When the f**k did I become old?

Britain has a new Prime Minister. Andy Burnham walked into Number 10 on Monday 20 July, making him the seventh PM in a decade. We recorded this on his first day in office, so some of this may already be history by the time you're listening. We break down what his first 24 hours actually looks like behind the scenes, and then get into the financial policies being floated that could hit our wallets hard.
Key Takeaways
The first day as PM is far more dramatic than anyone tells you. Before lunch, Burnham had to handwrite four letters of last resort for Trident submarine commanders and draw up a nuclear bunker shortlist.
The mansion tax threshold may drop from £2m to £1.5m, which would pull in 146,000 more London homes almost immediately.
Inheritance tax could be scrapped and replaced with a health and social care levy. We still do not know whether that would leave us better or worse off.
The 25% tax-free pension withdrawal remains in play as a target. It was nearly cut to £100k under Reeves and could be on the table again.
The triple lock on the state pension looks safe for now, but the OECD is already pressuring the government to reform it given an ageing population.
Mortgage holders on fixed rates expiring soon are facing a painful jump. We are personally looking at a fivefold increase when our 1.4% fix ends in six weeks.
Annuity rates are the best they have been in a decade. Legal and General were quoting 7.37% last week for a 65-year-old, which makes them worth looking at again.
The honest advice: do not panic, and do not make big financial moves until the autumn budget lands in November.
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction and context: why we recorded on day one
02:30 The James Bond schedule: nuclear briefing, letters of last resort, bunker shortlist
07:18 Setting up Number 10 North and the Manchester security problem
09:38 Mansion tax: the £1.5m threshold and what it means for the housing market
12:00 Inheritance tax: scrapping it and the social care levy alternative
14:20 Income tax thresholds and a possible wealth tax
16:47 Stamp duty, council tax reform, and the north/south divide
19:04 State pension, the triple lock, and OECD pressure
21:28 Private pensions: the 25% tax-free cash withdrawal and what might change
23:49 Interest rates rising and our very personal mortgage problem
26:17 Annuities: why we are suddenly paying attention
28:36 Final thoughts: hold steady until the budget

In this episode we pick up where we left off on our epic French road trip, covering everything from a stolen jumpsuit and a runaway camera, to an Aston Martin covered in warning lights and gale force winds on the Harley. We also open up about a major life change that landed the day before we left for holiday and what it means for the next chapter.
Key Takeaways
Holidays rarely go to plan and the chaos is often what makes the story worth telling.
A packed itinerary can feel like several holidays in one, but it comes at the cost of rest.
Overbooking dinners (even brilliant ones) can leave you needing to slow down halfway through a trip.
Redundancy hits differently depending on your age and stage of life. What felt manageable in your 30s and 40s feels far heavier as retirement age approaches.
Even when you've been mentally preparing for a life transition for years, the reality of it still catches you off guard.
Many close friendships form through work, so a career ending can quietly reshape your social circle. It's worth thinking early about which relationships you want to carry forward.
Planning for retirement isn't just financial. It's emotional too, and it's worth asking what you want your time, purpose and relationships to look like next.
Timestamps
00:00 – Recap of the trip so far: Aston Martin to the south of France, collecting the Harley, days of motorbike touring, and a boat trip to the Porquerolles islands
01:00 – The missing jumpsuit saga: an alterations shop mix up, a stranger walking off with it, and a promise to replace it
04:00 – The Insta360 camera disaster: it falls off the bike and gets run over
05:30 – The Aston Martin's rocky return from the garage: a cracked windscreen, warning lights, and a locked door drama in a car park
07:30 – A last minute scare when the booked Harley is involved in an accident before pickup
09:00 – Reflecting on an ambitious route with long driving days and constant movement
11:30 – Extreme weather on the bike: sudden rain and dangerously strong winds
13:00 – Too many booked dinners and the reality of five course meals night after night
14:00 – Highlights from the route: Saint-Rémy de Provence, Fréjus, Bandol, and more
16:00 – Arriving at the villa and finally slowing the pace down
18:00 – A luxury dinner at a hotel used as a filming location for a well known TV series
19:30 – Sharing the news of redundancy the day before the holiday began
21:00 – Looking back on previous redundancies at different ages and why this one feels different
23:30 – Thinking about retirement after a 39 year career and the habits that come with it
24:30 – A book on early retirement and a favourite quote about designing a more deliberate life
26:00 – A discussion on friendships built through work and how they can shift after retirement
29:00 – What retirement might mean for time spent together versus time spent apart
30:00 – Wrapping up and looking ahead to future episodes on this journey

