107. Listener Spotlight: Your questions answered with Rachael

We've got such a cool episode for you this time! Listener Rachael joins us for this one to put her question to the panel: if you haven't got a business and your not sitting on hundreds of thousands of pounds, who do you go to for help understanding your pension, your Individual Savings Account, and for a general money MOT?

Our answers covered a lot of ground on helping you find someone who will help you. From how to approach financial advisers, things to ask us, interpreting our websites (yeah, we know we're rubbish at this bit), to asking about fees.

Websites mentioned:
Money Helper
Retirement Living Standards

And check out episode 92 - Mapping your journey to retirement, where Julie & Michelle walk you through the maths of retirement planning

YOUR HOST

Julie Flynn is an experienced independent financial adviser and financial coach. Justice and equality drive Julie. Which is why she’s spent years studying and researching how stress affects our financial decision making.

Julie is best known for her work with women who have lost their partner and coaching financial services business who want to implement fair and transparent charges.
Ebb & Flow Financial Coaching | Bree Wealth & Tax | Instagram


CO-HOSTS
Emily Pool is a Financial Planner and Will Writer. She is passionate about empowering people to invest their wealth (pensions and savings) sustainably and in line with their personal values.


Michelle Lambell  started her career in financial services as a Stockbroker in 1999 undertaking both advisory and discretionary investment management. Today she is a Chartered Financial Planner, specialising in retirement planning advice, pensions and investments and a Certified Financial Coach. 

Sara Walker is a financial planner and financial coach with 33 years’ experience in financial services. She wants all women to feel financially confident and uses her professional and life experiences to support and educate women over 40 so they in turn feel able to support and be role models for the younger women in their lives.

Jennifer O'Neil is a mortgage and protection specialist and director of Athena Mortgages. Having been in the industry since 2014 Jennifer decided to set up a company in 2020 that suited her core values as a broker – integrity, service, honesty and continuous improvement.
LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

Transcript

Julie [00:00:00]:

Welcome back to another episode of the Women and Money Cafe. Now if you can hear my voice, I'm even more excited than usual today. If you were listening to the previous episode, I still have a big, big very big cheesy grin on my face, but for a different reason in this episode. But before we get into that, okay, I've got I've got a full house in the cafe today.

Julie [00:00:26]:

Everybody's turned up for work. Yay. So next to me on the sofa, I've got Sarah. How are you doing today, Sarah?

Sara [00:00:32]:

Oh, I'm very good today. Thank you, Julie. Hope you're good.

Julie [00:00:35]:

I'm very good. Thank you. Michelle?

Michelle [00:00:38]:

I'm good. Thank you.

Julie [00:00:40]:

Alright. Emily.

Emily [00:00:42]:

I'm very good, but I I'm having my fire alarm tested at this very moment. Can you hear it?

Julie [00:00:47]:

Is it happening right now?

Emily [00:00:49]:

It's just stopped. But anyway, hi, everyone.

Julie [00:00:52]:

Right. So listeners, we must apologize in advance. If you hear Piercing noise in this episode. It's Emily's fault. You can contact her at Happy Planner FP. Okay. Now let's but let's move on to the bit why I'm really, really, really properly excited. Right? So I love it when you all send me messages on Instagram and on Facebook and what have you.

Julie [00:01:12]:

I get properly excited when I hear from the listeners. And 1 listener was foolish enough to come to me with some questions. And I thought the questions were so good. I thought, Why don't you just come on the podcast and ask us the questions? So today, we've got our very 1st listener joining us, and it's Rachel. So, Rachel, welcome to the cafe.

Rachael [00:01:31]:

So much. Thank you for having me.

Julie [00:01:34]:

Alright. I do hopefully, you won't regret this, but I think I got your message when was it? It was back at the start of October. And I think the question you were asking me, I thought, you know what? It's so important. I think that a lot of people listening to this Are going to want to hear the answer to it. Though, well, let's get you on because we might give you, like, a 1 sentence answer to it. But you may be like, Yeah. But what else? And what about this? And what about that? And I thought it's all very well us sitting here guessing what The listeners want to hear much better when you tell us. So can I just say you've been very brave coming on the podcast? So thank you.

