Headsup On Money

In this episode, Benjamin discusses whether pensions are still relevant in our financial plans in light of the changes coming into effect in April 2027. Are pensions still worthwhile? Want a deeper dive on this? Here's a link to a video we've recorded on this subject Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never make another financial mistake. Getting on top of your personal finances do...

There are significant changes coming into effect in April 2027 with pensions and inheritance tax. In this episode, Benjamin explains the backdrop as to what is happening, and why. Many more households will now face seismic tax charges as a result of these changes, so knowledge is power. Want to learn more? Here's a link to a video on this subject that we recorded. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances cl...

In this episode, Benjamin looks at recent analysis which concluded how much income you need to be happy in 23 UK cities. Benjamin reflects on the numbers mentioned and reverse engineers this with your financial plan to ultimately ask how much your 'FU' number is. Here's a link to the resource mentioned in this episode. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never make another financial m...

We're all approaching retirement with too many misconceptions and confusions. In this episode Benjamin explains that retirement planning isn't as black and white as you may think it is. You don't have to retire when your State Pension kicks in. You don't have to necessarily buy an annuity. Your pension doesn't die with you. It's all here and served free from any financial jargon, as always. Lastly, here's the free retirement health check guide Benjamin mentioned in this epis...

The last two episodes have focused on the myths surrounding pensions and ISAs. In this episode Benjamin reviews the main tax misconceptions we all typically share. By the end of this episode you'll hopefully feel a lot more positive about tax, have some tax planning ideas you can take into your own financial plans, and no longer view tax as a bad thing but instead a success fee. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances...

Benjamin continues the misconception series in this episode by addressing the humble ISA. How many of these were you aware of? Here's the link Benjamin mentioned in the episode: pensions or ISAs - which is better? Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never make another financial mistake. Getting on top of your personal finances doesn't need to be complicated or scary. Arm yourself wi...

In this, the first episode in a 'misconceptions' mini-series, Benjamin talks all things pensions. Benjamin shares the most frequent misconceptions we tend to have when it comes to our pensions and why these may be damaging to our longer term financial health. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never make another financial mistake. Getting on top of your personal finances doesn't need to be...

None of us like to pay more tax than we need to, but in this episode, Benjamin tries to change your views around tax and financial planning. Adopting a short-term tax reduction perspective can be detrimental to your long-term financial goals. By the end of this episode, you'll understand how taxes interact with financial planning, and hopefully you'll consider your lifetime rate of tax rather than looking at tax on an annualised basis. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater...

For many people, the years between your income stopping and your state pension commencing represent the greatest risk and worry in your retirement plan. In this episode, Benjamin gives you a full MOT of things to be thinking about in this often stressful window: Investment planning, tax planning, order of withdrawals, pensions or ISAs?! It can be a complex and overwhelming subject, but at the end of this episode you should be armed with the confidence to navigate the retirement danger zone co...

In this episode, Benjamin discusses why the FCA are currently looking into how interest is dealt with on your platforms. There's also some homework for you in this episode: to reach out to your investment platform to understand how they are paying you interest and whether or not they are engaging in the shady practise of 'double dipping.' Benjamin explains everything you need to know and do in this episode, in under 10 minutes Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of...

This episode, Benjamin discusses the SpaceX IPO, arguably one of the bigger financial news stories of the year, explaining why, as a diversified global investor, you will always own the beasts and don't need to be concerned about FOMO. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never make another financial mistake. Getting on top of your personal finances doesn't need to be complicated or scary. Arm y...

In this episode, Benjamin explains why you shouldn't automatically transfer and consolidate your pensions. There can be benefits in doing so, but you need to first understand what you may potentially be losing out on or giving up. Understanding that will give you the confidence that you're making the right financial decision and avoiding any financial mistakes in consolidation. By the end of this episode, you'll understand what you need to be thinking about and some of the questions you...

The Never Ending Worry Service is rife at the moment with conjecture that 'the market has peaked' and 'a downturn is around the corner'. It might be. It mightn't be. We cannot know for certain. But looking at the data it tells us that just because we're currently at a market high that is not to say the market cannot get any higher. Benjamin brings this to life with some numbers in this episode, 151. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he hel...

