Money talks
GET SOME SOUND ADVICE WITH HARVEY JONES’ ROUND-UP OF THE BEST FINANCIAL PODCASTS
If you’re struggling to manage your money then listen up. There are podcasts out there from financial experts with advice to help you take control of your finances (and your life).
Media-savvy financial planners, TV broadcasters, money coaches and journalists are lining up to share their hard-won money wisdom, and help listeners improve their lives.
Listening to people dispense money advice may sound a little dull, but the best financial podcasters are chatty, friendly and great communicators, tackling problems that everybody faces in their daily life.
Many also explore the psychology of money, and the reasons we make poor choices when it comes to spending and saving.
Here are 10 of what we think are the best financial podcasts. You can find them on the Apple iTunes Podcast Store, Google Podcasts or Spotify, or search for their websites online. Best of all, they won’t cost you a penny, while helping you make the most of the money you already have.
Moneytothemasses.com
Financial advisor Damien Fahy was so frustrated with only being able to offer help to wealthy people who could afford his fees, he decided to offer free advice to everyone.
He covers savings and investments, loans and credit cards, mortgages, pensions and insurance, and features product reviews and best buys.
The subjects are both mainstream and quirky, but always delivered in a cheerful, chatty style. Recent topics include: The best way to achieve financial independence, How to invest in beach huts and How to claim school uniform grants.
Find it at: moneytothemasses. com/category/news/podcast
How To Be A MoneyMagpie
TV presenter, money expert, author and keynote speaker Jasmine Birtles is a personal financial legend, but a relative newcomer to podcasting. She launched her podcast, How To Be A MoneyMagpie, with Annie Thorpe in September and took to it with her customary style.
The most recent podcast, Is the stock market going to crash?, offers sound advice to anyone wondering whether they dare invest in shares, or sell the ones they have. Others discuss issues such as millennial money, the cashless society, investing in buy-to-let and how to live for free, with expert guests sharing tips and personal finance stories.
Find it at: anchor.fm/ moneymagpie
Informed Choice Radio
Chartered financial planner and personal finance author Martin Bamford has been educating people to make better money choices for years, both in the press and now on his podcast, Informed Choice Radio.
He publishes episodes every Monday and Friday morning, featuring expert interviews and practical tips to help people achieve their financial goals and live a better life.
Bamford has produced 550 episodes, with topics such as Strategies to avoid financial regrets and Find out how much you need to have the life you want to live. As Bamford says: “We all have financial regrets, some big, some small.”
It’s a slick and professional production, packed full of tips to help you make the most of your money.
Find it at: icradio.co.uk
Meaningful Money
Chartered financial planner Pete Matthew reckons there are three stages to financial freedom that will benefit everybody: budget, protect and invest.
Budget means spending less than you earn. Protect involves insuring yourself and your family against disaster. Invest means putting the money you save to good use, while keeping a lid on charges and tax.
Matthew believes financial planning is simple for the vast majority of people, and there’s no need to complicate it.
Popular episodes include The ultimate guide to paying off debt, and Playing catchup: retirement planning for late starters. Matthew has no-nonsense advice for spendthrifts who would rather live for today than save for tomorrow, but may only end up “working nightshifts in their 70s”, as he puts it.
Find it at: meaningfulmoney.tv
The UK Money Podcast with Jason Mountford
Financial planner Jason Mountford is easy on the ear, as he chats about money, investing and how to get your financial house in order.
His podcast covers a range of financial planning and personal finance, including investing, how to build a financial strategy, and the best way to grow and protect your wealth, as well as answering listeners’ questions. Jason tackles basic everyday questions, such as what to do with your Tesco Clubcard points, as well as more technical issues, for example, how saving in Lifetime Isas compares to putting money in a pension.
Find it at: anchor.fm/ theukmoney podcast
AJ Bell Money & Markets
Investment platform AJ Bell’s weekly podcast is geared towards committed investors, and aims to help them understand stock markets and stay up to speed with the investing world. It is presented by AJ Bell’s personal finance analyst Laura Suter and Dan Coatsworth, editor of Shares Magazine.
Podcasts have looked at why stock markets are jittery about inflation, pension ‘nudges’ that will help you save more, and whether bonds are in or out of fashion.
Find it at: youinvest.co.uk/ podcasts
The Which? Money Podcast
Consumer champion Which? offers “a weekly hit of personal finance news and money hacks”, with tips and advice to help protect your pocket. Hosted by Lucia Ariano and “self-professed money geeks” Gareth and Jenny.
Its latest episode,
Life shocks: how to become financially resilient, examines how to build a financial safety net to cope with difficult or traumatic life events.
Find it at: which.co.uk/money/ podcast
FT Podcast: Money Clinic with Claer Barrett
Financial Times’ money-making expert Claer Barrett responds to real-life money questions from a range of millennial guests, with “nuggets, tips and takeaways” from FT writers and financial experts.
It has a focus on where and how to invest cash, examining fads such as cryptocurrencies and ‘meme
stocks’, and exploring traditional ways to get richer slowly.
Episodes are largely aimed at millennials but will be interesting to everybody. Recent topics include How can I change my money mindset?, and Should I borrow to invest? It’s calm, collected and highly professional, as you would expect.
■ Find it at: ft.com/moneyclinic-with-claer-barrett
In Her Financial Shoes
When it comes to managing money, people can be their own worst enemies. Popular podcaster Catherine Morgan says handling money is relatively easy, the hard part is controlling your emotions.
“To manage money we have to manage our behaviours, emotions and habits to move from intentions to actions that stick,” she says.
Despite being a financial planner and money coach, Catherine was once “an emotional over-spender, in thousands of pounds of crippling debt”, as she battled to overcome her bad money habits.
Her bright and sparky podcast is targeted at women, including female entrepreneurs, and aims to teach them personal money management and business financial skills. Catherine shuns financial jargon as she helps listeners gain confidence, learn how to invest and save. There’s a focus on emotional and practical steps to develop the right financial mindset.
■ Find it at: catherine morgan.com
Ask Martin Lewis podcast
Anybody with a passing interest in money knows Martin Lewis, founder of the MoneySavingExpert website. He also does a podcast, via BBC Radio 5 Live, dispensing tips on making the most of your money.
The latest episode, Energy price warning, offers advice on how to cut your energy bills as a rise in tariffs looms.
■ Find it at the BBC website at bbc.co.uk