December 5, 2024 • 33 mins
Join us for a powerful conversation with Diane Watson, a seasoned financial advisor, as she uncovers the keys to financial empowerment and independence for women. With the holiday season upon us, it's the ideal time to reflect on financial wellness and dispel misconceptions about women and money management. Diane's expertise shines as we tackle historical and societal barriers that often undermine women's confidence in their financial abilities. She provides practical strategies to help you take control of your financial future, emphasizing the importance of education, awareness, and a proactive mindset. We'll also explore how childhood influences shape our relationship with money and break down myths about women and mathematics.
In this insightful episode, we place a spotlight on crucial financial protection strategies for self-employed women, including critical illness cover and income protection, to guard against health-related financial challenges. Diane shares the importance of planning for long-term security, highlighting the value of state pensions, life insurance, and the necessity of having a will, especially in blended families. These discussions underline the significance of being prepared and the peace of mind that comes with financial readiness. Whether you're self-employed or navigating family dynamics, our conversation offers actionable advice to help you build a secure financial future. Don't miss the chance to connect with the SheCanProsper platform for personalized guidance tailored to your unique financial journey.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Donna Eade (00:00):
You're listening to the Mindset in Action podcast,
the place to be to grow andstreamline your business.
I'm your host, donna Eade.
Let's jump into the show.
Many successful career womenare having important life
(00:20):
decisions made for them.
Diane Watson, welcome back tothe podcast.
Everybody, I'm so glad to haveyou here today.
We're going to be talking aboutmoney.
You know, I like the money chat, so we are going to be talking
about money today and I am notthe expert, so I have brought an
expert in Diane Watson, welcometo the podcast.
Diane Watson (00:42):
Welcome and great to meet you and to be able to
share some stories this morning.
Donna Eade (00:47):
It is really good to have you here and I think,
because we are in December now,this is a really good point in
which people are looking at, youknow, the new year coming and
obviously Christmas is likeliterally round the corner at
this point and people often arefeeling the crunch at this time.
So I think it's a really timelyconversation to have to sort of
(01:11):
have a little bit of a deeperdive into finances, rather than
working from a place of panic,which I think a lot of people do
around this time of the year.
You know, christmas is on thecredit cards and how are we
going to survive January and allof that jazz.
So we're looking long term herewhen we're having this
conversation, and what we can dogoing forward.
But before we dive into all ofthat, goodness Diane, tell
(01:34):
people a little bit about whoyou are and what it is that you
do.
Diane Watson (01:37):
Okay, so I'm Diane Watson.
I'm a career financial advisor,run my own business.
I've been a principal partnerwith St James's Place.
I joined them in 1999.
Before that I ran my ownbusiness.
Outside of that I also have aseparate business which is
called she Can Prosper andthat's really my give back to
(01:58):
try and encourage women toreally understand where they're
at and to make any choices thatthey might need to make to make
sure that they're on a securefinancial footing.
So I run events.
I've written a book and it'sreally my rallying cry to all
the women out there to make sureyou're not one of those people,
(02:19):
those women that I've met whosays if only I'd known,
everything would be different.
And that's really what'smotivated me for the last four
years to keep that projectrunning.
Yeah.
Donna Eade (02:32):
I love it and to me it's like it's amazing how
things take so long when you'relooking at generational change,
because it wasn't too long agowhere women couldn't have their
own bank accounts and they werefully dependent on their
husbands and you know, we weregetting married off at a young
(02:52):
age because our dads didn't wantno responsibility for us
anymore, and that was before mytime.
However, it is one of thosethings that it's still taken so
long for women to get thefinancial education that they
deserve, to really sort ofunderstand and be financially
(03:13):
independent themselves.
It's bizarre to me.
Diane Watson (03:18):
I mean there are still so many women who aren't
financially mindful, and some ofthat is to do with what happens
in our childhood.
So I think if we are brought upto, if we're told as little
girls that money is what mensort out and you don't need to
worry about that, I think thatcan play out in how we view
(03:39):
money later on in our lives.
Obviously it depends on thekind of relationship that you're
in and how the dynamics play.
It depends on the kind ofrelationship that you're in and
how the dynamics play out inthat, because we know that money
is a great control tool.
So we know that in somerelationships money is the power
that men control women by,which is obviously can come at a
huge cost.
I also have this theory that wegirls think that we're not that
(04:02):
good at maths and we kind ofrelate maths to money and
therefore we feel uncomfortableand fearful a little bit because
we know we wouldn't reallyunderstand the money because we
didn't really get on with mathsat school.
And that's not true.
But it is a limiting beliefthat lots of women have.
And you know, if I can do whatI've done having had those
(04:26):
feelings myself, then all of uscan make sure that we understand
our numbers.
Donna Eade (04:37):
Yeah.
Yeah, I have to say I'm anoutlier in that respect because
I really enjoyed maths.
I struggled with it towards theend of school because I was put
into a higher tier, because Ishowed promise, but then I was
like fighting to sort of stayabove water in that sense.
But I've always loved numbersand playing with budgets and
like, ok, if I put this muchmoney here, and how much am I
going to have at the end of theyear if I keep putting it and
(04:58):
all of that.
I love all that stuff.
But I understand that for a lotof people that's not the case
for them, that stuff, but Iunderstand that for a lot of
people that's not the case forthem.
So that's why we're having thisconversation, because it's so
important to actually have agood understanding of finances
and the money that's coming inand going out of your house and
your business and sort of thelines can cross there.
When you're self-employed, themoney's all going into one part
(05:21):
and where's it all going and allsorts of things.
And we're not going to diveinto business finances,
particularly today.
But I really wanted to talkabout financial wellness and
what that looks like for people.
So, diane, what does financialwellness.
Look like to you.
Diane Watson (05:37):
So I think financial wellness is all about
being financially okay.
It's not about not addressingthe issue and hoping that
everything's going to be fine,which I think a lot of people do
.
They run up debt on their creditcard and they just kind of hope
that it will somehow transformitself and it doesn't.
(05:58):
So it's about reallyunderstanding your situation and
being more proactive in termsof managing that and making sure
that there aren't any surprises, because there's nothing worse
than not knowing something andthen it coming and, you know,
giving you a massive, massiveshock down the line, or maybe
when something untoward happensbecause things happen in our
(06:19):
lives, you know that areunexpected and they come in the
form of things like divorce andbereavement and illness and
children, and you know mortgageinterest rates going out and you
know retirement age is actuallymoving over the last few years
to be, you know, even later, andwe just need if we are, if we
(06:40):
are aware of and we are incontrol of our own situation, we
are more likely to have a morepositive outcome, absolutely
yeah, yeah, and I think that'ssomething that we don't
necessarily consider when we'relooking at our financial
wellness.
Donna Eade (06:57):
Is those things that you were saying in the
beginning there?
Divorce, bereavement, these arethings that you don't
necessarily automatically thinkare connected to your finances
and can impact your finances.