About This Episode
By 2050, 2.1 billion people on Earth will be over 60. That is one in four humans globally, and one in three in Europe and North America. So what does that actually mean for how we live, how we are perceived, and how brands are (badly) trying to sell to us? In this episode we dig into some genuinely surprising survey data on aging stereotypes, generational attitudes, and the enormous economic power that the over-55 cohort holds -- power that marketers are largely still failing to tap into.
Key Takeaways
Every generation thinks "old" starts just far enough away from their current age to feel safe -- Gen Z puts it at 61, boomers put it at 72
Boomers are statistically more progressive on gender roles and trans rights than Gen Z males, which runs completely counter to the narrative we are fed
Only 8% of global ads feature a mature adult in a primary role, and when they do, it tends to be elasticated trousers, funeral plans, or Saga cruises
Over-55s are highly brand loyal and driven by quality, customer service, and peer reviews -- not advertising
The silver economy is worth $330 billion now and heading to $680 billion by 2035, yet brands are still largely ignoring it
Retirement is no longer a single life stage -- researchers are now segmenting older adults into four behavioural tribes: Simple Contentment, Strivers, Strugglers, and Chill Indulgence
Timestamps
00:09 – Opening stat: 2.1 billion people over 60 by 2050
00:45 – When did you first think someone was "old"? And when do you think it starts now?
03:30 – The Ipsos Attitudes to Aging survey: 24,000 people, 32 countries, and what each generation actually said
05:30 – Millennials think old age starts at 65; Gen Z puts it at 61
06:30 – No age is too old to get married or start a degree -- what the data says about perceived capability
08:00 – What would you still be doing at 80? Driving, mobility, and why stopping the car shrinks your world
11:56 – Exercising into your 80s and what functional fitness actually looks like
13:00 – The Silver Marketing Association survey and a preview of their July report
14:20 – AI and technology: older adults are less scared of it than younger generations
15:30 – The gender roles surprise: boomers more supportive of stay-at-home dads than Gen Z males
18:40 – The Andrew Tate manosphere effect and what it might be doing to Gen Z survey data
20:00 – If you had to work until 70, what would you do? (Record shop gets a mention)
22:30 – The silver economy: $330 billion now, $680 billion by 2035
24:42 – The midlife men and brands survey: how over-55 males actually make purchasing decisions
27:03 – Only 1.5% of TV characters are over 65, and 92% of ads cast younger adults
29:26 – Brand loyalty, what makes men switch, and why customer service matters so much
31:47 – Why retirement is no longer one life stage and age is a poor segmentation tool
33:30 – The four tribes of the silver economy: Simple Contentment, Strivers, Strugglers, and Chill Indulgence -- which one are you?

