Podcast appearances and mentions of martin email

Redovisningskonsulten Martin Holdo gästar podden Framtidens E-Handel och pratar bokföring och skatter för e-handlare.Tusen tack för att du lyssnar!1:30 min - Snackar crypto10:45 min - Historielektion i moms och skatteregler. Moms inom och utanför EU. Hur går man tillväga när man inte har lager i Sverige?24:30 min - Hur funkar det när man säljer B2B utanför Sverige? Och hur funkar det med importen? Och hur kan man förbereda sig framöver?56:30 min - Hur ska man tänka kring returer?Här hittar du Martin:Email: martin.holdo@trimero.se https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-holdo-2556a7140/?originalSubdomain=se Följ Björn på LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/bjornspenger/ Följ Framtidens E-handel på LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/framtidens-e-handel/ Besök vår hemsida & Instagramhttps://www.framtidensehandel.se/ https://www.instagram.com/framtidens.ehandel/ Sponsorhttps://www.treyd.io/ Tusen tack för att du lyssnar!Support till showen http://supporter.acast.com/framtidens-e-handel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Martin Majano is the owner of North Menswear. With a passion for fashion as a child, Martin always knew that he would work in the industry as a kid. Dating back to his years in San Francisco where he was born, to his life in New York where his love for men's apparel grew. Fast forward to 2013 when Martin stumbled upon North Menswear, then owned by Pete Surprenant. Martin was quickly enamored by North Menswear. After years of working with notable brands such as Prada, Apple, Louis Vuitton, Omega Watches, Brioni and John Varvatos, Martin took ownership of North Menswear at the end of January 2020. He is carrying the torch to bring North Menswear to the forefront of men's fashion in Orange County. The focus for North is American Made and local brands from San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Beach, San Diego and Los Angeles. There are several brands made in other states as well. Martin truly feels that people should invest in their wardrobes as most of the brands that are carried in North are heritage and quality brands. The North team has a vision to open up several more shops along coastal cities on the west coast. From San Diego all the way up to Washington state. It's not every day that people find their life's passion. In this case, their true north!Connect with Martin:Email | martin@northmenswear.comWebsite Instagram | @northmenswearFacebookFREE ResourcesFREE QUIZ: Discover Why You're Stuck!Connect with Angelo & Alpha Hippie:Apply to work with Alpha HippieWebsiteInstagramFacebookFree Facebook Group

Hey WTAF-ers!Hide your tennis racket covers and blow your horns as we are joined by the one and only Paul Cooper for Martin Mucklowe's Top Trumps episode. Will he be the King Of The Peepers? Only one way to find out!Be warned we get near the knuckle in this one but it is Martin Mucklowe!Watch the trailer for Paul's new short film 'Toast' herehttps://youtu.be/MCOzxKcbifYSend us your Top Trumps scores for Martin Email - wtafthiscountry@hotmail.comWTAF LIVE 4 INFOBREAKING NEWS!!!!! NEW DATE!!!!! We have rearranged the date for WTAF LIVE 4 : THE FAREWELL to Friday 26th NOV 2021! All tickets that have been purchased will be valid for the new date. We want our last live show to be something special so we hope you will be able to join us for a night of This Country themed fun with a few surprises thrown in. Grab your tickets here - https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/sundial/t-ooylyj BE A PATREON PEEPER! You can support the podcast for as little as £1 a month and get great rewards such as :

This week's So Social show is called "Email Marketing." Listen, as Cheri and Richard join in discussions with guest Martha.A.Sanchez about common business issues and often unique and interactive business solutions.

This week's So Social show is called "Email Marketing." Listen as Cheri and Richard join in discussions about common business issues.

You know spring weather can be very moody.  We get a few near perfect riding days then we get winter again.  She teases us with mild temperatures, only to betray us by going full summer here in a few short weeks.  Larry and Kevin both made good use of the warm and pleasant riding days this week. Mail Call:Email from Martin Email from Tom Email from Casey Motorcycle Podcaster Challenge Kevin on Motorcycle Men We discuss the habit of Harley bashing.   News: Rider sues track and sponsor for wreck during track days. Kymco announces a electric scooter platform. Top 5 growing motorcycle brands. Special Thanks:A big thank you to Lloyd, Scott, Chad, Mathew, Dan, TC, Jorge, Randy, David, Shaun, James, Tyler, Tom, both Chris’s, Paul, Jeff and Chuck.  Thank you all for becoming supporters of the show. If you would like to help bring new features to the show, go to our website and click the Patreon logo to join the Throttled Crew.  With your help we can grow and be able to provide more content for our wonderful listeners. Follow us on:Twitter: @ThrottledShow Instagram: ThrottledShow Facebook: Throttled Podcast Listen Live:You can tune in and listen to Larry and Kevin try and make this podcast each and every week.  Simply go to http://www.mixlr.com/throttled.  From there you can interact with us as we record.  So far it has been a ton of fun!  Approximately 30 minutes before we go live we make an announcement on Twitter and Facebook, so make sure you are following us. Remember, find us in ITunes and give us a rating. Send your feedback to feedback@throttledpodcast.com. Ride safe everybody!!! Visit our Sponsors:Please visit our sponsors!  Let them know that you heard about them from Throttled! Best Rest Products

Today on the show, we're talking about what's in your wallet and all things payment cards. It's the tenth anniversary of contactless payments in the UK, and we're also going to look at the pros and cons of charge charges and reward cards. The first contactless cards in the UK were launched in September 2007, with 111 million in issue in June 2017. During the first half of this year the amount spent using contactless technology (£23.23 billion) almost matched the amount spent in the whole of 2016 (£25 billion). Contactless usage is expected to increase four-fold by 2026. Is this growth in contactless payment a positive thing or is it changing our spending habits, resulting in less conscious decisions about our money? Andy Webb My co-host for this episode is Andy Webb, founder of Be Clever With Your Cash. Andy is a blogger, journalist and trainer on all things money and consumer. Alongside Be Clever With Your Cash, he works two days a week as the senior writer for The Money Advice Service’s blog.  Andy also represents the company as a “money expert” on TV, radio and in print. He’s appeared on BBC Breakfast (BBC One), Rip Off Britain (BBC One), Right on the Money (BBC One), Channel Five News, You and Yours (Radio 4), Newsbeat (Radio 1), Rip Off Britain Food (BBC One) and dozens of local radio stations. You can follow Andy on Twitter @AndyCleverCash. Want to join the Informed Choice Radio squad and co-host a future episode? Find out more here. Personal finance news -Price inflation in the UK has reached its highest level in more than five years. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure of price inflation was 2.9% for the twelve months to August, up from 2.6% the previous month. -The Financial Conduct Authority has issued a consumer warning about the dangers of Initial Coin Offerings. This new investing trend is being used by companies who issue digital tokens or coins. - More than half of the country has experienced faster wage growth than house price growth during the past decade. Research from mortgage provider Yorkshire Building Society found that 54% of areas in the UK experienced pay outperforming property prices since 2007, including Edinburgh and Birmingham. - Chancellor of Exchequer Philip Hammond has announced the date of the next Budget. It will take place on Wednesday 22nd November. - Citizens Advice has called for a suspension in the expansion of reforms to the Universal Credit system, due to the risk of pushing families into a spiral of debt. The charity has said that those who rely on Universal Credits are more likely to be struggling with problem debts. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.

According to some new research, people in the UK are underestimating the cost of elderly care by £7bn every year. That's according to research from Scottish Widows’ independent think tank, the Centre for the Modern Family. On average, UK adults estimate that residential care would cost £549 a week – when in reality it costs on average £866 for a place in a nursing home – leaving a shortfall of £317 every week. In this episode, we talk about why people often underestimate the cost of care in later life, the tough conversations you need to have with family members, and where you can go for help and information. Introducing Faith Archer Faith is an award-winning money journalist who writes the blog Much More with Less, about moving to the country, living with less and making the most of it. She was Deputy Personal Finance Editor at The Telegraph and continues to write today for a wide range of publications, including The Sunday Times and Mirror Online. You can follow Faith on Twitter @MuchMore_Less Want to join the Informed Choice Radio squad and co-host a future episode? Find out more here. Personal finance news - Consumers lodged the most complaints about any UK financial business in the first half of the year against the Bank of Scotland, according to the latest figures from the Financial Ombudsman Service. FOS dealt with 20,541 complaints about the Bank of Scotland, which is part of Lloyds Banking Group. - One in four UK adults is considering buying an electric car within the next five years, according to new research from Sainsbury’s Bank Loans. The supermarket bank’s latest Car Buying Index, which tracks consumers’ car purchase intentions, reveals that recent Government announcements designed to boost the switch to zero-emission vehicles are convincing large numbers of motorists that their future is electric. - The UK's factories are experiencing record order books, boosted by the weak pound and stronger eurozone economy. A new survey found firms' expectations for the third quarter showed output rising in 34% of businesses surveyed. - A new study has revealed that 31% of tenants in rented accommodation cannot imagine ever owning their own home. The research, commissioned by GoCompare Mortgages, also revealed that 21% of renters think that the removal of mortgage interest tax relief on buy-to-let properties, which came into force in April 2017, will reduce the supply of rented properties in their area. - As Freshers get ready to leave the family nest for university this September, research from American Express has revealed UK parents spend an average of £3,662 during the course of their child’s degree, purchasing everything from bedding and books to groceries and gadgets to ensure their offspring have the best campus experience possible. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.

This week on the show, as we celebrate the milestone of 250 podcast episodes, I answer questions from some past guests. A big thank you to Iona Bain, Pete Matthew, James Wallman, Jon 'JB' Beckett and Kelly Eroglu for sharing their questions. Thank you also to Richard Hanson, an Informed Choice Radio listener who I bumped into last weekend and asked to record a question for the share! Most importantly, thank you for listening and continuing to support Informed Choice Radio. With 250 episodes under our belt, we are very close now to 100,000 total downloads, a milestone we hope to reach in the next week or so. There are some big plans for this podcast in the future and I can't wait to bring you the next 250 episodes. Personal finance news -Around 200,000 staff working in UK higher education face big changes to the future pension entitlement with the deficit of the sector's main pension scheme soaring to £12.6bn. Despite achieving a positive rate of investment returns in the past year and adding £10.2bn to its assets, the Universities Superannuation Scheme has also experienced rising liabilities. -Bank of England governor Mark Carney has warned that uncertainty over Brexit is already weighing on the economy. His comments as the Bank voted six to two to maintain low interest rates and cut its economic growth forecasts. -Delays to state pensions have resulted in more than one million women in their early 60s being worse off financially. The Institute for Fiscal Studies found that women aged 60 to 62 were £32 a week worse off on average. -Elderly people in the UK face a shortage of 30,000 care home beds by the end of next year. The research commissioned by BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme found the ageing population could result in a shortfall of 70,000 care home beds in nine years' time. -Pay for chief executives has fallen during the past year. FTSE 100 bosses earn an average of £4.5m a year, down from £5.4m a year in 2015. An average full-time worker in the UK would take 160 years to earn the same amount, based on an average salary of £28,000 a year. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.

This week on the show, I'm talking about dealing with 5 common financial regrets.  I was prompted to talk about this after seeing a new survey from Bankrate in the US. Apparently 73% of people there have financial regrets. So what are these regrets? Why do we have them? Most importantly, what can we do about them? Personal finance news -Student debts are on the rise, with gradates in England due to have average debts of £50,800. New figures from the Institute of Fiscal Studies warn of the higher debts following a rise in student loans interest rates to 6.1%.  -Homeowners are making a 'costly mistake' by ignoring the small print when they remortgage, according to Moneyfacts. They found the average fee charge on a fixed-rate mortgage is now more than £1,000.  -Over 50s are being continually ignored by brands, in favour of younger consumers. This is despite being the most powerful consumer group, contributing almost £120bn to the UK economy last year.  -Fraud is the most commonly experienced crime in England and Wales and most happens online. According to the National Audit Office, the Home Office’s response to tackling complex online fraud is not proportionate to the threat.  -Disposable incomes are falling at their steepest rate since 2011, according to the latest official figures. The ONS reported that income after tax and benefits fell by 2% during the first quarter of 2017, comparable to the first quarter last year.  Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.

