WEALTH: Gold expert Simon Popple makes a strong case for the inflation protection qualities of investing in gold. Even now when gold is at all time highs. As a former head of investment manager at Strutt and Parker, Simon realised that his personal inflation rate was much higher than the RPI. After much research he decided investment into gold was the answer. In this interview we discuss: - Why gold provides the hedge against inflation that Simon believes we all need as part of a balanced...

WISDOM: Jo Tocher's life changed after experiencing the trauma of miscarriage. No longer able to exist in the corporate world she set out not just to heal but to find purpose. Life After Miscarriage, Your Guide to Healing from Pregnancy Loss is the story about Jo's transformational journey from the pain of loss to a place of acceptance and hope. But it goes further to show how any loss - including relationships ending, childhood trauma, a pet dying, kids leaving home, changing job,...

EP153: "When I became a solicitor I was diagnosed with anxiety and PTSD. So I’d done the classic thing where you go to CBT, you get the medication, you do all the things that you’re told to do." Lawyer and mental health advocate Jodie Hill shares her top strategies for improving mental health. Learn how keeping a gratitude journal, planning social activities around exercise, taking regular breaks, communicating intentionally with your team, and reflecting on your needs can help boost your...

EP152: "I've been doing purchase lease options since before they were being taught. I would never have said now is a good time to do it because it's always been a good time. But now I'm telling the world that there are so many options out there. And the amazing thing about it is that we get to help people. There are people out there who we need to help. They are literally so stressed, so scared, getting sick because they cannot cope with what they've got. We can go in there and take all that...

EP151: January 2024 has started well in terms of confidence returning to the UK property market. The cost of borrowing has started to decrease as mortgage lenders fight for market share. Santander has launched a 5-year fixed rate at 3.84%, which is very different to the average rate of 6.66% during August 2023. The Bank of England may start to cut interest rates sooner than initially thought. This will be welcome news to homeowners, businesses and the wider economy.  The positive indicator of...

EP150: "Why do you feel like you need to seek outside validation? Why is your sense of self linked to certain metrics? When we understand that, it always goes back...to our childhood self where we formed a belief of ourselves that we're not good enough unless other people told us we were. So when you look back on this as an adult...you can see a totally good enough me...[clients] can see that they were good enough. Then you get into affirmations...that will really start to change the...

EP149: CASE STUDY - Property investment is often touted as the holy grail toward financial freedom. Courses are sold and many are living this perceived glitzy lifestyle thanks to their "passive income" from property. But what about if it is your property portfolio that's holding you back from living your best life or even worse, is pushing you toward financial ruin? Here I  share with you a case study of my client Barbara, name and details changed of course. What I suggested might shock...

EP148: We've been selected as one of 2,500 guinea pigs for the BP5000 programme. What is Blueprint and what is the BP5000 programme?  You might have heard of Bryan Johnson, a tech multimillionaire who sold a company to Paypal for gazillions. Over the last couple of years he has spent over $2m a year testing everything there is to test with a team of medical professionals. His goal is to try to slow the aging process with a range of medical and dietary interventions which cost millions and...

EP147:  2024 has started well for the UK property market, as there is definitely an appetite for property.  House price forecasts for 2024 remain relatively positive, with most institutions believing that prices will remain flat. In December, Knight Frank had initially forecast a decrease of -4% for 2024, but have revised this forecast to +3% growth for the year. House prices: Nationwide, Halifax and Rightmove have reported: -1.8%, +1.7% and -0.7% over the last 12 months. What is interesting...

EP146: "It’s too early to say the market is turning but all signs are very positive. One week of good results are great. Two weeks is a coincidence, three weeks a trend. So we’re waiting to see what the next few weeks brings. Right now the market is thriving."  "If you’re going to sell typically people wait till spring. It’s pretty miserable this time of year. If you wait for spring there's more competition...so that could impact your price. There are buyers who are keen now who perhaps...

EP145:  With over 25 years experience in property sales and development, Jerome Roith started in estate agency in a central London eventually founding his own agency. In this discussion Jerome shares his expertise on why he believes the best strategy in property development doesn't even involve breaking ground. Known as planning gain, this is the process of identifying and acquiring prime properties, and managing the planning permission process. He also talks about the importance of...

EP144: New year, new name, new focus.  I launched my podcast nearly seven years ago. It has kept me sane and connected during some tough times. Thankfully I’m in a much better place and have loyal listeners, thank you. But as my career has evolved I’ve struggled to find the right name and focus. Finally I’ve come up with a name which is the perfect intersection of my interests and, I hope, that of my listeners. Over the coming days my podcast will be relaunched as Health, Wealth &...