Rachael [00:02:13]:

I won't I won't be you any other questions. In on how

Julie [00:02:19]:

Alright. So do you remember back in October when you dropped me a message which on what you were asking me.

Rachael [00:02:25]:

I do. I my I had a burning question, and I do listen to your podcast regularly. And you do I think you sort of have given this information along the way, but I think I just needed to hear it as one summary, if you know what I mean. My burning question was that whenever I look at I think about sorting my finances, getting advice. I look at I go onto the website. I financial advisers maybe in my local area, And I always get put off a bit by the websites because it always talks about things like wealth management and lumps pensions and ongoing monthly management fees. And you know what, Julie? I tend to just click off straight away. I just think, you know, That's for people with loads of money, and I just actually want, for want of a better phrase, like a mini money MOT.

Rachael [00:03:22]:

I just want to say, Okay. I've got a couple of £1,000 in an ISA. Is it in the right one? I've got, a pension. I've got an old pension as well. Do I combine them? Am I on the right mortgage? Should I be overpaying? Should I not be? Should I be doing something else with that money? It's like I sort of need, like, just To note just a general sort of, like, MOT, like I said before, just to whether to know that everything is As it should be or whether I could make some little changes or, you know, there's little tweaks I could do that would improve my long term finances. So Yeah. And when I've spoken to my friends about it, they say, yeah. I'd love that as well because I don't know, I actually don't know what pension I'm getting.

Rachael [00:04:15]:

I've got a few pension shot. I don't know whether to combine them. Yeah. I don't know really whether I think I know I'm on a good mortgage deal, but I don't quite know. So yeah. And I don't know whether that service exists. It may exist already, and I'm just Looking at in the wrong on the wrong websites. So, yeah, that's my question in a higgledy piggledy way.

Julie [00:04:38]:

Well, no. I think I think we all agreed that's a cracking question.

Michelle [00:04:42]:

Absolutely. That's a brilliant answer.

Julie [00:04:44]:

And it makes you wonder why We, as a profession, fail so miserably to answer it simply, and we do fail to answer it miserably. We do. So what I heard there that as we start to unpack the question, Rachel, I think the first thing that Came up was so you Google some local advisers. You've stumbled upon their websites, And then you're getting blinded by technology. Not to not technology. Sorry. Jargon about wealth levels and retainers, and God knows what else. What happens to your head when you start reading all that stuff?

Rachael [00:05:26]:

To be honest, I just sort of think it it's not for me. It's for people that have got 100 of 1,000 of pounds in the bank or, You know, they've just inherited a house and, you know, it or they've got their own business. It doesn't feel to me like it's for your everyday person who's Got a bit of savings, got a couple of pensions. So it's it just goes above my head and I just click off and then I put it off. And the years roll by, and I want this information, but I just don't know where to get it.

Julie [00:05:59]:

Alright. I'm going to paraphrase here and tell me if this sounds right to you. What you're wondering is how do ordinary people access financial advice? Yes. Yeah?

Emily [00:06:12]:

Alright. Yeah.

Julie [00:06:14]:

Alright. Team, get prepared to be put on the spot At any given moment, okay. So, yeah, Sarah, I'm looking at you because you gave me a bit of a hard time in the last episode. So you're up first.

Rachael [00:06:28]:

Fair enough.

Julie [00:06:29]:

You're up first. What would you what would be your response today, Rachel? And all the other listeners that are Sitting there thinking I've been on the websites. They're all talking about this wealth management, all this super duper fancy stuff. I'm just a normal person. Who's going to help me?

Sara [00:06:44]:

Well, my first response to that is just ignore the language. It's just language. It's bluff and buster. Even the wealthy people are ordinary people, and any financial adviser should be prepared to give you a Financial review, they will probably call it, but your financial MOT is quite appropriate. And if they don't do cover all the areas you need, they should know somebody, you know, better combined with somebody else so that you can get that full review. It is out there, but what we're really shitting doing is presenting it in a way that makes it really easy For people to say, yeah. That's what I need. Great.

Emily [00:07:27]:

I'll go

Sara [00:07:27]:

and give them a call or have a chat with them or that kind of thing. So it It's easy to be put off. I think it's disgusting. We should be so ashamed in our profession that we put people off because there are services out there like that, We don't market them. We don't make it easy for you to see, but a good financial adviser or financial planner should be prepared to offer you a financial review for a fixed fee, tell you exactly what's included, and give you exactly what you're asking for.

