreneurs. She recently started to invest in NFTs and tells me how to get started, how to avoid scams and do your research and what type of returns you can expect from it. We also talk about how NFTs are building strong communities online.

Investing in risky, this new market is volatile and unpredictable. Make sure you do your research and remember to only invest what you can afford to lose.

Today on The Wallet: 

1) Web3 refers to a decentralised online ecosystem based on the blockchain. Non-fungible tokens (NFT) are tokens that we can use to represent ownership of unique items (art, music, etc). We also talk about how NFTs are building communities online and what people chat about there.

2) How to research, avoid scams, buy and sell NFTs, why you also need cryptos to get started and what are the risks/returns and behaviours.  

3) How much money do you need to live the life you want? And how do you become financially free?

You can follow and connect with Lu at:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/houseofli/ 
• Twitter @houseofli 
• Book: Dear Female Founder: 66 Letters of Advice from Women Entrepreneurs Who Have Made $1 Billion in Revenue

Resources mentioned in the episode:

• Crypto Coven: https://www.cryptocoven.xyz/ 

Our podcast partners PensionBee are also offering you a £25 pension contribution (£20, plus £5 in tax relief) when you sign up. To claim the offer, follow this link: https://www.pensionbee.com/vestpod. Capital at risk. 

We are also supporting UNICEF Ukraine via: https://www.unicef.org.uk/donate/donate-now-to-protect-children-in-ukraine/ 

I’m Emilie Bellet, the founder of Vestpod - a thriving community that financially empowers women, author of You’re Not Broke, You’re Pre-Rich and host of The Wallet! You can learn more about Vestpod, join our events and subscribe to our newsletter at www.vestpod.com and on Instagram @vestpod. Join our private Facebook group: @vestpod. 

We want to open up a direct conversation with you on the podcast. You can submit a proud money moment, a question or a comment on a previous episode. You just need headphones and mic at the ready and follow this link (https://telb.ee/abrzt) or email me the recording at [email protected].

* Please note that we are not certified, financial advisers! The articles and information made available on Vestpod and this podcast are provided for information and educational purposes only and do not constitute financial advice.*

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

☎️ Individuals are increasingly more concerned about tackling the climate emergency, and greening your pension is one of the best ways to make a positive impact with your money. Today, I speak to the lovely Izzy Howden, Policy and Campaigns Advisor at Make My Money Matter, about the power of green pensions. 

🍃 Make My Money Matter is a people-powered campaign fighting for a world where the public have the knowledge and power to align their pensions, savings and investments with their values. There are £2.6trillion in UK pensions, and Make My Money Matter are determined to make them be a force for good.

Today on The Wallet: 

1/ People often don’t realise that their pension is invested in industries they don’t want to support, so Izzy talks about why awareness matters and how powerful greening your pension can be.

2/ Contacting your pension provider and finding out where your money is invested can sound like a difficult task, but Izzy outlines the steps you can take what you can do if they don’t offer a green option.

3/ It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when it comes to trying to make a difference. Izzy highlights what you can do to have a real knock-on effect on and an impact at scale. 

You can follow and connect with Izzy and MMMM at:

• https://makemymoneymatter.co.uk/
• LinkedIn

Resources mentioned in the episode:

• Make My Money Matter: https://makemymoneymatter.co.uk/

Our podcast partners PensionBee are also offering you a £25 pension contribution (£20, plus £5 in tax relief) when you sign up. To claim the offer, follow this link: https://www.pensionbee.com/vestpod. Capital at risk. 

I’m Emilie Bellet, the founder of Vestpod - a thriving community that financially empowers women, author of You’re Not Broke, You’re Pre-Rich and host of The Wallet! You can learn more about Vestpod, join our events and subscribe to our newsletter at www.vestpod.com and on Instagram @vestpod. Join our private Facebook group: @vestpod. 

We want to open up a direct conversation with you on the podcast. You can submit a proud money moment, a question or a comment on a previous episode. You just need headphones and mic at the ready and follow this link (https://telb.ee/abrzt) or email me the recording at [email protected].

* Please note that we are not certified, financial advisers! The articles and information made available on Vestpod and this podcast are provided for information and educational purposes only and do not constitute financial advice.*

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Debbie Wosskow and Anna Jones were introduced in 2015 by a mutual friend, and found they had a common passion around empowering women. They quickly identified a need for professional female networking, which is why they left their CEO jobs and created AllBright, a professional community for smart-minded women.

At the heart of AllBright is the belief that women need to support one another, to help make the world a better place for smart-minded women to collaborate, upskill and achieve their career ambitions.

