In Episode 4 of the ‘Money and Me’ season, Simon and Bex discuss strategies for anticipating and dealing with personal financial emergencies that can arise in life.

Some key points of interest covered in this episode include the following:

• In response to a question from Bex about factoring life’s uncertainties into our financial planning, Simon dives in at the deep end and talks about death. It serves as a useful illustration of the mixture of certainty and uncertainty that we experience in our lives – on the one hand, we know that we are all going to die at some point; on the other hand, we don’t know when that will happen and what financial impact it will have on others. [00:33]
• While it is not particularly pleasant to think about life’s uncertainties and reflect on the possible consequences of death and serious injury, doing so can prompt us to consider positive actions such as writing a will, taking out insurance and being prudent in our financial planning and expenditure. [06:20]
• Simon picks up on the insurance point and acknowledges that people can have mixed attitudes towards it, including querying it from a faith perspective. However, it can be extremely helpful when difficult life events occur and can also significantly reduce the impact and trauma of such happenings on individuals and families. [09:26]
• Simon goes on to offer some thoughts about limiting our exposure to the risk of redundancy and the benefits of proactively building resilience through our financial planning and the choices that we make. [13:09]
• When it comes to contingency planning, it can be worthwhile to think about setting up our finances so that some checks and balances - such as using bank or savings accounts requiring notice for withdrawals - are in place. [16:07]
• Simon’s top tips when it comes to thinking about the uncertainties that can arise in connection with buying a house is to do our best to remember all of the associated costs that come with moving home and to resist the temptation to stretch ourselves to the limit when taking on a mortgage. [17:34]
• ’Everyday emergencies’ – when expensive bills arise from unforeseen incidents and events – can be very stressful and difficult, so Simon urges listeners to put in place whatever proportionate and sensible financial contingency planning they can afford. A beneficial side-effect of taking that approach is that it increases the likelihood that we will be able to help others when they are in need. [22:46]
• After a short break, the next two episodes in this ‘Money and Me’ series will explore the challenges involved in talking about money and the benefits of being generous. [26:15]

Suggestions or feedback arising from this episode can be sent via email to whereyourtreasureis@freerangepodcasting.co.uk while messages via Instagram should be directed to @whereyourtreasureispodcast.

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In the third episode of the ‘Money and Me’ season, Simon and Bex talk about practicalities (including processes as well as tools) that can help us to manage our money well.

Some key points of interest covered in this episode include the following:

• Simon starts off by commenting that because people deal with issues in different ways, there is not a single, ideal way to manage our money. Instead, we need to select - from a range of options - the strategies and tools that are going to work best for us. [01:35]
• Rather than launching straight into an evaluation of money management tools, Simon highlights the importance of adopting key attitudes from the outset: being deliberate; being diligent; being discerning. [03:09]
• Unless we are deliberate in our approach to money, we will not take on the sense of responsibility that is required if we are going to be good and effective stewards of our wealth and possessions. [04:02]
• Diligence is the action of following through so that appropriate and thoughtful actions are taken. Research and study of relevant topics can really help us to achieve that goal, and Simon mentions a couple of specific recommendations that he has found particular helpful: the work of Mark Lloydbottom and books from www.eden.co.uk [05:47]
• Building up our ‘discernment muscle’ over time can really help us to align our decision making with godly principles and practice. [08:59]
• When it comes to the practicalities of managing our money, it is important to look both backwards and forwards. Looking backwards enables us to check for mistakes and also to review our spending. [10:47] Looking forward gives us the opportunity to plan the way that we use our money so that we can achieve goals that are important to us and are aligned with God’s call on our lives. [13:17]
• In response to a question from Bex, Simon mentions some money management ‘tools’ that he has found helpful. Currently, he uses a paid product, ‘You Need a Budget’ software, for his own purposes but he stressed the availability of free products that will serve most people’s money management needs – banking apps, spreadsheet tools and phone notes can all be really useful in helping us to track and plan expenditure etc. Bex added that she finds a digital ‘to do’ list, such as todoist, a great way of setting reminders to undertake particular financial tasks. [17:32]
• Simon concludes by emphasising the importance of taking account of both the ‘certainties’ and the uncertainties of life when planning our finances. Forethought, flexibility and allowing for unexpected contingencies can therefore be very helpful strategies to identify and develop. [19:38]
• Next week’s episode, ‘Life Happens!’, will drill down further into ways in which we can prepare ourselves and build resilience that can help us deal with the range of unwelcome surprises that we can end up having to deal with in our lives. [22:49]

Suggestions or feedback arising from this episode can be sent via email to whereyourtreasureis@freerangepodcasting.co.uk while messages via Instagram should be directed to @whereyourtreasureispodcast.

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In the second episode of this season on ‘Money and Me’, Simon and Bex talk about the importance of identifying core values and principles at the start of our journey with money.

Some key points of interest covered in this episode include the following:

• Simon suggests that the first step in getting to grips with money is being willing to think and talk about it [01:25]; the second stage is to start exploring and understanding what we believe as a result of our faith and how that then affects the way that we think about money and how it should be used. [05:32]
• Simon talks about the importance of identifying a small number of key guiding values that tie in with our circumstances, experiences and personal priorities. We can test whether these values are likely to be appropriate and helpful for us over the long-term through the likes of the rocking chair test, which prompts us to evaluate our anticipated direction of travel by looking into the future and thinking about the kind of person we might become. [07:44]
• Simon comments that one of the biggest challenges that we face arises from the fact that the culture of the society in which we live can exert a huge influence on our attitudes towards wealth and possessions. If we are to exercise integrity in our dealings with money, we not only need to be alert to that factor, we will also need to make our own decisions, based on our view of the nature and purpose of money. [12:25]
• In response to a question from Bex, Simon talks about possible ways in which we can find an appropriate balance between being responsive and generous with our money while, at the same time, managing it in a godly and wise manner. Two very significant principles for us to consider in that context are to include others in our money journey and to have a ‘stewardship’ mindset. [16:05]
• Next week’s episode, ‘Do I Need a Spreadsheet?’, will explore some of the practical tools that can help us to turn our principles into practice when it comes to managing and using our money well. [21:16]
• Bex rounds off the episode by encouraging listeners to pick up the challenge of having a money conversation this week and to get in touch to say how that went. [22:30]

Suggestions or feedback arising from this episode can be sent via email to whereyourtreasureis@freerangepodcasting.co.uk while messages via Instagram should be directed to @whereyourtreasureispodcast.

This show has been brought to you by Free Range Podcasting.

You can sign up to receive news and updates about this podcast by filling out the brief form to which you will be taken when clicking here: https://where-your-treasure-is.kit.com/13c7b5fec6