Emily [00:07:58]:

Alright. That sounds

Rachael [00:08:00]:

I think it's just you get put off, and it doesn't that If they do offer that service, it doesn't shout out from the website. It doesn't seem obvious. You know?

Julie [00:08:11]:

Alright. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say one of those things that I'm not meant See, but I'm just going to say it anyway. Right? Financial adviser websites. Okay. So Sometimes they will have a little, tab on them that says fees, and you click on it and you'll get a generic statement that says, we charge fair and transparent fees, and we will be happy tell you how much that is once we spent an hour talking to you, which I find a tad dissatisfying as a user. But then you'll get other ones where they are really explicit about what they charge. But this is the bit that's a bit naughty that's Going to piss off the financial advisers, but I'm going to do it anyway. As I think some firms want to project a certain image because they want to attract a certain kind of client.

Julie [00:08:59]:

So while they may deal with someone that's maybe got a 100,000 pound, Their website is trying to talk to somebody that's got a £1,000,000. And what they don't realize is they're putting off Everybody else because they're trying to appear to be something else. Is this resonating with anybody?

Sara [00:09:19]:

Yes. Exactly. Definitely.

Julie [00:09:21]:

It starts am I am I being am I being bad if I call it that male energy thing? No. It's much better than what I was thinking. I think we all know that. I think we all know that. So I think that's the challenge you've got is, like, the website. Some of them are They're not giving you the information for you to be able to figure out, do I actually want to talk to these people? You've got other websites that are giving you the wrong information. And then you got to try and find the one that is actually talking to you. That's quite a big job.

Julie [00:09:50]:

So, Michelle, you are the person that that took the mecca of me most, 2nd most on the last episode. Emily, you're in you're in good hands today because you've not upset me. Michelle, What tips have you got for Rachel then this person try how'd you actually find an adviser that would work that is the right one for you?

Michelle [00:10:11]:

Think that's what makes me really sad that that's how, you know, websites can come across because there are many, many advisers, planners It's really important that everyone accesses financial advice.

Julie [00:10:25]:

And I

Michelle [00:10:25]:

think, you know, we as an as an industry really want everyone to feel they can Approach us. So I think, really, it's trying to bypass the website stuff. I know that's really hard because You look at it and you think, oh, I don't know. I don't know what these people are like. But maybe give them a call and go and have a chat with somebody. Ask them some questions about what they deal with, whether they could do what you want, tell them what you'd like. And I would hope, Sincerely, the that adviser would go, yes. I can do that.

Michelle [00:10:58]:

And there is no minimum that you need to have to work with me because that is one of my biggest bugbears with The industry as a whole that we say you have to have a minimum. You shouldn't. Everyone should have financial advice. So I suppose it's being Stepping out of your comfort zone, picking up the phone and saying, can I have a chat? I've got many people who almost interview me In an initial chat because they're asking who I am, what I am, and what I can do. And I can then tailor what I do To what they would like. And, again, there's no minimum. I I've got people who come and see me just as one off as you say. What have I got? Is it right? If it's not right, what could I do? So it is it is a hard one because that is a big barrier to come in to see us.

Michelle [00:11:45]:

But just yeah. Can I have a chat? Can I come and have a coffee with you and, you know, see how I feel? I actually have 1 client who came to me, and I hardly spoke in the 1st meeting. She interviewed me to see whether I would work School for her, and we now get on, like, a house on fire. But it's yeah. Don't ever be afraid to approach us.

Julie [00:12:08]:

What are your thoughts on that, Rachel?

Rachael [00:12:11]:

Well, that is that is reassuring is and I do think you're right, Julia, because the websites that I go on, I think I do think they won't come across with a certain image if you know what I mean, like you said. Whereas I think if they just also maybe try to focus on, you know, do you need one off advice? Are you on the right mortgage? You know, they just had a bit of a they changed some of the wording. You know, I just

Julie [00:12:41]:

think that suggesting as a profession, we're a bit shit at marketing. Right?

