Hi everybody and welcome to another episode of Vet Chat, and today I am delighted to be joined by Guri Rabbits from VEU and by Andrew Snowball from Lifehouse, who are a national advisory firm about insurance and income protections and various different financial products. So, er, first and foremost, obviously I think it's important to sort of contextualise everything. So, Gurin, I just wonder if you can just give us some insight really, cos obviously VETU's a new organ.

And you know, essentially what I'd love to know is, you know, what is vet you, where's the idea come from, and you know, what are the objectives for you as an organisation? Yeah, hi Ben and hi everyone. I think so before social distancing, as with most things in the profession, this came about over kind of chatting with, you know, friends and colleagues over coffee, basically, and, you know, a few of us who've who've probably been out for a few years and you're in that stage of life and you're sort of talking about what you, what you're doing, what's happening.

And you realise that actually you've all got different financial circumstances and the reasons behind those. So I did what I was told, I suppose, as a new grad, and I took out a pension at the time, and that's given me some pension now actually, and it's surprising how that can add up. And then chatting to other people who perhaps haven't done that, and that was then a cause of anxiety, and I'd not done certain things with my finances, and other people had.

And I suppose it was that kind of thing. You know, how can we help other veterinary professionals take control of their finances, and a lot of it is around having a community, having that platform to actually talk about it. So taking away the stigma about finances, you know, actually saying what do I do with my pay?

How do I get to a point where I can retire, you know, what do I do about life insurance, all those kind of questions. And when we were talking about it, it's the different experiences and we thought, actually, we can share those. So vet you came about, yeah, a group of vets saying, look, vets are really good at their job, they're good at what they do.

But actually, for them to be able to do other stuff, to retire, to go travel when we can, and to do things that they might plan medium, short term, long term, whatever that might be, you actually need to control your finances and do something with them. The vet you is really, it's a community, it's a platform, it's an education, it's a chat, it's a source, it's a place for vets to get information to take control of. Their finances, but also totally accepting we're vets, we can't be good at everything, and that is true.

So we need to partner with people where this is their profession, this is what they do, and they can really help us. So it's kind of group of vets going, look, this is the Betty stuff, we need help. Here's some help and let's partner.

And so we set up betU.co.uk.

And I think, yeah, that's, it's really interesting, isn't it? Because of course we spend a lot of our career as vets asking clients to trust us as the specialists, not to trust Doctor Google and to trust every other Tom, Dick and Harry who's had a dog that was sick or a cat that was sick at some point in their lives. And it's interesting that you touch on the the sort of partnering with the specialists, and for me it's very much that sort of similar journey almost, but in a financial context where, you know, if you look at it in the veterinary sphere.

You're, as a first opinion clinician, you've got a great degree of insight and a bit of background knowledge on an awful lot of stuff, but there's always that case that needs a bit more in-depth analysis and in-depth workup, and I guess that's probably where, you know, the referral to someone like Andrew, you know, a financial advisor forms that sort of referral step in the process. Process really where you go and look, I've got a bit of insight into this, but you need to dig deeper and we need to find more out about this particular case in order to diagnose it and to treat it appropriately. So sort of treating your finances in the same sort of way.

So, Andrew, I guess that kind of brings us quite nicely round to you and sort of, you know, independent financial advisor, it's not quite the snazzy title. Many people think, but what, what draws you to this fear? What do you sort of enjoy about what you do, you know, what is it that you, you actually do as a, as a financial advisor?

Well, I'm glad you asked. At its core, it's about helping people, it's about taking control, it's about protecting your future. So what I tend to do least is focus on the process, which admittedly is boring.

And focus about the outcome and, you know, the future, so let's get excited about what your retirement would look like. Let's get confidence in that, you know, should something happen on your, you know, life journey, you're protected and you don't have to worry necessarily about yourself and your family because you've put things in place that will make sure that they're taken care of. And there's lots of avenues to do that, as you've mentioned.

In terms of, you know, going on the old Google machine, but then you are responsible for those outcomes, and you're responsible for those outcomes if they're not correct or the products that you choose are inadequate. So the solution for me is when you engage with financial advisor who's able to give you that expert help and guidance in helping you ultimately achieving the lifestyle and future that you want. It's interesting you, you say that because sort of, you know, there are so many free services out there and, and, you know, sort of websites that people engage with and of course the obvious one that you look to is things like, you know, money saving Experts and Martin Lewis's insight there.