But well, anybody who's beenthrough a divorce will know that
that couldn't be further fromthe truth and could really leave
(07:17):
you in a big hole anddevastation, which is not what
anybody wants, and you neverwant to go into a marriage
thinking it's going to end indivorce and I need to protect
myself.
But the fact is the stats don'tlie.
You can only control yourbehavior.
So, whereas you might neverwant to get divorced and
(07:39):
wouldn't do anything, it doesn'tmean that your partner is going
to be the same throughout yourrelationship, because you can't
control them.
They are their own person andyou just have to be conscious of
the fact that there is apossibility of it, prepare for
it and then, if it doesn'thappen, all good, but if it does
, you're all good, you know soit's really important.
(08:02):
So I wanted to talk about thesort of biggest mistake that you
see women making with theirfinances and I know I do have
guys that listen and sometimeswe do go down the female only
route with some of my episodes,but majority of my listeners are
women and I always think thatit's good for the guys who do
listen to hear from the femaleperspective and to hear what
(08:24):
their partners, their mums,their sisters might be going
through, to kind of understandit from the other side as well.
So, guys, if you're listeningand you continue to listen, I
appreciate you taking the timeto actually have a listen in.
But yeah, what are some of themistakes you see women making
with their financial security?
Diane Watson (08:41):
A light touch involvement with their finances.
Leaving somebody else to bemaking those decisions and those
plans for you can ultimatelycost you dearly.
You know, if you're not awareof what's going on behind the
scenes and, for example, you doend up getting divorced, you
know, you are more likely tofind yourself in a more
(09:01):
difficult situation because youhad no idea.
Lots of women have no ideaabout what goes on with regards
to finance in their homesbecause someone else does it for
them.
So I think, understanding yoursituation, you know and
understanding, for example, ifyou're employed, you know what
your pension scheme provides youwith.
(09:21):
I say to people every day whatwould happen at work if you
became ill, and most people havegot no idea.
They don't know.
You know and and and it's abigger problem if you're
self-employed, because we knowthat more and more women are
running their own businesses,which makes them more vulnerable
because they don't have thatlarge corporate backup to help
(09:44):
them and to step in to whateverextent that occurs.
So you know, if you're anemployed woman, find out what
your long-term six-paymentstrategy is and make sure that
that's okay for you.
Find out if you've got lifeinsurance that would pay out to
your family if somethinghappened to you.
Understand more about what yourpension benefits are going to
(10:09):
be.
Make sure you join the pensionscheme I mean, lots of people
don't and if there are morecontributions that you can get
from your employer, if you paymore yourself, then think about
doing that.
So, really understanding ifyou're self-employed, it's even
more important because you areso vulnerable if you get ill,
(10:29):
for example and you know one intwo people now get cancer, which
may or may not be somethingthat you, you know you end up
having, you know dying from, butit certainly will impact on
your ability to work if you'rerunning your own business.
So, you know, understanding howyou would be able to to cope
(10:54):
and for how long, is reallyreally, um, you know, important.
Yeah, yeah.
Donna Eade (11:02):
So looking at that, just sort of coming onto the
business side for a second,talking about sick, we don't get
the sick pay that you know,employed people get.
So what is something that wecould do to kind of help us out
in that respect?
Like, when we're looking at themoney coming into the business,
what should we be looking atdoing with it to sort of, you
(11:26):
know, maybe counteract that alittle bit or at least be
prepared in some way forsomething like that?
Diane Watson (11:34):
So there are a couple of things that you can
look at doing.
I mean, obviously, if you get acritical illness, you can have
some cover that would pay out alump sum which could be used for
whatever you feel is important.
And remember let's talk aboutcancer no two people's cancer
(11:54):
diagnoses are the same.
Some people might want to payoff their mortgage.
Some people might want to fundtreatment that isn't readily
available on the National HealthService.
You know, some people knowtheir life expectancy is
shortened and want to enjoytheir lives whilst they've got
it.
So that is something that Iwould encourage all people to
(12:14):
look at.
And it's a lump sum and it'spayable on diagnosis of a range
of illnesses, of which cancer isone, but there are lots of
others like heart attack, stroke, you know, things like
Parkinson's disease, losing yoursight, losing your speech, your
hearing all of the things thatmay very well prevent you from
working.
So it's really there to providefinancial support and if you
(12:38):
don't need it because you'reback on your feet very quickly,
then it's a bonus really.
The other thing is somethingcalled income protection, which
would provide an income for thetime that you're unable to work,
and that has different periodswhen it kicks in, and the
shorter the deferred period, themore expensive it is.
That covers a wider range ofthings, because you could have a
(13:00):
really bad car accident, forexample, or you could suffer a
nervous breakdown.
So there are things that arecovered with that, that stand in
addition, and it's an incomeand it stops when you go back to
doing your job or running yourbusiness.
Ideally we we all ought to haveboth, because you know, and
(13:24):
I've had clients who've hadpayouts for both because of the
illness that they've had.
I mean, there is nothing worsethan meeting someone who has had
a health diagnosis that isgoing to stop them working, and
I've had people in their 30sbeen diagnosed with an illness
that they've never, ever workedto gain.
(13:45):
We don't want anybody to be inthe situation where they're
already stressed because they'vebeen diagnosed with a serious
illness and then they can't work.
And then there's a financialconsideration, and I do a lot of
work with an organizationcalled Maggie's and they run
centers near oncology units inbig hospitals around the UK and
they were telling me that duringthe cost of living crisis they
(14:08):
had self-employed people whowere cutting short their
chemotherapy because they had togo back to work.
Donna Eade (14:15):
Oh, my God.
Diane Watson (14:17):
You know that is absolutely terrible to think of
that.
So anything that we can all doto avoid ourselves being in that
situation.
It isn't cheap, Obviously,because you are way more likely
to have an illness than you areto pass away, but it does give
you that support and thatability not to be diagnosed with
(14:40):
something as serious as a formof cancer and then also be
sitting there thinking how onearth am I going to pay my bills
?
Donna Eade (15:00):
And having to make that decision between treatment
and paying your bills.
And I've always said to likeI've had a big sort of epiphany
in the last couple of yearswhere I've been really focusing
on my health and it's like ifyou haven't got your health, you
haven't got anything Like youhave to be well, you have to be
(15:21):
here to enjoy life.
So whether you've got money ornot, if you're not here, it's
neither here nor there.
So it's like paramount to methat people look at their health
and put their health first.
It's like paramount to me thatpeople look at their health and
put their health first.
And part of that has got to bebeing financially sensible to
enable you to be able to do that.
(15:48):
So where you were talking aboutthe insurances, there I think a
lot of times we don't likeinsurance because it's one of
those things that you pay for.
You pay a lot of money for insome cases and you might never
use it, and it's like, oh, it'slike a bugbear of people's to
actually spend out money thatthey're not getting anything
back from.