Rachael [00:12:46]:

Not I you know, looked at my local ones. But yeah. It's interesting that you say, you know, that you say that you are happy to have people to come in that are just on a chat because it doesn't really sort like that comes across like you do have to have sort of a big portfolio. So, no, that is reassuring. Thank you.

Julie [00:13:12]:

Alright. And then, Emily, you're not getting put on the spot today because you're the you're the good team member today.

Emily [00:13:19]:

I'm happy to come back with a response on Rachel's question, which was a very good question. And, actually, my website is launching tomorrow that I've only been doing for about 2 years. But, anyway, it's launching tomorrow, and I've just had a look to see what I've got on my fees web my fees page. And you're right. There's a lot of sort of explanation of sort of what my services are. And having looked at the top half of the page, it probably does fall point into that category of maybe being geared towards people who are looking for a sort of a bigger, more comprehensive Service. However, I would draw your attention to the words towards the bottom of the page that says, If your requirements let me just get it up. If your needs do not fit into the services above And you just want an hour or 2 of my time, my hourly rate is whatever.

Emily [00:14:18]:

You can go to

Julie [00:14:18]:

the website. Coy, Emily. Tell your hourly rates.

Emily [00:14:22]:

Okay. I will, actually. So my hourly rate is £200. And In that meeting, objectives, desired outcomes, and fixed price can be agreed upfront. So, you know, you can Tell me what you want, and I can price up whatever it costs for that meeting. Obviously, if you're trying to keep costs Slow. What you're not going to get in a in a meeting that's going to be an hour or 2 hours, what you're not going to get is the written report afterwards. What you might get is a follow-up email.

Emily [00:14:56]:

So I think I can I am quite flexible with certain clients You don't require a full financial planning service? However, I will still explain to clients what my full financial planning service is, And then when it transpires that they're not looking for that or that's something they can't afford at the moment, I can work with them to try and find something that does work with them, and I have had people just buy an hour of my time, and we've done it that way. But you can I just Caveat all of that by saying when you want specific advice about transferring plans and choosing a new plan, That is the highly regulated area of what we do, and we are not allowed to say, oh, yes? You need to bin that pension and put it in that one. I think what we can do is signpost you to some websites that are direct to client and that you can look at yourself, but we would not be able to make those recommendations without having a lengthy report, and that's unfortunately, it will cost them money because it's a lot time. We don't do things by halves because we're not allowed to. We we're very highly regulated.

Julie [00:16:08]:

Alright. Alright. I think I think Emily's won a prize there for having transparency on a website. Right. Nice job, Emily. So Real talk, Rachel. Real talk. Okay? Financial advisers.

Julie [00:16:22]:

So what is there? Is there about 25,000 of us in the UK? So roughly $25,000. Okay? Some of them are going to be insert swear word. Right? All Oh, look at me being restrained. And some of them are going to be lovely like us. And so I think if you're going out, you're trying to find 1 of us, I think you have to prepare yourself for an element of rejection. And that is the possibility that somebody's going to come back and say, oh, no. I won't deal with somebody with as much money as that. And that's actually their issue.

Julie [00:16:52]:

It's not your issue. So I'm thinking, like, if how would I get round this? If I was a normal person, not a financial adviser, but I happen to know all the stuff that I know. What would I do? So you've hit up Google to find and load local advisers. What I would maybe do is grab their email address and email all of them, like, your requirements and what you're looking for and ask them if this is something that they can deal with. Because what we want to do is minimize that pain of rejection because that's not a nice feeling. It always makes me think back to our head. A director from Sainsbury's talk once to a room full of financial advisers. And somebody asked her, do you have a financial adviser? And she's like, well, no.

Julie [00:17:31]:

Because I always felt a bit embarrassed because I didn't think I had enough money. Right? The woman's on, like, a 6 figure salary, and she's too nervous to approach us because she doesn't want to feel that rejection thing. So you could do it via email, and some of them are going to come back and say, oh, no. Our minimums are right. Some of them are going to come back and say, absolutely, you have this kind of thing that we do. So then you've started to get a pull. So then you can do what Michelle was suggesting, which is then get in touch I just go and chat with 1 of them to see what they feel like, what they seem like. And then drawing it back to what Sarah and Emily were saying.

