My newfound appreciation for podcasts

I’ve been converted to podcasts! A look at some of my favourites over the last few months.

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Until recently, I was never a podcast person. If I was at home, then I either want to hang out with Ms FIRE, or play a videogame / boardgame. Friends told me that they listened to them at work, but I found that too distracting. Either I was focusing on the podcast and achieving no work, or I was doing the work and the podcast was reduced to white noise. For that reason, I prefer listening to music! And whilst I’m travelling, I tend to prefer reading a book.

Basically, I could never find the time to properly listen to them.

But that all changed when we recently travelled to the US. Suddenly I had loads of free time coming up. A person can only read so many books before they want a change of pace! And sometimes I was just too tired to focus on reading, but not tired enough to sleep. So I downloaded a few different podcasts and thought I’d try once again to get into them.

What follows is a summary of some of my favourite podcasts during that time, and what I’ve been listening to since:

 

Meaningful Money

This really sold me on the value of a podcast. Until this point, my general opinion was, anything that a podcast can tell me, I can probably read in half the time. And, whilst this is still probably true, the value here was in being told something that I didn’t realise that I needed to know in the first place!

The episode I’m referring to was focused on the importance of insurance, (life insurance, income protection and critical illness). For a start, I didn’t even realise that there was more than one type of insurance. I just thought there was life insurance, and that was it. Secondly, this was a topic that I just wouldn’t have paid attention to even if it was posted on a blog. But, because this was part of a series that Pete called “New Accumulators,” I thought I should give it a listen and not skip any episodes. Needless to say, I’m certainly glad that I did! I learned a lot from this episode, and it prompted me to think about my own situation, and whether or not I needed any insurance.

This podcast is now on my regular rotation, and I try to catch each episode as it comes out.

 

Financial Independence Europe

This podcast is primarily focused on interviewing people from the EU who are on the FI path. I’ve found it very interesting to hear from different people from across Europe, the various journeys they’ve had and how they’ve overcome their own individual hurdles.

I think this podcast does a great job of shining a light on some of the more underrepresented regions trying to achieve FI. It goes without saying that the vast majority of FIRE blogs are US-based. Even when ignoring them, I still think the rest of Europe is overwhelmed by the UK. You just have to check the FIREhub EU directory; there are currently 44 UK blogs listed, which is more than any other country on the site. Ignoring the Netherlands, Germany and Spain, which all have at least 20 blogs listed, the remaining countries each have fewer than 10 sites. I think it’s important to know that anyone from anywhere can aim for financial independence, and this podcast does a good job of highlighting that.

My favourite so far features Ken from The Humble Penny, where he talks about the importance of self-motivation and personal development. I found it to be an inspiring listen.

 

The Financial Times Money Show

I like this podcast as it covers a wide range of topics related to finance and business, from day-to-day money issues such as pensions or advice for young people, to bigger things like what might happen as a result of a no-deal Brexit, or keeping you informed of the latest obscure tax rules. Each episode is fairly short, at around 20-30 minutes each, and is typically split into two or three sections. It’s a useful way to keep on top of some current events and the impact it’s having on your finances, without getting bogged down with politics.

 

The Maven Money Podcast

This podcast is similar in scope to the Meaningful Money podcast mentioned above. It has a mix of longer (40-50 minute) episodes, going into plenty of detail on a particular subject, and very short (5-10 minute) episodes focusing on one helpful tip, or a ‘call-to-action.’ For example, a recent short episode simply mentioned the importance of reviewing your pension contributions every year or so, and encouraged listeners to log-on to their work-place pension and increase contributions accordingly. Funnily enough, I had actually done that just the day before. Great minds think alike!

 

In conclusion

So, there you have it, my opinion on a few different money-related podcasts. Needless to say, I’ve been converted to podcasts and now listen to them every so often. If nothing else, I’ve found that they are ideal for those times at work where you’re doing something that, whilst time consuming, requires very little brain power or thought.

Have any of you listened to any of the above podcasts?

Are there any that I’ve missed that you would recommend? They don’t even have to be money related!