https://www.ipsos.com/en/ipsos-generations-report-2025

https://www.ipsos.com/en/golden-years-golden-opportunities

https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/ipsos-ai-monitor-2024

Jo sits down with entrepreneur and behavioural intelligence expert Daniel Akutt, who just a year ago was exhausted, foggy, and feeling like life was passing him by. He shares the turning point that changed everything, and reveals the tool he is building with us to help people stop drowning in health information and start making decisions that actually work for them.
Key Takeaways
Chronic stress can masquerade as hormonal or age-related decline. Brain fog, physical fatigue, and poor sleep are often signs of years of accumulated stress rather than simply getting older.
Nobody is coming to save you. Change only happened for Daniel when he stopped waiting and started creating the conditions for it, beginning with a spontaneous 30-minute meditation in Bali inspired by Dr Joe Dispenza.
The world does not have an information problem, it has an understanding problem. We are bombarded constantly, but rarely given tools to filter what is actually relevant to us personally.
Social media is not relaxation. Scrolling feels passive but it is controlled, addictive, and designed to keep you buying. Becoming conscious of that is the first step to taking back control.
Personality shapes your health journey. Two people given the same health plan will get different results if it does not account for how they individually think, make decisions, and stay motivated.
We are building a diagnostic tool together rooted in behavioural intelligence that creates a personalised health roadmap based on who you are, not just what you should do.
Meditation gave Daniel the answer to a business problem he could not crack logically. Quieting the mind creates space for solutions that thinking harder never will.
Timestamps
00:09 Introduction and how Daniel felt a year ago
01:15 Chronic stress, brain fog and waking up exhausted
02:30 Realising nobody is coming to save you
04:41 The Bali moment and discovering Dr Joe Dispenza
06:10 Jo's experience at a Joe Dispenza retreat in Dallas
08:00 Heart rate, measurement and the value of meditation
09:30 The world's information problem vs understanding problem
11:00 How social media controls what you see and why
13:00 Introducing profiletest.ai and behavioural intelligence
16:30 The frightening reality of ill health in later life
17:15 The diagnostic tool we are building together
21:00 Why personalised pathways beat generic advice
24:00 Measuring progress and predicting outcomes over time
26:30 Social media as false relaxation and the dopamine trap
29:00 How meditation unlocked a major business breakthrough
31:00 What is coming next and where to follow the podcast

Episode: South of France Special | Part One
About This Episode
We are officially in pre-holiday mode and could not be more excited. In this episode, we walk you through our upcoming three-stage South of France adventure — a proper bucket list trip involving an Aston Martin, a Harley Davidson, lavender fields, Michelin-level dining, and a villa with views that go both ways across the peninsula. We cover the full itinerary, the five things we are each most looking forward to, and the challenges (some of them genuinely stressful) we have had to navigate just to get here.
Key Takeaways
Sometimes you have to stop waiting for the "right time" and just do the thing — especially when funerals start reminding you that rainy days are not guaranteed
Packing for three completely different modes of travel (sports car, motorbike, villa) in one trip is a logistical challenge nobody warns you about
A golf ball through the rear window of an Aston Martin, handled by the wrong windscreen company, can spiral into a two-month ordeal and a Skoda Fabia as a courtesy car
The "I've got nothing to wear" crisis hits differently when your entire wardrobe has to fit in a motorcycle pannier
Taking your partner to places you have only ever been to with your mates is both exciting and slightly terrifying
Timestamps
00:10 – Introduction and why we are calling this Part One
00:45 – The three-stage holiday overview: Aston Martin road trip, Harley Davidson tour, villa wind-down
01:30 – Bucket list thinking: do it now before the runway runs out
02:32 – Full itinerary breakdown: Folkestone to Burgundy, Provence, Gorges du Verdon, lavender fields, Isle sur la Sorgue, Bandol, and the villa near Saint-Tropez
09:33 – Day one detail: the Eurotunnel, EES nerves, and the long haul south
12:01 – First day on the Harley: Whispering Angel vineyard, Gorges du Verdon, and 38-degree heat in bike gear
16:39 – Call to action: please like, follow, subscribe and share
17:30 – Top five things we are each most looking forward to: meals, unique activities, places, views, surprises, and the wind-down
23:34 – Chateau de la Massadier, Matsuhisa restaurant, and why this venue is about to be very famous (White Lotus fans, take note)
26:00 – The Chateau Leoub discovery: Daylesford, a coffee table book, and a beach club lunch that became a must-do
29:00 – Pre-holiday wardrobe crises, packing in miniature, and the bikini vs swimsuit debate
32:59 – The golf ball incident: how a shattered rear window nearly derailed the entire trip
35:30 – Wrap-up and what to expect in Part Two when we report back on whether it all lived up to the hype