AJ Bell Money Matters

How to take a career break – and successfully return to work

On this episode we are talking career breaks. Lots of women take time out when they have kids, but there are plenty of other reasons you might take a break from work. 

Laura and Danni give you all the tips to plan ahead so your finances suffer the smallest shock possible – and Danni chats to author and coach Jessica Chivers, from the Comeback Community, who shares the steps you can take to boost your confidence when you make that transition back into a job.

How to beat lifestyle creep

On this episode Danni and Laura discuss “lifestyle creep”. From increasingly luxurious summer holidays to extra streaming subscriptions to keep the kids happy, it’s easy to get sucked into paying more and more every year. 

Laura chats to Stacey Lowman from Claro Wellbeing who has tips on how to beat the creep, how to avoid falling victim to social media envy and how to differentiate it from constantly rising inflation. Danni and Laura also discuss investing tactics and the differences between investing a lump sum and having a regular savings plan.

Too young for a pension – think again!

On this episode Danni and Laura discuss why pension planning in your 20s can help narrow that gender investment gap. For many retirement might seem a very long way off but making sure you have enough in your pot, so your living standards don’t fall in later life, takes time. To find out how much we really should be saving, and get tips and tricks to make the most out of the system Laura chats to Charlene Young, AJ Bell’s pension and savings expert.

Danni and Laura also discuss why food inflation is still so high and how you can make the most of loyalty cards and vouchers to cut the cost of your weekly shop.

The financial perils of cohabiting – with a Lord and TikTok’s Legal Queen

On this episode of the Money Matters podcast Laura and Danni explore the common myth that cohabiting couples have the same rights as married couples or those in a civil partnership under what many people refer to as “common law marriage”.  Spoiler alert: they don’t, even if they have children together. And if their relationship breaks down or one of the couple passes away, they could find themselves dealing with a whole lot of unexpected stress and financial pressures.

Cohabitation is the fastest growing family type in the UK, but many couples do not realise they just don’t have the same legal status as couples who are married or in a civil partnership. To get the low down on the law, Laura talks to Tracey Moloney aka social media’s Legal Queen to spell it out for us.  And Danni catches up with Lord Marks – the liberal democrat peer who is hoping the bill he brought forward to change the law around cohabiting might one day become law.

Beating spring price rises and why more women should work in finance

On this episode Laura and Danni get you up to date on all the price rises that came in on April Fool’s Day – from broadband and mobile costs to council tax and the end of the energy support. They also give you some tips to help spring clean your money. Our guest this week tackles the tricky issue of the lack of women in the finance industry – still only 12% of UK fund managers are women. But Danni chats to one women who is bucking that trend: Hillary Blandy from Jupiter Asset Management, about what being a fund manager actually involves and what we need to do to get more women following in her footsteps. 

Childcare changes and the nation’s financial agony aunt Claer Barrett

On this episode Danni Hewson and Laura Suter look at the details of the big childcare promises in the latest Budget. The chancellor’s new proposals for free childcare hours from nine months and up have been cautiously welcomed by many parents, but we lay out how the scheme will actually work and the potential pitfalls.

Our guest this week is the Financial Times’ Claer Barrett, who has taken on the role as the nation’s financial agony aunt. The consumer editor of the Financial Times also has a new book out called “What They Don’t Teach You About Money” and explains why everyone should get more involved with their finances – which is obviously music to our ears. We’ve also got Claer’s rather unusual financial confession, and we also answer one of your money questions on the tricky issue of overpaying student loans.

International Women’s Day special

On this special episode of the Money Matters podcast, we are celebrating International Women’s Day and Danni and Laura discuss this year’s theme which is “Embrace Equity”. Our campaign, which aims to help women feel more confident in their finances and narrow the gender investment gap, has been going just over a year and Laura catches up with Baroness Helena Morrissey, who has been campaigning for diversity in financial services for decades. She asks what Helena thinks has changed over the decades and what work still needs to be done.

Danni chats to the award-winning journalist and bestselling author of crime thriller “The Khan” Saima Mir about why equal opportunities doesn’t always create equity and how her experiences as a British Muslim woman have made her into the powerhouse she is today. Plus, we’ve got Laura’s confessional, which is all about the perennial favourite, pensions.

How to save for a wedding and tips from The Thrifty Bride

Romance is in the air, as Danni and Laura grab the confetti and chat about the rising cost of getting hitched. With the average wedding now costing more than £18,000, the pair take you through different ways to save and where to get the best rates to help protect your cash from inflation.

Danni also chats to one woman who made it her mission to have her dream wedding without breaking the bank. Lauren Catton started the blog The Thrifty Bride in the run-up to her big day and has some great tips to help you have a blast on a budget.

What’s next for energy bills and how money worries affect mental health

On the latest episode of the Money Matters podcast Danni and Laura update you on where we stand with those energy bills. With government help being scaled back from April, they discuss what might happen as wholesale energy costs fall and take you through what to do if you’re struggling to pay your bill. With lots of pressures on people’s budgets at the moment, we know money worries can have a real impact on people’s mental health, so Laura catches up with Jenny Somerville, head of the charity Stop.Breathe.Think, which offers counselling support to under 21s across the UK.

How to improve your credit score and prepare for a recession

On this episode of the Money Matters podcast Danni and Laura go back to basics and talk you through what a recession is, whether the UK is in one and if there’s anything you can do to help prepare your finances for a downturn.

Danni also chats to Pearl Akintola from the credit reference agency Experian about credit scores, to find out what they are, how you find yours and what you can do to improve it.