In this episode, Benjamin explains why passive investing is actually an active investment decision based on sound evidence rather than conjecture. The active versus passive debate is all around us, and often, passive is framed as the second-best option. The reality, however, is that it couldn't be further from the truth. Evidence and history do not lie. Here's a link to the SPIVA analysis Benjamin referred to in the show. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of fina...

Small company business owners often believe that their business is their pension and that pensions are inefficient and subject to too much change to even start with in the first place. Benjamin climbs on his soapbox in this episode to encourage you to re-evaluate this false economy. And: Your personalised business owner blueprint Here's a link to the tool Benjamin mentioned in the episode. Takes 5 mins, receive custom results straight away and it's completely free.&nbs...

In this episode of Headsup on Money, Benjamin explains the pros and cons of investment bonds. They can appear very confusing, and you are probably unsure whether or not your financial plan needs one. But by the end of this episode, you'll have mastered the pros, the cons and be more confident about whether they could help you save tax. Jargon-free as always. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures ...

So many of us have heard of life insurance as a way to protect our family and our financial plans, but too few of us have heard of another product that, instead of providing a lump sum, can provide us with a regular monthly income in the event that we're no longer here. The benefits of these plans can provide you, and your loved ones, with significant peace of mind, often at minimal ongoing cost. Knowledge is power, money, nerds. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), ...

In April 2027, the amount you can subscribe to Cash ISAs is likely to change. In this episode, Benjamin summarises the key points you need to be aware of and ultimately why these changes are unlikely to have any material impact on your long-term financial plan. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never make another financial mistake. Getting on top of your personal finances doesn't need t...

In this episode, Benjamin outlines why record-keeping when it comes to your inheritance tax planning, is as important as the planning itself. Yet, so few of us are keeping necessary detailed records, accounting for the information that your executors will need on your passing. Nailing this stuff down now will give you the peace of mind to know your IHT planning is effective and will provide your loved ones and executors with a huge freebie in the future. Join Benjamin Mitchell (th...

In this episode Benjamin is joined by guest host Fabrizio Zumbo, MBA who joins us from Vanguard. Fabrizio is an expert in behavioural biases and investment management and shares the main behavioural mistakes that nearly all investors make. He explains why many investors don't receive the returns they are entitled to and your behaviour is to blame. Resources mentioned in the episode: SPIVA - Here are the market insights that Fabrizio mentioned in the podcast, which de...

Benjamin shares the wisdom from Morgan Housel's new book, "The Art of Spending Money". There are eight laws to live by when it comes to looking after your wealth and yourself. See how many resonate with you; how many you are living by and how many you are you failing to practise? Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never make another financial mistake. Getting on top of your...

In this, the follow-up episode to last week's episode on Wills, Benjamin reinforces the importance of having a Power of Attorney (POA) and why this matters for your financial plan. Nailing this stuff down now will offer spades of peace of mind. Yes, it's not fun to think about. But nailing this stuff down now will free you to enjoy the really important stuff. The costs of not having these documents in place are simply too great to ignore. Good luck, money nerds. ...

In this episode, Benjamin shares the importance of having a Will when it comes to your financial plan. You've spent years carefully building your wealth and creating a solid financial plan, but without a Will, it can all be undone extremely quickly on your passing. Wills can help avoid costly tax mistakes and legal costs in the future. In next week's episode, Benjamin will cover off the importance of a Power of Attorney (POA) arrangements. Nail these things down, money nerds, and ...

Benjamin explains the key differences between defined contribution and defined benefit pension schemes and how they use up the annual allowance. By the end of this episode, you'll understand the intricacies of each scheme and be able to estimate how much of your annual allowance you are using and help to avoid nasty tax charges that many people are sleepwalking into. Knowledge is power, money nerds. This stuff is a tad complex, but once you've mastered it, it really is nailed down...

