Your workplace pension is a valuable way to save. It gets you extra money from your employer and the government. And an early start can have surprisingly big benefits – thanks to the power of compounding. Saving relatively small amounts in your 20s and early 30s is the best route to being a little richer when you retire. Legal & General’s workplace pensions expert and friend of the show Kim Brown is back to chat with our host Kia Commodore about easy ways to make your pension work for...

Scams aren’t something that just happen to older people, young people are also likely to get scammed. The scammers are getting smarter and have lots of clever ways to con you out of your cash - whether that’s pretending to be your bank, tricking you into becoming a money mule, buying stuff you don’t receive and much more. Head of Fraud Risk Management at Santander, Chris Ainsley, gives our host Kia Commodore insight on how the fraudsters work and plenty of tips on what to watch out for....

When being mindful with our spending, heading on holiday can feel like a splurge. From ‘Big World, Small Pockets’, Steph Parker shows us how to travel smarter so you can get away, without the price tag. Steph shares with our host Kia Commodore – the best time to book flights and hotels, how to manage spending while abroad and her favourite, more affordable destinations to discover. Money plays a big part in our holiday plans but by travelling a little bit smarter, you can still escape for...

Ever wondered about switching current accounts but couldn’t face the admin? Friend of the Show, Cash Chats podcaster and award-winning Be Clever With Your Cash blogger Andy Webb talk us through just how easy (and profitable) moving to a new bank can be – and why you might want to stay put too. Andy and our host Kia Commodore cover moving bank accounts, having multiple accounts, compare traditional high street banks with online ones and ask if it’s really worth regularly switching accounts...

April will ring in the beginning of a new tax year so you may have noticed that there’s a lot of talk about ISAs. But what are they and might they be useful for you? Here to help us understand a little bit more is Legal & General’s ISA Product Manager, Fahad Ahmed. Fahad and our host Kia Commodore chat through the different types of ISAs for saving and investing your money, how the Lifetime ISA can help you get on the property ladder, what to consider when choosing a provider and the...

More and more people are earning extra cash through side hustles. With so many options, from selling a few old clothes to starting a whole new business, how do you decide what’s best for you and leap into your own side hustle? To help us answer that, financial coach Tolu Frimpong joins our host Kia Commodore. Tolu and Kia chat about different kinds of side hustles and how to pick the right one for you. You’ll hear how it can help you with more than just your finances and to consider the...

Money and love can be a strange mix. It can feel like lots of unspoken rules and pitfalls start popping up when your emotional and financial lives come together. That’s true even when things go smoothly. But what if they don’t? Amy James, a Legal & General Product Manager, joins Kia Commodore to share how she navigated this journey. When Amy and her partner Dan decided to settle down together, he revealed that he’d built up some pretty big debts. That was hard enough for him to admit....

Credit can seem like a dirty word. But avoiding it altogether could mean you’ll miss out on some benefits. There is a happy medium – and that’s what Kia Commodore explores on this week’s episode. Kia’s joined by Andy Webb, who runs the award-winning Be Clever With Your Cash blog and hosts the Cash Chats podcast. They cover what credit actually means, explore its positive side and chat through risks to watch out for. And they talk about ways to embrace healthy credit to boost your credit...

Kia Commodore returns to one of A Little Bit Richer’s biggest topics – house buying. If you bought your first property a few years ago you might be thinking about moving up the proper ladder. Maybe you need a bigger home, somewhere that’s a better investment or perhaps even both. Kia chats through it all with independent mortgage adviser Liam Anstruther. He set up The Mortgage Advice Club to help people through the house buying process. They discuss when and how to start thinking about...

It’s the first episode of the new year, so Kia Commodore shares some simple, practical moneymaking and saving habits you can adopt in 2024. She’s joined by Iain Russell, of Moneyhub - a financial tech company that’s created a money management app (and much else). Kia and Iain discuss what to focus on during a financial checkup and recommend good habits to keep. They also chat through how money apps can help you and why you need a safety net for financial emergencies. A Little Bit Richer...

In the post-pandemic world of remote work, more and more people are becoming digital nomads and leaving the UK to work from sunnier climates. But is it really as simple as just hopping on a plane with your laptop? What are the financial implications of working abroad for a UK-based company? In this episode, Kia Commodore chats with Claire Rhodes. She’s a freelance writer whose been working with UK clients from abroad since 2021. Kia and Claire chat through how easy it is to make the change...

When it comes to gender equality in finances, we’re still not where we need to be. Last year Legal & General found that a woman’s average pension pot at retirement was likely to be less than half that of a man’s at the same stage. And that’s just for starters. Women are also faced with the gender pay gap, childcare costs and much more. So we’re tackling all that head on! This week Kia Commodore’s joined by Emilie Bellet, host of the podcast The Wallet. She’s also the founder of Vestpod,...