Julie [00:18:05]:

Right? And it's like, I think everybody knows how I feel about this. Financial advisers by and large try charged by percentages. That's not written down as a rule somewhere that we have to do that. Okay? So if they come out with a percentage chart, Say, I would prefer to pay a flat fee for this service. And the bulk of them are going to go, okay. Right? So you can push back on that. And then let's say that you've got your half a dozen websites and you've emailed them off and there's 3 of them that you they want to meet. I think when you go into that meeting, the question I would have you go in armed with is when you're they're sitting in front of you is ask them, Okay.

Julie [00:18:49]:

This is me. This is what I'm looking for. Can you tell me how you have helped people like me? Can you give me some examples of working with someone like me and the benefits they derive from the relationship with you? Mhmm. Because what you don't want is someone that is just desperate for any money, any business, any client. You want someone who is an expert in you, And there will be someone out there who is an expert in you and helping people like you. I don't know if That sounds doable. Does that make it sound a bit more achievable finding someone?

Rachael [00:19:27]:

It does. It does. It's a it's a good starting point. And, what did the lady was saying about, you know, that's something that I thought about when I was asking my which was I don't want to underestimate, you know, the skills that you all have and the detail that you have to go into when you're, you know, you're offering this help and, what that consists of? Because I don't know that. Though if I'm asking you pension advice, I don't know how much work goes into that for you to then provide that information. But If I if you have the option of, you know, an hour, couple of hours chat, and then that then leads on to well, actually, I'd now like to pay you extra for more, you know, work with me because I would like to find out more about that, and I know that takes up more of your time. Ben, you've got the option, haven't you, then to move that, or you've got all the information that you wanted in that 1 or 2 hours. Yeah, that sounds really helpful.

Rachael [00:20:27]:

Thank you.

Julie [00:20:29]:

I think as well, it's all going to depend on the adviser, because I think I speak for all of us. I normally do anyway, don't I? Can I have permission to speak for everyone?

Sara [00:20:39]:

Yes. Go ahead.

Julie [00:20:41]:

If you put your information down in front of any one of us. Right? Let's say you put your pension information down, you put your mortgage information down, you put your ISA information, Within about 10 minutes, we know exactly what's going on. Oh, we can say, right, you know what? Your mortgage might want to do something like that. That pension's fine. Just leave it alone. Keep putting money into it. The answer, mhmm, could probably get better. Right? 10 minutes is probably a stretch.

Julie [00:21:05]:

We've probably got that done in 3 minutes, haven't Right? And all of us are probably going to just give you that information. You've got some advisers that won't they will want to sit back and they will want to make you pay for it. And you'll get someone that will just help you. And, like, my golden rule is that unless I have to sign a bit of paper, you can have it for free. If I have to sign a bit of paper, it means I've had to go and do research, do a report, and give advice, which means I'm now on the hook for the insurance as well and the regulator, and all the compliance stuff, so I need to cover my costs. But if I don't need to sign a bit of paper, I'll just tell you anything. Am I am I allowed to say shit like that?

Sara [00:21:43]:

Almost. But you can't give advice, Julie.

Julie [00:21:45]:

Oh, no. I'm not giving advice. I can sit no. I can sit and say that pension It's fine, can't I? But I'm not going to say if I start talking about different funds and different pension providers, then that's different.

Emily [00:21:56]:

What I always hang my hats on is the fact that, you know, it's personal advice that is regulated, and I think we can bring a lot of value in giving quite general advice. Admittedly, general advice can be found on Google, can be found anywhere, but we are targeting our general advice in relation to the questions that you ask. So we can do that.

Julie [00:22:21]:

Oh, it's like if you put a pension in front of us, we're going to know straight away if it's fortunately priced or if it's reasonably priced worldwide. We could say that.

Emily [00:22:28]:

That high.

Julie [00:22:29]:

Uh-huh. I'd

Emily [00:22:30]:

say that without saying, That is really high. You should move your pension over here to this product because that's much better. That's different.

Julie [00:22:38]:

Nobody ever says Vanguard. Oh, no. I was a bit naughty there, wasn't I? So is there anything else you want to ask us, Rachael?

