The seduction of coffee

I love coffee as much as the next woman. I also enjoy coffee and shopping and regard the pairing as one of the finer things in life. However… That particular dopamine balloon has been punctured by some fascinating research out of the University of South Florida which has found that caffeine makes shoppers spend moreContinue reading “The seduction of coffee”

How to fight the lure of the sales

I’m all for discussing financial literacy online but sometimes those blanket exhortations to save 10% of our salaries or to keep six months’ expenses in cash grate on me a little because we all know that this would be a good idea but even for those who can potentially afford to do so very oftenContinue reading “How to fight the lure of the sales”

2022 financial detox: Money, mental health and the silent killer

In the past two posts I’ve looked at how we can detox our finances and also help our physical bodies in the process.  But now I want to look at debt and its impact on our mental health. To quote Dickens in David Copperfield: “Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen and six, result happiness. AnnualContinue reading “2022 financial detox: Money, mental health and the silent killer”

2022 financial detox: Monetising dry January.

We’re all familiar with the mantra healthy body, healthy mind, but how about healthier body, healthier bank account? I try to recalibrate my relationship with alcohol most Januarys. I don’t eliminate it but I cut back. Whether you drink at home or go out, alcohol is expensive unless you go for the real gut rotContinue reading “2022 financial detox: Monetising dry January.”

Investing and survivor bias

Money, time, investing and survivor bias. What time travel could teach us. Imagine you’d bought Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Google in the early days and avoided all the duds that have failed… You might develop a distorted view of your own brilliance. You might have survivor bias. How to counteract survivor bias in investing. #10ThingsMoney

Money and time

What would you pack in your time machine to travel back and also possibly forward in time? In the UK, 97% of our money exists only as squiggles on a computer screen. Governments effectively wave the magic wand of belief to give value to otherwise worthless pieces of paper and metal, and in another stepContinue reading “Money and time”

The curious alchemy of writer and illustrator

Why did I decide to write 10 Things Everyone Needs to Know About Money? What makes it different? What is its special alchemy? Sometimes books are the fruit of a long obsession, of years of dreaming, plotting, planning. Sometimes they’re born of a throwaway remark, a chance encounter, a lightbulb moment when you think whatContinue reading “The curious alchemy of writer and illustrator”

The high price of being a female City Slicker

Shocked by the antics on BBC TV’s bank drama Industry? The real Square Mile was even WORSE in the 80s, says one survivor IT was 1985 and the Big Bang was transforming the Square Mile from a cosy gentlemen’s club of bowler-hatted Home County-dwellers who caught the 4pm train back to Tunbridge Wells, into aContinue reading “The high price of being a female City Slicker”