Know Your Money with Bronwyn Waner and Craig Finch

Know Your Money

Welcome to Know your money, where we will explore our relationship with money and how the psychology of it impacts our financial decisions as everyone thinks about money differently. In our podcasts we will be presenting a variety of financial topics in an easy-to-understand way which, we hope, will assist you with managing your money.Please subscribe to our podcast or have a look at our website www.growthfp.co.za

  1. 6d ago

    179. Healing The Five Heart Wounds That Shape Your Life

    Send us Fan Mail Your bank balance can look like a numbers problem while the real driver sits deeper: the story you learned about yourself. We’re joined by Natasha Leigh Bray, the creator of heart healing, to talk about why so many people do “all the right things” and still feel stuck, unworthy, anxious, or unable to receive. Heart healing works in a deeply relaxed subconscious state, blending scientific, spiritual, and energetic techniques to create rapid transformation by getting to the root of what keeps repeating. We unpack the five universal heart wounds Natasha sees most often: enoughness, love, worth, trust, and acceptance. These are not only linked to big, obvious trauma. They can start with subtle “little” experiences, like comparison, rejection, broken promises, or not feeling seen, and then get reinforced through adult relationships and workplace dynamics. We talk about how these wounds show up as real symptoms: holding back from promotions, undercharging, people pleasing, fear of abandonment, difficulty trusting yourself, and the urge to sabotage progress right when things improve. As financial planners, we’re obsessed with practical steps, but we also see the human behind the spreadsheet. That’s why this conversation matters for money mindset, financial planning, and long-term behaviour change. Natasha shares why healing the relationship behind a wound can shift identity, making it easier to receive money and love without pushing either away. If you’ve ever felt like you can have success or connection but not both, this will challenge that belief. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more South Africans can find the show and start building a healthier relationship with money and themselves. Support the show Please subscribe to our podcast or have a look at our website  www.growthfp.co.za

    20 min

  2. Jun 8

    178. How To Lose Millions By Having A “Great Idea”

    Send us Fan Mail A big money moment can be the start of freedom or the start of a slow slide back to square one. We sit with the central idea from Morgan Housel’s The Psychology of Money: getting wealthy and staying wealthy are two different skills, and most people only practise the first one. A business sale, an inheritance, a market win, or a lucky property deal can create a windfall fast, but without a plan it is easy to pour everything into the next venture and wake up years later with nothing to show for it.  We talk through the “many versions of you” that financial planning needs to protect: the you that earns, the you that retires, the you that may get sick, and the you that faces unexpected curveballs. That’s why we keep coming back to simple wealth management basics like locking away a portion for long-term compounding (think retirement annuity or a disciplined investment strategy), keeping an emergency buffer, and making sure your future self isn’t forced to carry today’s risks.  Our practical framework is the five ways of spending: giving, spending, keeping, saving, and growing. It helps you enjoy life now while still building resilience, funding future opportunities, and protecting what matters. We also share Warren Buffett-style principles for staying wealthy: be careful with debt, don’t panic-sell during recessions, protect your reputation, don’t get stuck on one trend, and avoid relying on other people’s money.  If you found this useful, subscribe, share it with a friend who just had a windfall, and leave a review so more people can learn how to build wealth and keep it. Support the show Please subscribe to our podcast or have a look at our website  www.growthfp.co.za

    8 min

  3. Jun 1

    177. The Power Of Compounding Interest

    Send us Fan Mail Compounding can feel like a finance buzzword, but it’s actually a simple idea that can reshape your whole money life: your growth starts earning growth. We sit down and unpack the “confounding and compounding” lesson from Morgan Housel’s The Psychology of Money, using plain language and real numbers that make the concept click. If you’ve ever wondered why your investments look slow at first, or why everyone keeps saying “start early”, this conversation is for you.  We talk about the snowball effect of compound interest and why time is the factor most people underestimate. Warren Buffett comes up as the perfect case study: yes, he’s skilled, but his real advantage is how long he has stayed invested. That leads to a practical takeaway for long-term investing in South Africa: spend time in the market, don’t get shaken out by headlines, and focus on building a system you can stick to through market ups and downs.  Then we get specific. We compare saving R100 a month “under the mattress” versus investing it with long-term market growth, and the gap is staggering. We also explain why escalating your monthly contribution each year matters, how inflation quietly erodes cash, and how fees can reduce your compounding over decades. Finally, we land on the habit that makes all of it easier: set a debit order, automate the escalation, and stop checking quarterly returns like they’re a scoreboard.  If you found this helpful, subscribe, share the episode with a friend who keeps putting off investing, and leave a review so more people can learn how compounding really works. Support the show Please subscribe to our podcast or have a look at our website  www.growthfp.co.za