This week on the show, I'm talking about investment managers who have been living high on the hog and steps the regulator will be taking to improve transparency, introduce better price competition and generally take them down a peg or two. There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news, my favourite money article this week, a random fact about money, an inspirational quote and, of course, the aftershow segment where I share a few of the things happening at Informed Choice this week. Personal finance news -Pound Sterling rose nearly 1% against the US Dollar this week, on the prospect of higher interest rates from the Bank of England. Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, said interest rates could rise if business investment grows. -Mortgage lender Nationwide has reported house prices rose in June, following three months of falls. They reported average house prices rose by 1.1% this month, following a fall of 0.2% in May. -The Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee is forcing banks to raise a further £11.4bn by the end of next year, to shore up their finances in case of bad loans. It means banks will need to set aside £5.7bn by the end of 2017, in case economic shocks mean some borrowers default on their repayments. -New research has identified the most expensive time in our lives as age 35. This 'financial crunch point' was identified by the comparison site Moneysupermarket, who found Brits are most likely to be juggling the cost of young children, along with mortgages, and loan repayments for cars, holidays and weddings. -A new report has revealed that more than one in five aspiring first time buyers are currently living at home with their parents. The latest quarterly First Time Buyer Index from Aldermore Bank also found that a quarter say they will have to live with their family for five or more years to save for a deposit. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.

Today on the show I'm joined by Tom Nichols, author of The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters. Tom is Professor of National Security Affairs at the US Naval War College, an adjunct professor at the Harvard Extension School, and a former aide in the U.S. Senate. He's also the author of several works on foreign policy and international security affairs, including The Sacred Cause, No Use: Nuclear Weapons and U.S. National Security, Eve of Destruction: The Coming Age of Preventive War, and The Russian Presidency. Simply put, he's an expert. In The Death of Expertise, Tom show a rejection of experts has occurred for many reasons, including the openness of the Internet, the emergence of a customer satisfaction model in higher education, and the transformation of the news industry into a 24-hour entertainment machine. The Death of Expertise is not only an exploration of a dangerous phenomenon but also a warning about the stability and survival of modern democracy in the Information Age. Here’s my conversation with Tom Nichols, in episode 233 of Informed Choice Radio.   Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.

Today on the podcast, I'm tackling the thorny and topical issue of defined benefit pension transfers. Some big cash sums are on offer to members of final salary pension schemes and now the regulator is taking an interest. I talk about the pros and cons of giving up guarantees in return for cash. Also on the show today, we've got a roundup of the latest personal finance news, my favourite money article this week, a random fact and an inspirational quote, as well as the aftershow segment, where I share some of the things happening at Informed Choice this week. Personal finance news -The government has unveiled its plans to ban fees paid to lettings agents in England. The Tenant's Fees Bill was announced in the Queen's Speech this week and could prevent the practice of tenants paying fees to lettings agents. -A leading member of the Bank of England has indicated he will vote for an interest rate rise later this year. Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane has said he might vote for a rate hike in the second half of 2017.  -The Financial Conduct Authority has told insurers it should do more to help customers who have cancer. The comments follow a case in which a nurse with terminal breast cancer was quoted a premium of £2,800 for travel insurance when taking a holiday in Dubai. -The British wealth gap has widened during the past decade. The Resolution Foundation, a think tank, has estimated at 1% of adults own 14% of assets in Britain. -Gross mortgage lending rose by an estimated 12% in May. The latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders estimates that gross mortgage lending reached £20.1 billion in May. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.

Today on the show I'm joined by Andy Bell, founder and chief executive of AJ Bell, and author of The DIY Investor. Andy co-founded AJ Bell in 1995, having spent a number of years working within the financial services sector. An actuary by training, he has built AJ Bell into one of the largest providers of low-cost, online investment platforms and stockbroker services in the UK. Andy is the principal driving force behind the business, which has grown to look after more than 152,000 customers with investment assets under administration exceeding £36 billion. In his book The DIY Investor, Andy shows you how to plan your financial future through do-it-yourself investing. He shows you how to build a long-term investment portfolio using a range of low-cost, tax-efficient strategies. Andy also provides expert guidance and industry insights suitable for first-time investors and those who are more experienced. The DIY Investor teaches you the skills and strategies you need to take control of your investments and manage your money in the years ahead. Here's my conversation with Andy Bell, in episode 231 of Informed Choice Radio. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.

My guest on the podcast today is Danielle Marchant, author of the new book Pause: How to press pause before life does it for you. Danielle has a long work history as a successful executive coach in the corporate industry, working with top-level executives at companies such as HSBC, McKinsey Unilever and SAP. She has more than 13 years experience working with leaders in 20 different countries; and spent 3 years living and working in Asia, where she set up a pioneering coaching company and an award winning change management consultancy. After learning that goals and ambitions could be just as happily and successfully achieved when simply allowing the body and mind to pause, she adapted her coaching style with both personal and corporate clients to flow rather than fight against the ups and downs of life. In her new book, Pause, Danielle gives you the space and the practices so that you can learn how to benefit from the power of the pause. The book uses nature, creativity and your inner spirit to allow the energy to flow freely once again. There are exercises to ground you, give access to your intuition, to breathe deeply and allow your monkey mind to settle. Pressing pause is about giving you time to explore what is big in your life right now, to know deep down what matters. It opens you up, allowing you to freely experience all the pain, the joy and the twists and turns of life. It gives you back your courage, your fire and your connection. Here's my conversation with Danielle Marchant, in episode 230 of Informed Choice Radio.   Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.  

With Father's Day coming up on Sunday, in this episode I'm talking about new research which highlights the importance of dads taking out financial protection. Research from Scottish Widows has found that 53% of men in the UK with dependent children have no life cover. This means that 3.9 million dads are potentially putting their family’s financial security at risk if the unexpected were to happen. Personal finance news -Average earnings have fallen in real terms by 0.6% in the three months to April. The latest official figures show earnings excluding bonuses rising by 1.7% in the period, or by 2.1% including bonuses. -The typical UK home cost £220,000 in April, according to the latest official figures. This was a rise of £3,500 on the previous month and £12,000 on the same month a year earlier. -One in 10 clients of debt charity Christians Against Poverty have no bed to sleep in at night. The charity also reported that eight in 10 say their financial situation leads to sleepless nights. -The Bank of England has voted to keep interest rates on hold at 0.25%, but policy makers are shifting towards favouring a rate rise. At the Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Thursday, three of the eight members voted to increase rates in the face of rising price inflation. -New figures from a fraud prevention organisation show that company directors are the victims of one in five cases of identity theft. Business directors make up 19% of victims of identity fraud cases, despite representing less than 9% of the UK population. Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.

My guest on the podcast today wants to inspire you to live your best life, build legacy wealth for you and your family through real estate investing, and have fun while you do it. Clayton Morris is the weekend anchor for FOX & Friends on The FOX News Channel. He's also a successful real estate investor and founder of Morris Invest; they've helped hundreds of people buy their first rental property and renovated thousands of homes, filling them with happy tenants.  A few years ago, Clayton discovered a simple tool for building passive unearned income through real estate investing; something he calls his 'freedom number'. In this episode of the podcast, I chat to Clayton about finding off market properties, managing renovations, choosing the right property managers, and balancing property investing with family life. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.

My guest today is Benjamin Brandt, all the way from Bismark in North Dakota. He's the host of the popular podcast Retirement Starts Today Radio podcast and blog. Benjamin is a Certified Financial Planner and Founder/President of Capital City Wealth Management. He's also an Iraqi combat veteran having served in the North Dakota Army National Guard for 8 years, including a 15 month deployment to Iraq in 2003. As a retirement planning expert, he's featured in The Huffington Post, CNBC.com, Forbes, Business Insider, ClarkHoward.com, and many others. In this episode, we talk about Benjamin's Retirement-Ready Blueprint, how to choose a suitable retirement age, how to prioritise different goals in later life, and extreme levels of checking with choosing your own financial planner. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.  

This week on the show, I'm going on a bit of a rant and talking about why you should pay for your own care in later life. This was triggered by some new research from Saga, something a journalist asked me to look at earlier in the week. As an Accredited Later Life Adviser, it's something I think about a lot. Whether you're in retirement or a lot younger, this has so much relevance for you, so do keep listening. Also on the show this week, there's a personal finance news update; everything you need to know about the world of personal finance this week in five carefully selected news items. I share my favourite money article this week, a random fact about money, and leave you feeling inspired with an inspirational personal finance quote. There's also the aftershow, where I talk about what's going on in the world of Informed Choice right now - and why, after recording this episode, I'm jumping in the car to drive down to sunny Folkestone. Personal finance news -It takes earnings of £134,170 a year to be considered 'wealthy', according to new research. -New figures show a record number of taxpayers are paying income tax at the highest rate. -The annual rate of house price growth in the UK is continuing to slow. -The average employee only has enough cash savings to last them for a month if their income suddenly stopped. -Eurozone economies have reported better than expected economic growth in the first quarter. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.

My guest on the podcast today is Phil Oakley, author of the new book How to Pick Quality Shares. Phil is an investment analyst and private investor. He works for Ionic Information, the makers of the market-leading ShareScope and SharePad software for private investors. Phil spent 13 years as a professional investment analyst, with ten years working for fund managers and stockbrokers in the City. He left the City in 2009 and began writing educational articles for private investors. He was senior investment writer for MoneyWeek for three years before starting his current role. In his new book, How to Pick Quality Shares, Phil provides a three-step process for analysing company financial information to find good investments. This process covers finding quality companies; avoiding dangerous or risky companies; and not paying too much for companies’ shares. By applying the in-depth techniques described in the book, investors will have a fuller understanding of how companies really work, and will develop an edge over other investors, including professional investors and analysts. In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I talk to Phil about what investors should be looking for, what are the warning signs that might be particularly risky or even dangerous for an investor and much more. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.

My guest on Informed Choice Radio today is Chris Rowland Thomas. Chris has been an accountant in public practice for over thirty years. He founded his own firm the day after he qualified and is now the senior partner of Thomas Harris Chartered Accountants. Based in South London, his firm numbers amongst its clients many celebrities, musicians and actors as well as ordinary businesses and self-employed individuals. Last year his firm was voted ‘Best Celebrity Tax Advisors’ in the AI Tax Awards. His new book is Your Accountant: The Good, The Bad and the Greedy. This is a must read for anyone who wants to understand how to make your accountant work for his or her money In the book, Chris shares insider knowledge about the way accountants work – and what it means for you. This book is on the one hand a guide to squeezing every last drop of wisdom and expert advice out of your accountant and on the other a daring exposé of the closed professional world which has served none better than the practitioners themselves. In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I talk to Chris about saving on fees and minimising your tax bill without paying eye-watering sums for accountancy advice. Chris shares practical tips on choosing the right accountant and also on becoming a preferred client, so you get the best possible service from your professional adviser. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.

Martin is on holiday this week so hands podcast hosting duties across to Nick for this episode. Nick shares the latest personal finance news before inviting Shelley into the studio to talk all about inheritance tax planning. To book a free seat at one of our two inheritance tax planning seminars in Cranleigh on Thursday 22nd June, visit icfp.co.uk/seminar. Personal finance news -Tens of thousands of expat pensioners may return to the UK to use the NHS after Brexit. -Small firms have been hit by rates relief delay. -The value of the pound dropped after a projection suggested the Conservatives could fail to win an outright majority in the election on 8 June. -Higher inflation is driving down real wages for British workers. -BT are considering closing their defined-benefit pensions scheme for existing staff. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.