In this episode Benjamin covers everything you need to know and do when it comes to saving and investing for your child or grandchild. There can be a lot of contradictory noise out there, but in this episode you'll understand that whilst the rules of the game differ slightly for minors, the important aspects of sound financial planning still apply. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never make a...

Turning 75 plays a significant role in your financial plan, and more specifically the tax efficiency (or tax inefficiency) of your affairs. Whether this applies to you or someone close to you, following this episode you'll understand and appreciate the nuances of why turning 75 matters and impacts: Pension tax relief on your contributions,Death income tax benefits pre and post age 75 and, Considerations around Inheritance Tax planning, and how the changes due to come into eff...

When seeking financial advice, it can appear very overwhelming to understand the various qualifications that financial advisers have. How do they compare? What's 'good' and what's 'bad?' In this episode Benjamin tries to debunk some of the stress and confusion so that you can go into this with your eyes and ears open. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never make another financial ...

In this episode Benjamin explains why these funds, despite often sounding very sophisticated and bespoke, are in fact a dead-end to financial independence. Knowledge is power, money nerds. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never make another financial mistake. Getting on top of your personal finances doesn't need to be complicated or scary. Arm yourself with the only knowledge you nee...

With the end of the 2025/26 tax year now only a few weeks away, now is the time to make use of your freebies and allowances and focus on paying as little tax as possible. Knowledge is power money nerds and by strategically timing income, making thoughtful and considered gifts, and viewing your financial picture in its entirety, the tax savings can be huge. As with many things in financial planning, it's a case of use it or lose it and/or do it before it's too late. Join Be...

It was in the news last month. Women Against State Pension Inequality. Women who argue they were not fairly notified about a rise in the State Pension age will not be paid compensation. But what can we learn from this when it comes to our own financial plans and our own retirement planning? Nobody else has your back, and so the onus to create a dignified and comfortable retirement is very much on you. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financi...

Income protection insurance is often thought of as too expensive and surplus to requirements, but this couldn't be further from the truth. It's not as complicated as it may seem and is absolutely vital for most people's financial plans. Without it, your financial plan carries an insurmountable amount of added risk, far greater than any stock market risk you're worried about. Don't be financially ignorant to the valuable role this planning can play. In 25 minutes Benjamin wil...

Benjamin reflects this week on the subject of when wealth stops being just about you. In early life we focus on saving, investing and insuring primarily for our own benefit. But there comes a time in most people's lives when they have enough and the focus suddenly shifts to the needs of others. Embracing this change of planning need can help you to remain engaged and invested in your financial plan. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as ...

The word 'Trust' brings many things to mind, and often the truth of what a Trust is, and what they can be used for, is lost in translation. In this episode Benjamin explains the role of Trusts in financial planning so that you can understand some of the scenarios in which they may/may not be required. Jargon free and straight to the point as always. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you...

Benjamin takes a step back from the heavy finances this week and focuses instead on the heavier questions that we all need to ask ourselves from time to time. We're all aware of the finitude of time, but continue to 'plod on' with our financial plans, often with no clear end in sight. It's time to ask yourself these questions and re-focus on what really matters. Your finances should then be used to fit into that, not the other way around. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), s...

We've all been there... You tick a certain option on a pension form because you don't really understand it and surely it can't make that big an impact, can it? ... Fear not, in this episode Benjamin shares the £M pension tick-box mistakes so you can avoid them and go into these seemingly unimportant tick box opportunities with your eyes open. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never make ano...

Without a cash flow model you are simply planning blind. How do you know if you have 'enough' if you don't start with the end in mind and work backwards? In this episode Benjamin describes what a cash flow model is, and explains why a cash flow model is so important within your financial planning. You can run one of these yourself within your plan in a few, simple steps. This episode will help to lay the foundations. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of f...

Fear not money nerds, this isn't a generic run through of the dreaded financial new year's resolutions. Nobody ever sticks to those anyway. Financial planning is dull and sticky, and you want low effort, maximum reward steps to improve your financial picture. This episode should provide you with all you want and more. Benjamin summarises the easy steps you can take to power your financial plan, without you needing to even leave the comfort of your sofa. What could be better ...

