Welcome to Episode 1 of my Baby Boomer series.
Not able to watch the video today? Why not read the transcript below instead:
We are going to be starting right at the end by looking... read more
This week Spring has been in the air. Each morning I open the kitchen window and smell fresh air and the bouquet from the huge bunch of daffodils on the window sill. The smell of daffodils is Sprin... read more
Eighteen years ago today, on April 9th , my father died. My brother Simon, my mother and myself stood at his bedside in Intensive Care as his breathing faded. I remember the moment clearly.
... read more
Everyone knows that money can't buy you happiness... right? Obvious! The evidence is overwhelming – lottery winners who end up in a dreadful mess despite their millions, successful busine... read more
The British have a unique and deeply neurotic relationship with property, houses especially, places we call home. We are a nation of homeowners. When house prices are rising we feel good. We feel s... read more
Being a child of the fifties I pretty much missed the 'Summer of Love'. I was twelve at the time (1967) and 'free love' was a vague (although appealing) concept to me. Reading that... read more
Do you want more money?
Daft question.
We immediately say yes, without thinking.
Of course.
If we are asked what we want to do with this money we'll probably say: go on holiday, buy... read more
I ask the question because the NHS has launched a controversial calculator which predicts when you will have a heart attack or stroke – and compares a person’s heart age with their biol... read more
As part of my Lenten journey this year I spent five days living in a Benedictine Monastery at Worth Abbey. I have always been drawn to the simplicity of a monastic way of life and this was an... read more
ME: I’m a financial planner. I help people make sense of money.
PC: Really...You’re a better man than me (smile). I’ve always found i... read more
My first day as a 'financial adviser' was June 28th 1982, over thirty-three years ago. The eighties were the 'glory days' for financial services – on the back of her Falklands... read more
Toby sits in the first floor window sill of our bedroom staring intently at the birds, mostly squawking gulls, across the street. Occasionally he will whimper and his tail will bang up and down in,... read more
That's what we're called... those of us in our late fifties and early sixties... sandwiched between our ageing parents who need our care and grown-up children who need our financial and pra... read more
Standing in the queue at the Orchard Cafe I found myself staring longingly at the beautiful chocolate cake on the counter. Lost in reverie I turned to the lady standing next to me and said, &l... read more
You know all those daft things we do with money, all those seemingly innocent peccadillos that if left unchecked spell big trouble sometime down the line. All that money we spend satisfying our lit... read more
Walking down a cobbled street with expensive looking shops on either side I can see a young man sitting on the pavement. There are a few coins in the bowl in front of him. I lean down and drop two... read more
Sara Cutting was 47 when she was diagnosed with cancer. To raise £10,000 for Macmillan cancer support she has published a photograph of herself on Twitter every day since her diagnosis in Oct... read more
There it is! A simple financial plan that will never let you down. All each of us has to do is work out on a regular basis how to allocate our money between these three priorities. By doing this we... read more
1.2bn smart phones were sold in 2014, a 28% increase on 2013. The majority were sold by Apple who pipped Samsung to the post by a small margin. I would like to bet my aging Apple smart phone that v... read more