Today on the show I'm joined by Gervais Williams, author of The Retreat of Globalisation. Gervais Williams is an award-winning equity fund manager. As a professional investor, he has exceptional credentials. He received numerous awards for his fund management, including being named What Investment's Fund Manager of the Year 2014. Gervais is a respected commentator on prospective market trends. He outlined his controversial views in his book Slow Finance in 2011 and developed those ideas in 2014's The Future is Small. In his latest book The Retreat of Globalisation, Gervais outlines why we are entering a period when the culture of financial markets will change more in three years than it has in the last 30. This episode of Informed Choice Radio is a must listen for anyone who needs to understand these developing investment themes so they can position their portfolio to take advantage of the changes. Welcome to The Retreat of Globalisation, with Gervais Williams in episode 221 of Informed Choice Radio. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.

This week on the show, ahead of the general election on 8th June, I'm talking about what the political party manifestos mean for your money. I take a closer look at pledges for the state pension, adult social care, house building and income tax. Personal finance news -The Serious Fraud Office has launched an investigation into a series of pension liberation scams. -The number of UK property sales fell significantly during April, suggesting a slowdown in the market. -UK economic growth has been revised down for the first quarter, with the services sector losing momentum. -Levels of house building in England have reached their highest level in a decade. -People over pension age are the fastest growing group of cohabitees, according to new analysis by Royal London. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.

My guest today is John Adams, founder of Dad Blog UK. John is a married father of two girls, dad blogger and vlogger. Back in 2011, John and his wife took the decision he should give up his career in communications to become a stay at home father, a role he fulfils to this day. As a result, he does most of the household management and the majority of the childcare. John started blogging about his experiences as a stay at home dad back in 2012. More recently, he's branched out into vlogging too. Dad Blog UK was winner of the Vuelio Blog Awards 2016 ‘Best UK Dad Blog’. He's had numerous appearances in the Times newspaper plus live interviews with BBC Breakfast, Channel 4 television news and the Victoria Derbyshire programme. In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, John and I chat about the life of a stay at home dad, and discuss personal financial planning from the perspective of a parent. This one is for any dads or mums out there, who want to get a better understanding of some of the issues they face around money, children and family. Welcome to Dad Blog UK, with John Adams in episode 219 of Informed Choice Radio. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.  

My guest today is Greg Davies, a specialist in applied decision science and behavioural finance. Greg specialises in turning academic insight into practical applications. With a prior background in academia and consulting, in 2006 Greg started, and for a decade led, the banking world’s first behavioural finance team as Head of Behavioural-Quant Finance at Barclays. He holds a PhD in Behavioural Decision Theory from Cambridge; is an Associate Fellow at Oxford’s Saïd Business School; a lecturer at Imperial College London; and author of Behavioral Investment Management. At Centapse, Greg specialises in improving outcomes by helping people make better decisions. He takes the insights of behavioural economics and builds them into an organization’s systems, analytics, processes, propositions, and products. Listen to this episode of Informed Choice Radio to better understand the biases which influence our decision making, the different investment personality types, how robo-advisers could save us from our human behaviours, and much more. Welcome to Making Better Decisions, with Greg Davies in episode 218 of Informed Choice Radio. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.  

What is the biggest waste of money in your life? Inspired by an article from Business Insider, this week on the show I'm looking at 14 ways to stop wasting your money. It's a particularly important areas to address because wage growth is currently lagging behind inflation for the first time since mid-2014.  Average weekly earnings excluding bonuses increased by 2.1%. in the three months to March, while inflation rose by 2.3% in the year to March 2017. Personal finance news update -Price inflation has risen unexpectedly in the year to April, reaching its highest level since September 2013. -Buy-to-let mortgage activity has halved since the introduction of higher stamp duty for landlords. -US investment giant Vanguard has prompted talk of an investment platform price war following the launch of their new service for personal investors in the UK. -1.4 million UK households are struggling to pay their mortgage and 2.6 million people think their monthly mortgage payments are too high. -Generation X entrepreneurs struggle to balance family life with their ambitions for business growth, according to new research from Lloyds Bank. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.

Here at Informed Choice Radio, we're not afraid to examine the big ideas. And few ideas are bigger than the concept of a universal basic income.  Professor Guy Standing is a founder member and honorary co-president of the Basic Income Earth Network. This is a non-governmental organisation that promotes a basic income for all.        Basic Income is a regular cash transfer from the state, received by all individual citizens. It is an acknowledgement that everyone plays a part in generating the wealth currently enjoyed only by a few.  Political parties across the world are now adopting it as official policy and the idea generates headlines every day.  Guy Standing has been at the forefront of thought about Basic Income for the past thirty years. His recent work has concerned the emerging precariat class and the need to move towards unconditional basic income and deliberative democracy. Guy's new book is Basic Income: And How We Can Make It Happen.  In the book he covers in authoritative detail the impact of basic income on the economy, poverty, work and labour; he dissects and disproves the standard arguments against Basic Income; explains what we can learn from pilots across the world and illustrates exactly why a Basic Income has now become such an urgent necessity. Welcome to Basic Income & How We Can Make It Happen, with Professor Guy Standing, in episode 216 of Informed Choice Radio.   Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.  

Today's episode of Informed Choice Radio is a little different. We're taking a closer look at achievement. What does it take to achieve more in life, in fact to become a super achiever? My guest today knows all about becoming a super achiever; he's interviewed more than 4,000 of the world's highest achievers. Corey Poirier is an award-winning speaker, host of the Conversations with PASSION Radio Show, a best-selling author and founder of a media company. Corey has interviewed successful business people in all sectors and has discovered the key traits that all  super achievers have in common. He's been described as the modern day Napoleon Hill due to his study of success. Listen to this episode to find out what sets super achievers apart from mere achievers, the importance of continually feeding your mind, and how we can make sure we don't settle for an average life. Welcome to Super Achievers, with Corey Poirier, in episode 215 of Informed Choice Radio. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.

Hello and welcome to the final episode in a series of Informed Choice Radio podcasts as we celebrate Financial Planning Week 2017. If you're one of the millions of people in the UK who could do with improving their overall financial “fitness”, Financial Planning Week is especially for you. It's a consumer awareness campaign which helps you take some simple steps to kick start your future. This year's campaign is taking place from 8th to 12th May 2017, right across the UK. In this episode, it's the end of the week so we're talking about the end of the financial planning journey, retirement. Or is it the start of the journey? I'll let you be the judge of that. Joining me for this episode is my father and fellow director, Informed Choice founder Nick Bamford. Useful links -Nick's Email -Nick on Twitter Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.

Hello and welcome to the fourth of five special episodes of Informed Choice Radio as we celebrate Financial Planning Week 2017. If you're one of the millions of people in the UK who could do with improving their overall financial “fitness”, Financial Planning Week is especially for you. It's a consumer awareness campaign which helps you take some simple steps to kick start your future. This year's campaign is taking place from 8th to 12th May 2017, right across the UK. In this episode of the podcast, following three days of guests talking about various parts of the Financial Planning journey, it's a solo-round. I'm going to talk about investing with confidence. I share five key points to consider when investing money: 1 - Link your investing goals to your financial goals 2 - Consider attitude to risk and capacity for risk 3 - Diversify across major asset classes 4 - Rebalance your portfolio once a year 5 - Don't watch the news Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.

Welcome to the third of five special episodes of Informed Choice Radio as we celebrate Financial Planning Week 2017. If you're one of the millions of people in the UK who could do with improving their overall financial “fitness”, Financial Planning Week is especially for you. It's a consumer awareness campaign which helps you take some simple steps to kick start your future. This year's campaign is taking place from 8th to 12th May 2017, right across the UK. In this episode of the podcast, on day three of Financial Planning Week 2017, I'm joined by my friend and fellow Financial Planner Justin King. Useful links -Justin's Website -Justin's email -Life Planning for You -Man Searching For Meaning Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.

Welcome to the second of five special episodes of Informed Choice Radio as we celebrate Financial Planning Week 2017. If you’re one of the millions of people in the UK who could do with improving their overall financial “fitness”, Financial Planning Week is especially for you. It’s a consumer awareness campaign which helps you take some simple steps to kick start your future. This year’s campaign is taking place from 8th to 12th May 2017, right across the UK. The Financial Planning Week campaign aims to raise awareness of how important financial planning is to your life. It’s not just for people who have never thought about their finances, it’s for everyone, whatever your situation. Putting some simple financial plans in place and making some smart decisions to help achieve your goals and dreams in life is the first step towards really taking control of your life and gaining valuable peace of mind. In this episode of the podcast, on day two of Financial Planning Week 2017, I’m joined by my friend and fellow Financial Planner Pete Matthew.   Useful links -The Automatic Millionaire -Enough?: How Much Money Do You Need For The Rest of Your Life? -Meaningful Money -Pete on Twitter Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.

Today is the start of Financial Planning Week 2017.  If you're one of the millions of people in the UK who could do with improving their overall financial “fitness”, Financial Planning Week is especially for you.  It's a consumer awareness campaign which helps you take some simple steps to kick start your future. This year's campaign is taking place from 8th to 12th May 2017, right across the UK.  In this episode of the podcast, on day one of Financial Planning Week 2017, I'm joined by my friend and fellow Financial Planner Ruth Sturkey to define Financial Planning and talk about the six-step process for Financial Planning.  Useful links -The Red House -Ruth on Twitter Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.

Nobody should regret the decision to retire, yet more than 80% of over 50s think they made the decision to retire too early. That's the main topic for the show today; how can you live a retirement with no regrets?  Personal finance news update -Parents lending money to their adult children have become a top 10 UK mortgage lender, with children increasingly relying on financial support from the Bank of Mum and Dad. -Rising pension deficits could result in "difficult discussions" for some of the largest businesses in Britain. -Average house prices fell for a second consecutive month in April. -Global prices for avocados have reached a record high following a poor harvest, growing demand and industrial action. -Almost half of people would not use a live-streaming service to pay their respects if they had to miss attending a funeral for other reasons. Money article of the week How to Live a Luxurious Life While Still Saving Random fact of the week The first state pension was introduced in 1909 at just 5 shillings or 25 pence a week. It was paid to around half a million people who were aged 70 or over. At the time it was introduced, only one in four people lived to age 70. You didn't receive the pension if you had been in prison during the past ten years or if you owned too much furniture. Inspirational quote Our money quote of the week comes from actor Will Smith who said: "Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like." Aftershow links Cranleigh Trail Marathon Martin's Instagram Think Small: The Surprisingly Simple Ways to Reach Big Goals, by Owain Service and Rory Gallagher Financial Planning Week 2017 Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message

The snap election called by Theresa May last week is already upsetting some policies.  In this episode, I'm taking a look at what the snap election means for your personal finances. There’s also a roundup of the latest personal finance news – everything you need to know about what’s going on in the world of money in five news items. I share my favourite money article this week, a random fact about money and an inspirational quote. There’s also the aftershow, where I talk about what’s been going on at Informed Choice this week. Personal finance news update -8 out of 10 people who retire wish they’d kept working longer. -House prices fell again in April, for a second month in a row. -The majority of consumers underestimate the percentage of protection claims paid by insurers. -More than half of parents of young drivers have ‘fronted’, or would consider ‘fronting’, a car insurance policy for their children in order to get them lower car insurance premiums. -There is less than a week left to spend your old five pound notes, before they cease to become legal tender. Money article of the week -Women need to take back control of the financial agenda, by Iona Bain Random fact of the week 5% of the people who buy lottery tickets account for 51% of all tickets sold. Add to that sad fact that a person who drives 10 miles to buy their lottery ticket is 3 times more likely to be killed in a car accident while driving to buy the ticket than they are to win the jackpot. Not the best odds!  Inspirational quote Our money quote this week comes from Benjamin Franklin, who said:  "Beware of small expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship."  Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.