Today on The Wallet: 

1/ In 2018, Anna and Debbie launched the Allbright Member’s Club in Mayfair, but were forced to close it down because of the pandemic in 2020. They explain how they overcame the unprecedented adversities and adapted to the ‘new normal’. 

2/ Raising capital and dealing with investors is difficult for female founders in the best of times, and they tell us how AllBright managed these hurdles during and after the pandemic, and why it’s harder than it sometimes looks. 

3/ Women need to feel financially confident so they can achieve their goals. Debbie and Annie share why they think having money conversations is integral to making this happen.

You can follow and connect with Debbie and Anna at:

• https://www.allbrightcollective.com/ 
• Instagram @allbright
• Twitter @weareAllBright, @DebbieWossk and @MrsAnnaKJones
• Book by Anna Jones and Debbie Wosskow: Believe. Build. Become.: How to Supercharge Your Career

Resources mentioned in the episode:

• Globally less than 10% of funding goes to women-led businesses, and in the UK 2.17% of funding went to women in 2016. – Pitchbook
• Book recommendations: The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz, Grit Book by Angela Duckworth

Our podcast partners PensionBee are also offering you a £25 pension contribution (£20, plus £5 in tax relief) when you sign up. To claim the offer, follow this link: https://www.pensionbee.com/vestpod. Capital at risk. 

I’m Emilie Bellet, the founder of Vestpod - a thriving community that financially empowers women, author of You’re Not Broke, You’re Pre-Rich and host of The Wallet! You can learn more about Vestpod, join our events and subscribe to our newsletter at www.vestpod.com and on Instagram @vestpod. Join our private Facebook group: @vestpod. 

We want to open up a direct conversation with you on the podcast. You can submit a proud money moment, a question or a comment on a previous episode. You just need headphones and mic at the ready and follow this link (https://telb.ee/abrzt) or email me the recording at [email protected].

* Please note that we are not certified, financial advisers! The articles and information made available on Vestpod and this podcast are provided for information and educational purposes only and do not constitute financial advice.*

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

❤️ Today is a special Valentine’s Day episode, where we tackle the sticky question of who should pick up the bill on a date, as well as the wider topic of money and relationships. I invited money guru, journalist and bestselling author Laura Whateley to offer us her thoughts on the subject.

💸 Money can’t buy you love, but it sure can show up in your relationship in unexpected ways. Lauren shares 3 tips to help you navigate the much debated conundrum of who pays, why and how much. 

Today on The Wallet: 

1/ We are often fed gendered ideas from a young age of what love and romance “should” look like, so Laura invites us to explore this and consider what your partner’s point of view might be like.

2/ Talking about money to your partner may feel like the least romantic thing you could do, but Laura suggests that you should explore how you can reframe this, make the chat light and see it as an opportunity to bond. 

3/ Bill-splitting beyond the first date has practical implications, so Laura tells us what to watch out for before you jump into sharing financial commitments.  

You can follow and connect with Laura:

Twitter @LWhateley 

Instagram @laurawhateley

Pre-order Laura’s book: Yours or Mine? 

I’m Emilie Bellet, the founder of Vestpod - a thriving community that financially empowers women, author of You’re Not Broke, You’re Pre-Rich and host of The Wallet! You can learn more about Vestpod, join our events and subscribe to our newsletter at www.vestpod.com and on Instagram @vestpod. Join our private Facebook group: @vestpod. 

We want to open up a direct conversation with you on the podcast. You can submit a proud money moment, a question or a comment on a previous episode. You just need headphones and mic at the ready and follow this link (https://telb.ee/abrzt) or email me the recording at [email protected].

* Please note that we are not certified, financial advisers! The articles and information made available on Vestpod and this podcast are provided for information and educational purposes only and do not constitute financial advice.*

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

☎️ Today, we answer a question from our listener Alexandra, who asks us about teaching children about money. I invited Helen Driver, Director of Collaboration at MyBnk charity, ex-fund manager and long-time Vestpod, to offer us her words of wisdom on the topic. 

💸 Money can feel like a taboo in a lot of households, but it’s important to broach the topic to help children feel financially confident in their futures. Helen shares 3 tips to help children develop better money habits, from making the right choices in the day to day to managing pocket money.

Today on The Wallet: 

1/ It all starts with simply integrating money into daily conversations with your kids, so Helen gives examples of how we can do that without making the subject too weighty.

2/ Pocket money is a powerful tool for learning about money, and Helen talks about why it’s important to let kids simply experience the process of spending and saving (and make mistakes along the way!). 

3/ Children learn by watching and listening to the behaviours that they see around them, and Helen explains what this means for parents and their own attitudes to money. 