In this, the final episode of Headsup on Money for 2025, Benjamin builds on last week's discussion on how much you should target in your 'retirement pot' to achieve a comfortable retirement. Achieving a £1.5M portfolio may seem challenging and almost impossible, but getting there isn't as hard as you may think. Benjamin brings this to life with various real life scenarios and looks at how timeframes, growth rates and monthly investment amounts can have a huge impact on the longer ...

Planning for retirement can be hard when you don't know how retirement will take shape. How much do you need to afford a good standard of retirement? The answer is higher than you think it is. Probably much higher. Which reinforces the need to plan early and invest in the right asset classes to help take you there. Here's the resource Benjamin mentioned at the end of the episode. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he...

With the Never Ending Worry Service (news) all around us when it comes to our money it can be hard to know what to do. However, in this episode Benjamin challenges the normal convention that we should focus our attention on what we should do, or what we should buy. What if instead we focused on what we should avoid and what we in fact shouldn't do? Avoiding financial mistakes can have a far greater impact on the success of our financial plans. This episode discusses wh...

As promised, in this special episode Benjamin summarises the main takeaways from the 2025 Autumn Budget. Rachel Reeves delivered her second Budget a little over a day ago, and everything you need to know and do is contained in this summary episode. Benjamin summarises the waffle: Changes to cash ISAsFreezing of income tax thresholdsNew income tax rates on property, interest and dividendsSalary sacrifice changesInheritance TaxAnd more. Finally we have some clarity and the rumo...

If you're earning over £100,000 a year, or are closing in on that level then this is the episode for you. For every £2 of income above £100,000 you lose £1 of your personal allowance, which means previously tax-free income is now subject to tax. This can result in a whopping tax rate of 60% south of the border, and 67.5% north of the border. Fortunately, there are ways you can plan to avoid this tax charge from occurring. Benjamin outlines the main strategies in this w...

In this episode Benjamin is joined by our first international guest, Rob Macdonald to chat about mastering your financial health. Rob brings a wealth of knowledge and experience on the subject of behavioural finance and why investors struggle to achieve the financial returns they deserve. Together they discuss: Why topics like clarity and confidence are so important when it comes to your money. The merits of partnering with a professional adviser to help you meet your f...

In this episode Benjamin discusses a new way to think about diversification when it comes to your financial planning. For once, we're not talking about investment diversification, rather tax diversification, and spreading your wealth appropriately across taxable, tax-deferred and tax-free wrappers. This episode should give you some food for thought to help you feel less worried about changes in tax rules. It's inevitable that changes will come (pensions and IHT in 2027 are p...

Welcome to a Halloween themed episode of Headsup on Money. In this episode Benjamin shares some ghoulish commentary on the most common mistakes we make with our financial planning. By the end of this episode you'll know how to transform these tricks into treats. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never make another financial mistake. Getting on top of your personal finances ...

In this episode Benjamin shares some financial learns from the mighty Morgan Housel. Thinking about the big things in a little way can help us to digest what initially appears scary and overwhelming. It can also help us to recognise our limitations and biases and make us more successful investors and happier humans! Here's a link to more on this topic by Morgan Housel. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your financ...

In this episode Benjamin is joined by Ruth Sturkey, former Chair of the Institute for Financial Wellbeing. Together they discuss how to live a rich and rewarding life and where financial wellbeing fits into the bigger picture. Can money make us happy? Here's the link to Ruth's website, and her LinkedIn account. She also has a great mailing list which can be signed up to here. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps mak...

In this episode Benjamin discusses investment market noise and how you can apply two simple tests to check whether you need to pay attention, or tune it out. Why are so few of us successful investors? This episode helps explain our often flawed best intentions. Jargon free as per! Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never make another financial mistake. Getting on top of your ...

The UK financial planning and tax planning landscape often isn't very fair. Small incremental changes to your income and/or asset position can result in punitive tax charges and loss of wealth. Loss of personal allowance Loss of child benefit Loss of your Residence Nil Rate BandLoss of tax free child careLoss of Personal Savings Allowance...In this episode Benjamin summarises these 'cliff-edge events' so that you can go into this with your eyes open and actively plan to avoid ...

