Squanderlust with Martha Lawton

This week’s topic is blended families, which is to say families where at least one partner has children from a previous relationship. Our guest is financial adviser and coach Catherine Thomas-Humphreys who specialises in helping parents and families create new, confident, positive money relationships that work for them, to support what they want to really enjoy in life so they can focus on what really matters most to them.We discuss breaking up and keeping a "channel of civility", finding new partners and getting the money side right from the start, and handling grandparents and your ex's new romantic interest.Support the show with a donation or affiliate purchase Buy us a coffeeIn the UK or Spain and need to complete a tax return? Get 10% off at TaxScouts Check out our Bookshop.org store

Ugh taxes.... so stressful and boring.... Most of us just want someone else to sort our tax returns without us having to think about it, but tax experts are kind of expensive, right? You'd think in the digital age there would be a better way.That's the problem that TaxScouts co-founder Tram Abramov set out to solve and it seems to be working. Along the way he's faced some highly relatable business challenges and made an excellent, though unintended, contribution to women's empowerment.In the end though, as he tells us, even though he runs a tech business, the most important place for him to focus is always on the people.Tram gives us some tips for making taxes less stressful whether you use TaxScouts or DIY.Squanderlust listeners can get 10% off their first tax return with TaxScouts by clicking the link:https://taxscouts.com/squanderlust/ (This is an affiliate link. First time users of TaxScouts services who sign up via this link will also be supporting the show.)Support the show with a donation or affiliate purchase Buy us a coffeeCheck out our Bookshop.org store

Automating aspects of your finances is convenient and ensures that you won’t forget to make important payments. On the flip side, automation leads to disengagement, when your finances seem to manage themselves why take the time to pay attention to them? This is especially true for people who lead busy complex lives and those who have mental health needs or are otherwise neurodivergent.There are areas of our finances where it’s important to be aware of what’s happening, especially because companies combine automated and manual processes carefully to make us pay more for goods and services than we might otherwise do.This episode is about finding the balance between convenience and mindfulness when it comes to our money. What needs our attention and what can we set up and allow to run itself?This episode was recorded at home and without editing. Please be understanding about the sound, ums and ahs.Support the show with a donation or affiliate purchase Buy us a coffeeIn the UK or Spain and need to complete a tax return? Get 10% off at TaxScouts Check out our Bookshop.org store

While we're between seasons, Martha drops in with a round up of favourite episodes from 2021 and some suggestions for getting over the January financial blues. 2021 faves: ep 28. Patrick Hill on recovering from job loss; ep 30. Grace Lordan on applying behavioural science to your career; ep 31. Nick Elston on managing money anxiety; ep 32. Otegha Uwagba on why we need to talk about our own money to reduce racial, gender and class inequality; and ep 41 Will Rainey on teaching children about money.For a brighter financial new year see ep 1. "Resolution Fail" and ep 23. "Debt Advice Avoidance".You can also get 10% off a self-assessment tax return completed by an accredited accountant at https://taxscouts.com/squanderlust thanks to our new listener deal from Tax Scouts (we receive affiliate payments from this).Martha is offering financial coaching. Send enquiries to Martha care of hello (at) squanderlustpod (dot) com to book a free call and find out more.You can find books from the authors who have been on the show and more at our bookshop.org store: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/Squanderlust There are also show notes and ways to support the show, so we can keep the wonderful team at Wardour Studios in coffee and pizza, at https://squanderlustpod.com

Interview with money coach, financial planner and author, Catherine Morgan from The Money Panel about her own money journey, why women often need specialist money coaching and her new book “It’s not about the money: 3 steps to become a wealthy woman” which takes a trauma-informed approach to understanding money behaviours, building wealth and financial resilience. Catherine is host of the podcast "In Her Financial Shoes". (Not, as Martha incorrectly stated, The Money Panel Podcast. Oops!)Support the show with a donation or affiliate purchase Buy us a coffeeIn the UK or Spain and need to complete a tax return? Get 10% off at TaxScouts Check out our Bookshop.org store

When a gift seems very high cost compared to the income or wealth of the giver or the receiver, it can cause feelings other than gratitude. Questions arise about motives and expectations. Can they afford it and what do they want in return? And can I afford that? Some people give for the pleasure of giving, but some give to be recognised, to hide feelings of inadequacy or to place the receiver in their debt.What can we do to make gift giving a pleasurable experience all round? And how can we react when gift giving goes wrong?With Dr Jane Major, clinical psychologist and relationship therapist from The Room Between therapy practice.Support the show with a donation or affiliate purchase Buy us a coffeeIn the UK or Spain and need to complete a tax return? Get 10% off at TaxScouts Check out our Bookshop.org store

Have you ever thought that your children see you spending money in shops, but they probably don’t see when you’re saving, investing or paying the bills? So what are they learning about money from what they see you do?Wouldn’t it be great if you knew how to teach your children the right lessons about money at the right ages so they grow up with the mindset and habits to build wealth and be confident around money even from a young age.This week our guest is Will Rainey from Blue Tree Savings who is an expert in teaching kids to be great with money. Will makes money easy and fun with stories and games. He has ideas about how your child can practise money skills before they even start school, learning more and more as they get older, preparing them, step by step, for adult life.Will is the author of "Grandpa's Fortune Fables: Fun stories to teach kids about money".Support the show with a donation or affiliate purchase Buy us a coffeeIn the UK or Spain and need to complete a tax return? Get 10% off at TaxScouts Check out our Bookshop.org store

Interview with author and broadcaster Iona Bain about the increase in stock market and other types of investing amongst young people. Includes discussion of online investing cultures, finfluencers, apps and social media, memestocks like GameStop, and how young people can invest in ways that reduce risk and are likely to bring long term rewards.We also discussed Iona’s new book Own It!. Squanderlust listeners can get 30% off a copy of Own It! from Harriman House by entering code SQUANDERLUST30 at checkout.Support the show with a donation or affiliate purchase Buy us a coffeeIn the UK or Spain and need to complete a tax return? Get 10% off at TaxScouts Check out our Bookshop.org store