But interesting what you touched on there about the fact that, you know, if you're engaging with that and you're sorting out stuff yourself, you're responsible for it, but as a financial advisor. Where does your sort of responsibility come in? So we're, we're wholly responsible for any financial advice that we give, so we operate in what's a regulated environment.

And then those websites or subscription based services, they're not, so they offer an opinion and it's valid and, and it's very useful. And I often refer clients to Money Savings Expert or the Money Advice Service, which is backed by the government, but ultimately, you need the time, you need the patience, the resilience and persistence to get the right product for yourself. And if you don't have that, you go through a financial advisor who takes the time to understand your, you know, your past, your current experiences, your current situation, where you want to be 5, 1020 years from now, and helps put together a plan and a solution that.

Meets your objectives and the, the whole point of a financial advisor, you know, a bit like a dog's not just for Christmas, is, you know, they're they're with you through your life journey, reviewing your circumstances, reviewing your objectives, and making sure that your plans are on track. I love that. I quite like the analogy of the you know the financial advisor is for life, not just for Christmas.

I think that works quite nicely, really. And of course, you know, it's, we talk about the fact that you've got strategy and you've got planning and you look into people's individual objectives for their life and you know, potentially when they're looking to retire, when they're looking to do different things, how they might get access to different amounts of money at different stages, but every now and then. Then there's, there's some kind of event that comes along and of course people's minds redirect to, you know, COVID-19 at the moment, that, that, you know, really shakes things up, and, you know, isn't planned and can't be strategized, and, you know, shakes up your own individual circumstances, whether that's through redundancy, whether that's through other vehicles, but what, what steps can people take to.

To protect against, you know, that kind of scenario. I'm really glad you asked that question, so, you know, that's, that's the what if scenario. So any sound financial plan should start with protection, and that means protecting yourself, protecting your income, protecting your family, but before you even do that.

As a practise, we should all have an emergency fund or an opportunity to act fund. And what do I mean by that? What I mean is that the core expenditures that come out, day in, day out, month out, month out in terms of mortgage, rent, council tax bills, what they sum up to is your core expenditure and what everyone should do.

I make sure that they're covered for that. What we recommend, or what I recommend is between 3 to 6 months, but that would differ for each individual. It's whatever makes you comfortable.

Personally, I have 12 months, cover for myself. It takes some time and it takes some dedication to do that, but that's gonna put you in great sort of stead in the future, and especially in terms like this. And obviously sort of when you look at products like that, things are, you know, these are things where you can plan, you talk about emergency funds and so on and so forth, but of course, you know, we, we work in a profession where people aren't necessarily on on high wages, .

And, and, you know, there is an inherent risk to the work as, as vets and nurses, you know, people get bitten, kicked, er, you know, stood on, scratched, etc. Every day. I certainly know plenty of vets who've had injuries and, and things that are.

Completely unrelated to work, we all do silly things when we've had a few beers at some stage. But, in terms of things like the building of a, of a sort of, you know, nest egg or emergency fund, whatever that is, what steps can people take to, to start to be able to do that themselves? Obviously, you know, we've never had savings before, we don't really live in a savings culture at this moment in time.

How do people build something like that up. So, so the, the starting point is really assessing, what your current situation is, and it's a really, really simple exercise to do. So you, you know, if you imagine you've got your A4 piece of paper, split that in half, on the left hand side you'll have income.

And that could be all sorts of income streams, but typically it'll be for your main employment, and on the right hand side you'll have expenditure. So that's everything that's going out. So you start with your, your net figure, which is your take home money, and then you slowly take away the expenses that are coming out on a weekly or monthly basis.

You can do that by going through, your statement. What I'd suggest you do if you're carrying out this exercise to make it, comprehensive is, Three month statements just so you can see a pattern. What that will allow you to do is highlight any expenditures that are unnecessary.

It will also highlight what your disposable income is. Now you might be able to improve your disposable income by getting rid of, obviously not in the current climate, but, getting rid of Uber, fast food takeaways, things like that. Now what I'm not saying is don't enjoy life and, you know, don't be lazy every now and again, how.

However, what you can do is manage and reduce your expenditure to have a disposable income. That then starts allowing you to save for your emergency fund, but to my mind as well, which is just as important, shows you what you've got available as a budget to either engage with planning for your future, whether it's through an ISA or a pension, or protecting your income or yourself through an income protection policy or critical illness policy. And obviously looking at sort of the, the.