And I understand it, I reallydo.
But if you do need it, it'sthat, what if?
And heaven forbid you're inthat situation.
(16:08):
But if you do need it, it'sthat, what if?
And heaven forbid you're inthat situation.
But if you do need it, at leastit's there.
And where you were talkingabout the um, the income
protection being a deferredpayment, I guess that's where
the whole you know have sixmonths worth of your living
expenses in your bank account.
(16:29):
Cash, liquid cash, comes in,yeah, 100.
Diane Watson (16:33):
Yeah, I mean you wouldn't drive a car and say I'm
really disappointed, I haven'twritten it off because I've not
had a payout on my insurance,right?
And I think that's why you haveto switch the mindset around
that, because you know, when I,when I turned 60, my guys at the
office said to me well, butyou're really disappointed that
you've never had a payout onyour critical illness plan, I
was like absolutely not, becauseand it was a lot of money over
(16:58):
many, many years but wouldn'tyou rather have the peace of
mind of knowing that it wasthere in the background?
You know, it's like it's likeany insurance that we have.
We don't want something tohappen so that we can have a,
make a claim.
We want it to be there toprovide what we need if
something goes wrong, and that'swhy we have it.
(17:19):
So it's just about flippingthat mindset really.
Donna Eade (17:24):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
We could go down a whole rabbithole with all of that jazz, but
we won't.
We won't today.
So I think for me, one of thethings that really stands out
when I talk about money withpeople is the simple, easy
things that people aren't doingthat they could so easily
(17:46):
implement.
So are there three things thatyou could give us that we could
take away today and go?
Do you know what?
I might not know much about myfinances, but now I'm going to
actually take the time to lookinto it and get to grips with it
.
But I know that I can do thesethree things right now and it's
going to make a difference to myfinancial security.
Diane Watson (18:07):
So I mean.
Something that amazes me is howmany people have no idea what
the state pension is going toprovide them with, and the
relief on people's faces whenthey find out that it's actually
, you know, in the 10,000 plusamount and that if they're
living with someone else it'sdouble that amount.
It makes people feel lesspressured about the future, less
(18:35):
pressured about the future, soI would say to everybody go and
get a state pension forecast andunderstand that number, Because
I think one of the fears thatpeople have about am I going to
be okay in retirement is I won'thave enough.
So just getting thatinformation and also finding out
, whatever it is you're, how,where that's going to lead you.
So more information around that.
Donna Eade (18:56):
That's a really that's a really important one I
want to say, just because youknow, a lot of mums take career
breaks and you need to knowwhether you've actually put
enough in to the state pensionand you can, I think, pay
dividends for fill the past sixyears.
So if you've got gaps in thepast six years, you can actually
(19:18):
make payments to actually bringthat up.
So you get your qualifyingyears.
But you have to have a certainnumber of qualifying years,
don't you?
And if you've had babies,oftentimes that kind of reduces
the years that you've got there.
So that's an important one toconsider.
Diane Watson (19:32):
So understanding those numbers and if that gives
you comfort that you're, youknow, if you're in a
relationship, you're living withsomeone that there's two of you
work out what that is and thatmight take some pressure off you
, and actually taking pressureoff people often makes them more
motivated to take action.
So that that's one of thethings you know.
The second thing is is myfamily going to be okay if
(19:53):
something happens to me?
So you know we've talked aboutcritical illness cover, but just
making sure that you've gotenough life insurance you know,
to provide for if you've gotyoung children.
You know, my friend's husbandpassed away last year and the
first thing she said to me iswill you come and tell me
whether I'm going to befinancially okay?
And we did the.
(20:14):
You know we knew that themortgage would be paid off, but
obviously he had, you know, he,he, his salary disappeared.
And just being able to know thatyou're going to be okay,
because in the time, in the, atthe time of a tragedy, you don't
want the situation to be madeworse by being financially
impoverished.
And life insurance isincredibly cheap.
(20:36):
You know it's incredibly cheapand it will make a huge
difference if something happens.
So you know, if you're employed, see what you've got from work.
If you're running your ownbusiness, you could do it
through the business.
There are different plans thatyou can take out that will give
you that peace of mind,especially if you've got, you
know, young dependent childrenyeah um, so so that's the second
(20:59):
thing, I mean my other bigpassion.
I've got lots of passions, butit's the will.
You know, have a will becausepeople have no idea about what
happens and the complications ifyou die without making a will,
and because we have more blendedfamilies than ever.
You know, we have more peopleliving together with their own
(21:20):
children, with stepchildren,with half children.
Donna Eade (21:24):
Just making sure that you know that your wishes
are going to be carried out veryclearly is something is to
happen, would happen to you, isis also really, really important
yeah, yeah, the and that'sanother thing that people don't
think about in terms of theirfinances is what a will actually
(21:45):
does, and the power of attorneyand executors and all things
and and a will can kick inbefore you die.
So if you get an illness thatis like you you aren't capable
of making decisions for yourself, your will could kick in prior
to that.
So if you haven't sorted it out, you could end up in a right
state.
(22:05):
Who knows where you'd end up?
Diane Watson (22:07):
um left to other people's.
Yeah, and if you've got sorry?
If you've got sorry, if you'vegot children, the only people
that can appoint guardians foryour children are yourself and
your partner, or the courts.
So if you don't appointguardians for your young
children and something happensto you both you know you're in a
car accident then someone elseis going to decide where your
children are going to live.
(22:27):
And often you know the dynamicsof families are that you've got
parents-in-law parents.
Both sets of parents would liketo.
You know it's very messy.
Donna Eade (22:37):
Yeah.
Diane Watson (22:38):
And often people you know, my own daughter, my
grandson, is going to be lookedafter by his godfather, you know
, and they're very clear aboutwhy they want that to happen.
They want him to stay in London, etc.
You know, obviously I'm alreadyin my mid-60s and I'm single.
So you know, if they hadn'twritten that into their will,
(23:01):
then there would be lack ofclarity around that.
So I think it's a good thing todo.
Yeah, yeah definitely,definitely.
Donna Eade (23:10):
Well, we shall leave some resources for people in
the show notes so you can go andcheck about the three things
that you can do.
Go and check your pension, lifeinsurance and your will.
(23:37):
None of that involved acalculator.
Just saying so, just becausewe're talking money doesn't mean
that it's all got to be aboutcalculators and maths.
So go ahead, look at theresources in the show notes,
make those action steps and ifpeople want to connect with you,
diane, where can they find youand how can you help them?
Diane Watson (24:01):
So the best thing to do is to connect via
shecanprospercom, so www.
We've got lots of resources andinformation on there and they
can reach out to me through thatplatform in the first instance.
In any event, brilliant.
Donna Eade (24:15):
And how do you usually work with people through
that platform?