In this episode, Kia Commodore continues exploring one of A Little Bit Richer’s most important topics – buying your first home. It’s an extremely important milestone. But it’s also an extremely expensive one. So in this episode Kia is joined by Hazel Johnston from Legal & General. Hazel began as a mortgage adviser and now helps other advisers better support homebuyers. Kia and Hazel talk about how to save for a house deposit. They chat through how much you might need to save, how to...

The Christmas season is coming – and it can be a pretty pricey time of the year. But does it really need to be? Does more money spent equal more fun had? Or can you be fabulously festive and fully frugal too? Kia Commodore’s joined by Megan Micklewright, creator of the financial social media platform ‘The Savvy Spender’, and winner of Online Financial Influencer of the Year 2023. Together, they’ll unwrap some cost-cutting Christmas secrets.  They chat about spotting the real bargains (and...

Once you’ve graduated and are out in the working world it’s easy to just ignore your student loan. But it’s always best to keep on top of all your finances. In this episode Kia Commodore talks with Abigail Foster, a Chartered Accountant and the founder of Elent, a financial education hub for student, employees and parents. The two run through the different loan plans and interest rates, and the impact these can have on your other finances. They also tackle a crucial question: should we...

You can do all the career and financial planning you want, but sometimes life just gets in the way. Health problems can be particularly difficult if you need to take a lot of time off work. Luckily many of us won’t have that challenge but you never know what’s around the corner. In this episode Kia Commodore chats to Koren Byrne, a PR Manager at Legal & General. Koren was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She’s spent the last year adjusting to some big changes in her personal...

A Little Bit Richer is all about helping you find different ways to save and grow your money. But why bother? What can all that saved up and invested cash actually get you? What many people look for is the financial freedom and flexibility to live their dream lifestyle. You might want to go travelling, retire early, or have a portfolio career. Once you figure out what your priorities are, it’s time to understand how your finances can help you make those goals happen. That’s where Jenny...

The nine to five office grind isn’t the only way of working anymore. There are loads of other options if you want to rethink your working life. Self-employment’s one of them. It can give you a lot more flexibility and be financially rewarding too. But there’s a lot to think about when you’re working for yourself. As well as marketing yourself to clients, you have to take control of your tax and finances in a way that company employees just don’t need to To take you through all the pros and...

Around 42% of Brits invest – in fact, if you’re saving into a pension you’re already an investor. But the wider world of investments can seem murky, confusing and risky. It doesn’t have to be that way. So we’ve put together an investment episode. Podcaster, author and founder of financial education company Mr MoneyJar, Timi Merriman-Johnson, joins our host Kia Commodore. They discuss what investing is and isn’t, share details of products that might interest new investors and tell you how to...

Recently we’ve seen some high-profile examples of financial abuse. Stories about Britney Spears’ conservatorship, Mel B’s controlling ex-husband and Kesha’s challenging relationship with her producer have all made the headlines. And it’s not just a celebrity problem. 6 million people in the UK will experience this at some point in their lives. But what is financial abuse and how can you help a friend or loved one deal with it?  This week, Kia Commodore speaks to award-winning journalist...

From painting the walls your favourite colour to finally creating your perfect kitchen, owning your own home can be a dream come true. But with interest rates and house prices staying stubbornly high, many of us feel stuck at the still-just-a-dream stage. We’re going to show you how snapping up your next place may be more achievable than you think. This week, mortgage broker, property expert and investor Tayo Oguntonade joins our host Kia Commodore to unpick the big questions about buying...

Jobs can reward you with much more than just a good salary and great colleagues. You might be sitting on all sorts of benefits without realising it. They could help you save money, boost your lifestyle, build up your professional skills, take work or personal challenges in your stride and more. But they won’t be much help if you don’t know what they are or how to find out about them. That’s why Rebecca Moore from Liaise, an organisation that helps people thrive, is joining us for this...

Paying into your workplace pension gets you free money from your employer and the government, and starting early on can have surprisingly big benefits. Thanks to the magic of compounding, saving even just a little in your 20s can leave you with a bigger pot than putting more away later on. This week our host Kia Commodore unpicks workplace pensions with Kim Brown, Legal & General’s Pension Scheme Director. How can you plan your pension, from managing parental leave to choosing the right...

Every employee gets a payslip… but hardly anyone ever actually reads them. That’s a great shame, because they’re packed with lots of essential information that can help you get A Little Bit Richer.   From understanding tax codes to deciphering deductions, this week our host Kia Commodore digs into the fine print of your payslip with Asesh Sarkar. He’s the CEO and co-founder of Salary Finance and MyBnk’s Chair of Trustees. What’s the difference between your gross and net salary? What is...