You can follow and connect with Helen:

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/helen-driver-5725b550 

MyBnk: https://www.mybnk.org/

Resources mentioned in the episode:

• Money Twist – KS1: https://www.mybnk.org/our-work/financial-education/money-twist-ks1/ 

Our podcast partners PensionBee are also offering you a £25 pension contribution (£20, plus £5 in tax relief) when you sign up. To claim the offer, follow this link: https://www.pensionbee.com/vestpod. Capital at risk. 

I’m Emilie Bellet, the founder of Vestpod - a thriving community that financially empowers women, author of You’re Not Broke, You’re Pre-Rich and host of The Wallet! You can learn more about Vestpod, join our events and subscribe to our newsletter at www.vestpod.com and on Instagram @vestpod. Join our private Facebook group: @vestpod. 

We want to open up a direct conversation with you on the podcast. You can submit a proud money moment, a question or a comment on a previous episode. You just need headphones and mic at the ready and follow this link (https://telb.ee/abrzt) or email me the recording at [email protected].

* Please note that we are not certified, financial advisers! The articles and information made available on Vestpod and this podcast are provided for information and educational purposes only and do not constitute financial advice.*

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

🎙 A former financial journalist, Clare Francis is an expert in consumer finance, having spent eight years working on national newspapers and seven years as Editor-in-Chief at MoneySuperMarket. She is currently a Savings and Investments Director at Barclays and a Board Trustee for the Money & Mental Health Policy Institute.  

💸 Clare is passionate about getting people to think about why it’s important to invest and overcome whatever barriers stand in their way.

Today on The Wallet: 

1/ Clare talks about her personal career journey, what it’s like to step into the unknown and take risks, and how she balances having a career with single parenting. 

2/ Financial security is important to everyone, and Clare shares how she came around to investing and planning for her future, what her goals are and how she’s working toward them. 

3/ It’s important that you know your limits and learn how to put work to bed when you need to, so Clare discusses the importance of prioritising her life with her son, as well as her mental health. 

You can follow and connect with Clare at:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clareefrancis 

Twitter: @clareefrancis

Resources mentioned in the episode:

• Book recommendations: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig and The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Our podcast partners PensionBee are also offering you a £25 pension contribution (£20, plus £5 in tax relief) when you sign up. To claim the offer, follow this link: https://www.pensionbee.com/vestpod. Capital at risk. 

I’m Emilie Bellet, the founder of Vestpod - a thriving community that financially empowers women, author of You’re Not Broke, You’re Pre-Rich and host of The Wallet! You can learn more about Vestpod, join our events and subscribe to our newsletter at www.vestpod.com and on Instagram @vestpod. Join our private Facebook group: @vestpod. 

We want to open up a direct conversation with you on the podcast. You can submit a proud money moment, a question or a comment on a previous episode. You just need headphones and mic at the ready and follow this link (https://telb.ee/abrzt) or email me the recording at [email protected].

* Please note that we are not certified, financial advisers! The articles and information made available on Vestpod and this podcast are provided for information and educational purposes only and do not constitute financial advice.*

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode, we talk about emotional spending. With January sales in full swing, temptation to splurge is everywhere. And while spending impulsively on occasion is okay, it’s important to understand that the rush we get from shopping is short-lived. If you often find yourself having a hard time trying to control your spending, or impulse buying to improve your mood, it might be time to take a look at curbing the habit.

Today on The Wallet: 

1. Understand what emotional spending is and why it provides that all-too-familiar, albeit fleeting, feeling of the ‘shopper’s high’.

2. Find out why it’s important to be conscious of your emotions and the role they play in your spending.

3. Learn practical tips that will help reduce or completely stop your unintentional overspending. 

Our podcast partners PensionBee are also offering you a £25 pension contribution (£20, plus £5 in tax relief) when you sign up. To claim the offer, follow this link: https://www.pensionbee.com/vestpod. Capital at risk. 

I’m Emilie Bellet, the founder of Vestpod.com - a thriving community that financially empowers women, author of You’re Not Broke, You’re Pre-Rich and host of The Wallet! You can learn more about Vestpod, join our events and subscribe to our newsletter at www.vestpod.com and on Instagram @vestpod. Join our private Facebook group: @vestpod. 

Be part of the podcast! You can submit a proud money moment, a question or a comment on a previous episode. Follow this link (https://telb.ee/abrzt) or email me your recording at [email protected].

* We are not certified financial advisers, information shared in this podcast is for educational purposes & does not constitute financial advice. Invest what you can afford only and for the long term.*

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.