Money Clinic with Claer Barrett

The holiday season is the most wonderful time of the year, but it's also the most expensive. Between gifts, food and travel, people can end up spending a lot of money this year. The Financial Times' Marc Filippino talks with Claer about why people are feeling the pinch this season and what they can do about it.  Mentioned in this podcast: FT Financial Literacy and Inclusion Campaign Find Clae...

It’s been a rollercoaster week for both UK politics and our personal finances, with chancellor Rachel Reeves setting out tens of billions of pounds of tax rises in the Budget. But how will these new taxes be applied and what could they cost you? In a podcast recorded live at the FT, host and consumer editor Claer Barrett is joined by Dan Neidle, the founder of Tax Policy Associates ; Stuart Kirk,...

Fifty-eight-year-old Margo has amassed a very healthy retirement fund, in part by buying shares in Berkshire Hathaway, the investment company run by Warren Buffett. When even the ‘Sage of Omaha’ is reducing his exposure to certain US stocks, Margo wonders if it’s time for her to follow his lead and look to invest in other parts of the world.  Presenter Claer Barrett, the FT’s consumer editor,...

Matt started investing at just 22 with the help of his financial adviser father. Now, at 29, and with a wedding on the cards, he’s got an extra reason to be diligent about his money. Some of Matt’s stock picks (such as Glencore) haven’t been performing as he might like. Is it time to leave stock-picking behind, and focus on a more diversified approach? Presenter Claer Barrett is joined by Adam Wal...

Forty-nine-year-old Jane has always been careful to squirrel money away, and a recent inheritance has boosted her nest egg to £125,000. But there’s one problem: it’s all in cash. Now, with half an eye on retirement, Jane wants to start investing but is unsure about how to do this. Presenter Claer Barrett hears from experts Emma Sterland, chief financial planning director at Evelyn Partners, and In...

Sixty-seven-year-old Paul invests using index funds. Over the years, his exposure to US tech stocks has helped him build up a sizeable retirement pot — but recent stock market volatility is making him worry. Now that he’s no longer working, Paul wonders if he should diversify into other equity markets, consider buying bonds, or an annuity. But he is finding this is hard to do without looking at th...

Software engineer Stephan has a problem. As an early backer of bitcoin, he has made a lot of paper profit from cryptocurrencies, which now make up about a fifth of his portfolio. But Stephan’s also a big believer in ethical investing, including green investments. Given the energy-intensive nature of bitcoin mining, how could he approach resolving this conflict? Podcast host Claer Barrett, the...

Twenty-nine-year-old Faye has made some sensible investing decisions and … some more outlandish ones. Should this high-earning City worker, who’s dabbled in everything from cryptocurrency to novelty number plates, get a little bit more serious about how she invests? Presenter Claer Barrett, the FT’s consumer editor, is joined by Adam Walkom, co-founder of financial planning firm Permanent Wea...

How does one double a sizeable portfolio in under a decade? The short answer is by taking more investment risk - and in today’s episode one of the FT’s most experienced investment columnists weighs up the potential risks.  Stuart Kirk has set an ambitious financial goal to hit ahead of his 60th birthday — growing his portfolio from just over £500,000 today to £1mn by 2032.  Will he be pe...

‘If you can tell a good story,’ says Morgan Housel, ‘you’ll get people to line up and listen to you.’ In this episode of Money Clinic, Morgan shares some of those stories with host Claer Barrett and challenges us to think differently about our attitude to wealth and wealth creation. This episode is a repeat of a Money Clinic first published in January 2024. More information on Morgan Housel a...

With a £22bn ‘black hole’ in the public finances, the new chancellor Rachel Reeves has difficult decisions to make ahead of Labour’s autumn Budget next month. How might this hole be plugged, and where might tax rises land? In this episode, Dan Neidle, founder of think-tank Tax Policy Associates and former head of tax at Clifford Chance, considers which tax-raising levers the chancellor might pull...

In an increasingly cashless society, how can parents ensure children learn healthy financial habits? In this episode, host Claer Barrett speaks to Sheila Bair, author of the Money Tales children’s book series and former chair of the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, about instilling children with sensible attitudes to money - and reveals details of her next book, How Not to Lose a Million...