Diane Watson (24:20):
So people will get in touch and have specific
needs, and so the starting pointwould usually be a
no-obligation call or a Zoomcall just to chat and see
whether or not it's somethingthat I can help them with, and
then, if they want to work withme, we obviously need to do a
detailed review.
They need to do the homework,they need to get the information
(24:40):
that they haven't got at theirfingertips, which is always the
starting point, and very fewpeople do know that information.
That's a good starting pointfor them because they have to go
and do the work, and lots ofpeople have had different jobs
and they've got differentpensions, for example, were and
lots of people have haddifferent jobs and they've got
different pensions, for example,but they've accrued along the
way.
So it's it's a good place forthem to start and get on top of
(25:03):
the information that they needto have really, and a lot of
people don't have it to handyeah, yeah, I think pensions is
a big one.
Donna Eade (25:11):
That's a big wormhole that we could go down,
because, as business owners, youoften well, you don't have an
employed pension.
But I've actually recentlytaken on a part-time role, so
I'm now back into a companypension, which is great for me.
However, I had an incident.
I was like, well, hang on aminute.
I got my first pension when thegovernment implemented the
(25:35):
auto-enroll, so my work at thetime didn't have a pension and
they auto-enrolled everybodyonto this first iteration of the
pension scheme.
And what I remember about thattime is being told that this is
your pension.
It's not the company's pension,it's your pension.
It follows you around.
(25:55):
You don't have to worry aboutlosing it and having many
pension pots all over the place.
And what I have discovered is,since starting this new job,
that that isn't the case at alland you still end up with
pension pots all over the place.
The only difference now is youcan actually bring your pensions
over to your new pensionwithout paying any penalties,
(26:18):
and that's what they meant.
So I was just like, well, thatwas very much false advertising.
But I can understand why it'sdone that, because the
administration nightmare of acompany trying to deal with like
30 different pensions for 30different employees would be
ridiculous.
So I get it, but that's not howit was advertised.
So definitely something to lookat there, and we will leave all
(26:39):
your links in the show notes aswell, so people can reach out
to you.
But I do have, before we shutoff for today, I do have my
little quick fire round that Ilike to do to help everybody get
to know my guests a little bitbetter.
So if you're up for it, diane,I've got a few questions to ask
you, absolutely Okay.
(26:59):
So number one is what is thepodcast you like listening to
the most?
Diane Watson (27:04):
So I love listening to podcasts and I love
Steve Bartlett Diary of a CEO.
I mean he has such interestingguests.
I've learned so much in thelast few months about health
issues I mean you know themenopause.
I mean I listen to a fantasticone about divorce, anything to
do with health and well-being.
(27:26):
I love them all.
They're amazing.
So that's kind of the one I goto the most when I'm thinking
about what podcast?
Usually when I'm on the trainactually and I do actually
listen to podcasts in the car-yeah me too, as as well, and uh.
So yeah, I do like his podcasts.
Yeah, you're not the firstperson.
Donna Eade (27:46):
I really feel like I'm missing out on an SEO trick
here.
I should start putting allthese answers in the show notes
so that I can keep tagging diaryof a CEO.
Yeah, exactly, exactly, oh,dear.
And then what's the book that'smade the biggest impact on your
life so far?
So, obviously you've writtenyour own big book, which will
have had an impact, but what'sthe book that you've read that
(28:06):
has made the biggest impact?
Diane Watson (28:08):
Well, I mean, that's a really challenging
question for me because I didEnglish at university.
So I've got at least a thousandbooks in a bookcase in my house
here.
So I've got at least a thousandbooks in bookcase in my house
(28:34):
here, and so that really stoppedme in my tracks and I had a few
thoughts and I was reallystruggling to choose the book.
But I went back to the bookthat I read when I was 10 years
old the first serious book Iever read which was Wuthering
Heights by Emily Bronte.
As a sort of 10-year-old girl,just the passion and just
everything about that bookcompletely captivated me.
You know the relationshipbetween Kathy and Heathcliff and
I live in Yorkshire so I'vebeen to the Parsonage where the
Bronte sisters wrote their books, where the Bronte sisters wrote
(28:56):
their books, and it's just anamazing, amazing story and as a
10-year-old girl, you know I wascompletely captivated by it.
So that's the book that I'mgoing to say.
Donna Eade (29:10):
And I love it when a guest actually says a fiction
book rather than like aself-help book, because it just
shows that you know, it doesn'tmatter whether it's fiction or
non-fiction, the impact that abook can have transcends that
the narrative.
That's there.
I would just say like it'samazing and I love that.
And I had Joe came on and saidAnne of Green Gables, which we
bonded over because that was oneof my favourite books growing
(29:33):
up and really did impact me aswell.
So I love that, I love that.
And what is your go-to snackwhen you're in a hurry?
Diane Watson (29:41):
Cashew nuts.
Donna Eade (29:44):
Oh, that was quick off the bat.
Okay, very healthy.
Diane Watson (29:48):
I like cashew nuts a lot.
Donna Eade (29:51):
Yeah.
Diane Watson (29:52):
And a quick handful and they're quite
filling and I kind of reasonthat they're quite good for you
as well.
So it wouldn't be a bar ofchocolate, it would be cashew
nuts.
Love that.
Donna Eade (30:03):
Cashew nuts dipped in chocolate Now, that would be
a good one.
I'm a choc-holic.
And then, finally, what is yourultimate me time thing to do?
Diane Watson (30:13):
So I book myself every year on a retreat, um,
maybe, maybe more than one.
So this year I've done arewilding retreat.
I went wild swimming in thelake district and hiked up a
Wainwright um mountain and, and,and then I went on a detox
retreat in at the end of August,which was fantastic, and there
(30:35):
were I think there were 18people on that retreat, mainly
women.
It was a great networkingopportunity.
Actually, it's lovely to feelthe love in the place.
We had a cookery demonstrationevery morning, lovely spa
treatments.
I took my books, so I always do.
(30:56):
In fact, I'm on a retreatretreat.
I'm going on, joe.
Do you know?
Joe Talker?
Yes, a retreat next year inFrance, oh, lovely, um, and I've
got another one booked,actually rewilding trip, in
Wales.
So, yeah, that's my kind of metime, yeah, yeah.
Donna Eade (31:11):
I love that.
I love that lovely little shoutout to Joanna there.
I love, love that and then,yeah, so that's it.
That is it.
No more questions, no morequestions.
That is the ultimate me thingto do and I think it's a
wonderful thing to do.
I would love to do a retreat,so like on my bucket list of
things that I would love to do.
So I love that you make it sucha main part of your staple
(31:33):
thing to do in a year, yourstaple thing to do in a year.
So, um, that's great.
Where do you hang out on socialthe most?
I would say linkedin.
Yeah, yeah, I love thatplatform.
All of diane's links will be inthe show notes, guys, so please
don't do go and check those out.
I will link her book onto mybookshelf so if you want to go
and get the she can prosper book, you can go and get it there.