    11 min

  4. May 25

    176. Defining Your Enough To Build Real Wealth

    Send us Fan Mail One of the most dangerous money problems is also the most normal: hitting a goal and immediately needing a bigger one. That “never enough” feeling can look like ambition on the outside, but inside it often brings anxiety, comparison, and decisions you would not normally make. We sit down and unpack Chapter 3 of The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel, using real stories to show how success without contentment can spiral.    We talk about Bernie Madoff as an extreme example of what happens when more is never more, and how the chase can skew your morals and cloud your judgement. From there we shift into a simple but life-changing idea for personal finance and financial planning: define your enough. We explore why goals like becoming a millionaire or building investment wealth are not wrong, but they become hollow if you cannot explain what the money is meant to do for your life.    We also bring in a deeper layer: the enoughness wound. Many of us carry an old belief that we are not good enough or do not have enough, and it can drive overwork, overspending, lifestyle inflation, and constant goalpost-shifting. We share how tools like the Wheel of Life and our Wheel of Wealth help you build a balanced plan across retirement, savings, family time, health, and purpose, so you can “have it all” over time, not all at once. If this resonates, subscribe, share the episode, and leave a review, then tell us: what does “enough” mean to you? Support the show Please subscribe to our podcast or have a look at our website  www.growthfp.co.za

    10 min

  5. May 18

    175. The Hidden Role Of Chance In Money Decisions

    Send us Fan Mail One random event can separate two people’s futures by millions and it can happen with money too. We’re Bronwyn Wayner and Craig Finch from Growth Financial Planning, and we’re back on our bookstall with The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel, focusing on Chapter 2: luck and risk. We start with the Bill Gates story and the uncomfortable takeaway that timing, access, and chance matter more than most of us want to admit. From there we bring it home to everyday financial planning in South Africa: the career turns that feel like luck, the risks that can pay off, and the risks that can break you if you stake everything on one outcome. We talk about treating setbacks as feedback, keeping perspective when plans change, and why smart people still need a plan that survives bad breaks. Then we get practical. We unpack why we don’t believe in “only property” thinking, why diversification across asset classes matters, and why your retirement savings should be protected and prioritised from your first pay cheque. We also touch on the Australian superannuation model, and we discuss how the South African two-pot retirement system helps preserve a portion of retirement money for future you while still allowing limited access in extreme situations. If you want to dream bigger without putting your whole life on the line, press play. Subscribe, share with a friend who is taking a big financial leap, and leave a review so more people can find Know Your Money. Support the show Please subscribe to our podcast or have a look at our website  www.growthfp.co.za

    7 min

  6. May 11

    174. How Life Experience Shapes Your Financial Choices

    Send us Fan Mail The most frustrating money argument is the one where both people are “right”. We dig into a core idea from Morgan Housel’s The Psychology of Money: no one is crazy, we all make decisions based on the tiny slice of the world we have personally lived through. That slice might be small, but it shapes our spending, saving, investing, and risk choices more than any spreadsheet ever will. We get practical with real-world financial planning examples. Bronwyn shares a scary medical aid moment that instantly changes how you think about premiums, private healthcare costs, and what “risk” feels like when it is no longer theoretical. Then we move into retirement planning and how one defined benefit story can set a family’s beliefs for decades, whether that story ends in security or disappointment. We also unpack why people judge lotto tickets, and why that judgement often misses the emotional truth behind the purchase. Along the way we connect the dots to South African saving and investing tools like retirement annuities and tax-free savings accounts, and why these relatively modern vehicles still need time and behaviour change to work. If you want a clearer lens on money psychology, compounding, and building a plan that can handle both luck and bad luck, press play. Subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review so more South Africans can learn to know their money. Support the show Please subscribe to our podcast or have a look at our website  www.growthfp.co.za