When FT columnist Miranda Green lost her father, she expected the grief to be long-lived. What she didn’t expect was that she would still be attempting to settle her father's financial affairs nearly a year later with multiple calls to banks, building societies, insurers and utility companies.  In an episode which first aired last September, Miranda tells presenter Claer Barrett about her exp...

Barbie is a big spender and high earner, fast approaching the age of retirement. But after a long and varied career that has seen her build a portfolio of multiple dreamhouses and a low-commitment, long-distance relationship with casual boyfriend Ken, what financial advice should she be looking for?  In this Headlinemoney award-winning episode of Money Clinic, first aired in August 2023, pres...

Prenuptial agreements are no longer just for Hollywood power couples such as Jay Z and Beyoncé — they’re on the rise in the UK too. Host Claer Barrett sits down with family lawyer Richard Hogwood from Stewarts Law to discuss the legal status of prenups as well as the recent influx of requests at his firm, and quizzes James Brookner, founder of the online-platform Wenup, on an affordable route to d...

Isabel Berwick, host and editor of the FT’s Working It podcast and newsletter, has spent the last year writing The Future-Proof Career , a book about how to thrive at work, now and in the future. In April, she held a launch event at Daunt Books, where she spoke to Money Clinic’s Claer Barrett, the FT’s consumer editor, about what she learned in the process. This is an edited version of a Working I...

The cost of insurance premiums is rising to record highs, but levels of customer service are falling for customers who end up having to make a claim, according to a new report. The consumer group, Which? has found that almost half of those claiming on home, car or travel insurance policies in the past few years have experienced at least one problem, as the volume of complaints linked to claims han...

When it comes to growth investing, big US tech stocks are the prime example. However, professional investors are looking to diversify into other areas of global stock markets, seeking out fast-growing companies of the future. This week, Claer sits down with fund manager James Thomson, who has managed the £4bn Rathbone global opportunities fund for 20 years. In this episode, he shares the ingredien...

Over the past decade, collectible sneakers have crept to multi-billion dollar market status, but can they really be considered investments? In this episode, presenter Claer Barrett checks in with Unhedged podcast co-host and aspiring sneakerhead Rob Armstrong for his take on these alternative alternative investments, and later hears about the world’s first managed sneaker fund, Always Legit, askin...

It’s easy to harbour regrets about poor financial decisions, but this week’s guest has decided to do what many wouldn’t dare: air her mistakes in public on a national tour. Presenter Claer Barrett speaks with comedian Lucy Porter, best known for her appearances on QI, Have I Got News For You and EastEnders, about her biggest money regrets and more, and the many, many laughs along the way. Clip: BB...

Regardless of which political party wins the UK general election on July 4, voters fear they will have to pay more taxes. Taxes are the crucial battleground in the run-up to polling day, and experts question whether manifesto pledges can be delivered without raising them. What aspects of our personal finances could be affected - and could a change of leadership potentially be beneficial for i...

Prepare to take a seat on the therapist’s couch and discover what your money habits say about you. In this episode, host Claer Barrett sits down with the UK’s first financial therapist, Vicky Reynal whose new book, Money on Your Mind: The Psychology Behind Your Financial Habits, aims to help people untangle problematic aspects of their relationship with money. They discuss the symbolic nature of m...

When we talk about the relative value of our investments, PE ratios are never far away from the conversation - but what does this mean, and what exactly goes into this calculation? In the latest episode of our Five Minute Investor miniseries, FT consumer editor Claer Barrett challenges FT investment columnist Stuart Kirk to break down the ‘price’ and ‘earnings’ parts of the equation, and elucidate...

With a string of companies preparing to launch stock market listings on both sides of the Atlantic, investors may be tempted to invest in an IPO. But when companies stage an initial public offering, what are the factors to consider? In our new miniseries, The Five-Minute Investor, consumer editor Claer Barrett challenges Rob Armstrong, co-host of FT’s Unhedged podcast and author of the Unhedged ne...

Like an interest rate on a savings account, investment yields show us how much income different investments are able to generate. But how are yields calculated, and how can they measure the returns on different types of investments including shares, bonds and property?  In our new miniseries, The Five-Minute Investor, consumer editor Claer Barrett asks FT markets columnist and Unhedged co-hos...