(31:53):
You will also find um diane'sbook of choice on that bookshelf
, along with all of my guests'books that have been mentioned.
It is a growing bookshelf notquite as many books as you've
got there, diane, but it is agrowing bookshelf and I love it
as a great source of interestand intrigue for people to go
and check when they are lookingfor a new book to read.
(32:15):
So go over and check that out.
Thank you so much for your timetoday, diana.
Diane Watson (32:18):
It's been a lovely chat with you, thank you, it's
been amazing and thank you forhaving me.
Donna Eade (32:23):
You're very welcome and I will see you in the next
one, guys, bye for now.
You're listening to the Mindset in Action podcast,
the place to be to grow andstreamline your business.
I'm your host, donna Eade.
Let's jump into the show.
Many successful career womenare having important life
(00:20):
decisions made for them.
Diane Watson, welcome back tothe podcast.
Everybody, I'm so glad to haveyou here today.
We're going to be talking aboutmoney.
You know, I like the money chat, so we are going to be talking
about money today and I am notthe expert, so I have brought an
expert in Diane Watson, welcometo the podcast.
Diane Watson (00:42):
Welcome and great to meet you and to be able to
share some stories this morning.
Donna Eade (00:47):
It is really good to have you here and I think,
because we are in December now,this is a really good point in
which people are looking at, youknow, the new year coming and
obviously Christmas is likeliterally round the corner at
this point and people often arefeeling the crunch at this time.
So I think it's a really timelyconversation to have to sort of
(01:11):
have a little bit of a deeperdive into finances, rather than
working from a place of panic,which I think a lot of people do
around this time of the year.
You know, christmas is on thecredit cards and how are we
going to survive January and allof that jazz.
So we're looking long term herewhen we're having this
conversation, and what we can dogoing forward.
But before we dive into all ofthat, goodness Diane, tell
(01:34):
people a little bit about whoyou are and what it is that you
do.
Diane Watson (01:37):
Okay, so I'm Diane Watson.
I'm a career financial advisor,run my own business.
I've been a principal partnerwith St James's Place.
I joined them in 1999.
Before that I ran my ownbusiness.
Outside of that I also have aseparate business which is
called she Can Prosper andthat's really my give back to
(01:58):
try and encourage women toreally understand where they're
at and to make any choices thatthey might need to make to make
sure that they're on a securefinancial footing.
So I run events.
I've written a book and it'sreally my rallying cry to all
the women out there to make sureyou're not one of those people,
(02:19):
those women that I've met whosays if only I'd known,
everything would be different.
And that's really what'smotivated me for the last four
years to keep that projectrunning.
Yeah.
Donna Eade (02:32):
I love it and to me it's like it's amazing how
things take so long when you'relooking at generational change,
because it wasn't too long agowhere women couldn't have their
own bank accounts and they werefully dependent on their
husbands and you know, we weregetting married off at a young
(02:52):
age because our dads didn't wantno responsibility for us
anymore, and that was before mytime.
However, it is one of thosethings that it's still taken so
long for women to get thefinancial education that they
deserve, to really sort ofunderstand and be financially
(03:13):
independent themselves.
It's bizarre to me.
Diane Watson (03:18):
I mean there are still so many women who aren't
financially mindful, and some ofthat is to do with what happens
in our childhood.
So I think if we are brought upto, if we're told as little
girls that money is what mensort out and you don't need to
worry about that, I think thatcan play out in how we view
(03:39):
money later on in our lives.
Obviously it depends on thekind of relationship that you're
in and how the dynamics play.
It depends on the kind ofrelationship that you're in and
how the dynamics play out inthat, because we know that money
is a great control tool.
So we know that in somerelationships money is the power
that men control women by,which is obviously can come at a
huge cost.
I also have this theory that wegirls think that we're not that
(04:02):
good at maths and we kind ofrelate maths to money and
therefore we feel uncomfortableand fearful a little bit because
we know we wouldn't reallyunderstand the money because we
didn't really get on with mathsat school.
And that's not true.
But it is a limiting beliefthat lots of women have.
And you know, if I can do whatI've done having had those
(04:26):
feelings myself, then all of uscan make sure that we understand
our numbers.
Donna Eade (04:37):
Yeah.
Yeah, I have to say I'm anoutlier in that respect because
I really enjoyed maths.
I struggled with it towards theend of school because I was put
into a higher tier, because Ishowed promise, but then I was
like fighting to sort of stayabove water in that sense.
But I've always loved numbersand playing with budgets and
like, ok, if I put this muchmoney here, and how much am I
going to have at the end of theyear if I keep putting it and
(04:58):
all of that.
I love all that stuff.
But I understand that for a lotof people that's not the case
for them, that stuff, but Iunderstand that for a lot of
people that's not the case forthem.
So that's why we're having thisconversation, because it's so
important to actually have agood understanding of finances
and the money that's coming inand going out of your house and
your business and sort of thelines can cross there.
When you're self-employed, themoney's all going into one part
(05:21):
and where's it all going and allsorts of things.
And we're not going to diveinto business finances,
particularly today.
But I really wanted to talkabout financial wellness and
what that looks like for people.
So, diane, what does financialwellness.
Look like to you.
Diane Watson (05:37):
So I think financial wellness is all about
being financially okay.
It's not about not addressingthe issue and hoping that
everything's going to be fine,which I think a lot of people do
.
They run up debt on their creditcard and they just kind of hope
that it will somehow transformitself and it doesn't.
(05:58):
So it's about reallyunderstanding your situation and
being more proactive in termsof managing that and making sure
that there aren't any surprises, because there's nothing worse
than not knowing something andthen it coming and, you know,
giving you a massive, massiveshock down the line, or maybe
when something untoward happensbecause things happen in our
(06:19):
lives, you know that areunexpected and they come in the
form of things like divorce andbereavement and illness and
children, and you know mortgageinterest rates going out and you
know retirement age is actuallymoving over the last few years
to be, you know, even later, andwe just need if we are, if we
(06:40):
are aware of and we are incontrol of our own situation, we
are more likely to have a morepositive outcome, absolutely
yeah, yeah, and I think that'ssomething that we don't
necessarily consider when we'relooking at our financial
wellness.
Donna Eade (06:57):
Is those things that you were saying in the
beginning there?
Divorce, bereavement, these arethings that you don't
necessarily automatically thinkare connected to your finances
and can impact your finances.
But well, anybody who's beenthrough a divorce will know that
that couldn't be further fromthe truth and could really leave
(07:17):
you in a big hole anddevastation, which is not what
anybody wants, and you neverwant to go into a marriage
thinking it's going to end indivorce and I need to protect
myself.
But the fact is the stats don'tlie.
You can only control yourbehavior.
So, whereas you might neverwant to get divorced and
(07:39):
wouldn't do anything, it doesn'tmean that your partner is going
to be the same throughout yourrelationship, because you can't
control them.
