One of the things I have always been passionate about is financial education.
Over the years, I have met people from all walks of life, different ages, different incomes, different backgrounds, and if there is one thing I have learnt, it is this:
Financial confusion does not discriminate by age, wealth, or profession.
There is often an assumption within financial services that financial illiteracy is mainly a problem for younger generations. My experience tells a very different story.
I have met people approaching retirement who have no real understanding of what they own. I have met successful professionals who have built wealth but struggle to make financial decisions with confidence. I have met families who feel embarrassed to ask what they think are “basic” questions.
And perhaps that is where our industry sometimes gets it wrong.
We often assume that because someone has money, they must understand money.
But why would they?
I know very little about plumbing, electrics, or Nuclear Fusion. Why should I expect to understand those industries without someone bringing it down to my level of understanding—which, in some cases, is close to zero?
So why do we expect people to understand pensions, tax wrappers, drawdown strategies, investment risk, or inheritance planning without doing exactly the same?
Turning the Traditional Model on Its Head
Over the years, I have found myself helping people in ways that do not fit neatly into the traditional financial advice model.
Sometimes it is someone making a major purchase and simply wanting a sounding board.
Sometimes it is someone trying to understand what retirement might actually look like.
Sometimes it is sitting with a couple who have never properly looked at their finances together.
I cannot advise people—and I am always careful about that—but I can do something incredibly powerful:
I can listen.
I can draw pictures.
I can ask better questions.
And sometimes, I can help people unlock things they did not even realise they already had.
In some cases, that journey naturally leads to referring them to a financial planner who can look at the bigger picture. In other cases, what they need first is not advice.
What they need is understanding.
Why Budgeting Still Matters
Recently, I have spent time helping people with something many in our profession might consider “too basic”:
Budgeting.
And yet it has been some of the most rewarding work I have done.
Not because of spreadsheets.
Not because of cashflow charts.
But because budgeting forces people to confront their behaviours, habits, assumptions, and emotions around money.
Where does the money actually go?
What spending genuinely adds value?
What habits are simply unconscious?
Where could small changes create big improvements?
As an industry, we are often quick to move people toward products, wrappers, portfolios, and solutions.
But sometimes the best financial help we can give has nothing to do with investments.
Sometimes it is helping someone master the basics.
Even if it generates no immediate revenue.
A Lesson I Keep Learning
People sometimes ask why I write in such simple terms.
The answer is simple:
Because simplicity creates understanding.
Recently, I wrote a blog comparing two retirement income approaches—living off natural income versus selling units in drawdown.
I knew full well it would spark debate within our profession.
And it did.
But the blog was not written for advisers.
It was written for normal people.
Real people.
People trying to understand their options without feeling intimidated.
Sometimes I think our industry spends too much time trying to sound clever.
We use language that impresses peers but confuses clients.
We talk in technical terms when a simple explanation would do far more good.
That is not education.
That is performance.
Interestingly, over 60% of listeners to the Money Wise UK podcast are under 45. I would describe many of the episodes as fairly technical—even geeky at times—yet they clearly connect.
Why?
I suspect it is because I ask the questions many people actually want answered.
The questions that are often never asked in boardrooms, conferences, or product presentations.
If We Want to Be a Progressive Industry, We Need to Think Differently
If you work in financial services, remember this:
The person sitting in front of you may have built a successful business, held senior roles, or accumulated significant wealth...
...and still feel completely out of their depth when it comes to money.
That is not weakness.
That is reality.
And perhaps there is an opportunity here.
What if advisers became known not just for managing wealth, but for building financial confidence across generations?
What if part of the client relationship included helping children and grandchildren understand budgeting, saving, debt, and financial decision-making?
What if we brought back some of what the old bank manager used to represent—guidance, trust, and education?
If we truly want to build a more forward-thinking profession, we may need to stop asking:
"How do we make clients understand us?"
And start asking:
"How do we understand them first?"
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