Plan First Wealth

100 episodes of Expat Wealth! 🎈

This milestone is the perfect time to look back at where the podcast started, where we might have gone slightly astray, and what we want the next 100 episodes to look like.

And what better way to do that than by reading our worst review? 😅

Thankfully, most of our reviews have been very positive, but one two-star review had some constructive criticism that was actually pretty fair.

So rather than ignoring it, we went through it point by point.

To hear Richard and James’ reactions and how our critic might shape the future of Expat Wealth, click the link in the comments. 👇

There’s one word that really gets under Richard’s skin when he talks about financial planning for British expats…

“Scaremongering.”

America can be uniquely challenging when it comes to cross-border finances, and mistakes around tax, reporting foreign assets, or how your UK investments are treated can come with serious consequences.

Talking about those risks isn’t about frightening people. It’s about making sure British expats know the dangers exist before they accidentally run into them.

In Episode 100 of Expat Wealth, Richard and James discuss why the “scaremongering” criticism struck a nerve, and why this information needs to be heard.

You can listen to their full conversation via the link in the comments. 👇

What happens when America needs its emergency oil reserves… but a chunk of them might not actually be usable? 😬

The US has less than 300 million barrels of oil left in its Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

And around 100 million of those barrels may not even be usable because of ageing infrastructure.

In the latest episode of Expat Wealth, Richard and Brian discuss what’s happening with US oil reserves, rising oil prices, and why developments like these matter when you’re looking at the bigger economic picture.

You can find the full conversation via the link in the comments. 👇

Forget property. Forget gold.

How about half a million wheels of cheese? 🧀

In Italy, producers can use ageing Parmigiano Reggiano as collateral to borrow money while they wait for the cheese to mature.

One bank alone holds around 500,000 wheels, worth over €300 million.

Not exactly the type of collateral you hear about every day!

Richard and Brian somehow ended up discussing this in the latest episode of Expat Wealth, alongside the slightly more conventional topics of the dollar, oil reserves, and what’s happening with the Magnificent Seven.

Who said finance had to be boring?

You can listen to the full episode via the link in the comments. 👇

Are you leaving money on the table instead of making the most of your wealth? 🪙

For British expats investing in the US, there are tax strategies that could reduce the tax you pay over time.

The challenge is that many people simply don’t know they exist.

In this week’s episode of Expat Wealth, Richard and James discuss tax loss harvesting, direct indexing, and why tax efficiency can be just as important as investment performance over the long term.

You can listen to the full episode via the link in the comments. 👇

Sitting on your hands is often the hardest part of investing. 😅

When markets are moving, the headlines are worrying, and everyone seems to have an opinion, doing nothing can feel almost impossible.

But sometimes, that’s exactly what you need to do.

In this week’s episode of Expat Wealth, Richard and James discuss how you could potentially turn a $1 million portfolio into $17 million over the long term… by doing absolutely nothing (except sticking to the plan).

Listen to the full conversation via the link in the comments! 👇

One financial mistake can follow you for years.

Especially when relocating from the UK to the US. 🌎

In this week’s episode of Expat Wealth, Toni Sculthorpe and I discuss some of the most common cross-border planning mistakes British expats make, and why they’re often easier to avoid than people realise.

Listen to the full episode via the link in the comments. 👇

We’ve all heard it…

“My mate said you don’t need to worry about that.”

Or…

“Someone in a Facebook group told me this is what they did.”

The problem is that finances can become complex when moving between the UK and US.

What seemed to have worked for “Dave down the pub” might just mean they haven’t been caught yet. 😅

In this week’s podcast, Toni and I talk about why cross-border financial planning isn’t something you want to base on your friends' opinions, and some of the common issues we see people run into when they do.

You can listen to the full episode via the link in the comments. 👇