    12 min

  7. May 4

    173. Why Switching To Cash In A Crisis Often Costs You More

    Send us Fan Mail Markets shout; money grows quietly. We sat down with Tamryn, Head of Retail at Allan Gray, to unpack why investor behaviour often drifts with the news cycle and how to build a plan that outlasts the noise. Using platform data, we explore how starting point bias shapes equity exposure for years: investors who began during strong local markets still hold more equities than those who started after a weak stretch. Even when age and other factors are normalised, the human bias of focusing on what has just happened can continue to keep portfolios off plan.  Then we revisit March 2020. Some investors switched from balanced funds to cash as fear spiked, felt vindicated for a few weeks, and then watched the rebound sprint away before the world felt safe. Getting back in late turned a “defensive” move into the worst outcome versus staying invested. The takeaway is confronting but freeing: action often feels right, yet inaction can be the smarter move when your strategy is sound. You cannot time the turn, but you can own your process.    We also talk age and worldviews. Many younger South Africans have only known a weak rand, local equity underperformance, and steady low inflation, which can harden into belief. Older investors have seen cycles turn, high inflation cool, and markets recover after crises from Black Monday to pandemic panic. The constant through all of it is compounding. A long-run illustration shows how a small, persistent edge plus time dwarfs the index, turning steady decisions into extraordinary outcomes. Start where you are, automate contributions, resist switching, and let time work.    Great performers have coaches; investors should too. A skilled adviser keeps you anchored to goals, rebalances behaviour, and helps you stay in the game when headlines try to push you off court. If this conversation helped reframe your strategy, share it with a friend, subscribe for more grounded money talk, and leave a review telling us the habit that helps you stay the course. Support the show Please subscribe to our podcast or have a look at our website  www.growthfp.co.za

    17 min

  8. Apr 27

    172. Why Timing Fails And Diversification Wins

    Send us Fan Mail Markets roared when the headlines said retreat. We open the year by asking smarter questions than “what will 2026 do?” and dig into what last year’s outliers teach us about risk, patience, and building portfolios that don’t wobble every time the news does. With Tamryn Lamb from Allan Gray joining us in studio, we walk through why South African equities and bonds delivered standout returns, how currency moves amplified gains in dollars, and why gold topped leaderboards while Bitcoin slipped. The lesson isn’t to chase what just worked. It’s to separate noise from signal and design an approach that survives uncertainty.    We share our simple keep, save, grow framework to align money with time horizons so each “version of you” is protected and purposeful. Cash covers the near-term you. Diversified, goal-based portfolios serve the medium-term you. Growth assets power your future self decades out. That structure helps you ignore false urgency, rebalance with intent, and capture compounding even when sentiment turns negative. We also examine the outlook for South African assets: where precious metals drove index returns, how foreign buying supported bonds, and why moderating expectations while hunting for value in lagging areas makes sense after a strong run.    Globally, concentrated leadership is meeting reality. Extended US valuations, the rise of markets outside the US, and investor scrutiny of AI spending are nudging a shift from blanket bets to selective ownership. We talk through how to position without prediction—using diversification, valuation discipline, and rule-based reviews to counter bias. If you’re ready to embrace uncertainty, stay invested, and make better decisions across cycles, this conversation will give you practical guardrails and fresh context.    Enjoy the episode? Subscribe, share with a friend who’s sitting in cash, and leave a quick review to help more South African investors find the show. Support the show Please subscribe to our podcast or have a look at our website  www.growthfp.co.za

    12 min
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About

Welcome to Know your money, where we will explore our relationship with money and how the psychology of it impacts our financial decisions as everyone thinks about money differently. In our podcasts we will be presenting a variety of financial topics in an easy-to-understand way which, we hope, will assist you with managing your money.Please subscribe to our podcast or have a look at our website www.growthfp.co.za

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