Rachael [00:22:51]:

No. I don't think so. It just re really I just find it really interesting because If I speak to, I don't know, some friends and, the girls at work, hardly any of them know what they What their pension is what their expected pension is, for example. And, and, you know, I it just sort of worries me that we've got all these people that Don't really know the ins and outs of their finances, and this could just be a really helpful service where, you know, your advice would be would be great. Just going back to that pension section that you just said. If I said, right, here is my pension, and this is what I think I'm going to be getting when I'm 67 or whatever. If you then said, Right. It's going to be I need to look into that, and there's an extra cost.

Rachael [00:23:48]:

Is that how it would generally work? Because I think that would be great because then you can sort of Get the information that you need, based on how much, you know, the fee is, and at least you'd know where you're stored. I think that's one of the things. You don't really know What the fees are as well. So, knowing where you stand is going to be this much if you want me to do this. If it's going to be this much, I'm going to need this much time. I think that's what I'm after really, just knowing being a bit more in the know about how to get the information and how much it's going to cost as well.

Julie [00:24:21]:

Alright. Sorry, Emily. Did you have an answer for that one?

Emily [00:24:24]:

Well, I was going to just say that, you know those, Statements that you get sent every year by your pension provider that you probably just sort of had to give a quick glance to and throw in the bin or do whatever. Well, it is worth reading them sometimes and working out what you're invested in and, you know, getting a little bit educated listening to some of our earlier podcasts about investing in multi asset funds and growth and blah blah blah. But anyway, just generally, It's useful to look at the projection, that they provide. They provide a projection to say what your Pension is going to look like when you retire, whatever your retirement date you've chosen is, and they base it on the funds that you've got. Now I will probably say that most projections are underestimated because the regulator says they're not allowed to be overestimated. You did. But you could do worse than look at that look at that projection, and it'll tell you how much your pot is going to be based on the funds that you're in and your charges and, your contributions. And then You find yourself a retirement calculator tool that you can find online.

Emily [00:25:42]:

I've got 1 on my website, actually.

Julie [00:25:46]:

This is just a bloody shameless plug for Happy Planet today.

Emily [00:25:50]:

I've just got a very good website. So, anyway, I recommend you have a look. But also, yeah, I also recommend to find out what how much you need in retirement. Have a look at a wonderful website that is called livingstandards.co.uk or it might be .gov.uk. We'll put it in the show notes, and that will actually then translate to you how much you're going to need to fund your retirement because you need the 2 figures. You need, what am I going to have based on what I'm doing now And how much I'm actually going to need? And then you can worry about the difference between the 2. And, yeah, that's

Julie [00:26:28]:

Resources for figuring all that out as well is the MoneyHelper website is full of really good information. It's Trusted, reliable information as well. And I was just looking up here. She's doing shameless plugs. I'm doing shameless plugs. Okay. Episode 92, mapping your journey to retirement. This is was this you and me, you and me, Michelle?

Michelle [00:26:53]:

Yeah.

Julie [00:26:53]:

We actually went through the maths of trying to figure out how much you need for retirement. So it's taking that information on the pension statements And like that, I'm trying to pull it together to figure out what do I actually need in retirement and how much what's this pension actually going to do for me. So that does it. We've also done an episode on the state pension because I think lots of people forget well, they just they don't they don't think the state pension is important. It Yes. It's a lot of money now. So but, yeah, I think your question though was, if you come to And you've got the pension. You let you show it to us.

Julie [00:27:31]:

What's that going to do for me? Like, we can sit there and we can sort of explain the information there, And it'll give you a big sum of money you've got at the end, and we can explain to you the different things you can do with the sum of money. And that's quite easy to do. If you're then asking the question, I would like x in retirement. What do I have to need what do I have to do to get there? That's a bigger piece of work. Because the first one you're just asking us to use the knowledge in our head to explain what you've got. Once you start asking us about potential outcomes in the future, So that's probably we're in the realms of advice then, and we're going to charge money for that. Alright. I Just want to sort

Michelle [00:28:11]:

of add also in terms of, you know, coming to see someone and having a quick, you know, a review. So you've agreed. You've got a couple of hours of time with an adviser. I know from my point of view, I will always then say exactly what the next piece of work would cost. And I wouldn't do anything that was chargeable to you Until we had agreed that in writing, because I think it's so important that you don't get landed with a bill that you least expect or you think that we may do that. And I would So I think all of us here and most advisers I know would say, what would I do between then and then is actually at my expense. That's up to me. But To get the end result for you, this is what it would cost you.

