Your money, decoded.
I'm Eamon, a Financial Controller in London. I explain personal money in plain English for UK employees, company directors and the self-employed: pay, tax, pensions, savings, and the habits behind them. No fluff, just clarity.
Personal money, not business money. Financial education only, not regulated financial advice.
A little knowledge is dangerous. A lot of it is a superpower.
Nobody teaches this stuff. So most people guess. Employees leave the pension on the default and never check the tax code. Directors pay themselves the way their accountant set it up years ago and never ask why. Everyone finds out about the 60% trap the hard way.
I spend my days running the numbers for a business. Here I run them for you: what actually lands in your account, where it quietly leaks, and which three decisions matter more than the rest put together.
Know your numbers and you become dangerous. In a good way.
- Personal, not business. Your accountant looks after the company. I help with the money that reaches you.
- UK rules only. PAYE, dividends, pensions, ISAs, student loans. Not US advice with the currency swapped.
- No fluff. Every post has at least one number you can use.
From danger zone to in control, in three moves.
It's the loop I run at work every month. It works just as well on your own money, whether it arrives as a salary, dividends or invoices.
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Decode
Read what you're paid line by line. Tax code, National Insurance, pension, dividends, benefits in kind. Know exactly where every pound goes before it reaches you.
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Plan
Set three numbers: an emergency fund target, a pension percentage, a monthly amount to save or invest. Everything else is noise until those are fixed.
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Act
Automate it on payday, then review once a quarter. Boring beats clever. Consistency does the heavy lifting.
The stuff that actually moves the number.
See the postsOn payday
Payslips and tax codes
1257L means the first £12,570 is tax-free. If yours ends in anything else, find out why. A wrong code can cost you for months.
Pensions and salary sacrifice
Salary sacrifice cuts your National Insurance as well as your tax. Most people leave that on the table every single month.
The 60% tax trap
Between £100,000 and £125,140 you lose £1 of personal allowance for every £2 earned. Pension contributions can pull you back out.
Bonuses and pay rises
A bonus is taxed at your marginal rate, not a special "bonus rate". It just feels brutal the month it lands.
Paying yourself from your own company
Salary vs dividends
A small salary uses your personal allowance and keeps NI at zero. Dividends on top are taxed at lower rates, but only out of profit that has already paid corporation tax.
Director's loan account
Take out more than you've put in and it's a loan from the company, not income. Leave it unpaid past year end and the company faces a tax charge on it. Keep it clean.
Directors' National Insurance
Directors' NI is worked out across the whole tax year, not each payday. That's why it can look odd month to month, and why the annual figure is the one that matters.
Benefits in kind
A company car, private medical cover or a cheap loan from the company is taxed as income. It lands on a P11D and can push you into a higher band.
For everyone
Savings vs investing
Cash is for money you'll need soon. Investing is for money you won't touch for years. Get the split right before you pick anything.
ISAs
Tax-free growth, no forms at year end, up to £20,000 a year. Start here before anything clever.
Value while shopping
Cost per use beats price. The cheap one you replace twice costs more than the good one you keep.
Money mindset
Most money problems are habits, not maths. Fix the default and the numbers follow.
One-to-one money coaching.
Personal money education built around your situation. Not the company's books, yours. Employees, company directors and the self-employed.
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Where you are
A full read of your pay, tax, pension and what you own and owe. If you run a company, how you pay yourself and what it costs you personally.
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What to change
The three decisions worth making this year: pension level, salary and dividend mix if you're a director, and the savings versus investing split.
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How to stick to it
The habits and mindset that keep it going. Value while shopping, automatic saving, a review every quarter.
Education, not advice. I explain the rules and the trade-offs so you can decide. If your situation needs a regulated recommendation, I'll say so.
Ask about coachingHi, I'm Eamon.
Financial Controller, based in London. My day job is the numbers behind a business: budgets, forecasts, cash, the lot.
Financially Dangerous is the side quest. Personal money for people who earn well but were never taught how it works. Employees, company directors, the self-employed. The company's money is your accountant's job. What lands in your own account is what we work on.
- Short and specific. One idea per post, with the number attached.
- Current tax year. Figures checked every April.
- Answers in the DMs. If you've been meaning to ask, ask.
Questions people actually ask.
Is this financial advice?
No. It's financial education. I explain how the rules work so you can make better decisions. I'm not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, and nothing here is a personal recommendation. For advice on your own situation, speak to an FCA-regulated adviser.
Who is it for?
UK employees, company directors and the self-employed who earn decent money but were never taught how any of it works. If you've ever looked at what you were paid and thought "where did it all go?", it's for you.
I run a limited company. Is this for me?
Yes, for the personal side: how you pay yourself, dividends, your director's loan account, benefits in kind, pension contributions from the company. I don't do the company's accounts or tax returns. That's your accountant's job, and I'll happily work alongside them.
What does coaching involve?
One-to-one sessions on your own money: where you are, what to change, and how to keep it going. Savings versus investing, value while shopping, money mindset, and the pay and tax mechanics for your situation. Message me on Instagram to ask about it.
Does it apply if I'm in Scotland?
Mostly. Income tax bands are different in Scotland, so anything about rates and thresholds needs a Scottish version. National Insurance, dividends, pensions, ISAs and student loans work the same across the UK.
Can I ask you something specific?
Yes. DMs are open on Instagram. I can't give personal advice, but I can explain how the rules apply so you know what to look at.
Got a money question? DMs are open.
No sales pitch. Ask the thing you've been meaning to ask.