When is the right time to sell an investment? That's our main topic this week, inspired by a listener question. There's also a roundup of the latest personal finance news - everything you need to know about what's going on in the world of money in five news items. I share my favourite money article this week, a random fact about money and an inspirational quote. There's also the aftershow, where I talk about what's been going on at Informed Choice this week. Personal finance news update -Pet insurers paid out a record £706 million in pet insurance claims last year, the equivalent of £1.8 million a day. -The number of self-employed workers in the UK has risen from 3.8 million to nearly 4.7 million in the past decade. -The Financial Conduct Authority is planning to investigate the car finance market. -Men have almost three times the pension savings of women, according to new research. -Earlier this week was UK ‘Mortgage Freedom’ Day, when new borrowers will have earned enough to pay off the annual cost of their mortgage.       Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.  

Today’s episode is a big milestone, 200 episodes of this podcast. I look back at some of the highlights of those past 200 episodes, and describe the evolution of this podcast during that time. I also share a behind the scenes look at Informed Choice Radio; how do we actually produce three new episodes of this podcast each week? And I talk about some plans for the future, the first time I’ve spoken about this publicly, what the future has in store for Informed Choice Radio. Personal finance news update -The UK housing market is stagnating, according to surveyors. -Postal unions could take strike action following the news the Royal Mail is closing its final salary pension scheme next year. -A new savings bond from National Savings & Investment has gone on sale, offering a ‘market leading’ interest rate of 2.2%. -New research commissioned by Gocompare.com Money has found the average age parents expect their children to leave home is 25. -Official figures released this week show that the UK employment rate is at 74.6%, with 31.84 million people in work. Money article of the week How Your Body Responds to a Financial Windfall from Investopedia Random fact of the week In what was generally considered to be the first recorded financial bubble, the Tulip Mania of 1636-1637 involved speculators inflating the price of tulip bulbs. By the peak of tulipmania in February 1637, a single tulip bulb was worth about ten times a craftsman’s annual income. The bubble subsequently burst and the Dutch economy was plunged into a mild economic recession which lasted for several years. Inspirational quote Our inspirational quote this week comes from James W. Frick, former vice president for public relations, alumni affairs and development at the University of Notre Dame, who said: “Don’t tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I’ll tell you what they are.” Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message. Aftershow links –The Upstarts: How Uber, Airbnb and the Killer Companies of the New Silicon Valley are Changing the World, by Brad Stone

How do you solve a problem like the nation's savings crisis? Half of all UK adults do not have any savings or investments and are struggling to put away money. Two out of five UK adults also do not have any long term assets to fall back on, such as pensions or property. The ONS have released figures for the final quarter of last year, which found the UK's household saving ratio absolutely plummeted to its lowest level since records began.  In this episode, I share seven tips for saving more. Personal finance news update -Millions of credit card customers are unable to clear their debts and need more help, according to the Financial Conduct Authority. -Most active UK equity fund managers underperformed their benchmark last year. -New research from Aviva has found a lack of confidence in the availability of a future state pension among younger people. -Lloyds Bank have named the locations of 100 bank branches they will close between July and October. -New research from Aegon has found that 14% of working age people are saving more into their pension as a direct result of the pension freedoms introduced in April 2015. Money article of the week How to improve your readiness for retirement, by Robert Powell on USA Today Random fact of the week In 1695, the English parliament passed The Marriage Duty Act or Registration Tax. This Act of Parliament imposed a tax on births, marriages, burials, childless widowers, and bachelors over the age of 25. The tax was introduced to raise money for war on France but also to ensure proper records were kept by an Anglican church official. It didn't prove particularly effective and the tax was abolished eleven years later, in 1706. Inspirational quote Our inspirational quote this week comes from Stoic philosopher, Seneca the Younger, who said: “It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor.” Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.  

Each Spring, around 5,000 private investors gather in London to learn from expert speakers how to make the most of their savings, talk directly to CEOs of companies they can invest into, and hear the UK’s leading entrepreneurs and fund managers speak about future trends. Master Investor is now the UK’s leading, must-visit event for private investors. And this year, Informed Choice Radio was invited to attend as an exhibitor. We had a stand in the new personal finance bloggers area of the show, and spent the day meeting other exhibitors, speakers and lots of delegates. In this episode, we speak to Ed Bowsher from Share Radio, Matthew Jennings from Fidelity International and Tom Murray Brown from ECf Solutions, before answering investment questions from a number of visitors to our stand. Personal finance news update -People’s confidence in their personal finances was stronger last month, according to the latest Spending Power Report from Lloyds Bank. -The new £1 coin became legal tender this week. It’s the first new £1 coin to be introduced in more than 30 years and will be the most secure of its kind in the world, as HM Treasury aims to tackle counterfeits. -New research from Aegon UK has found 45% of working age adults have no ISA savings for the purpose of retirement. -Tesco has agreed to pay a fine of £129m to avoid prosecution for overstating its profits in 2014. -Mortgage approvals from banks have reached their lowest level in three months, according to the British Bankers’ Association. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.

Assumptions are at the very heart of financial planning as they provide the foundations for a robust plan. Because financial planning is more of an art than a science, it is important to make a number of assumptions about what might happen in the future. In this episode of the podcast, I'm talking about some of the key assumptions you need to make in your financial plan. Personal finance news update -Two reports for the government have recommended people wait longer before receiving their state pension. -Higher prices for fuel and food have pushed price inflation to its highest since September 2013.  -The typical property in England and Wales now costs more than seven times the average earnings of employees.  -The proportion of women continuing to work into their 70s has doubled in the past four years, nearly reaching the same level as men doing the same. -New analysis by Royal London shows that the typical person entering residential care will face total bills of between £50,000 and £93,000, depending on where they live. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.

Today on the podcast, I'm talking about investor sentiment; what is it and why is it so important? With the FTSE 100 index closing at a new record high and rising investment sentiment, we look at the definition of investor sentiment, some useful measures and how it can be applied to your investment decisions. There's also an interview with Martin Dropkin, Director of Research for Fixed Income at Fidelity International, about the latest Fidelity International Analyst Survey. Personal finance news update -The FTSE 100 index of leading company shares has closed as a new record high. -The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold at 0.25%, although one policymaker voted for a rise. -Plans announced in the Budget last week to increase National Insurance contributions for the self-employed have been abandoned. -The basket of goods and services used to calculate price inflation has been updated. -The number of jobs available in London fell by 17% in February, according to data from Morgan McKinley’s latest London Employment Monitor. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.  

In this episode of the podcast, I take a look at everything you need to know about the final Spring Budget which took place on Wednesday lunchtime. I talk about the current state of the economy, changes to personal taxation for shareholders and the self-employed, and what the Budget means for pensions. Subscribe in iTunes | Click to listen now | Right click to download episode Personal finance news update -Unclaimed cash lying dormant in investment accounts could provide a £2bn windfall for charities and community causes. -Women in some ethnic groups have narrowed the gender pay gap and overtaken the earnings power of men. -The estate agents Foxtons has reported a 23% fall in revenue from its property sales during 2016. -New research has found 40% of people over 40 have no idea of the cost of a basic lifestyle in retirement. -The squeeze on family and public finances will continue until well into the 2020s, according to a prominent think tank. Subscribe in iTunes | Click to listen now | Right click to download episode Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message. Subscribe in iTunes | Click to listen now | Right click to download episode Aftershow links Surrey Digital Awards Hit Makers: How Things Become Popular by Derek Thompson

In this episode of the podcast, I take a look at Warren Buffett's latest annual letter to shareholders and some of the lessons we can learn from it as investors. Warren Buffett is a legend in the world of investing. The 86 year old is widely considered to be one of the most successful investors in the world. He's also the second wealthiest person in the US, with a net worth of close to $80bn. As head of Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett writes a letter to shareholders each year. These letters are designed to report on the performance of the company and he also uses them as an opportunity to share some investment or business wisdom with his investors and fans. In his latest letter, he shares some wisdom about using low-cost index tracker funds, reminds us not to bet against America, considering value when paying for investment advice, and keeping our heads during investment market corrections. Personal finance news update -House prices in the UK rose faster in February, according to the latest survey from Nationwide. -The state pension age could rise to a level above the typical life expectancy of men in the poorest areas of the UK. -Car insurance premiums are due to soar by as much as £75 a year, due a new government ruling. -New research from insurer Royal London has found that those who plan a ‘flexible’ retirement - reducing their working hours in later life and topping up with pension income - could have to work on into their late seventies or beyond to achieve a decent standard of living in retirement. --More than half a million Brits holding at least one kind of interest-bearing debt are paying more than they need to by not moving to a better deal, according to new research by TSB. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message. Aftershow links -Cranleigh Literary Festival, sponsored by Informed Choice -Investment Management Certificate -Stealing Fire by Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal

Investing should be a long-term activity. And when I say long-term, I mean 20, 30 or 40 years. Really, truly, long-term. Getting the asset allocation right, to meet your chosen investment goals, is crucial. But when investing for the long-term, it's also important to think about what the world might look like in the future and which investment themes are likely to perform well. What I share in this episode of the podcast is five different investment themes for the next decade and beyond. These are the long-term investment themes I've used in my own portfolio, over and above of course those strategic asset allocation decisions which drive the bulk of returns. Personal finance news update -Businesses facing financial difficulty could be allowed to reduce pension benefits for staff, in a move suggested by the government. -A global study looking into the saving habits of the self-employed revealed that in the UK, many are not taking adequate steps to prepare for their future retirement. -The North East London Borough of Hackney has seen the steepest growth in house prices in the capital over the past 20 years, according to new research by Lloyds Bank. -A top official at the Bank of England has admitted it will not be able to forecast the next financial crisis or recession. -Self-assessment tax receipts and capital gains tax have boosted income to the exchequer, resulting in the lowest government borrowing for January in 17 years. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message. Aftershow links -Messy: How to be Creative and Resilient in a Tidy Minded World, by Tim Harford -Billions on Sky Atlantic -Sean Walsh -Cranleigh Literary Festival, sponsored by Informed Choice -Master Investor Show at the Business Design Centre in London on Saturday 25th March (use code INFORMEDCHOICE)  

Today on the podcast, I'm talking about what happens to your pension when you die. I know it's a morbid subject, but it's so important. Our pensions are usually the second biggest asset in our lives, after the value of our homes, so from a financial perspective, it's important we take them seriously, both during our lifetime and when planning for our death in the future. I'm talking about this today after the recent Supreme Court ruling on pension death benefits which marks a major extension of unmarried cohabitees’ rights and could affect millions of families. In this episode, I start by talking about that Supreme Court ruling and what it means for unmarried couples, then look at pension death benefits more generally, before finishing with some specific action steps you need to consider to get your own pensions in order from the perspective of death benefits. Personal finance news update -Price inflation has risen to its highest rate for two-and-a-half years. -Wages grew faster than the rate of inflation at the end of 2016, according to the latest official figures. -Average incomes for pensioner households after housing costs now exceed those of working-age people. -UK consumers are leaving over a billion pounds to sit idle in current accounts. -Research from Co-op Insurance has revealed that 91% of homeowners think their house value has increased since they bought it - by an average of £33,125. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message. Aftershow links -Reimagining the Laws of England exhibition at Cranleigh Arts Centre -The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure by Grant Cardone

This week on the show, I take a closer look at the new government white paper which aims to fix our broken housing market. The housing white paper, ‘Fixing our broken housing market’, was published earlier this week by the Department of Communities and Local Government. In this episode I will take you through the key proposals in this white paper, look at some of the reaction, and then share my own thoughts on how we might fix the broken housing market. There's also a real life case study of a 25 year old who is desperate to get onto the housing ladder, and my suggestions for her. Personal finance news update Our newsreader this week is Informed Choice paraplanner Victoria McNulty. -An unmarried woman whose long-term partner died has won a landmark legal battle that could improve the pension rights of unmarried couples in the public sector.  -Annual house price growth slowed in January, with this trend expected to continue during 2017.  -The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a new Discussion Paper seeking views on the practice of investing in illiquid assets through open-ended funds.  -Premium Bond holders will have a lower change of winning the biggest prizes from May. -Tax as a share of the UK's income is set to rise to its highest level since 1986. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message. Aftershow links -Unbiased Awards 2017 -Master Investor Show -Brain Maker: The Power of Gut Microbes to Heal and Protect Your Brain - for Life, by Dr David Perlmutter