With Rachel Reeves' budget on the 26th November fast approaching, the storms of speculation are circling! In this episode Benjamin reviews the current rumour mill and provides a take on what you should do in light of the media speculation frenzy. The short answer is: not much money nerds. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never make another financial mistake. Getting on top of your pe...

In this episode Benjamin (somehow) manages to link marshmallows with good financial planning. Delayed gratification is an important concept when it comes to your personal finances. Perhaps an experiment involving marshmallows from the 1970s can help us to better manage the trade off. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never make another financial mistake. Getting on top of your personal ...

In this episode Benjamin is joined by Lars Kroijer, former hedge fund manager to discuss Lars' journey from believing he had an 'edge' when it comes to investing, to recognising our limitations. Together they chat about Active versus passive fund managementWhat does 'risk' really mean? How to structure a basic - but mighty - portfolioWhy as human beings we tend to disregard simplicity? Where does property fit into your financial plan? Financial armageddon and planning for...

Seems absurd doesn't it? Why on earth would you choose to pay into a pension when you are already retired? Isn't the whole point of a pension to take you to retirement? Benjamin challenges the normal way of thinking in this episode and by the end you'll appreciate how pensions can still play a relevant part in your financial plan, even after you've retired or achieved 'financial freedom'. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps ...

In this episode Benjamin discusses the FIRE movement (Financial Independence Retire Early) and cautions why relying on this may mean you're missing the entire point. Financial freedom is another way to approach your financial planning. And for finite human being such as ourselves this is surely the only way to sensibly plan. For more information on the amazing work of Oliver Burkeman check out his website here. At the very least it's worth signing up to Oliver's fantastic ma...

What can we learn from recent market volatility? Benjamin climbs back onto his financial soapbox in this week's episode and shares his musings on why short-term market wobbles have no relevance to the underlying financial strength of your portfolio. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never make another financial mistake. Getting on top of your personal finances doesn't need to be complic...

As a small business owner in the UK you likely wear many hats, and accountancy is one area that few business owners admittedly have an interest in. We're never really taught the fundamentals of good business accounting. So in this week's episode we are delighted to welcome Dan Heelan from Heelan Associates to offer his valued insights on how much should Ltd company business owners pay themselves in 2025/26? Dan is somewhat of a celebrity in accountancy circles. He's likely t...

Overwhelmed and don't know where to start? If you have no idea whether you're on track, or completely off track, then this is the episode for you. Benjamin shares the 'rules of thumb' you can adopt to help guide your financial planning. How much can you withdraw every year without running out of money? How much do you need in your portfolio to be financially independent? This episode will give you a starting point. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), ser...

In the UK we have an inherent phobia of investing. Cash is best, cash is king, cash is safe. This 'savings over investing' attitude is costing us our financial independence and control over our financial futures and put simply: more needs to be done. The sooner we all realise this the better. As money nerds, you're already aware of why this matters, but this episode reinforces why. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps mak...

You've likely never heard of him, but Ronald Read's story is a testament to the best principles for successful financial planning. In this episode Benjamin shares the story of how Ronald turned a modest income and asset position into a sizeable estate worth over $8M. The recipe for his success is nothing surprising, but did he live life to the max and sufficiently enjoy his wealth? Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make yo...

This is a very special episode of Headsup on Money. We're delighted to welcome The Reverend Matthew Hutton, who shares with us the key takeaways from his best-selling book Your Last Gift: Getting Your Affairs in Order and outlines actionable and simple steps on how to die 'well'. It's not the most cheerful of subjects, but this stuff needs to be thought about. Matthew brings valued insight from his 35 years as a former tax and trusts lawyer, but as you'll see, the advantage...

'Markets in turmoil' 'S&P 500 experiences record losses' 'FTSE crashes on market opening'. How can you remain focused on your financial plan in the digital age we are in? With notifications of financial armageddon seemingly always around us, there are some simple steps you can take to tune out the noise and remain true to your financial plan. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures ...

