Case study

Sue Johnson

CLIENT SINCE 2015

When I think about my finances now, I don’t worry

When I first met with Matthew, I’d recently become widowed. I had never had any responsibility for finances before that point; I was totally naïve.

I’d had a lump sum from my husband’s work to invest and an insurance payout. But I didn’t have a clue how to go about dealing with everything. My neighbours recommended I speak to Matthew. I found him very easy to talk with and he gave clear, simple, easy-to-understand advice. Which was just what I needed.

 It was such a worry when I first lost my husband. I didn’t understand about my finances. My husband worked at Barclays bank so he’d always dealt with everything. If there’s one person in a relationship who’s happy to deal with the finances, you just let them, don’t you? But it meant I was totally naïve. I didn’t even know how much was in my current account, that’s how little I knew!

I’d retired early. I was 58 when I finished working and I was worried that I might need to go back after my husband died. But then talking everything through with Matthew when I got my payments through, he helped me to see that with good investment I would be fairly comfortable off and in fact, I didn’t need to return to work. I was so relieved!

Matthew also gave me the confidence to know that I could treat my children every so often. They’re adults but it was so nice to find out that I was financially stable enough to be able to look after them too.

When I think about my finances now, I don’t worry.

Matthew is always there. He’s always on the end of the phone. In the early days, he was always there to reassure me. I was a worrier – I still am a worrier – but just after my husband died, I worried massively about my finances. I used to phone Matthew a lot and he’d tell me it was alright if I wanted to buy something; it was ok if I needed to buy a car. I needed his reassurance a lot at the beginning and he was always happy to provide that.