Every now and then, you know, we do have these major cri crises like like COVID-19, but of course this is something that is on a a national and global scale, but there's nothing to say that, you know, crises don't happen on a personal and individual level at any day of the week at any time. You know, I certainly know of multiple people, and I'm sure Guger and you do as well, who've had injuries in work, who've been unable to work, whose mental health has affected. Their ability to work.

And, and of course, you know, it's if we've got mortgages and and families or we've got, you know, things that we're saving for, there's this sort of almost a a barrier to, to engaging with financial advice early on and I I wonder Gurin, sort of what steps that you is taking to try and sort of break down those barriers. I think the main. The main steps is actually talking about it as, as we've just done, and, you know, listening to Andrew, it makes you think, you know, these are all things I need to think about.

I need to understand them. I need to have confidence in them, and I need to get professional help with them. But it is, it's talking.

I think it's sharing experiences. And Bet you is there to share those experiences to maybe plant that seed to make people think, you know, what are you going to do if you get kicked by the horse? What are you going to do if you can't work and you're the main wage earner?

What are you going to do if the worst happens? How is your family going to support itself? You know, what are you going to do when you want to retire?

So it's asking those questions, signposting to, I think, you know, the, the advice that help people gain confidence. Because when I think of myself, a lot of the reasons I haven't done stuff is financial paralysis, because I'm one of those people that has to know everything, and if I don't then I might not take action. And so it's to get over that sort of financial paralysis and get people to take action.

The that you is there to prompt, to educate, to engage, to chat, and then to get you to make action and and talk to people like Andrew and get professional help. So it sounds like it's very much that sort of middle step in the journey, you know, you're not having to go right the way up to. The top level and think actually, you know, this might just be over my head, but you can familiarise yourself with topics, get a little bit of background insight, and then go into these conversations with financial advisors with, with sort of, you know, an informed background knowledge about those particular products, but thinking about sort of the, the, the things that we, we need to have.

If you were to pick two products, you know, for yourself as a vet, Gurin, what would you sort of say, you know, are, are most important to you personally? To me personally, if I look at my journey, I took out a pension when I . When I, when I started, so literally my first paycheck.

And that's probably one of the best things I did, because when I look at money in my pension now, yeah, my pension's gone up and down. But there's a lot of money in there that I just couldn't have comprehended of, of thinking if I'd have had to think about putting it away. But because it's always just come out and I've accepted it.

I now have money in my pension, so that's one of the best things, and what I've realised through going through the you journey and, and talking with those is I, I do actually need to reflect and make sure it's up to date, so keep looking at my finances. And then the other thing, I suppose, it's, it's as life changes. So when I had a child, I suddenly realised that I'd insured my husband, thinking that if, if he died, I, I might need some money, but I had never actually insured myself.

Obviously didn't know what he was going to do. But, . I thought, well, actually, I now have a child, so I have responsibility that both of us have, so I took out life assurance, but it was very stressful because I then had to think, I need to do this, I need to do it quickly, and I was obviously paying more because I was older.

So for me, those are the two that, I think have, have decreased my financial anxiety, but I think it's, it's all. Always different, isn't it for everybody? We know we're in a profession that can get injured.

We all know people who've got injured. But that's why I think it's so personal. Finances are so personal, but that sometimes means we don't talk about it.

But that's and that's why that you is that to get you to talk about it and then to make those personal decisions that are right for you. And to make sure you take them through the journey of your life and reflect on them. So I, I love the, you know, the financial advisories for life, not for Christmas, because absolutely my, my situation is massively different than when I graduated.

I think I've vaguely become responsible, but I'm not sure yet. Yeah, well, yeah, I mean, I, I know my financial advisor and I'm quite lucky because he's exactly the same age as me. And you know, we are similar life trajectories, so I know that he's looking at products that are pertinent to him at the same time as I'm looking at products that are pertinent to me.

And, and Andrew, I just wonder there's, there's this sort of perception of IFA's of, you know, sort of old guys into. Who, you know, have sort of, that people can't necessarily relate to, now obviously you're a young chap, you're a good looking chap, you've got a young family, you know, sort of you you're challenging the norm for the the the the the perceptions there. But, but what in terms of looking for a financial advisor you, you know, if you put yourself on the other side of this.