In this episode Benjamin outlines the '3 Ps' of financial planning and how you should direct your focus to maximise your chance of financial success. It's not as complicated as it may seem. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never make another financial mistake. Getting on top of your personal finances doesn't need to be complicated or scary. Arm yourself with the only knowledge you need...

The Mansion House Accord has worrying implications for your pension and your retirement planning. Fortunately, you can do something about this and don't have to accept the changes that are now due to come in to effect. If you have a workplace pension scheme and you've never bothered to review the fund you're invested in within that workplace pension then this is the episode for you. As always, free from financial jargon, guff and waffle that you don't need. Join Benjam...

Headsup on Money is 100 today! In this special episode Benjamin reflects on the key learns over the last 100 episodes of the podcast and shares some personal stories to help you get to know him better. Thank you to the money nerds out there for your support. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never make another financial mistake. Getting on top of your personal finances doesn't need to...

Wondered what would happen to your bank account savings in the event your bank was to default? Heard of the FSCS? Benjamin explains everything you need to know in this week's episode. Here's the link referred to in the show. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never make another financial mistake. Getting on top of your personal finances doesn't need to be complicated or scary...

What lessons can we take into our financial planning from the regrets of the dying? Good financial planning should always just be the means to the end; the financial plumbing underpinning your financial goals. In this episode Benjamin reflects on the top 5 regrets of the dying from Bronnie Ware's highly regarded memoir from her time as a palliative carer. You can find out more about Bronnie here. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he ...

Is your financial plan based on sound evidence and a rigorous plan, or arbitrary numbers and dates that you've convinced yourself are correct? I need to retire at age 62. I need £500,000 in my pension to afford a good retirement. Are these statements based on fact, or fiction? Benjamin discusses why it matters in this week's episode. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you nev...

Increased complexity doesn't mean better in personal finances. Whether you have a £100k pension pot or £1m, the underlying investment principles should hold consistent. Benjamin explains why in this episode. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never make another financial mistake. Getting on top of your personal finances doesn't need to be complicated or scary. Arm yourself with the only ...

It's one of the most common queries posed by retirees. Surely getting your hands on 25% of your pension tax free is an absolute no brainer, right? In this episode Benjamin discussed the pros and cons to taking your pension tax free cash straight away and hopefully gives you food for thought that it's not as black and white as it may seem. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never make ano...

Is your life insurance or critical illness plan under Trust? Don't even know what that means, let alone why you would do this?! This is the episode for you. Benjamin explains all and outlines the tax savings and headaches this can avoid. As always, free from jargon and guff you don't need. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never make another financial mistake. Getting on top of yo...

The answer to this one is perhaps not what you expect. Benjamin explains all in this episode. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never make another financial mistake. Getting on top of your personal finances doesn't need to be complicated or scary. Arm yourself with the only knowledge you need to transform yourself from money novice to money nerd! Take my 5 minute retirement asse...

So we're into the new tax year at last. If you didn't start taking control of your money in the last tax year then you're probably feeling pretty unmotivated right now. In this episode Benjamin explains why it's not sensible to dwell on the past and instead keep your eyes forward and start planning now with a fresh and positive mindset. The new tax year has started, and now is the perfect opportunity. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jar...

For some investors the current market volatility will be their first real taste of portfolio volatility. In this episode Benjamin provides a reminder that what you're currently seeing isn't a bug of the system, it's a feature of investing. Staying true to your financial plan will reward investors in the long-term, even if Donald Trump has other short-term goals. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer an...

As ludicrous as this sounds, if you've never been a member of a registered pension scheme then you should strongly consider opening a pension, even if you elect to pay nothing into it. Why? Because not doing so could hamper your ability to use carry forward in future tax years. This is a time sensitive action and something you should consider doing before the end of the current tax year. Future you will thank you for this one. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), ser...

Understanding this crucial rule can allow you to pay more into your pension than you may think you're able to. But it's not without its complications and caveats. Wondering where to start and what this rule even means? Benjamin explains all in this episode and as always keeps this as high level as possible, and free from jargon so that you can understand how this might benefit your financial planning. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jar...