How much are you paying for financial advice and investment products. In this episode of the podcast, I'm joined by Nick Bamford to chat about fees, charges and the cost of financial advice. The Sunday Times recently published an article which was critical of the charges levied by tied adviser St James Place, with particular criticism of their exit charges of up to 6% on some financial products.  We also hear a lot about the cost of fund management charges, particularly with reference to lower cost index tracker funds. And there's a lot of debate about what financial advisers charge, whether investors should pay a percentage of their money to invest, or a flat fee. Nick and I spend some time in this episode talking about the fees investors typically pay, some of the different remuneration structures offered by financial advisers, understanding value for money when it comes to fees, and the importance of fee transparency. Personal finance news update Our newsreader this week is Informed Choice paraplanner Kelvin Riches. -The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold at 0.25% whilst increasing its forecast for growth in the UK economy.  -Annual house price inflation weakened in January, falling to its lowest level since November 2015. -Brits lack a plan for passing on wealth to future generations, according to a new survey.  -Widespread confusion over financial terms means millions of people may be taking out important policies or products without completely understanding what cover the product offers. -Savings protection available from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, the FSCS, has risen by £10,000 this week. Listener question David Horton from Brisbane in Australia writes in with the following question that we answer in this episode: The rule on 'don't borrow to invest"; does that apply to borrowing to buy a "buy to let" property? Saving to buy outright would be impossible or very slow, and I think would run you up against rule 10, don't pay too much tax. Though I guess such savings pay so little interest the tax would be minimal. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message. Aftershow links -Deep Work by Cal Newport -Martin's book review on Medium -10% Happier by Dan Harris -Being Mortal by Atwul Gawande -Unbiased Awards 2017 Help us spread the word! Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.  

We often hear about strategies to get rich quick and treat these, quite rightly, with suspicion and distrust. Instead of focusing on dubious get rich quick schemes, in this episode of Informed Choice Radio I’m sharing some ways to get poor quick. The goal of sharing these lessons is to help you identify behaviour that will result in you losing money. Unlike making money where guarantees are few and far between, I can absolutely guarantee you that the ten lessons shared in this episode of the podcast will result in you losing money. Personal finance news update Our newsreader this week is Informed Choice paraplanner Andy Bodman. -The Dow Jones Industrial Average has set a new record level, trading above 20,000 for the first time on Wednesday this week. -Girls get less than boys in pocket money each week, according to new research from Childwise. -Two thirds of us expect to leave an inheritance and, according to new research, one in five adults are relying on receiving one. -60% of actively managed investment funds perform better than index trackers. -Professor Ted Malloch, the man tipped to be Donald Trump’s ambassador to the European Union, has predicted the collapse of the Eurozone within the next 18 months. Aftershow links –January book giveaway competition –Too Much of a Good Thing: How Four Key Survival Traits Are Now Killing Us by Lee Goldman –Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message. Help us spread the word! Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.

I’m a parent to three wonderful children. As all three grow up, we are very aware of the importance of teaching them about money. There’s slightly more pressure on me to do a great job at this, as a parent and a Financial Planner! In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I share 10 important money lessons to teach your kids. This covers budgeting, delayed gratification, making choices, and much more. To get you started, click here for the comprehensive checklist of all 10 lessons and some valuable notes (it’s FREE!). Get my detailed checklist here! Click here to download the free PDF Personal finance news update -Tens of thousands of grandparents could be missing out on National Insurance credits worth £231 a year when they retire. -House price inflation is on the rise, at 6.7% for the year to the end of November. -Lenders have reported a growing number of borrowers who are facing difficulties repaying loans and overdrafts at the end of last year. -Rich Kids of Instagram wannabes are taking advantage of credit and rented schemes to replicate lavish lifestyles portrayed on social media, according to new research. -Over a third of Brits are worried about falling victim to fraud, according to new research. Aftershow links –Confidently Speaking –Jigsaw 10k –Too Much of a Good Thing: How Four Key Survival Traits Are Now Killing Us by Lee Goldman Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message. Help us spread the word! Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners. Latest iTunes reviews “Business podcasts are often an amateurish sideline, but this is a notable exception. Clearly a labour of love for Bamford, who never does anything by halves, Informed Choice Radio stands apart through a combination of slick production, high-quality guests and incisive questioning. A top-drawer podcast.” – Brian Walters “Picked this up with the Dan Hannan interview and took it from there. Currently back-listening to the last few. Very clear and easy to listen to. Keep them coming please.” – tomt_techman  

Today on the podcast, I'm sharing some thoughts on How To Make More Money By Doing Less. One of my personal goals for 2017 is to do less. This isn't about being lazy, but wanting to make more of my time. After all, we all have finite time and it’s so easy to fill with ‘being busy’. So I gave some thought to how we might make more of our wealth by doing less. Here are some ideas. To get you started, click here for the comprehensive checklist of all 5 points and some valuable notes (it’s FREE!). Get my detailed checklist here! Personal finance news update -The spending power of the average UK household rose by nearly £600 in the last financial year. Disposable income for the typical UK household rose to £26,332 after taxes, according to the ONS. -The price of petrol and diesel in the UK has risen to its highest since July 2015. This follows a three-pence-a-litre increase during December. -Younger generations are due to inherit more than their predecessors, but with greater inheritance inequality. New research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies found the wealth of older generations has risen by an average of 45% over the past ten years. -New research from Gocompare has found that, on average, people now manage over 30 accounts across all aspects of their lives. These range from online banking and shopping, to gym memberships and subscriptions for home entertainment. -Millions of credit card holders face a New Year financial hangover because they aren’t clued up about their credit card. The new research from MoneySuperMarket reveals two thirds of credit card holders don’t keep a close eye on how much they spend on credit and only check their statement at least once a month. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message. Help us spread the word! Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.

As we head into a New Year, it’s important to revisit our relationship with money. What I’ll share with you in this episode isn’t personal finance or investment tips, but a series of 7 questions you need to ask yourself to change your relationship with money. Set aside some time to ask each of these, with your spouse or partner if necessary, and consider how your relationship with money could improve as a result of better understanding of each of these areas. To get you started with this important exercise, click here for the comprehensive checklist of all 7 questions and some valuable notes (it’s FREE!). Get my detailed checklist here! Click here to get the checklist Useful links mentioned in this episode –The Seven Stages of Money Maturity: Understanding the Spirit and Value of Money in Your Life by George Kinder –Meaningful Money Podcast –The Financial Wellbeing Podcast –The Number: What Do You Need for the Rest of Your Life, and What Will It Cost? by Lee Eisenberg –The One-Page Financial Plan: A Simple Way To Be Smart About Your Money by Carl Richards –The Financial Wellbeing Book by Chris Budd –Money Life Live Personal finance news update -The top paid executives had earned more by Wednesday this week than typical workers earn in an entire year. Dubbed ‘Fat Cat Wednesday’ in the press, the High Pay Centre think tank said it was an important reminder of the unfair pay gap in the UK. -Levels of household debt have risen to the highest level since the global financial crash of 2008, according to the latest official figures. The Bank of England data has shown personal debt rising by 10.8% in the year to 30th November 2016, rising to £192.2bn. -The government has claimed that thousands of homes for first-time buyers will be built this year. 30 different areas in England are due to receive funding from the £1.2bn “Starter Homes Land Fund” for new property developments on brownfield sites. -More than a million over-45s have fallen victim to email scams, according to Aviva’s latest Real Retirement Report. The report also also highlights that the experience of being targeted via email is 22% more common among this age group than by phone. -MoneySuperMarket’s annual insight into the nation’s financial stress levels shows over 11 million people cite daily money worries as their main cause of stress. Aftershow links –Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioural Economics by Richard H Thaler & my book review –Ego is the Enemy: The Fight to Master Our Greatest Opponent by Ryan Holiday –Cranleigh BIG Awards 2017 Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message. Help us spread the word! Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.  

Have you set your goals and made resolutions for 2017 yet? In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, I share the process I use to establish goals and give them the best possible chance of succeeding. This involves reflecting on 2016, establishing goals for 2017, and using some techniques to make those goals ‘stick’ during the next twelve months. Useful links –Reflecting on 2016 –Books read in 2016 –Chris Guillebeau annual review process –Setting goals for 2017 Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message. Help us spread the word! Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.

What had the biggest impact on your personal finances in 2016? What lessons can we learn from these events in order to make better choices in the future? In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin explores the big investment stories from this year. There’s also a roundup of the latest personal finance news. The big personal finance events of 2016 As we approach the end of the year, it’s a good time to reflect. 2016 has been a fairly tumultuous year. We’ve had Brexit, we’ve had Donald Trump, and we’ve had the death of Terry Wogan, David Bowie, Alan Rickman and Victoria Wood, among many others. But what were the big events that had an impact on your personal finances? What can we learn from some of these to make better choices with our money in the future? In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about some of the big investment stories from 2016 and what we can learn from these, in order to make better decisions in the future. Personal finance news update -MPs have recommended the Pensions Regulator is given more powers to deal with rogue employers who fail to properly support their pension schemes. -HM Treasury is set to receive record tax revenues from property sales, despite a fall in the number of property transactions. -Citizens Advice has warned that thousands of people in their twenties are struggling with debt after signing up to buy now, pay later deals. -New research from SunLife has revealed that today’s over 50s are having the time of their lives  – free to do what they want, when they want, and they don’t care what anyone thinks. -The local authority district of Winchester (which includes the City of Winchester) has been named the UK’s best place to live. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message. Help us spread the word! Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.

This week on the show, Martin has run out of things to talk about in 2016, so instead he’s looking through some seasonal press releases about money. There’s also a roundup of the latest personal finance news. Money matters at Christmas In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, we’re getting festive with a look at some of the seasonal money and personal finance research that has landed in Martin’s email inbox recently. It’s that time of the year, again, when financial services companies try their best to put a festive spin on what they do. Some of it is genuinely interesting and useful; some of it is just fluff. In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin takes a look at some of the best ones. He talks about returning unwanted Christmas gifts, last minute shopping, spending money to avoid upsetting family and friends, the cost of insuring Father Christmas, putting Christmas on credit cards, and a different approach to Christmas shopping. Personal finance news update -Price inflation has been driven higher in the year to November, with the biggest rise in clothing prices in six months a major factor. -Transfer values on offer from defined benefit pension schemes are shooting up, according to pension provider Royal London. -The total value of privately owned housing stock in the UK has grown to over £5.5 trillion for the first time, according to new research by Halifax. -Savings rates offered by so-called challenger banks is double that offered by traditional banks, according to new research. -The government has announced a review of automatic enrolment to encourage more people to save into a workplace pension. -The Bank of England has voted to keep interest rates on hold at 0.25%. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message. Help us spread the word! Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.

