Six experts reveal the best piece of financial advice they’ve received

For many of us, money is a source of stress. We’re always looking for the best ways to save it, spend it and invest it.

From rising living costs to economic uncertainty, making smart financial decisions can feel overwhelming. But the right advice at the right time can be life changing.

From investment strategies to shifting mindsets about wealth, we spoke to six professionals who shared the best financial advice they’ve ever received.

These words of wisdom have helped them build businesses, achieve financial independence, and develop a healthier relationship with money.

‘Time is your greatest asset when investing’

Emily Reed, 40, from Maidenhead, was inspired by a podcast featuring financial expert Morgan Housel.

She said: “The best piece of financial advice I ever received came from a podcast episode of Stephen Bartlett’s The Diary of a CEO featuring Morgan Housel.

“One of the key takeaways was that time is your greatest asset when it comes to investing.

“I’ve always been a bit investment adverse as making money from money didn’t make sense to me but listening to experts explain it and understanding a bit more about how it works, made me realise just how worthwhile it could be.

“I listen to podcasts on long drives, so I was in the car. What really made this advice click was a story about a janitor who passed away as a millionaire, purely because he had invested consistently throughout his life.

“I realised that you don’t need to be a finance expert to invest, you just need to start. So, I decided to set up a stocks and shares ISA, moving some of my savings out of premium bonds.”

‘Leverage the bank’s money to build wealth’

Trauma expert and founder of Victim 2 Victor Anu Verma, 44, from Coventry, took inspiration from Robert Kiyosaki’s book Rich Dad Poor Dad.

She said: “I talk about the book all the time and how Robert leverages the bank’s money for making more money.

“I used this approach to build my property portfolio which brings in passive income for me. One of the biggest ways I’ve done this is by leveraging mortgage loans and equity release from my properties to fund my businesses, personal development and film projects.

“Instead of waiting years to save up enough cash, I used the value locked in my properties to access capital quickly, allowing me to move fast on opportunities that would have otherwise passed me by.

“For example, when I was launching my second business, I needed upfront investment for my education, support and marketing. Rather than draining my savings or waiting until I had enough cash flow, I tapped into the equity of one of my properties to secure the funds. This allowed me to scale much faster but it also kept my liquidity intact for unexpected expenses or future investments.”

Anyone looking to take equity from their properties should seek proper financial advice first and assess the risks before doing so.

‘Always book holidays on a credit card’

Eco-blogger Raakhee Stratton, 45, from Leicester, learned a valuable lesson from a colleague about using a credit card to pay for expensive things like travel.

She said: “A work colleague told me about this back in 2004/2005.

“She frequently went on holiday, mainly in Europe, and told me about the time she booked a holiday on her debit card and the travel company went bust.

“She had paid for the holiday in full and lost all the money. Since then, she had always paid for holidays on a credit card. Once, she did have to claim and she got a full refund through her credit card company.

“I booked a holiday with a friend to Turkey in 2006, when I was 26, remembering her advice, I booked it on my credit card and paid my credit card off straight away, so I didn’t have to pay any interest.

“Thankfully, nothing went wrong but it was nice to have that peace of mind. I still always buy travel insurance whenever I go on holiday.

“My family and I recently went on holiday to Disneyland Paris over Christmas. That cost just under £5,000 for five nights.

“We had the money saved for that, so I also paid for the holiday on my credit card and paid the credit card bill in full. Again, thankfully, nothing went wrong, and we had an awesome holiday.”

‘Money needs a home, a purpose, and to flow’

Founder of Dauntless PR Luana Ribeira, 43, from Anglesey off the north-west coast of Wales, thinks money should be used wisely and intentionally.

She said: “The best bit of financial advice I had was that money needs a home, a purpose and to flow. It needs to be allocated wisely, with separate accounts and fun targets.

“It should be used intentionally to improve our lives, and not to be hoarded, but circulated.”

‘Separate money from your sense of self’

Leadership consultant Christopher Richards, 41, from London, emphasised the importance of detaching self-worth from financial status.

He said: “Separate it from your sense of self. To be able to remove any attachment to your importance or worth, to your sense of status or worthiness.

“Remove that attachment to money. As long as it’s attached, the amount of money you’ll have will go up and down depending how you feel and vice versa. The more or less money you have will affect how you feel.

“This can have devastating consequences on your work life. To attach yourself to the amount of money you have is to basically say my worth as a human being directly correlates to what is in my bank account, which is never healthy.”

‘Make yourself rich, not someone else’

Business growth mentor Lee Broders, 55, from Shropshire, was given life-changing advice when leaving the British Army.

He said: “Some of the best financial advice that I ever received was when I was leaving the British Army in 1996 at the age of 26.

“I had a job lined up, which fell through before I even started. I then worked cash in hand on a number of small jobs including working behind the bar in a pub. It was there I got talking to one of the customers, who was a tradesman.

“He asked if I could build him a computer, which I did, then he said that I should start a business doing that, and introduced me to his friend who also wanted a computer. Following that introduction to his accountant, we discussed starting a business, a relationship that continues to this day.

“He said, ‘you should start your own business and work for yourself, make yourself rich, not someone else’.

“Since then, I have been able to start a number of businesses, and help others with theirs.”