I was recently lucky enough to be invited onto the Money Matters podcast from AJ Bell. It was an absolutely brilliant experience and I had so much fun recording the episode so I thought I’d share it with you all, along with a bit more info on Money Matters – the female focused money and investing platform – because, quite frankly I think it’s a fantastic movement!
What is Money Matters?
Money Matters is a female focused branch of the investment platform – AJ Bell. They’re aiming to open up the conversation around money and investing through podcasts, articles and events all with women in mind. This is something I can definitely get on board with. I’ve always been a big believer in breaking down the taboos when it comes to talking about money in order to help people be better equipped with the financial knowledge they need. I’ve been talking about budgeting and finances for 12 years over on my lifestyle blog and it’s something I’m really passionate about. It’s why I could never have imagined myself having a huge, expensive wedding and why I branched out with this blog to create a space where we can all be comfortable spending a little less on weddings and open up that conversation around the cost of weddings.
My financial journey
I’ve always been good at budgeting and saving money and from that I really love and passion for financial knowledge has bloomed. I strongly believe there needs to be a huge focus on financial education is schools but sadly I don’t think that will happen anytime soon.
I’ve made no secret of the fact that my late twenties came with some tough financial times with job changes, the pandemic and all the complications that brought around work and the soaring cost of living. Not to blow my own trumpet but I strongly believe it was only down to my self taught budgeting and financial skills that we were able to stay afloat and live on one wage for some time whilst remaining completely debt free. It was a dark time but it’s a time I look back on with gratitude for the lesson I learnt and a sense of pride that we made it through.
I’m pleased to say over the last year things have vastly improved on the financial front which is great of course. However I don’t want to get too comfortable or complacent and I’ve been thinking about the long-term future a lot since the start of this year. I have some big money goals as well as some smaller ones to see me through the year but they’re definitely going to require a bit of research.
One of my big goals is to start investing and open up a stocks and shares ISA. I will hold my hands up though and admit this is something I know very little about which is why I feel like Money Matters came into my life just at the right time as they have a really handy investing guide that I’ll definitely be going over. The unknown is really holding me back with this one but I am aiming to open a S+S ISA this year.
The Podcast
The Money Matters podcast covers everything you could possibly want to know about finances as well as all the current topics like the soaring cost of living, Budgets, energy bills and more. The podcast is hosted by Danni Hewson – the head of financial analysis at AJ Bell. Danni actually spent 19 years working at BBC first as a business correspondent for Look North then as a business presenter on Radio 5 Live. Joining Danni is Laura Suter – the head of personal finance at AJ Bell and an experienced personal finance journalist.
So when little old me was asked to be a guest on the podcast, it’s safe to say I was very taken aback. I often get real pinch-me moments with The Thrifty Bride and this was definitely one of them. I often forget how far The Thrifty Bride has come and I definitely don’t give myself enough credit for it! Anyway, the episode is called ‘How to save for a wedding and tips from The Thrifty Bride’ and it was great to sit down with Danni and chat about extortionate cost of weddings, how this blog was created to help people have their dream wedding day on a budget and of course, my own wedding day!
If you would like to listen to the podcast then it’s available on all podcast providers and I’ve embedded my episode on Spotify below. I really hope you enjoy it.
You can follow Money Matters on Instagram here
You can follow The Thrifty Bride on Instagram here