Michelle [00:28:52]:

So you would have clarification and you'd know. And you can go away and make that choice on your own because, you know, I think we all want you to be comfortable and happy with whatever that fee may be.

Emily [00:29:04]:

Alright. Thank

Julie [00:29:05]:

you. That's a good point. So Any fee with an adviser has to be agreed in advance. So none of us can actually just land you with a bill. We're not allowed to do that. So, Sarah, is there anything that you would add?

Sara [00:29:20]:

I would like to ask you something. After you've after you've not you. Sorry, Rachel. Now that you've sorry, Julie. What? Now that you've heard The thing, do you do you feel and be honest. Do you feel that you could now go back to those websites some things and maybe send off some emails. Do you feel comfortable doing that?

Rachael [00:29:42]:

Yeah. I do. I do. I just Sometimes you just need someone to say, yes. You can do that. And, I like the point, about, you know, you might get rejected and that's okay. The person for you, move on, and find the person that's right for you. And that that's great advice because one rejection, if you're not Expecting it could sort of throw you off again and just not go back to it.

Rachael [00:30:06]:

So, yeah, I'm going to do that. I'm going to follow those steps and, Yeah. I may be brave enough to text Julie back with how I've got on.

Sara [00:30:14]:

Oh, brilliant. Yeah.

Emily [00:30:16]:

Yeah. We'd like to know. That'd be

Sara [00:30:18]:

That would be really good. Yeah. That's great. That's great.

Julie [00:30:22]:

Sarah, that's a great question. I thought you were going to put me on the spot there for a second, but I think that was a good question. So hopefully then I hope that we've answered your question and we've given some value to everybody else that's listening. Is there anything else that you can think of, well, you've got is that you're, you know, you're like, let's ask them this.

Emily [00:30:45]:

Oh, do you know?

Rachael [00:30:46]:

I wish I wish I'd thought about this more. And I think the main thing because, Yeah. Just speaking to other people, they're they say the same thing. Yeah. I'd like some advice as well, but I yeah. I'm put off. So, It's great because I'm going to I’m always monitoring the people at work. You know? Have you looked at What your pension is because we have a teacher's pension, and, actually, you can we you can go on to their website and you sort of can do the projection, but nobody knows.

Rachael [00:31:16]:

I'm like, get on to the website and have a look and see, and they're all like, thanks. So I feel like I you know? No. I just like help. If I know pass it on.

Julie [00:31:31]:

Right. Okay. So we're going to have a really financially empowered education system where you're based then, Rachel. Yeah?

Rachael [00:31:38]:

But, you know, I can pass it on to my team anyway. But, yeah, if I go through this process and I get some information and I get the, you know, the advice that I'm after then. Yeah. I'm going to tell my friends and my colleagues and, you know, hopefully, that'll help as well if they need the same Info show. Yeah. No. Thank you.

Julie [00:31:59]:

No. So like I would say, I've just put in an email the kind of questions that you put in your message to me, A brief overview of some of the numbers that are involved, and then just fire off to them. And some of them either won't reply, some of them will say no, and some of them will say yes. And that's just because we're all very different kinds of businesses that work with different kinds of people. So it's not a personal thing. It's just you're not the fit for them. And by god, you want to know that at the start, Rachel. You don't want to find out halfway through.

Rachael [00:32:26]:

Yeah.

Julie [00:32:27]:

Yeah?

Rachael [00:32:27]:

Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. That's great.

Emily [00:32:31]:

I was also just going to add, that most financial planners will give you, You know, a 1st meeting complimentary, whether that's on the phone or whatever, but and it does vary as to how long they'll give you. So that's a really good opportunity to get to know them and work out whether they're the best fit, but do be aware that they're not going to give you any advice advised that that meeting. I do find that I'm approached a lot by people who think they can use that first meeting to get a lot of advice. I'm Afraid that's not going to work. But, yeah, definitely make use of that time to grill them.

Julie [00:33:09]:

Yeah. Alright. Okay. So Rachel's had to go and look after her children now. And hopefully oh, no. You're back. You just moved. You're moving around my screen.