In episode 146 of Informed Choice Radio, Martin reviews Dave Ramsey's seven baby steps to financial freedom. There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice. Dave Ramsey's Seven Baby Steps Dave Ramsey is an American personal finance guru, author, radio host, TV personality and motivational speaker. He has a syndicated radio programme and YouTube show, The Dave Ramsey Show, and has written several New York Times bestsellers. He likes to use financial rules of thumb to get his followers to take action, and his seven baby steps are all about simple steps for taking control of your money. In this episode, Martin runs through Dave Ramsey's seven baby steps and explains how you can apply them to improve your own personal finances. Personal finance news update -Over a third of Brits are very or fairly concerned about being able to meet their financial commitments in 2017. -The Financial Conduct Authority is urging over 55s to undertake the necessary checks when investing in financial products. -Final salary pension schemes face a ‘tough’ year ahead in 2017, with many simple ‘treading water’. -Two charities have been fined over data protection breaches, because they secretly screened the wealth of potential donors. -The European Central Bank has extended its programme of quantitative easing until December 2017, albeit at a slower pace.  Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message. Our latest iTunes review I heard about the Informed Choice podcast through the Meaningful Money podcast and have not been disappointed. In the last few months I’ve worked my way through around 125 episodes and have nearly caught up to the current episode. Packed with top quality interviews, personal finance news updates and a nice light hearted peak behind the scenes of Informed Choice. Help us spread the word! Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.  

In episode 143 of Informed Choice Radio, Martin is searching for the Santa Rally and explaining why investors should pay it no attention at all. There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice. Searching for the Santa Rally Stock markets often have a pretty good time of it in December. This is known as the Santa Rally or December Effect. It was first recorded by Yale Hirsch in his Stock Traders Almanac back in 1972, and since then it’s been frequently observed by investors and analysts. New research by Schroders has found stockmarkets are more likely to rise in December than during any other month. The research looked at nearly three decades worth of data before confirming the existence of a Santa Rally. In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin is searching for the Santa Rally before explaining why investors should ignore it. Personal finance news update -House price growth has slowed to its lowest rate since January. -Bank of England governor Mark Carney has issued a warning about high levels of household debt. -For nearly three in ten women, the inability to support themselves or their families financially is their greatest financial fear. -The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) have agreed to cut output. -An influential committee of MPs have criticised HM Revenue & Customs over its lack of scrutiny on whether tax reliefs are being used effectively. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message.

In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin explains what you really need to know about the Autumn Statement. There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice. What you really need to know about the Autumn Statement On Wednesday, the new Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered his first Autumn Statement to the House of Commons. Despite being fairly light on new policies, this was an important Autumn Statement; it’s the first proper assessment of the UK economy we have seen since the EU Referendum in June. In a nutshell, we heard from Hammond that economic growth is forecast to slow down. As a result, the national debt is forecast to rise. There was however some good news for the lowest paid in society and those now referred to as JAMs; the "just about managing". In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks you through some of the main features of the Autumn Statement, as they apply to your personal finances. 1 – £122bn worse off because of Brexit 2 – Salary sacrifice is sacrificed 3 – Money Purchase Annual Allowance slashed 4 – Plans to tackle pension scammers 5 – Market-leading savings bond to be offered 6 – Hammond’s final Autumn Statement What did you think about Philip Hammond’s first and last Autumn Statement? We would love to hear from you. Personal finance news update -The maximum compensation limit for bank customers is being returned to its previous level of £85,000. -New figures from HM Revenue & Customs show the sale of homes in the UK stayed sluggish during the autumn. -Brits plan to spend nearly £1,500 each this festive season. -Nearly a quarter of over-50s plan to cash in their pension after withdrawing their tax-free lump sum, according to a new a survey from Retirement Advantage. -New research by SunLife has found that 82% of over 50s don’t want a hymn at their funeral and that Always look on the bright side of life from Monty Python’s Life of Brian is the song most would choose to have played instead. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message. Help us spread the word! Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.

In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about solving the biggest problem with living longer. There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice. How to Solve the Biggest Problems With Living Longer Earlier this week Martin gave a presentation at the Cranleigh Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting. This episode includes a re-recording of that presentation. Martin talks about a remarkable French lady and the deal she did with a property lawyer, the state of longevity in the UK today, what is on the cards for the State Pension, how reform of funding adult social care was watered down, and why many older people feel they are second-class citizens. He finishes with five ideas to address the challenges of an ageing population and helping people live well in later life. 1 – Become a Dementia Friend 2 – Become more accessible to older customers 3 – Invest in your old age today 4 – Talk to your kids about the future 5 – Re-rethink retirement Personal finance news update -The Financial Conduct Authority has warned some consumers might not fully understand the new Lifetime ISAs which are due to launch next April. -Unemployment in the UK has fallen to reach an 11-year low, according to new figures. -Early exit penalties for people withdrawing money from their pension pots are set to be capped at 1%. -Teenagers are ill-prepared for the financial realities of adulthood, according to the Money Advice Service. -Grandparents are gearing up to spoil their grandchildren to the tune of £1.4bn this Christmas according to research by Saga Money. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message. Help us spread the word! Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.

In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about saving for retirement without using a pension. There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice. Saving for retirement without using a pension Some new research by Alliance Trust Savings has found that over a third of savers are using cash ISAs to build a retirement fund. This rises to almost half of those living in the north of the country. This research raises some interesting points about saving for retirement. We often think of retirement planning as the preserve of the pension. Pensions are the tax-efficient instrument of choice that people have historically used to save for later life. But does that still make sense? Should your retirement savings rely entirely on pensions or is there a better way? Personal finance news update -A different measure of price inflation is being introduced which will better reflect everyday price changes and the cost of owning a home. -9,000 Tesco Bank customers who were victims of fraud have received £2.5m of refunds. -A ‘dire’ shortage of housing is continuing to drive up prices in the UK, according to surveyors. -New research has identified the great British inheritance tug of war. Parents and children are banking on financial support from each other, according to the latest findings from SunLife’s Cash Happy report. -Women are effectively working for free from now until the end of the year as a result of the gender pay gap. Useful links mentioned in this episode –The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking by Oliver Burkeman Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message. Help us spread the word! Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.  

In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin explains why so many people are seeing an amount deducted on their new State Pension forecasts. There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice. Why are they reducing my State Pension? Martin answers a listener question from Nigel, who has discovered he and his wife are due to receive lower State Pensions because they were previously contracted-out. Lots of people are finding themselves in this position; in fact, most people have been contracted out of the additional state pension at some point in their working lifetime. Martin explains how the old State Pension system worked and what it meant to be contracted out of the additional State Pension, and also how to find out if this was the case. He explains the ‘contracted out pension equivalent’ or COPE which is appearing on so many State Pension forecasts for people reaching State Pension age on or after 6th April 2016, and what you can do if you want to top-up your State Pension income. Personal finance news update -The US Federal Reserve has left interest rates unchanged ahead of the US Presidential election next week. -Price inflation in the UK is set to soar to 4% towards the end of next year, according to a leading think tank. -UK houses now cost six times annual earnings, according to the Nationwide. -£53.9m in Premium Bond prizes remain unclaimed, according to National Savings and Investments. -The State Pension is no longer fit for purpose, with newly published government data revealing the fragility of the State Pension system. Useful links mentioned in this episode –State pension top up calculator –The Pensions Advisory Service briefing note on topping up your State Pension Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message. Help us spread the word! Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners. Our latest iTunes review Look at learning about the world of finance – start here! ***** in iTunes by David Dhannoo from UK on October 31, 2016 I’ve been listening to this podcast since Jan-Feb this year – I like Martin’s insights and the guests he has on. I find a lot of finance content stuffed with jargon but this podcast is easy flowing and have learnt a lot since tuning in from the start of the year. Definitely give this podcast a listen!

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has started a consultation about its new mission. As a firm of Chartered Financial Planners providing independent financial advice, we are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. In the past week, we received our annual invoice from the FCA, which pays not only for the regulator but for some other related regulatory bodies too. In this episode of the podcast, Martin provide a breakdown of this invoice, explaining where the money goes and what it covers. He explains the cost of the FCA, FSCS, FOS, Money Adviser Service and Pension wise, as well as other regulatory costs including professional indemnity insurance and capital adequacy. What do you think about the cost of financial services regulation? Do we pay too much, too little? Do you get good value for money? We would love to hear from you. Personal finance news update -The UK economy has grown by a better than expected 0.5% between July and September, in the wake of the EU referendum result. -More retirees are taking advantage of the pension freedoms and cashing in their pension pots, but the average withdrawal amounts has fallen. -The deadline for submitting a paper tax return is looming, with HMRC warning of fines for late returns. -The lowest earners have experienced the fastest pay rises, thanks to the introduction of higher minimum wages. -Homebuyers looking to live in one of England’s picturesque market towns will need to pay a premium of £34,000 compared to neighbouring areas.   Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.icradio.co.uk/voicemail to leave an online voice message. Help us spread the word! Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please use the comments section below to share any feedback you have. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it by using the social media buttons on this page. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.  

In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about the falling pound and why it matters to your personal finances. There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice. The falling pound and why it matters to your personal finances In this episode, Martin talks about the reasons why the pound is falling, what it means for your personal finances, and what you can do about it. At the time of recording the episode, Pound Sterling was valued at $1.21 or €1.10. It has fallen by 17.1% and 15.4% respectively since 22nd June, the day before the UK voted to leave the European Union. Martin explained that Brexit is not the sole reason for this fall in the pound, sharing new small business survey results that suggest SMEs are not fussed about Brexit. He explains the contrasting fortunes of the UK and US economies, with the interest rate outlooks for both prompting investors to shun the UK markets. There is good news for some and bad news for others as a result of the falling pound. Martin explained why a weaker pound was good news for exporters, equity investors, foreign tourists and people selling property. And why it could be bad news for bond investors, motorists and shoppers. There was talk of planning ahead if overseas holiday plans are being made and considering the options for long-term diversified investment portfolios. Personal finance news update -Housing minister Gavin Barwell has suggested grandparents should hand their inheritance directly to their grandchildren to help them buy their first home.  -The government plans to introduce a new financial guidance service to cover pensions, managing debts and other money issues.  -Older men are most likely to be the victims of investment fraud, with new figures showing more than 77% of victims are men with an average age of 65.  -Older men are most likely to be the victims of investment fraud, with new figures showing more than 77% of victims are men with an average age of 65.  -Two former pensions ministers have claimed thousands of women should have been given better notice that they must wait longer for their state pension.  Useful links mentioned in this episode -How to take your pension pot - free seminars in Cranleigh Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail.

It’s official, we are all living for much longer! The latest data shows more than half a million people over the age of 90 living in the UK. So how can you make your money last until you reach your 100th birthday? In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about 7 ways to make your money last in retirement. There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice. 7 ways to make your money last in retirement Last week, the Office for National Statistics published some very interesting figures which confirm that we are, as suspected, all getting older. The headline was that half a million people in the UK are now aged 90 and over. In fact, the ONS estimate that 556,270 people living in the UK are aged 90 and over. By way of comparison, this is up from just 194,670 people back in 1985, 30 years before the current set of data. The main driver of population ageing in recent decades has been improving mortality at all ages, but particularly at older ages. Life expectancy is a big deal when it comes to your personal finances, here’s why. We all know our date of birth, none of us can predict our date of death. This makes it really hard to plan for our finances in the future, because we don’t know how long we need to make our money last in retirement. In this episode, Martin discusses 7 ways to make your money last in retirement, until you celebrate your 100th birthday and receive a telegram from The Queen. The seven strategies Martin talks about are: 1 – Secure your basic income needs with a guaranteed and inflation linked income. 2 – Stick to the 4% rule. 3 – Don’t retire too early. 4 – Retire in stages. 5 – Age-proof your property 6 – Keep your investment portfolio simple 7 – Stay fit, healthy and active Personal finance news update -As much as £38bn could be lost if the UK leaves the single market, according to a report commissioned by TheCityUK. -Bank of England analyst Jonathan Fullwood has said that the financial “gobbledygook” used by banks risks perpetuating a “great divide” between them and consumers. -More than 300,000 pension savers a year are being left to fend for themselves when they retire. -The FTSE 100 index of leading UK company shares closed just short of its record high on Tuesday, at 7,074 points. -A petition to ban pension and investment cold calling has exceeded 1,000 signatures. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail.

