AJ Bell Money Matters

Arlene Phillips: Winning Oliviers and dancing towards every opportunity

Whether you know Dame Arlene Phillips' work from Hot Gossip, Strictly Come Dancing, her legendary music videos, film work or the West End and Broadway shows she has choreographed, her ability to turn her hand to any brief and keep moving forward is unmatched.

On this episode, we learn about how Arlene grew up with grit and determination to earn her own money and ultimately gain independence, taking every opportunity in her stride. As often the only woman in the room, Arlene shares her advice for people starting their careers, how to move on from disappointment and mistakes swiftly, and how she has achieved huge success in her 80s with a recent Olivier Award added to her glittering CV.

Danni and Laura also dig into how the cost of living crisis has helped turn us into a nation of savers and why keeping your pot in cash could be costing you thousands of pounds.

Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard 10 years on from her historic misogyny speech

A decade on from an historic speech she delivered on misogyny, former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard tells Danni and Laura there has been progress but there’s still a lot more to be done. Now chair of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, she’s passionate about closing the gender pay gap and believes we’ll only see real change if more women take on leadership roles. With elections being held around the world, she urges women to get out and vote on issues like childcare and education.

Also on this episode, Danni and Laura discuss why the UK’s financial watchdog is cracking down on social media influencers talking about money and investing, as more people turn to them when making investment decisions.

How to close the gender funding gap with a serial female entrepreneur

On this episode of the Money Matters podcast we hear from Debbie Wosskow, the serial entrepreneur who’s been appointed to the government’s Invest in Women taskforce. With just 2p of every £1 of business funding going to female-founded companies in the UK, Debbie’s on a mission to raise a £250 million pot to create “once in a generation change”.

Best known for selling her multi-million-pound home swap business inspired by Hollywood movie The Holiday, Debbie is hoping more women will become investors in female run start-ups.  Plus, with no change on interest rates, Danni and Laura ask when the Bank of England will start to cut rates and how the status quo is pushing homeowners into mortgages they’ll still be paying off after they reach pension age.

Pregnant then Screwed’s Joeli Brearley on the motherhood penalty

On this episode of the pod, Danni and Laura speak to campaigner Joeli Brearley from motherhood campaigning group Pregnant then Screwed about why politicians have finally woken up to the economic value of getting mums back into work and what more needs to be done to end the motherhood penalty.

Also on the episode, Danni and Laura break down the four simple steps to start your investing journey. They give a basic checklist of the different platforms, accounts and investments available and explain some of the jargon that can be off-putting to newbie investors.

Meeting real-life Barbie and why the cost-of-living crisis isn’t over yet

On this episode Danni and Laura dig into the findings of a survey that reveals that more than 7 million households are still struggling to make ends meet despite falling inflation. And as Barbie celebrates her 65^thbirthday we’ll be chatting to one woman who made her living playing the role.

Charlotte Clemie was employed by Mattel to be their official Barbie in the UK before she became a mum of three boys and moved to the other side of the camera, launching her own businesses as a photographer. She’s brutally frank about how difficult she found getting her finances in order when she first started her self-employed journey.

Finding lost pension pots and who are the Waspi women?

On this episode of the AJ Bell Money Matters podcast Danni and Laura chat to AJ Bell’s Head of Public Policy and pension guru, Rachel Vahey. They discuss the increasingly important issue of lost pension pots and how to find them. Rachel also talks through how consolidating your pensions into one pot could make life simpler and help you plan for retirement. She explains the pots you should leave alone and how some part-time workers, who miss out on auto-enrolment, can get in on the workplace pension action.

Danni and Laura also discuss an Ombudsman ruling that the Waspi (Women Against State Pension Inequality) women should get up to £10 billion in compensation because the government failed to notify them about changes to the state pension age in 2018. The campaign says an entire generation of women were negatively impacted because they didn’t get time to adequately prepare for their changing financial futures.

Your money questions answered, plus your tax-year-end checklist

On this episode of the Money Matters podcast, we put all your burning money questions to Financial Adviser Jane Gow, who is founder of Clear Cut Chartered Financial Planners. You asked about a wide range of issues from when you should lock in interest rates on cash savings, to how to start a pension and whether to prioritise saving for a house or retirement in your 30s.

Danni and Laura also take you through their tax-year-end checklist, so you don’t pay too much tax or miss out on valuable allowances. They also have good news for parents relating to child benefit and free childcare hours.

International Women’s Day “Queenager” special

In this special bonus episode of the podcast for International Women’s Day, Danni and Laura discuss this year’s theme, Inspire Inclusion, and how in particular women in mid-life have been pushing boundaries over the past few years to become more visible and included.

They’re joined by former editor of The Sunday Times magazine Eleanor Mills, who started the “Noon” community to help these women (who she calls “Queenagers”) take control of this chapter of their lives, including their finances.

Work-life balance with Lorraine Candy and recession-proof your finances

On this episode of the AJ Bell Money Matters podcast Laura and Danni ask what the UK officially being in recession means for your finances – and run through some practical measures you can put in place.

They also hear from Lorraine Candy – former editor-in-chief of Elle and Cosmopolitan magazines, author of a book on raising teenage daughters and co-host of the excellent podcast “Postcards from Midlife”.  She shares her struggle of striving to find work-life balance, her surprise that most of the women she interviewed for jobs over the years never asked about money, and finding new purpose in her 50s.

How to pick an investing account, plus demystifying scary pension headlines

On this episode of the AJ Bell Money Matters podcast Danni and Laura pore over the latest pension headlines that suggest we’ll all have to save more and might have to work for longer. The pair consider that all this bad news might be just the thing many women need to get them motivated to think about the kind of retirement they want and start planning how they can afford it. (Spoiler alert: just engaging with your finances is a great start.)

They also take you on the second part of our investing 101 journey with AJBell’s pensions and savings expert Charlene Young, who talks through all the different accounts on offer when you start out investing, to help you pick the right one for you.