They are their own person andyou just have to be conscious of
the fact that there is apossibility of it, prepare for
it and then, if it doesn'thappen, all good, but if it does
, you're all good, you know soit's really important.
(08:02):
So I wanted to talk about thesort of biggest mistake that you
see women making with theirfinances and I know I do have
guys that listen and sometimeswe do go down the female only
route with some of my episodes,but majority of my listeners are
women and I always think thatit's good for the guys who do
listen to hear from the femaleperspective and to hear what
(08:24):
their partners, their mums,their sisters might be going
through, to kind of understandit from the other side as well.
So, guys, if you're listeningand you continue to listen, I
appreciate you taking the timeto actually have a listen in.
But yeah, what are some of themistakes you see women making
with their financial security?
Diane Watson (08:41):
A light touch involvement with their finances.
Leaving somebody else to bemaking those decisions and those
plans for you can ultimatelycost you dearly.
You know, if you're not awareof what's going on behind the
scenes and, for example, you doend up getting divorced, you
know, you are more likely tofind yourself in a more
(09:01):
difficult situation because youhad no idea.
Lots of women have no ideaabout what goes on with regards
to finance in their homesbecause someone else does it for
them.
So I think, understanding yoursituation, you know and
understanding, for example, ifyou're employed, you know what
your pension scheme provides youwith.
(09:21):
I say to people every day whatwould happen at work if you
became ill, and most people havegot no idea.
They don't know.
You know and and and it's abigger problem if you're
self-employed, because we knowthat more and more women are
running their own businesses,which makes them more vulnerable
because they don't have thatlarge corporate backup to help
(09:44):
them and to step in to whateverextent that occurs.
So you know, if you're anemployed woman, find out what
your long-term six-paymentstrategy is and make sure that
that's okay for you.
Find out if you've got lifeinsurance that would pay out to
your family if somethinghappened to you.
Understand more about what yourpension benefits are going to
(10:09):
be.
Make sure you join the pensionscheme I mean, lots of people
don't and if there are morecontributions that you can get
from your employer, if you paymore yourself, then think about
doing that.
So, really understanding ifyou're self-employed, it's even
more important because you areso vulnerable if you get ill,
(10:29):
for example and you know one intwo people now get cancer, which
may or may not be somethingthat you, you know you end up
having, you know dying from, butit certainly will impact on
your ability to work if you'rerunning your own business.
So, you know, understanding howyou would be able to to cope
(10:54):
and for how long, is reallyreally, um, you know, important.
Yeah, yeah.
Donna Eade (11:02):
So looking at that, just sort of coming onto the
business side for a second,talking about sick, we don't get
the sick pay that you know,employed people get.
So what is something that wecould do to kind of help us out
in that respect?
Like, when we're looking at themoney coming into the business,
what should we be looking atdoing with it to sort of, you
(11:26):
know, maybe counteract that alittle bit or at least be
prepared in some way forsomething like that?
Diane Watson (11:34):
So there are a couple of things that you can
look at doing.
I mean, obviously, if you get acritical illness, you can have
some cover that would pay out alump sum which could be used for
whatever you feel is important.
And remember let's talk aboutcancer no two people's cancer
(11:54):
diagnoses are the same.
Some people might want to payoff their mortgage.
Some people might want to fundtreatment that isn't readily
available on the National HealthService.
You know, some people knowtheir life expectancy is
shortened and want to enjoytheir lives whilst they've got
it.
So that is something that Iwould encourage all people to
(12:14):
look at.
And it's a lump sum and it'spayable on diagnosis of a range
of illnesses, of which cancer isone, but there are lots of
others like heart attack, stroke, you know, things like
Parkinson's disease, losing yoursight, losing your speech, your
hearing all of the things thatmay very well prevent you from
working.
So it's really there to providefinancial support and if you
(12:38):
don't need it because you'reback on your feet very quickly,
then it's a bonus really.
The other thing is somethingcalled income protection, which
would provide an income for thetime that you're unable to work,
and that has different periodswhen it kicks in, and the
shorter the deferred period, themore expensive it is.
That covers a wider range ofthings, because you could have a
(13:00):
really bad car accident, forexample, or you could suffer a
nervous breakdown.
So there are things that arecovered with that, that stand in
addition, and it's an incomeand it stops when you go back to
doing your job or running yourbusiness.
Ideally we we all ought to haveboth, because you know, and
(13:24):
I've had clients who've hadpayouts for both because of the
illness that they've had.
I mean, there is nothing worsethan meeting someone who has had
a health diagnosis that isgoing to stop them working, and
I've had people in their 30sbeen diagnosed with an illness
that they've never, ever workedto gain.
(13:45):
We don't want anybody to be inthe situation where they're
already stressed because they'vebeen diagnosed with a serious
illness and then they can't work.
And then there's a financialconsideration, and I do a lot of
work with an organizationcalled Maggie's and they run
centers near oncology units inbig hospitals around the UK and
they were telling me that duringthe cost of living crisis they
(14:08):
had self-employed people whowere cutting short their
chemotherapy because they had togo back to work.
Donna Eade (14:15):
Oh, my God.
Diane Watson (14:17):
You know that is absolutely terrible to think of
that.
So anything that we can all doto avoid ourselves being in that
situation.
It isn't cheap, Obviously,because you are way more likely
to have an illness than you areto pass away, but it does give
you that support and thatability not to be diagnosed with
(14:40):
something as serious as a formof cancer and then also be
sitting there thinking how onearth am I going to pay my bills
?
Donna Eade (15:00):
And having to make that decision between treatment
and paying your bills.
And I've always said to likeI've had a big sort of epiphany
in the last couple of yearswhere I've been really focusing
on my health and it's like ifyou haven't got your health, you
haven't got anything Like youhave to be well, you have to be
(15:21):
here to enjoy life.
So whether you've got money ornot, if you're not here, it's
neither here nor there.
So it's like paramount to methat people look at their health
and put their health first.
It's like paramount to me thatpeople look at their health and
put their health first.
And part of that has got to bebeing financially sensible to
enable you to be able to do that.
(15:48):
So where you were talking aboutthe insurances, there I think a
lot of times we don't likeinsurance because it's one of
those things that you pay for.
You pay a lot of money for insome cases and you might never
use it, and it's like, oh, it'slike a bugbear of people's to
actually spend out money thatthey're not getting anything
back from.
And I understand it, I reallydo.
But if you do need it, it'sthat, what if?
And heaven forbid you're inthat situation.
(16:08):
But if you do need it, it'sthat, what if?
And heaven forbid you're inthat situation.
But if you do need it, at leastit's there.
And where you were talkingabout the um, the income
protection being a deferredpayment, I guess that's where
the whole you know have sixmonths worth of your living
expenses in your bank account.
(16:29):
Cash, liquid cash, comes in,yeah, 100.
Diane Watson (16:33):
Yeah, I mean you wouldn't drive a car and say I'm
really disappointed, I haven'twritten it off because I've not
had a payout on my insurance,right?