In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks to seven personal finance experts about the most important thing to improve your financial wellbeing. There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice. "The Most Important Thing To Improve Your Financial Wellbeing" This week on Informed Choice Radio, Martin asked his favourite personal finance podcasters and other experts to share their most important thing to improve financial wellbeing. In this episode, you will hear answers from the following stars: -Pete Matthew from Meaningful Money -David Stein from Money For the Rest of Us -Chris Budd from The Financial Wellbeing Podcast -Damien Fahey from Money To The Masses -Joe Saul-Sehy from Stacking Benjamins -Claire Walsh from unbiased.co.uk -Nick Bamford from Informed Choice   Personal finance news update -HM Revenue & Customs has won a £143m battle against a firm promoting tax avoidance schemes. -The rich have become richer due to the UK's policies of low interest rates and quantitative easing. -People over the age of 50 are spending more and more on holidays, including luxury cruises, while younger people are travelling less. -Families should be given breathing space to repay debts otherwise the stress can affect children's mental health, according to The Children’s Society. -Workers in London could save themselves almost £450,000 on the cost of a home if they are prepared to commute daily for an hour each way.   Useful links mentioned in this episode -International Podcast Day -The Financial Wellbeing Book: Creating Financial Peace of Mind (Concise Advice) -How to Take Your Pension Pot -Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail.

In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, we get an investment market update from Ayesha Akbar, Portfolio Manager in the Fidelity Multi Asset team, and Martin talks about getting divorced and what it means for your money. There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice. Financial tips for Brad & Angelina Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you would have heard the news this week that actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are set to divorce. Jolie filed for divorce on Tuesday, citing irreconcilable differences. The Hollywood couple have been together for 12 years, married for 2, and have six children. For this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin shares 6 financial tips for Brad & Angelina, or anyone else when going through a divorce or separation. His six financial tips for Brad & Angelina are: 1 – Get an overview of your current financial position. 2 – Set a reasonable budget for divorce proceedings 3 – Don’t rush into making big financial decisions 4 – Think about the short, medium and long-term! 5 – Update your will and beneficiaries 6 – Ignore your well meaning friends Also in this episode, Martin spoke to Ayesha Akbar, Portfolio Manager in the Fidelity Multi Asset Team. Martin asked Ayesha about the outlook for volatility in the investment markets. Volatility has been relatively low during the course of the summer. Is this likely to last? He also asked what are the main risks to the investment market outlook which needs to be considered right now? Martin asked Ayesha what’s the current market outlook in light of these risks? Are there any particular market areas with good prospects? And finally, Martin asked how does investor perception of emerging markets need to change? Personal finance news update -Uncertainty around the EU referendum didn’t have an impact on UK house buying, with a slight rise in transaction levels during August.  -A financial scam was committed once every 15 seconds during the first half of the year, according to Financial Fraud Action.  -The EU referendum result has created a “challenging period of uncertainty and adjustment”, according to the Bank of England. -Withdrawing money out of pensions is leaving over 55s at risk of paying thousands of pounds in inheritance tax.  -Yorkshire Building Society is urging the Government to consider reforming stamp duty land tax to make it paid by sellers not buyers, removing the tax burden entirely for more than 225,000 people getting on the housing ladder every year.  -The US Federal Reserve kept interest rates on hold during its meeting this week.  Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail. Help us spread the word! Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please get in touch with any feedback you have. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend! If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.

In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about 7 quotes to change your relationship with money. There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice. 7 quotes to change your relationship with money This week on the show, Martin talks about 7 quotes to change your relationship with money. Six of these quotes were contributions from people Martin follows on Twitter. He finishes with a favourite of his own. Martin shared each quote before talking about what it means for your personal finances and how it has the power to change your relationship with money. Here are the seven quotes Martin talks about this episode, along with the Twitter name of the personal who suggested it. Benjamin Franklin - "An investment in knowledge pays the best interest"(@UKCF_Tweets) Seneca – “It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor.” (@brettdavidson) William Bernstein - “This time it’s different.”(@fryer_nathan) Warren Buffett – “It’s only when the tide goes out that you discover who’s been swimming naked.” (@AronGunningham) Warren Buffett - “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.” (@npton_adviser) Benjamin Franklin - “a penny saved is a penny earned.” (@Plannergrrrl) Dave Ramsey - “Financial peace isn't the acquisition of stuff. It's learning to live on less than you make, so you can give money back and have money to invest. You can't win until you do this.” (@martinbamford) We would love to hear what you think. What is your favourite personal finance or investing? If we get enough of these, Martin will produce another episode rounding them up. Personal finance news update -Women are as pushy as men when it comes to pay, dispelling a myth that this factor is the reason they get paid less. -Illness is forcing one in eight people to quit work before they reach state pension age. -The government is pushing ahead with its plans to introduce the Lifetime ISA next April, despite some criticism over timing and product features. -New standards for Pension Wise staff giving guidance about the proposed secondary annuity market have been proposed by the Financial Conduct Authority. -The Bank of England was responsible for the UK avoiding a new recession, according to its governor Mark Carney. -Clueless young Brits have been dubbed the YOLO generation, with almost two-thirds of under-30s admitting they are ignorant of their money and financial options. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail.

In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about 10 ways to improve your financial resilience. There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice. 10 ways to improve your financial resilience This week on Informed Choice Radio, Martin shares his ten tips for improving your financial resilience. This topic was prompted by a couple of things; the news that the German government is thinking about making it mandatory for citizens to stockpile food and water in case of a terrorist attack; and a conversation Martin had this week with fellow personal finance podcast David Stein. We started by asking the people of Cranleigh how they would cope in case of a national emergency or the collapse of the banking system. Martin shared the following ten tips for improving your financial resilience and explained the practical importance of each one: Tip #1 – build a cash emergency fund Tip #2 – diversify your investments Tip #3 – deal with your debt Tip #4 – insure the essentials Tip #5 – control your expenditure Tip #6 – live simply Tip #7 – create multiple streams of income Tip #8 – get in better shape Tip #9 – plan ahead for the future Tip #10 – stockpile the essentials We would love to hear what you think. Are you financially resilient? How would you cope with a collapse of the financial system? Personal finance news update -Gender pay inequality has widened, according to the latest figures from the Institute for Fiscal Studies. -More than 1.6 million families in the UK are living with ‘extreme problem debt’. -Oil prices fell this week, after an unexpectedly large inventory build in the US renewed fears about an oversupply. -More money was withdrawn from investment funds distributed in the UK in July than in the past three years. -Help to Buy ISAs have faced criticism this week after the revelation that the government will withhold adding its bonus until after the completion of the property purchase. -People taking money out of their pension pots using the new pension freedoms are being hit with unexpected tax bills. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail.

In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about making sensible withdrawals from your pension pot. There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice. Sensible pension pot withdrawals Earlier this week, the Association of British Insurers, the ABI, published the first full year of data since pension freedoms began in April 2015. These figures show that most people are being sensible about pension withdrawals. They found that over half of people withdrawing money from their pots in the first three months of 2016 took out 1% or less of their value. However, more than 3,000 people took out more than 10% of the value of their pension pots during this time. In this episode of the podcast, we hear from Nick Bamford of Informed Choice, Jamie Jenkins of Standard Life, and Fiona Tait of Royal London to get their views on these new ABI pension freedom figures. Personal finance news update -Retail sales were up by 5.9% in July compared with the same month last year, boosted by warmer weather. -Accountants and advisers face new tougher fines for helping their clients bend tax rules to gain a tax advantage. -Regulated rail fares in England and Scotland will rise by 1.9% next year, following the publication of the latest price inflation figures. -Savers face lower returns after one of the most competitive savings accounts slashed its interest rate in half. -New official figures show house price inflation was up by 8.7% in the year to June. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail.

In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about the Bank of England cutting interest rates and what it means for your personal finances. There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice. They've only gone & cut interest rates! UK interest rates have been cut from 0.5% to 0.25%. This is a new record low for interest rates in the UK and the first rate cut since 2009. Announcing the rate cut, which was a unanimous decision, the Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England also signalled that interest rates could go lower still if the British economy worsens. The Bank announced extra measures to stimulate UK economic growth. This included a £100bn scheme forcing banks to pass on the low interest rate to households and businesses. There will also be an extension to the Bank’s programme of quantitative easing, buying £60bn of UK government bonds and £10bn of corporate bonds. What does this interest rate cut and extra QE mean for your mortgage payments, cash savings, retirement planning or investment portfolio? In this episode, Martin shares the views of a range of personal finance experts to help you figure it out. Personal finance news update -Home ownership is falling in England, with the sharpest falls recorded in large cities. -One of the fund managers who penalised investors withdrawing money from their commercial property fund following the referendum result has eased restrictions for investors. -A deadline for making claims for payment protection insurance mis-selling could be introduced. -The state pension ‘triple lock’ could have a limited shelf life, with two former pensions ministers disagreeing about its future. -The world’s first ever “masala” or rupee-denominated bond issued outside of India by an Indian company was listed on the London Stock Exchange earlier this week. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail. Help us spread the word! Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. Please email martin@icfp.co.uk with any feedback you have. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend or on social media. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners.  

In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about the personal finance implications of Pokémon Go, the new gaming craze that is sweeping the world. There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice. Gotta Catch ‘Em All Have you caught any Pokémon yet? This week on the show, it’s all about catching Weadles, Jigglypuffs and, of course, the beloved Pikachu. In the space of just 10 days, the Japanese game maker Nintendo has seen its share price double. Pokémon Go, the new augmented reality game, which is played as a smartphone app, was launched on 6th July and became officially available in the UK last week. In this episode we are talking about Pokémon Go, the surprising global game playing phenomenon, and what it means for your personal finances. Could Pokémon Go offer an addition source of income in retirement, along with the opportunity to meet new people, get plenty of exercise and learn new skills? What does the runaway success of Pokémon Go mean for investing in technology companies? Have you thought about protecting your digital legacy when you die – have you made plans to pass on your Pokémon Go to your children or grandchildren? Personal finance news update -Mortgage lending has risen sharply in June, with total loan advances reaching £20.7bn. -Lying when you make an insurance claim doesn’t necessarily invalidate it, according to a Supreme Court ruling. -Younger people have experienced a big fall in their incomes, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. -The decision to leave the European Union could have a horrible impact on the British economy, according to one leading fund manager. -Despite widespread expectations of an interest rate cut, the European Central Bank have voted to leave interest rates unchanged this month. Useful links mentioned in this episode –Providing for your Pokémon in your Will –XPLAN from Iress –MRM London – Beer & Bytes Podcast –Informed Choice Radio Episode 100 on Blab.im (Thursday 28th July at 1pm) –Puppy photos on Martin’s Instagram Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail.

In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about how to stop the scammers from taking your money. There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice. How to stop scammers taking your money It's Scams Awareness Month in July and in this episode Martin talks about how to stop scammers from taking your money. Scams Awareness Month is all about creating a self-supporting network of confident, alert, consumers. People ready, willing and able to spot scams. In this episode, Martin talks about financial scams, so you’re aware of what you’re up against, some of the tactics used by the scammers, and some top tips for how to stop scammers from taking your money. According to the Financial Conduct Authority, scammers use five tactics in an attempt to control your decision making - the pre-caller, the opener, the loader, the closer, and the recovery room. So how do you stop scammers from taking your money? The FCA recommends three steps – reject unsolicited contact about investments, check the FCA warning list, and get impartial advice. Please stay safe out there. Don’t assume that you’re scam proof because nobody is. There are steps you can take to reduce your vulnerability to scammers and understanding their tricks and techniques are one of these. Personal finance news update -The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold at 0.5% in July, despite widespread expectations of a rate cut following the referendum result.  -Fewer people are cashing in their pensions as appetite for pension freedoms made available last year appears to weaken.  -A new council tax surcharge designed to boost local authority adult social care budgets has failed to prevent cuts to care services.  -Savers should prepare for tougher times ahead, according to new research by financial information service Moneyfacts.  -The value of claims made against life and pension advisers in default have risen by 138% in 2015/16, despite overall claims payouts falling by 17%.  Useful links mentioned in this episode -Pension liberation fraud falls as crooks target larger savings -The Confidence Game: The Psychology of the Con and Why We Fall for It Every Time by Maria Konnikova -FCA Scam Smart website -Black Box Thinking: The Surprising Truth About Success by Matthew Syed Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail.

