.jpg)
Learn more about Holly – her mission, her experience and why pensions are sexy.
Holly Mackay –
‘I want to help people who don’t know where to start when it comes to money.’
Holly Mackay is the founder and CEO of Boring Money, a site which rates the best savings, investment and pension products and cuts through finance jargon to help people make better choices with their money.
She has two teenage children, a dog called Ruffy and lives in Buckinghamshire.
Here Holly explains why she is on a mission to help people with their money.
1. How did you first become interested in investing?
I was about 12 and my generous grandad gave me £100, and I took it into the Nationwide. They used to give you a wee pocketbook which they stamped every time you deposited money. I felt a great sense of triumph as they handed me back that book. Thank you Nationwide.
2. What was the inspiration behind Boring Money?
Just a few weeks after I’d had my daughter I was talking to other parents about child trust funds and I realised all the information the finance companies sent out wasn’t suitable for women who were sleep-deprived and navigating nappies, cabbage in the bra and car seats. None of it made sense. It was hard to decipher, and on top of that it was really boring.
3. Why do you want to help people save and make more money?
There are lots of smart people out there, like my sister, her friends and my kids’ teachers, who just don’t know where to start when it comes to investing their money – mainly because there is such a lot of financial gobbledegook out there. I want to inform them in a fun and interesting way and help them to feel more confident and so they have better opportunities in life because their finances are in good shape.
4. What makes Boring Money different?
I don’t think there are any other sites where you hear that ‘pensions are sexy’. We’re very direct and honest, we say what we think and we try to be interesting too.
5. And are pensions sexy?
Hey yes, it’s free money. I can’t think of much sexier than that. Well I can, but I’m not going to share it here.
6. Why did you call it Boring Money?
Let’s be honest, that’s what most normal people think about money. I don’t want the site to be like other financial services sites. But good investing is also about being a bit boring and avoiding all the scams and crypto and too-good-to-be-true stuff which burns people.
7. What’s a typical day like?
Well, I get up at 4am, I have green tea, I meditate for an hour. Joking aside, the great thing is I don’t have a typical day. I can be writing a research report about investments, or my blog which gives a roundup of the week in money terms (you’ll find some examples on my site), or working with my fabulous team and Coco the office dog in Boring Money HQ, being interviewed on the TV news or attending an awards ceremony as we’re lucky enough to have won a few awards.
As CEO of Boring Money, Holly works with a fabulous team to help people understand how they can make more of their money.
8. What have you taught your children about money?
It doesn’t just come out of a hole in the wall, you have to work for it.
9. What’s the one piece of advice you’d give your 18-year-old self about money?
Spend less on Silk Cut and beer.
10. When you are not running Boring Money, what do you like doing?
I love sailing….but only in a warm seas and being with my two children, running with my dog Ruffy or being outside.
11. Do you save or a splurge?
I’m quite good with money. Thankfully, I am naturally a saver. But I do like nice holidays and travel.
12. Why should people trust you with their investment decisions?
Well, firstly, I’ve got 35 test accounts. I like to look under the bonnet and see what’s really going on in terms of the different investment companies such as Hargreaves Lansdown and eToro. Secondly, I’ve been doing this for about 25 years and have worked for big financial institutions such as Merrill Lynch, Aviva and Santander, so I know a thing or two about investing. And thirdly, I don’t like being told what to do or say, so people know what I say is really what I think.
13. If you could give just one financial tip to someone, what would it be?
Don’t procrastinate and worry about finding the perfect thing. Get £10 or £100, pick an option from our Boring Money site and just open that ISA or pension. Start small…we learn better once we have started. So go for it!