Hi! Could you introduce yourself?

Hey! My name is Ola and I am the founder of All Things Money, a personal finance platform that aims to cover all of the personal finance topics we weren’t taught about at school or university!

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Which personality type did you get? Did you find the results to be accurate? (You can take the quiz at https://quiz.quirk.money/)

I got the Explorer. The results are pretty accurate. I certainly love new experiences, especially when it comes to travelling to new countries. It’s quite funny because it also states that explorers can also dig up deals and offers like no other and that couldn’t be more me; I’m always finding ways to save my money!

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What inspired you to start a social media presence about personal finance? For completely new readers, what is the “tl;dr” of your brand?

That’s a good question… I’ve always been an avid budgeter and saver and as a university student, I had always known about investing, but never really had the spare cash to start. So, in the midst of the first lockdown, I decided to start investing properly and I quickly learnt how it could be a great way of accumulating wealth and I wanted to teach others how to do the same. So, from that moment, I decided to create my platform in order to help others myself as we really aren’t taught about the financial basics such as investing, mortgages, credit cards and everything else at school or university!

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What is your relationship with personal finance? - If applicable, how has that defined your current pursuits? What changes have you made that have helped? How has it changed over time?

If I’m being completely honest, I’ve always been quite cautious with my money. I am quite the saver; I love having as much money saved up in an emergency fund as possible. It’s meant that I’ve always had a pot of money to dip into should I ever find myself in a sticky situation. However, as a result of the current economic climate, I have recently decided to invest a large majority of my savings instead in a bid to try and beat current rates of inflation!

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What’s the worst money advice you’ve ever received?

I haven’t been offered much money advice. However, I have been told numerous times that investing is gambling as there is supposedly the possibility of losing all of my money. However, with plenty research and caution, investing can be a great way of earning extra money with very little effort!

Is there a specific financial goal you are working towards right now? What steps are you taking to achieve that goal?

One of my main financial goals right now is saving a deposit for my very first house! I make sure I save a set amount of money each month which I put into my Lifetime ISA. It’s a great account to have as the government tops up every £1 saved by 25%! Who doesn’t love free money?

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What do you most enjoy spending on? Or any guilty pleasure you can share.

I’m not going to lie, but I do love spending money on clothes. However, I do spend the majority of my money going out. I live for the weekends where I am able to go out and catch up with friends. After nearly a year of lockdowns, we’re allowed to treat ourselves, as long as it’s within budget right?!

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How often do you check your finances?

I’m pretty pedantic when it comes to my finances. I check my finances pretty much every day. If I’m not checking how much of my weekly budget I have left, then I am almost certainly checking my savings or the progress of my investments!

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What specific tips would you have for someone who is starting completely new to personal finance?

My ultimate tip is to start with creating a budget. A budget is fundamental as it allows you to see how much you can afford to spend on a regular basis and how much you can afford to save and/or invest.

Once you’ve worked out a budget you can easily stick to, then you’ve pretty much mastered the hardest part of managing your finances!

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‍What's your stack? (Accounts, credit cards, apps or other tools)

I have over 11 different accounts but my absolute go to is Monzo. Anyone that follows me on Instagram or listens to my podcast knows how much I rave about Monzo as it’s so helpful in all aspects of managing my finances.

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‍Any links you’d like us to share?

If you would like to level up on your financial literacy, then give us a follow on Instagram at @allthingsmoney_. We also have our very own podcast too where we cover a wide range of different personal finance topics every Monday from budgeting, saving, investing and everything else in between!

Feel free to check out the podcast here: https://anchor.fm/allthingsmoney