Particular fence and looking at people, making sure they can protect their finances in in the good days and in the times of crisis, what, what would you consider to look for in a financial advisor? Well, I, I, I think you're right, in terms of your analysis of, of the industry that I work in, and the reality is that, you know, the average age is north of 55, but that being said. You know, for, for the most part, everyone is looking to help their clients, so in terms of financial planning, financial advice, it's a people place business and people buy people, so, You know, try and meet your financial advisor and try and meet just more than one.

Get a feel for what they do, and get a feel for their background, understand their family, but most importantly, understand why you want to engage with them, what are you trying to achieve, what are you trying to protect. Have, you know, a few questions ready to ask them, and interrogate them and make your decision based on some of his. Will be on gut feel.

Some of it will be the level of, competence that they display when you're having the conversation with them. And for a lot of it will be their personality. But also, when you're using an advisor, you don't want someone that's, using a lot of jargon.

If they're, if they're, you know, if you don't get on with them, and you don't understand what they're saying, you're less likely to engage and you're less likely to take out the policies and use the services that you know that you should be taking up. Yeah, yeah, and I, I think, you know, from that side of things it's like you say, it's that relationship of trust, and again that boils down to, you know, that vet client and that owner relationship in that, you know, we ask them to trust us and I think in a financial setting, especially, especially when we're looking at our own financial health, it's having that relationship with someone, I dare say that you know you have to be able to pick up the phone to and say I know what this person's gonna tell me. Is, is something that I can trust and I can stand by and I can just go with what they're advising me to do there, that, that sort of relationship I, I would imagine is is key.

Yeah, yeah, I believe so, and, and in addition to that, you know, if, if we're, if we're focusing specifically on in the protection arena, you know, with everything that's going on, and from what I understand from, from vets, not just, those who are about to graduate, not those that have recently graduated, but all those along their career as well, is that there's a need to protect that income, not just because of the dangers that. Happen through work, but just life happens, and the earlier you engage in these products and services and speak to a financial advisor, you become educated, you understand more about what's required in regarding your finances, which will give you more confidence going forward to engage with other aspects of your finances as well. And I think.

That's it, it's, it's making sure that you are personally engaged with your own finances, I think when that, that, that degree of self ownership is so, so imperative. And obviously we've looked at sort of the long term plan and the strategizing and the protecting and so on and so forth, but maybe just to wrap up, we know that from time to time the proverbial does hit the fan. And people maybe don't have income protection, they maybe don't have savings and things like that, and I, I wonder, Gudrin, if you've maybe just got some, just little snippets of people who've maybe got, you know, X amount of money coming in a month, but they come into times where, where things are hard.

What, what things can people potentially do just to try and make that money go a little bit further, do you think on a, on a monthly basis, sort of. Do you think, you know, I, I probably sound like. A a broken record, but a lot of it is about talking, so don't bottle it up, and that was, I think, why we started BetU as well is so that people do talk.

So if you are worried, you are struggling, is talk to family, talk to friends, see for those people that can help you, but also look at your finances. I think as Andrew has said, and on the vet you we've got a finance health check sheet, it's worth going through it. See what you do spend on.

And it's really interesting to see what you do spend on, see if there are things that you can save on. Can you do things differently? But I think the main thing is talking, analysing, working it out, making a plan, and then when you do get your feet back on the floor, I suppose, and then, and then it really starts going again, is to think, how can I make sure that doesn't happen again?

How can I make Sure I've got that fund. How can I make sure that I'm taking control of my finances? So absolutely get through the now, talk to everybody, look at what you're spending on, see what you can put back, try and make it go a little bit further, but then when you get through it at the other side, you start to think, I don't want to do that again.

And we've all been there. How can I make it work for me? Yeah, and I think that's a fantastic way of sort of summing it up really, you know, it's, it's how can you make it work for you in your circumstances, you know, nobody's financial journey is ever completely smooth, you know, we even hear stories of all of these multi-millionaires who've gone from having everything to them having nothing, so nothing is certain within finances, but at the same time we can plan to be secure at least, to thank you both so much for your time.

I'm hoping that this will certainly give people. Some, some insight into their own circumstances and some planning, but also maybe just some, some little bits of points of contact and support, for, for their own sort of reviews and touch points with other people, who, who maybe had similar experiences and of course, you know, there is that age old adage that we can all learn from each other. So thank you both very much for being with us, and I look forward to watching Beu's journey with, with great info.

Thanks, Ben. Thank you, Ben.