Headsup On Money

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 epis...

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 finan...

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...

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.  J...

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 fa...

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 ISAs Freezing of income tax thresholds New income tax rates on property, interest and dividends Salar...

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 avoi...

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....

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 change...

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...

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 Mitch...

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...

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 an...

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 Band Loss of tax free child care Loss of Personal Savings Allowance ... In this episode Benjamin summarises these &ap...

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...

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 a...

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 management What does 'risk' really mean?  How to structure a basic - but mighty - portfolio Why as human beings we tend to disr...

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 'f...

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...

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 anot...

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...

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?  T...

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 wh...

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?  Jo...

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 bring...