EP142:  We ended 2023 on more positive news that inflation has fallen again to 3.9% from 4.7% in October, which will ease the pressure on the Bank of England to raise rates further. Welcome news to those 2 million people due to remortgage over the next 12 months. House price forecasts at the beginning of 2023 were mostly incorrect. Knight Frank and Savills were forecasting decreases of 10%, and Capital Economics forecast an even more gloomy 15% decrease. Unfortunately, the mainstream media...

EP141: While many find their future life partner online, amidst the virtual roses hides a sneaky villain - the online romance scammer. These tricksters play with emotions, taking advantage of those just looking for a much desired connection. In this episode, Becky Holmes, the hilarious writer behind the @deathtospinach X/Twitter account talks about how she exposes fraudsters in (hopefully) funny ways.  What started as a lockdown boredom buster turned serious when she discovered the...

EP140: At the risk of being a broken record once again the two biggest stories from the recent data is that some price data is actually showing a small increase in house prices. Second, rents continue to increase. "There is positive news with the rate of inflation in the UK dropping to 4.6% from 6.7% last month. The Bank of England is under less pressure to increase interest rates, and there may be rate cuts during the first half of 2024. House prices remain resilient, defying the...

EP139: I was seeing the other brokers in the industry presenting businesses for sale.  As a broker, we value on turnover, but as a buyer, you value on profits because you want to see what profit you can generate from that business. If you're interested in buying or selling a lettings or estate agency Lucy Noonan is the expert with over 20 years of experience in the industry, having worked with big names like Belleville, LSL, Hunters, and the Lomond Group. Having left corporate life, Lucy...

EP138: Two biggest stories from the recent data is that some price data is actually showing a small increase in house prices. Second, rents just continue to increase. We dig into why.  Key points:  Prices starting to level off. Rightmove is showing prices are actually increasing on a month on month basis. How much of this is lack of supply?HMRC transaction levels are 20% lower than a year ago. Most of this is down to a lack of availability of credit due to interest rates being so high....

EP137: What struck me this month in my discussion with Eyeedul is the continued strength of the rental market. Nationally rents increased 10.3% y/y while in London it's 13%.   “It isn’t just tenants who are feeling the financial strains of increasing rental prices. The exacerbating economic issues around rental prices are also leaving landlords with increasing rent arrears, resulting in struggles to make mortgage payments and other expenses. It really is a vicious circle, with very few...

"I was a little bit surprised to be diagnosed. It became quite a difficult journey for a period of time. My response on the January 19th 2021 was naïve. They asked me to go in to get results and I didn't realise that meant bad news. My response was 'this had better not kill me' and it had a 40% chance of killing me...better odds than some are facing." EP136: It was lovely to have Susannah back on the pod. When asked why she has been so quiet of late she revealed that she’d had not just one,...

EP135 : Once again I'm joined by property expert Eyeedul Haque to discuss the recent data on the UK property market, with a focus on recent developments related to mortgage rates, inflation and property prices. We discuss: - Mortgage payments are set to increase by £500 for approximately 1m households. - The Bank of England's interest rate has reached a 15-year high at 5.25%. - Inflation stands at 8.7%, and the government aims to reach a 2% target. - Effectiveness of the monetary policy in...

EP134: As interest rates soar, inflation rises, and labour shortages continue, homeowners are left wondering what the future holds. Property consultant, Eyeedul Haque, reveals the data behind the headlines about the state of the housing market and the impending mortgage payment increases. "What has actually happened is the rate of growth has slowed but it's nowhere near the Knight Frank’s and the Savill’s with their very negative forecasts; that's a huge positive." In this episode, we: ·   ...

"Nationwide, Halifax and Rightmove all reported increases of 7.2%, 8.3% and 7.2% over the last 12 months. Compared to last month, the annual figures were 9.5%, 9.8% and 8.7%."  But prices are showing the first signs of slowdown. Some pundits are saying prices will drop by 30% over 2023. What about rental demand? Take a listen to see what the data is indicating.  What do house price movements mean for you? I was joined live by Eyeedul Haque of My Property Consultant and we discussed:   Which...

EP132: "I think most people appreciate someone making a purchase easier for them. Selling is not about persuading someone to buy something that they do not need but making a decision easier. ‘People buy from people,’ is a common saying and our job is to ensure that people buy us and not the product." Meet Bob Harvey, now non executive director at SeventySeven Wealth Management after 25 years in management at St. James's Place. In this interview he reflects upon his career in sales and why...

EP131: "Nationwide are quoting a 9.7% increase this month compared to 10% last month. Halifax are also quoting 9.8% this month compared to 11.5% in the previous month. So the rate of change of house price growth is slowing, but there's no evidence of this massive downturn that people are talking about." I met with Eyeedul Haque of My Property Consultant for a live discussion on the UK house prices. Each month Eyeedul puts together a tracker plotting the changes in the major house price...