“Bad with money.”

A phrase laced with venom. And how I always used to describe myself.

What changed?

Just this: I spent four years of my life working exclusively with people in the financial advice profession.

Here at The Yardstick Agency, we know our niche, and it’s marketing for financial planners and advisers. From the get-go, I was enthusiastic about being a copywriter here (still am), but I do have a perhaps unsurprising confession to make:

The thing that initially excited me about joining Yardstick was the “marketing” bit rather than the “for financial planners and advisers”. Words and websites, not numbers and spreadsheets.

Then, something intriguing happened.

A eureka moment: I realised the stuff I was writing about on behalf of Yardstick’s financial adviser clients – pensions and ISAs, investment risk and cashflow modelling – was important not only for my target audience, but for me as well. By osmosis, I’d absorbed decades of collective financial wisdom – and as a result, woken up to the fact that I needed to put those lessons into action for myself.

To be honest, this was all long overdue.

The true power of financial planning: giving people a different perspective

For my brother-in-law’s wedding a few years back, I bought a fancy new suit and shoes on a 0% interest credit card. By the time the promotional period had ended, I’d not only failed to pay off the card balance, but racked up thousands more pounds of spending in the meantime. Alongside this, I’d got deep into my overdraft. So I chose to take out a loan to consolidate the debt before things got any worse.

Fast-forward another few years, and I’d saved up for a friend’s stag do in Hamburg. Then I filed my tax return too close to the deadline, got hit with a bill I wasn’t expecting, and had to miss the trip to pay it off. (Possibly a blessing in disguise – by all accounts, the stag do was… eventful – but still.)

These are just two incidents that spring to mind from a lifetime of poor financial decisions. I know I’m not unique in this, though, and anyone who’s ever found themselves in similar circumstances will know the problem boils down to one simple truth:

You don’t know what you don’t know.

And that’s why what financial planners and advisers do for a living is so transformative. By sharing their expertise, by presenting an alternative viewpoint, they help people feel better informed and free them from worry or self-doubt.

Here are six money rules I now live by as a result of advice, direct or passive, I’ve been given by financial professionals.

1. Keep spending in check

I must’ve made 20 different budget spreadsheets for myself over the years. And 20 times, I ignored what I wrote down and carried on spending in blissful ignorance.

No longer. My most recent budget file isn’t tucked away in some dusty corner of my MacBook, but saved to my Google Drive, able to be accessed and consulted and amended wherever and whenever I want.

Nowadays, I even go a step further by logging on to my bank each morning to check my balance. A little extreme maybe, but it works for me. And as a Monzo customer, I can use the app’s categorisation feature to see exactly where my money’s going. (My old NatWest account could do a similar thing, and I’ve also used platforms like Snoop for this previously.)

2. Put savings aside unfailingly

Every December was the same old story.

I’d pay for my wife’s Christmas presents and the many work parties and nights out with friends from my current account, and then, eventually, inevitably, from my overdraft. Come January, I was fighting to get back in the black.

Today, I have a separate savings pot for Christmas. One for Francesca’s birthday. One for our annual anniversary getaway. In fact, at the time of writing, I have eight separate savings pots for short- to medium-term expenses. (I use Chase for these.)

Some people call this “piggybanking”. I don’t care about the title, only the approach, and the fact that the tension and stress I used to feel about big payouts has vanished as a result of following it.

3. Make pensions a priority

I’m ashamed to admit I once opted out of my workplace pension.

The thought of how much in potential earnings I’ve missed out on as a result sends shivers down my spine. But then again, I didn’t know anything about compound interest until I started working with financial advisers.

Where once retirement seemed too vague and distant a concept to bother preparing for, now I recognise its importance. (Has this got something to do with me turning 40 in 2026? The jury’s out.)

So, I’ve used Moneybox to track down and consolidate my old pensions into a SIPP, and I’ve got a Moneybox LISA and Stocks and Shares ISA too. I only pay a tiny amount into each every week, but I know that over time, they’ll grow into something far greater.

And don’t worry: I’m also in the Yardstick salary sacrifice scheme.

4. Be unafraid of risk

In general, I reckon I’m a pretty risk-averse person. Yet every fund I’m invested in is set to “Adventurous”, with the balances seeming to yo-yo wildly down and up and back again on an almost-daily basis.

How come? Well, because I learned, from financial professionals, about the stock market.

I learned how inflation can erase purchasing power. I learned about volatility and diversification. And I learned about that most valuable commodity of all when it comes to investing: time.

So now I’m in the investment game. And I’m in it for the long haul. And that makes risk feel a lot less risky.

5. Never stop learning more

On YouTube, it’s Nischa Shah and Pete Matthew.

In books and podcasts, it’s Morgan Housel and Iona Bain.

And through streaming, it’s Money Explained and Becoming Warren Buffett.

There’s a world of financial wisdom just waiting to be soaked up beyond the favourites of mine mentioned above. Consuming financial content is now part of my daily routine, but it’s something other than this that I’m grateful to financial planners for:

Critical thinking. That’s probably what financial advisers and planners really do for a living: weigh up options, challenge assumptions. And in my experience, following in their footsteps and having a questioning mindset when looking for financial content is what helps you find the good stuff and avoid getting scammed by some spotty charlatan on TikTok.

6. See the big picture

In January 2024, I had a brush with death. In September 2025, I came pretty close again.

Without going into detail, I’d suffered some serious complications with Crohn’s disease. I’m out of the woods, but the whole experience made me re-evaluate life – and the lens I looked through to do this was one for which I’ve got financial planners to thank.

Instead of just thinking about what I wanted my future to look like, I spent time considering how money would factor into those plans. I never would’ve thought that way if I didn’t do what I do or work where I work.

After everything that happened, I’m still the same old me. But as I go forward with a changed outlook, I like to think I’m leaving my less desirable behaviours behind. And thanks to financial advisers and planners, and everything they’ve taught me over the years, my being bad with money is now firmly a thing of the past.

Get in touch

Bad with marketing? Let’s change that. Call 0115 8965 300 or email hi@theyardstickagency.co.uk to get going.