And I think that's why you haveto switch the mindset around
that, because you know, when I,when I turned 60, my guys at the
office said to me well, butyou're really disappointed that
you've never had a payout onyour critical illness plan, I
was like absolutely not, becauseand it was a lot of money over
(16:58):
many, many years but wouldn'tyou rather have the peace of
mind of knowing that it wasthere in the background?
You know, it's like it's likeany insurance that we have.
We don't want something tohappen so that we can have a,
make a claim.
We want it to be there toprovide what we need if
something goes wrong, and that'swhy we have it.
(17:19):
So it's just about flippingthat mindset really.
Donna Eade (17:24):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
We could go down a whole rabbithole with all of that jazz, but
we won't.
We won't today.
So I think for me, one of thethings that really stands out
when I talk about money withpeople is the simple, easy
things that people aren't doingthat they could so easily
(17:46):
implement.
So are there three things thatyou could give us that we could
take away today and go?
Do you know what?
I might not know much about myfinances, but now I'm going to
actually take the time to lookinto it and get to grips with it
.
But I know that I can do thesethree things right now and it's
going to make a difference to myfinancial security.
Diane Watson (18:07):
So I mean.
Something that amazes me is howmany people have no idea what
the state pension is going toprovide them with, and the
relief on people's faces whenthey find out that it's actually
, you know, in the 10,000 plusamount and that if they're
living with someone else it'sdouble that amount.
It makes people feel lesspressured about the future, less
(18:35):
pressured about the future, soI would say to everybody go and
get a state pension forecast andunderstand that number, Because
I think one of the fears thatpeople have about am I going to
be okay in retirement is I won'thave enough.
So just getting thatinformation and also finding out
, whatever it is you're, how,where that's going to lead you.
So more information around that.
Donna Eade (18:56):
That's a really that's a really important one I
want to say, just because youknow, a lot of mums take career
breaks and you need to knowwhether you've actually put
enough in to the state pensionand you can, I think, pay
dividends for fill the past sixyears.
So if you've got gaps in thepast six years, you can actually
(19:18):
make payments to actually bringthat up.
So you get your qualifyingyears.
But you have to have a certainnumber of qualifying years,
don't you?
And if you've had babies,oftentimes that kind of reduces
the years that you've got there.
So that's an important one toconsider.
Diane Watson (19:32):
So understanding those numbers and if that gives
you comfort that you're, youknow, if you're in a
relationship, you're living withsomeone that there's two of you
work out what that is and thatmight take some pressure off you
, and actually taking pressureoff people often makes them more
motivated to take action.
So that that's one of thethings you know.
The second thing is is myfamily going to be okay if
(19:53):
something happens to me?
So you know we've talked aboutcritical illness cover, but just
making sure that you've gotenough life insurance you know,
to provide for if you've gotyoung children.
You know, my friend's husbandpassed away last year and the
first thing she said to me iswill you come and tell me
whether I'm going to befinancially okay?
And we did the.
(20:14):
You know we knew that themortgage would be paid off, but
obviously he had, you know, he,he, his salary disappeared.
And just being able to know thatyou're going to be okay,
because in the time, in the, atthe time of a tragedy, you don't
want the situation to be madeworse by being financially
impoverished.
And life insurance isincredibly cheap.
(20:36):
You know it's incredibly cheapand it will make a huge
difference if something happens.
So you know, if you're employed, see what you've got from work.
If you're running your ownbusiness, you could do it
through the business.
There are different plans thatyou can take out that will give
you that peace of mind,especially if you've got, you
know, young dependent childrenyeah um, so so that's the second
(20:59):
thing, I mean my other bigpassion.
I've got lots of passions, butit's the will.
You know, have a will becausepeople have no idea about what
happens and the complications ifyou die without making a will,
and because we have more blendedfamilies than ever.
You know, we have more peopleliving together with their own
(21:20):
children, with stepchildren,with half children.
Donna Eade (21:24):
Just making sure that you know that your wishes
are going to be carried out veryclearly is something is to
happen, would happen to you, isis also really, really important
yeah, yeah, the and that'sanother thing that people don't
think about in terms of theirfinances is what a will actually
(21:45):
does, and the power of attorneyand executors and all things
and and a will can kick inbefore you die.
So if you get an illness thatis like you you aren't capable
of making decisions for yourself, your will could kick in prior
to that.
So if you haven't sorted it out, you could end up in a right
state.
(22:05):
Who knows where you'd end up?
Diane Watson (22:07):
um left to other people's.
Yeah, and if you've got sorry?
If you've got sorry, if you'vegot children, the only people
that can appoint guardians foryour children are yourself and
your partner, or the courts.
So if you don't appointguardians for your young
children and something happensto you both you know you're in a
car accident then someone elseis going to decide where your
children are going to live.
(22:27):
And often you know the dynamicsof families are that you've got
parents-in-law parents.
Both sets of parents would liketo.
You know it's very messy.
Donna Eade (22:37):
Yeah.
Diane Watson (22:38):
And often people you know, my own daughter, my
grandson, is going to be lookedafter by his godfather, you know
, and they're very clear aboutwhy they want that to happen.
They want him to stay in London, etc.
You know, obviously I'm alreadyin my mid-60s and I'm single.
So you know, if they hadn'twritten that into their will,
(23:01):
then there would be lack ofclarity around that.
So I think it's a good thing todo.
Yeah, yeah definitely,definitely.
Donna Eade (23:10):
Well, we shall leave some resources for people in
the show notes so you can go andcheck about the three things
that you can do.
Go and check your pension, lifeinsurance and your will.
(23:37):
None of that involved acalculator.
Just saying so, just becausewe're talking money doesn't mean
that it's all got to be aboutcalculators and maths.
So go ahead, look at theresources in the show notes,
make those action steps and ifpeople want to connect with you,
diane, where can they find youand how can you help them?
Diane Watson (24:01):
So the best thing to do is to connect via
shecanprospercom, so www.
We've got lots of resources andinformation on there and they
can reach out to me through thatplatform in the first instance.
In any event, brilliant.
Donna Eade (24:15):
And how do you usually work with people through
that platform?
Diane Watson (24:20):
So people will get in touch and have specific
needs, and so the starting pointwould usually be a
no-obligation call or a Zoomcall just to chat and see
whether or not it's somethingthat I can help them with, and
then, if they want to work withme, we obviously need to do a
detailed review.
They need to do the homework,they need to get the information
(24:40):
that they haven't got at theirfingertips, which is always the
starting point, and very fewpeople do know that information.
That's a good starting pointfor them because they have to go
and do the work, and lots ofpeople have had different jobs
and they've got differentpensions, for example, were and
lots of people have haddifferent jobs and they've got
different pensions, for example,but they've accrued along the
way.