In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about how Brexit will affect your investments. How Brexit will affect your investments When the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union last week, investment markets reacted with sharp losses. The British Pound experienced its biggest one-day selloff in recent history. It fell from $1.50 against the US dollar to around $1.33 in the space of one day. The FTSE 100 index of leading UK company shares opened sharply down last Friday, before finishing the day down by 199 points or minus 3.1%. And it wasn’t just UK equity markets that suffered. The S&P Global Broad Market Index lost $2.08 trillion on Friday. However, the FTSE 100 index has finished June at a new high for 2016. The index ended June up by 4.4% during the month. This was its biggest monthly gain since last October and was helped along by strength in its commodity sector and also company shares with international exposure. Martin spoke to some investment experts to find out how Brexit will affect your investments. His first conversation was with Ben Kumar. Ben is an Investment Manager at Seven Investment Management and a CFA Charterholder. Martin asked Ben about the immediate impact on investment markets of the referendum result and what we might expect to see from bond and equity markets over the coming weeks and months. Martin also spoke to Chris Fleming. Chris is Financial Analytics Director at Distribution Technology, the firm we use for risk profiling and asset allocation here at Informed Choice. Chris has also completed the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) qualification and heads up the Investment Committee at Distribution Technology. In this episode, Martin explains how volatile markets remind us about the fundamentals of investing success; diversification, long-term investment goals, the fallacy of market timing, linking your portfolio to your financial planning goals, and investing within your capacity limits.  Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail. Martin and Informed Choice Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets. Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement. “Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice.

In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks to Steven Cameron from Aegon about selling your pension annuity and why they have been lobbying the financial services regulator to ensure consumers are well protected. There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice. Selling your pension annuity This week, Martin spoke to Steven Cameron at Aegon about the new secondary market for pension annuities which is being introduced next April. Steven is responsible for regulatory and legislative analysis, and for lobbying on behalf of Aegon UK and the life and pensions industry. He joined Aegon UK in 1996 and is an actuary by profession, with 30 years of experience in financial services. Steven represents Aegon on a number of committees for the Association of British Insurers, including the Long Term Savings and Life Insurance Committee. He is also a member of Scottish Financial Enterprise’s Insurance, Life & Pensions Sector Policy Group. Martin asked Steven if he could explain how the planned secondary market for pension annuities might work when it was introduced next April. Earlier in the week, Aegon called on the Financial Conduct Authority to go further in setting out clearly its protection measures for potentially vulnerable consumers. Martin asked Steven what measures Aegon would like to see the regulator introduce before next April in order to protect consumers. Finally, he asked Steven how important it was for financial advisers to be involved in the new secondary annuity market and what a lack of participation from financial advisers would mean for consumers. Personal finance news update -Millionaires in Asia are now in control of more wealth than those in North America, Europe and other regions. -More than 100,000 people are set to receive letters telling them they won’t qualify for the new state pension. -Consumer group Which? has warned that the most loyal customers of banks are getting ‘woeful’ interest rates on their Individual Savings Accounts. -The UK population has risen by over half a million during the past year, or 0.8%, to reach 65.1m people. -Half of UK’s mortgage holders have no life insurance cover in place, meaning that 8.2 million people are leaving themselves and their families financially exposed if the unforeseen were to happen. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail. Help us spread the word! Thank you for listening to this episode of Informed Choice Radio. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! Reviews really help us stand out from the crowd and reach more listeners. Martin and Informed Choice Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets. Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement. “Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice.

In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about keeping your money in cash versus investing it in shares. There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice. Cash versus shares In this episode of Informed Choice Radio, Martin talks about whether keeping your money in cash beats investing it in shares. Personal finance journalist Paul Lewis has this week published new research showing money held in best buy cash savings accounts has fared better than money invested in the stock market over most investment periods since 1995. Lewis compared 'active cash' with the return from a FTSE 100 index tracker fund. He found that savings accounts beat the tracker in the majority of five year periods beginning each month from 1 January 1995 to the present. But over the full 21 year term of the study, the chosen index tracker fund ended up producing a compound annual return of 6%, higher than the 5% produced by best buy savings accounts during that time. Martin spends some time unpicking this study, agreeing with some parts and asking questions about others. Personal finance news update -Price inflation in the UK, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index, stayed unchanged at 0.3% in May. -UK unemployment has fallen to 5%, its lowest since October 2005. -The interest rate on benchmark 10-year German Bunds, bonds issued by the German government, has turned negative this week for the first time. -Lloyds Banking Group has won its UK Supreme Court Case against a group of thousands of investors. -The Bank of England has issued a warning to say that uncertainty surrounding the EU referendum result is the "largest immediate risk" currently facing global financial markets. Useful links mentioned in this episode -Cash can beat shares for up to 18 years, study says -Paul Lewis Money - Cash vs Shares (full study) -It's time to abolish the FTSE 100 Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail.

In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about a big night at the Toast of Surrey Business Awards 2016 and Nick appearing on BBC Radio 4's Money Box Live. There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice. And the winner is... In a bit of a catch-up episode of the podcast, after missing an episode last Friday, Martin shares highlights from Informed Choice over the past fortnight. Informed Choice won the top prize at the Toast of Surrey Business Awards 2016 last week. Martin shares audio from the night as the award was announced. Nick was a guest on BBC Radio 4's Money Box Live with Paul Lewis, answering questions from listeners about access to free financial guidance and paid financial advice. Martin finishes the episode by revealing some plans to improve the podcast in the future. Do let him know what you think. Personal finance news update -UK economic growth has nearly stalled, with uncertainty about the EU referendum partly to blame. -The average cost of renting a property outside of London has risen by 5.1% during the past twelve months. -Global food prices rose again April, but remain around 10% lower than a year earlier, according to the United Nations food agency. -Almost two thirds of UK adults do not have a will and could therefore be at risk of losing control over their estate if they die. -The Bank of Mum and Dad is set to lend adult children £5bn in 2016. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail. Martin and Informed Choice Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets. Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement. “Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter atwww.twitter.com/informedchoice.

In this episode of the podcast, Martin talks to Sophie Robson, Public & Regulatory Affairs Consultant at MRM London about Generation Austerity and her latest Young Money Report. There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice. Generation Austerity & Young Money In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks to Sophie Robson, Public & Regulatory Affairs Consultant at MRM London about Generation Austerity and her latest Young Money Report. This is the third Young Money report produced by MRM London, and it examines four main areas – pensions and benefits, saving and spending, investing and the economy, and advice and access. Martin talks to Sophie about the background to this report, the definition of Generation Austerity, some of the challenges faced by young people when it comes to their money, and some suggestions for improving access to financial advice for younger people. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail. Martin and Informed Choice Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets. Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement. “Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice.

In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about the personal finance things you need to know in the new tax year.  There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice. Things you need to know in the new tax year The new tax year started on 6th April 2016, bringing with it some changes to tax rates and allowances, as well as some investment and pension changes. As promised in the podcast, here are the facts and figures you need to know. The new personal allowance for 2016/17 is £11,000, up from £10,600 last year.  There is no more age-related personal allowance for people born before April 1938, removing the dreaded age-allowance trap. Higher earners face an income limit of £100,000 with their personal allowance reduced by £1 for every £2 of income over this limit, so earn over £122,000 and your personal allowance is reduced to zero. The personal savings allowance is now in force, giving tax-free savings interest to those with taxable income of less than £16,800, or a £1,000 tax-free savings allowance for basic rate taxpayers and £500 for higher rate taxpayers. Dividend income is subject to a new tax regime, with a £5,000 tax-free allowance and then income tax charged at 7.5% for the basic rate, 32.5% for the higher rate and 38.1% for additional rate taxpayers. The marriage allowance increases from £1,060 to £1,100, allowing unused personal allowance to be transferred to a basic rate taxpayer. Landlords and second-home buyers will pay a 3% stamp duty surcharge, applicable on completions from 1st April 2016 onwards. For existing landlords, the 10% wear and tear allowance is removed in 2016/17. Capital gains tax rates are reduced from 20% to 10% for basic rate taxpayers and 28% to 18% for higher rate taxpayers, with the exception of capital gains on residential property sales (other than your principle private residence). No change to the ISA allowance this tax year, which stays at £15,240. The Junior ISA allowance remains at £4,080.  The new tax year saw the launch of the new Innovative Finance ISA, allowing peer-to-peer lending to be held within an Individual Savings Account for the first time. The pension lifetime allowance is reduced from £1.25m to £1m for 2016/17. The annual allowance is reduced to as low as £10,000 for higher earners. Listen to episode 68 of the Informed Choice Podcast for more on these pension changes and to hear about the protection options available. Personal finance news update -The new state pension was introduced this week, offering a single flat-rate income to new pensioners from 6th April 2016. -Fewer people are cashing in their pension savings, one year after the launch of new pension freedoms. -The new National Living Wage has come into force, with workers over 25 now receiving a minimum income of £7.20 an hour. -Over 11.5 million confidential files have been leaked from the database of international law firm Mossack Fonseca, revealing details of how the rich exploit secretive offshore tax regimes. -HM Revenue and Customs has received more than £4bn in inheritance tax receipts during the past year, the largest amount ever received by the tax man in a twelve month period. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail. Martin and Informed Choice Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets. Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement. “Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice.

In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about the latest research in the world of long-term care and dementia. There is also a roundup of the latest personal finance news and an update from the world of Informed Choice. Latest long term care & dementia research In this episode of the Informed Choice Podcast, Martin talks about a few subjects related to long-term care. This is a specialist advice area for Martin and it is becoming increasingly important with our ageing population. As a result of our longer lives, more of us are likely to need long-term care in later life. Martin talks about three reports in this episode of the podcast, starting with Situation Critical, with was recently debated at The Astellas Innovation Debate. This challenges current perceptions of long-term care support from government in later life, with two-thirds of those surveyed expecting to receive free, high quality social care from the goverment. Martin move on to discuss a blog by Dr Sabine Best, Head of Research at Marie Curie. This examines new research which found people with advanced dementia in care homes across the UK don’t always receive the care they need at the end of their life. He finishes by looking at a report by Natural England published earlier this month, Is it nice outside? Consulting people living with dementia and their carers about engaging with the natural environment. Interaction with the natural environment is an important aspect of quality of life for people living with dementia.   Personal finance news update -Leaving the European Union could cost Britain £100bn and 950,000 jobs. -The average asking price for a property coming onto the UK market has reached six record highs in the past year. -Price inflation has remained static in February at 0.3%. -The manufacturing sector is still in recession, according to the Confederation of British Industry. Get answers to your personal finance questions Do you have a personal finance or investing question for Martin? Email martin@icfp.co.uk or ask on Twitter @martinbamford. You can call our dedicated podcast voicemail line on 020 8144 2745 with your question or visit www.speakpipe.com/InformedChoicePodcast to leave an online voicemail. Martin and Informed Choice Martin Bamford is a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser. As Managing Director of Informed Choice, the award-winning firm of Chartered Financial Planners in Surrey, he is responsible for nearly £200m of client assets. Martin is the author of several bestselling personal finance books and produced his first feature-length documentary in 2014, about the post-war Baby Boomer generation in retirement. “Bamford excels at making even the dullest topics interesting” – Pensions Management Visit www.icfp.co.uk to find out more about Informed Choice, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/informedchoice.