AJ Bell Money Matters

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.

Loud budgeting and inspirational investing

On this episode of the AJ Bell Money Matters podcast Laura and Danni revel in the new social media trend that is “loud budgeting”. The phrase has become popular on TikTok and the pair celebrate that talking about money is becoming less taboo. Also on the show, they sum up where we are in the “cost of living crisis”, including the crucial question of when interest rates are likely to fall.

And they talk to Trish Houston who shares her truly inspirational investing story. She used saving and investing to enable her to have children by herself. Now a proud solo parent to two daughters, she credits early financial decisions with opening up the life choices she has now.

How to build an investment portfolio

On this episode we are going back to basics on investing. Lots of women say they don’t how to invest, there’s too much jargon or they are embarrassed to ask questions – but we’re aiming to solve that. In this episode Laura and Danni talk through some of the types of investments you can put in your portfolio: from stocks and shares to funds and bonds or cash. You may find you already have more in your portfolio than you thought.

They also talk to Caroline Shaw who is a professional investor, in charge of Fidelity’s Sustainable Multi-Asset Growth fund. They quiz her about how she puts together a professional portfolio and her own investing journey.

How to learn from 2023’s financial mistakes

On the first episode of 2024 Danni and Laura hear confessions from the rest of the Money Matters team about financial mistakes they made in 2023 and the goals they’re setting themselves this year.

Their errors vary from overindulging in online shopping to not following through on carefully laid investing plans, while their good intentions include upping pensions contributions and creating a savings cushion for when things go wrong. They’ve got plenty of tips that could inspire you to make your own positive changes this year.

Tips for festive feasting on a budget

On this episode Danni and Laura are getting into the Christmas spirit, but after a year of soaring food prices we’re thinking hard about budgeting for the big day. The Christmas food shop is a big one – and it’s likely to be a whopper this year.

Danni catches up with Mimi Harrison, blogger, author and the Instagram legend known as “Beat the Budget”, who has tips to make your food shop stretch really far. Plus, Laura chats to Catherine Shuttleworth from Savvy Marketing – to learn how to avoid the supermarket tricks that make you spend more and how to save money this festive season.

How a side hustle can boost your income

On this episode of the Money Matters podcast Laura and Danni discuss the art of the side hustle. Taking extra work on the side is something people have always done, but social media promoting it and the cost of living crisis eating into our cash means so many more people now have side hustles.

But how do you navigate the side hustle world – and also make sure you don’t fall foul of the taxman? Laura talks us through the financial pitfalls you need to be aware of and Danni chats to Francesca Henry, aka The Money Fox, about how side hustles got her out of debt.

Celebrate our 50th episode – plus LBC’s Natasha Devon

It’s the 50^th episode of the Money Matters podcast and Laura and Danni step back in time to celebrate some of the brilliant guests and topics they’ve discussed over the past couple of years. From the Scummy Mummies on why money is still a taboo, to TikTok’s “Legal Queen” busting the myth of common law marriage, and Stacey Lowman from Claro Wellbeing on the financial perils of “lifestyle creep”.

And with LBC radio also celebrating its 50^th, Danni talks to presenter Natasha Devon about her work as a gender and equality campaigner. She says some teenage girls today think the gender pay gap is a myth and has written a book to remind young adults about the challenges women faced at the turn of the millennium.