So it's it's a good place forthem to start and get on top of
(25:03):
the information that they needto have really, and a lot of
people don't have it to handyeah, yeah, I think pensions is
a big one.
Donna Eade (25:11):
That's a big wormhole that we could go down,
because, as business owners, youoften well, you don't have an
employed pension.
But I've actually recentlytaken on a part-time role, so
I'm now back into a companypension, which is great for me.
However, I had an incident.
I was like, well, hang on aminute.
I got my first pension when thegovernment implemented the
(25:35):
auto-enroll, so my work at thetime didn't have a pension and
they auto-enrolled everybodyonto this first iteration of the
pension scheme.
And what I remember about thattime is being told that this is
your pension.
It's not the company's pension,it's your pension.
It follows you around.
(25:55):
You don't have to worry aboutlosing it and having many
pension pots all over the place.
And what I have discovered is,since starting this new job,
that that isn't the case at alland you still end up with
pension pots all over the place.
The only difference now is youcan actually bring your pensions
over to your new pensionwithout paying any penalties,
(26:18):
and that's what they meant.
So I was just like, well, thatwas very much false advertising.
But I can understand why it'sdone that, because the
administration nightmare of acompany trying to deal with like
30 different pensions for 30different employees would be
ridiculous.
So I get it, but that's not howit was advertised.
So definitely something to lookat there, and we will leave all
(26:39):
your links in the show notes aswell, so people can reach out
to you.
But I do have, before we shutoff for today, I do have my
little quick fire round that Ilike to do to help everybody get
to know my guests a little bitbetter.
So if you're up for it, diane,I've got a few questions to ask
you, absolutely Okay.
(26:59):
So number one is what is thepodcast you like listening to
the most?
Diane Watson (27:04):
So I love listening to podcasts and I love
Steve Bartlett Diary of a CEO.
I mean he has such interestingguests.
I've learned so much in thelast few months about health
issues I mean you know themenopause.
I mean I listen to a fantasticone about divorce, anything to
do with health and well-being.
(27:26):
I love them all.
They're amazing.
So that's kind of the one I goto the most when I'm thinking
about what podcast?
Usually when I'm on the trainactually and I do actually
listen to podcasts in the car-yeah me too, as as well, and uh.
So yeah, I do like his podcasts.
Yeah, you're not the firstperson.
Donna Eade (27:46):
I really feel like I'm missing out on an SEO trick
here.
I should start putting allthese answers in the show notes
so that I can keep tagging diaryof a CEO.
Yeah, exactly, exactly, oh,dear.
And then what's the book that'smade the biggest impact on your
life so far?
So, obviously you've writtenyour own big book, which will
have had an impact, but what'sthe book that you've read that
(28:06):
has made the biggest impact?
Diane Watson (28:08):
Well, I mean, that's a really challenging
question for me because I didEnglish at university.
So I've got at least a thousandbooks in a bookcase in my house
here.
So I've got at least a thousandbooks in bookcase in my house
(28:34):
here, and so that really stoppedme in my tracks and I had a few
thoughts and I was reallystruggling to choose the book.
But I went back to the bookthat I read when I was 10 years
old the first serious book Iever read which was Wuthering
Heights by Emily Bronte.
As a sort of 10-year-old girl,just the passion and just
everything about that bookcompletely captivated me.
You know the relationshipbetween Kathy and Heathcliff and
I live in Yorkshire so I'vebeen to the Parsonage where the
Bronte sisters wrote their books, where the Bronte sisters wrote
(28:56):
their books, and it's just anamazing, amazing story and as a
10-year-old girl, you know I wascompletely captivated by it.
So that's the book that I'mgoing to say.
Donna Eade (29:10):
And I love it when a guest actually says a fiction
book rather than like aself-help book, because it just
shows that you know, it doesn'tmatter whether it's fiction or
non-fiction, the impact that abook can have transcends that
the narrative.
That's there.
I would just say like it'samazing and I love that.
And I had Joe came on and saidAnne of Green Gables, which we
bonded over because that was oneof my favourite books growing
(29:33):
up and really did impact me aswell.
So I love that, I love that.
And what is your go-to snackwhen you're in a hurry?
Diane Watson (29:41):
Cashew nuts.
Donna Eade (29:44):
Oh, that was quick off the bat.
Okay, very healthy.
Diane Watson (29:48):
I like cashew nuts a lot.
Donna Eade (29:51):
Yeah.
Diane Watson (29:52):
And a quick handful and they're quite
filling and I kind of reasonthat they're quite good for you
as well.
So it wouldn't be a bar ofchocolate, it would be cashew
nuts.
Love that.
Donna Eade (30:03):
Cashew nuts dipped in chocolate Now, that would be
a good one.
I'm a choc-holic.
And then, finally, what is yourultimate me time thing to do?
Diane Watson (30:13):
So I book myself every year on a retreat, um,
maybe, maybe more than one.
So this year I've done arewilding retreat.
I went wild swimming in thelake district and hiked up a
Wainwright um mountain and, and,and then I went on a detox
retreat in at the end of August,which was fantastic, and there
(30:35):
were I think there were 18people on that retreat, mainly
women.
It was a great networkingopportunity.
Actually, it's lovely to feelthe love in the place.
We had a cookery demonstrationevery morning, lovely spa
treatments.
I took my books, so I always do.
(30:56):
In fact, I'm on a retreatretreat.
I'm going on, joe.
Do you know?
Joe Talker?
Yes, a retreat next year inFrance, oh, lovely, um, and I've
got another one booked,actually rewilding trip, in
Wales.
So, yeah, that's my kind of metime, yeah, yeah.
Donna Eade (31:11):
I love that.
I love that lovely little shoutout to Joanna there.
I love, love that and then,yeah, so that's it.
That is it.
No more questions, no morequestions.
That is the ultimate me thingto do and I think it's a
wonderful thing to do.
I would love to do a retreat,so like on my bucket list of
things that I would love to do.
So I love that you make it sucha main part of your staple
(31:33):
thing to do in a year, yourstaple thing to do in a year.
So, um, that's great.
Where do you hang out on socialthe most?
I would say linkedin.
Yeah, yeah, I love thatplatform.
All of diane's links will be inthe show notes, guys, so please
don't do go and check those out.
I will link her book onto mybookshelf so if you want to go
and get the she can prosper book, you can go and get it there.
(31:53):
You will also find um diane'sbook of choice on that bookshelf
, along with all of my guests'books that have been mentioned.
It is a growing bookshelf notquite as many books as you've
got there, diane, but it is agrowing bookshelf and I love it
as a great source of interestand intrigue for people to go
and check when they are lookingfor a new book to read.
(32:15):
So go over and check that out.
Thank you so much for your timetoday, diana.
Diane Watson (32:18):
It's been a lovely chat with you, thank you, it's
been amazing and thank you forhaving me.
Donna Eade (32:23):
You're very welcome and I will see you in the next
one, guys, bye for now.
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