Financial dietary tips
Peter McGahan
Monday, 3rd March 2025.
I WAS looking at buying a house, and in the kitchen, there was a potato salad. It was labelled in a way which was giving the consumer the impression it was made using fresh ingredients from a farm. The builders had obviously left there. It was three years out of date and had been in the sun. When I opened it, it was as fit as the day it came out of the shop. Rank. Its nutrients were non-existent, and its ingredients couldn’t have been drawn in a game of Pictionary. Your system would have simply rejected them as toxins.
If you walk down the aisle of supermarkets you might come to the healthy section. What, by definition, are the other parts of the supermarket? As we look closely at the ingredients on the packaging of food like this, you will often see they littered with absolute trash which is more likely to make you ill than well. (I’ll get to the money link, trust me).
The rise of obesity has been crazy. Analysis of epidemiological data reveals a 350 per cent increase in global obesity prevalence since 1980. Read that again. That’s pure nuts. The health consequences now account for 4.7 million premature deaths annually – that’s a lot of unnecessary missed heartbeats. China's obesity rate skyrocketed from three per cent to 16 per cent between 1980-2020, concentrated in urban males exposed to Westernised ‘diets’.
The natural response is why doesn’t the government do something about it, almost always looking for that ‘parent’? The answer is in our question.
Singapore has put a stop to it. Its 2020 model is empirical, yes, but with the world’s best education, in a league of its own, it has gone a stage further with its 2020 Healthy Living Masterplan. Wellbeing programmes have been created and are compulsory, but also the companies which receive greater than a 10 per cent BMI reduction receive 15 per cent corporate tax rates. Quality.
The messages and learning across the world are not magical. They are simple, and when followed, are highly successful. They are all about creating good simple habits and opportunities to create those habits, nothing more. Eat properly, exercise, stay hydrated, please sleep properly. It’s simple, but hard. My own view is that any serious nation should be draconian and just not allow poor products onto the shelf in the first place.
I have two great friends – one is a chef and the other, a Jamon master – Stephane Delourme and Jose Sol. Stephane was the head chef and group chef at Rick Steins
for 25 years and Jose, well, he’s the master of Jamon. Their message to everyone: keep it really simple. Pick the very best fresh ingredients and cook them properly. That’s it. If you start with poor products and try to be magical, it ends up looking like those pure twaddle TV programmes where they judge, berate and congratulate each other for complicating their lives. ‘Non’, as Stephane might say, ‘No’ (Spanish), as Jose might say.
Let’s carry on that theme into finance. It’s equally as simple a recipe:
Products? There are thousands available, so use an independent financial adviser with the expertise and size to create the research to cut the wheat from the chaff. Remember, start with the products (think: sow’s ear and silk purse etc).
Understand the difference between want and need. Being honest about this distinction creates financial discipline, the single most powerful tool in wealth-building.
Discipline also means consistency. Saving and investing aren’t about fancy, dramatic moves, they’re about steady, unshakable habits. Automate savings so it happens before you even see the money.
When there is a sale in super beneficial greens you don’t panic, you buy more. When markets dip, don’t panic, stick to the plan. Wealth is built by those who don’t flinch at every headline.
Pay down high-interest debt first, and never let convenience trap you in expensive credit.
Always keep an emergency fund. Life is unpredictable, and financial security means being prepared. The stress of unexpected costs vanishes when you have a buffer in place.
Finally, protect what you build. Insure your income, your health, and your family’s future. A financial plan is only as strong as its weakest link.
Good financial recipe habits aren’t complex. Spend wisely, save first, invest patiently, protect what matters and let time do the rest.
And remember, ‘buy clean fresh ingredients and cook well and simply’.
If you have a financial query, please call 01872 222422 or email info@wwfp.net
Peter McGahan is the Chief Executive Officer of Independent Financial Adviser Worldwide Financial Planning. Worldwide Financial Planning is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