This one is an important one. The opportunity to pay for early missing state pension years is closing on the 5th April 2025. After this date you can only go back the preceding 6 tax years. This might not sound a big deal, but you could be missing out on your full state pension if you don't act now. This episode is your starting point and will help you to consider whether paying for these missing years/gaps is a sensible plan. Here's a link to get your state pension forecast ...

Following on from last week's episode, here Benjamin outlines the main behavioural finance theories that are impacting our chances of investment success. How many are you guilty of? Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never make another financial mistake. Getting on top of your personal finances doesn't need to be complicated or scary. Arm yourself with the only knowledge you need to tran...

By now the diligent money nerds out there should realise that successful investing is really very simple. But in spite of this we still struggle to achieve good investment outcomes. Research shows that investor personal returns are often far less than the returns of the assets they actually invest in. In this week's episode Benjamin explains what may be causing this and why it matters so much to your investment pathway to success. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot),...

With so many acronyms and confusing terms accompanying the world of personal finance it's no surprise so many of us bury our heads in the sand. Thankfully, this episode will explain these apparently complex terms into simple language that you'll understand so you can make better financial life decisions. This one's a fun one. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never make another fina...

Why abandon your investment principles when you reach retirement age? As you near retirement, inevitably there will be products out there that catch your eye, often cleverly marketed to prey on your insecurities and apprehensions going into retirement. Listen to this episode to learn why ignoring them will give your retirement journey the best chance of success. Being a disciplined investor doesn't change when you start to draw down upon your wealth. Join Benjamin Mitc...

In this episode Benjamin chats about why the most rewarding financial plans are created through transparency and planning together. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never make another financial mistake. Getting on top of your personal finances doesn't need to be complicated or scary. Arm yourself with the only knowledge you need to transform yourself from money novice to money nerd! ...

You've potentially heard there are some pretty massive changes coming into effect in April 2027 regarding how your pensions are counted for Inheritance Tax purposes. Wondering what's going on, and whether it affects you or not? If so, what should you now be starting to think about? In this episode Benjamin explains everything you need to think about and do when it comes to planning for the upcoming changes. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of finan...

In this short episode Benjamin shares a tip on how to work around buyer's remorse. It's unlikely to ever go away in entirety, but recognising its existence is the first step in starting to plan around it. Buyer's remorse will appear at many junctures in your financial plan, as explained in this short and sweet episode, free from jargon as always. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never m...

The 2024 budget was rife with speculation around pensions... the banishment of tax free cash, the restriction of tax relief, reintroduction of the lifetime allowance. Yo-yo. Swing-swing. U-turn. It's little wonder so many are disenchanted with retirement planning. In this episode Benjamin suggests an alternative way. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never make another financial mistake....

In this episode Benjamin has a suggestion for how to inject some colour and enjoyment into your financial planning. At this time of year it can be pretty hard to motivate yourself when it comes to good financial management, but there is one way to bring some fun to your personal finances. Listen to this episode to understand what you need to do and how to realign your focus to return on experience and not always return on your investment. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoney...

New Year's Resolutions are hard enough to keep, let alone financial resolutions. With that in mind, in this episode Benjamin ignores corny resolutions and instead looks back at 2024 to review the key learns and takeaways. You can learn from these and take these into 2025 to ensure you remain on the track to financial independence. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never make another fin...

Ignore the complexity that's out there. Your long-term financial success simply comes down to your ability to pull on the 3 levers mentioned by Benjamin in this episode. So whether you have time on your side, affordability to increase your investment rate, or ability and comfort to increase your growth/risk trade-off, these are the determinants of your financial success. As you'll learn in this episode, your ability to pull on these levers will naturally vary throughout l...

In this episode Benjamin is joined by Sarah Marks, CEO of RedSTART Educate to chat about the importance of financial education. Together, they chat about: Why people need to stand up and take notice of their financial planning NOWGone are the days of low effort, maximum reward financial planning (death of the final salary pension scheme) The importance of financial education at a young ageMistakes we've all made when it comes to our money As always - jargon free. If an...

