About this episode
A bit of a themed Q&A this week, with some great questions from folks in their 30's. We cover share save schemes at work, large inheritances and retirement planning - yes, even in your 30's! Shownotes: https://meaningfulmoney.tv/QA17 01:29 Question 1 Hi Pete and Roger, First of all I wanted to say I'm a new but avid listener to the MM Podcast, I'm so glad I found it while I'm still (relatively) young, I'm 39 and after years of making bad financial decisions the MM podcast has turned my attitude to money/investing and pensions on its head. I now relish the challenge of taking care of my finances rather than what felt like years of fighting against it. I wanted to ask a question regarding selling Investments vs taking a short term loan. I work for a large pharmaceutical company and as a perk of being an employee I pay into 2 share schemes through work. The one I'm thinking of selling is a plan whereby I'm limited to a certain amount a month I can pay in and whatever I pay in is matched by my employer, so half the shares in this scheme are free. Needles to say I pay the maximum into this to benefit from the BOGOF offer. I've recently had a large unexpected bill that even my emergency fund can't cover! And I wanted to know if selling the shares would be advisable over getting a 12 month loan? If I sell the shares the money will be paid to me through my next pay so it will be subject to tax and NI contributions, after a bit of number crunching I've worked out that what I'll pay back on the loan is a lot less than the tax and NI I'll pay on the shares, however it does mean being in debt for 12 months, but I'm reluctant to sell the shares as I'd earmarked it as a supplement to my pension. If this was cash sitting in an account then it'd be a no brainer but I'm sure that I've heard people advise against selling investments. Please could you help and offer some advice as I'm really not sure what's best as I do what to avoid debt too. Thanks in advance, Anthony 05:30 Question 2 Hi Pete and Roger Thank you so much for the podcast and content you put out - for free! - it's incredibly generous and has helped thousands of people including myself. I appreciate this is not a typical situation, but I am 30 years old and am due to inherit £500,000 (yes, really, though due to unhappy circumstances). Up until now (in no small part due to your content!) I've been confident managing my finances. I am single, and am just approaching becoming a higher-rate tax-payer as an NHS doctor. It is a stable job with a great pension and guaranteed pay progression. I have a £200,000 mortgage on my house which I am comfortably paying out of my salary. I also have a £10,000 cash emergency fund in place, and no other debt apart from my student loan. Due to the NHS pension (and the complexity of avoiding annual allowance br