Julie [00:33:19]:

Right. So You I think you're on mute now though, Rachel. Okay. So we're having some technical difficulties. But what I'm hoping is that Rachel will drop back into my Instagram inbox, and let me know how that she gets on with that. Is everybody else feeling a little bit disheartened that as a profession, we can be so inaccessible?

Sara [00:33:42]:

Oh, it's dis it's disgusting, really, isn't it?

Julie [00:33:45]:

I was going with disheartened. Yeah. Disgusted. Have you got a d word for me, Michelle?

Michelle [00:33:51]:

Not a d word, but it I can't probably can't say exactly what's going through my head, but, yeah, it that is one of the most frustrating things that you hear people say because, Unfortunately, we have a past reputation that tarnishes everybody, and it shouldn't be that way. We're not all like that.

Emily [00:34:12]:

I think it's worth mentioning that there are quite a few, start-up initiatives in this space that are really trying to bridge this advice gap, and that is mostly through technology. I mean, I don't want to sort of do us all out of a job because a lot most people given the choice would prefer a face to face relationship with a person who's going to be very bespoke to their needs. But we are talking about the section of people who can't necessarily access that at this time in their lives. So there are Subscription type services out there, which I probably won't recommend actually because I think you could probably do your own research. But there are, a number of start ups who are trying to deliver advice based on a monthly fee, much like a gym membership A personal trainer, that kind of thing, just to get you started, get you pointed in the right direction without costing the earth. So it's definitely worth looking at that.

Julie [00:35:12]:

Alright. Well, I think, I think we're all really grateful to Rachel for coming on and joining It's like a real live listener. That was exciting, wasn't it, everybody? Yeah.

Emily [00:35:23]:

It was really good.

Julie [00:35:25]:

Uh-huh. What I would say is if you're sitting there listening, thinking, God, I wish they'd answer my questions. Right. So be warned, if you do drop into my Instagram inbox, you're getting invited on. But, conversely, if you're like, shit, I want to come on. I want to play with you guys. I want to ask you all my questions, then, yeah, do it. Come on.

Julie [00:35:43]:

Come and chat with us. But Like I said to Rachel at the start, much better to hear what you actually want to hear rather than us guessing what you want to hear. But yeah. So that was lots of fun. So just as we wrap things up, Emily, any final thoughts?

Emily [00:35:59]:

I would just say I learned a lot from and I would love to hear more listeners come on and post their questions. Definitely.

Julie [00:36:07]:

Yeah. Sarah, any final thoughts from you?

Sara [00:36:12]:

Well, 2 edged sword, isn't it? Firstly, as we were disheartened and saddened to hear how she felt And that it's still that is still the norm. But then I think but then I sat there and I Felt very proud because, actually, we're the little group who are trying to make a difference. And we're not the only ones, are we? We know there are others out there also doing it. So the tide is turning, And keep looking, listeners. Keep ask be brave to ask these questions because there are lots of other good souls like ourselves who'd be very willing to find a way to help you. I felt saddened and then uplifted, I think.

Julie [00:36:50]:

Right. Okay. I like that. We're ending on a positive. Michelle, what are your last thoughts?

Michelle [00:36:57]:

Again, sort of sad that the question is out there, but I think doing episodes like this actually helps people Answer those questions that they may be afraid to ask other people. And, yeah, the more we have them, the best of you know, the better we can be and the better we can tailor So it's to whatever people want to know, and that's what we've always tried to do. So from that point of view, you're saying, Sarah, you know, it it's a happier ending. Alright.

Julie [00:37:22]:

Right. So I think kudos to you lot for being the people that people could come and ask questions of. Right. Take a bow metaphorically. Me, my final thoughts, I don't have anything serious to add to everybody. I'm just genuinely bloody excited we had a listener on the podcast. Alright. Got to be honest because it just made my day when Sarah agreed to do it.

Julie [00:37:41]:

And if you're sitting there thinking, oh, I've got all these questions I want to ask them too, Give me a shout. Come and play with us. Alright. Okay. Right. Thank you very much, ladies, for keeping me company and answering Rachel's question with me. So it just remains for me to say thank you to listeners for listening to us. And until next time, please do take care of yourselves.