If you currently work with a financial adviser to help you achieve your financial goals then it can be helpful to put them to the test with these questions. If they can confidently answer these questions then you know you're already working with a great firm. Similarly, if you're considering working with a financial adviser at somepoint, now or in the future, then you should consider asking them these questions. They'll help you feel more confident as you go into a first meeting ...

We've all heard the saying time in the market beats timing the market... but how damaging can poor market timing actually be? Surely missing a few of the 'good days' won't matter too much in the grand scheme of things when looking at a 20 year investment timeframe? Wrong. Market mistiming destroys wealth. In this episode Benjamin brings this to life with a case study, with thanks to this incredible resource from Visual Capitalist. The Cost of Timing The Market Join Benjamin Mi...

Inactivity is inferior to activity. Doing something beats doing nothing. This may be true in other walks of life, but when it comes to your investing journey it couldn't be further from the truth. What can Novak Djokovic's return game teach us about mastering the art of successful investing? It's all here in this episode. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps make your finances clearer and ensures you never make anoth...

Risk Questionnaires are designed to understand more about how you view investing and to guide you to invest in a suitable portfolio. Sounds good in theory doesn't it? In practise however they're extremely dangerous when used in isolation, because they encourage you to view investment risk as a bad thing. In this episode Benjamin explains why you should disregard the word 'risk' from your vocabulary entirely and why investment volatility is a good thing. Join Benjamin Mitchell (t...

What if you didn't need to focus regimentally on curbing your expenditure? Good news - you can still indulge your caffeine fix and frequent your favourite coffee shop every day. Instead, by making a tiny annual tweak to your investment rate, you can impact your long-term planning much more than cutting back on a flat white or 2... And finally, here's the calculator referred to in this episode for you to run your own figures. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hate...

It's been an eventful week in personal finance. On Wednesday 30th October we had the first labour budget in 14 years. On the face of it there are a lot of changes at play and you're likely unsure which are relevant to you. To help you avoid the noise, in this episode Benjamin walks through the key takeaways of the Budget and how you should react to the changes. And if you stay to the end you'll find out what's actually more important to your long-term financial success. Spoiler - it's...

If you gift wealth to your children and that wealth isn't held in a tax efficient wrapper (for example a Junior ISA) then you need to be aware of this quirky, lesser-known, tax rule. It isn't as complicated as it sounds, but you need to appreciate how it operates in practise so you can organise your financial planning around it. In this episode Benjamin explains everything you need to think about, jargon-free as always. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater...

Have you got gaps in your National Insurance history which may result in you receiving a lower state pension? You can 'backfill' these gaps, but only as far back as the preceding 6 tax years. However, at the moment a loophole exists that will allow you to go back all the way to 2006. You've only got until April 2025 to do this however and then the opportunity is gone. Benjamin explains all in this episode. Links discussed in the episode: Check your national insurance record here. ...

The Labour government's first budget is coming up on the 30th October 2024. There is a lot of negativity in the financial press at the moment and speculation is rife with rumours of changes to Capital Gains Tax, restrictions and caps on pensions tax relief and an overhaul to the long outdated Inheritance Tax regime. What should you pay attention to? What should you ignore? In this episode Benjamin sifts through the noise at the moment and encourages you to remain f...

It's a simple rule that will allow you to understand how long it'll take for your wealth to double in value. If compound interest confuses you and you've got no desire to understand the underlying mathematics (let's be honest - who does?!) then this is the episode for you. A super helpful cheat sheet that you can apply to your own financial plans. Here's the calculator referred to by Benjamin in this episode. Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon,...

It's a classic mistake made by many. If you're a higher rate or additional rate tax payer then you're entitled to further tax relief which you're maybe not reclaiming. Learn in this episode if this is relevant to you, and how you can go about reclaiming this. Word of warning - you can only go back 4 tax years so do yourself (and your wallet) a favour and look into this now! Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps ma...