Research & Partnerships

Exploring what helps people create lasting financial change

Financial wellbeing is influenced by far more than financial knowledge.

Our beliefs, identity, behaviours, habits and experiences can all influence the decisions we make about money, the opportunities we pursue and the actions we take towards our financial future.

Understanding those influences — and turning that understanding into practical approaches that help people create meaningful change — is at the heart of my work.

I work across financial wellbeing, behavioural change, personal development and business, combining research, practical experience and lived experience to develop programmes, tools and resources that people can use in real life.

I'm also interested in collaborating with universities, researchers, employers and other organisations that want to explore, develop and deliver more effective approaches to financial wellbeing.

Developing the Financial Wellbeing Framework

Over the past decade, my work with individuals, entrepreneurs and organisations has led me to explore why financial knowledge doesn't always translate into financial action.

That work has contributed to the development of my Financial Wellbeing Framework, which considers the relationship between financial identity, beliefs, behaviour, decision-making, action and financial outcomes.

Rather than looking only at what people know about money, the framework considers some of the less visible influences on financial behaviour: what people believe is possible for them, the expectations and standards they hold, how they see themselves, the decisions they make and the actions they repeatedly take.

Central to the framework is what I call Financial Identity — the beliefs, expectations and standards that influence how we earn, spend, save, invest, price our work, respond to opportunities and make decisions about our financial future.

The purpose of the framework is practical: to help people understand what may be influencing their current financial behaviour and make more intentional decisions and changes that improve their financial wellbeing over time.

Research with Newcastle University

In 2025, I worked with Newcastle University through the Arrow Innovation Programme to explore the psychological and behavioural factors that influence financial wellbeing.

The project gave me an opportunity to examine the ideas informing my work alongside academic research and deepen my understanding of the factors that can influence financial behaviour and decision-making.

One of the areas central to my work is the gap between knowing and doing.

We can know that saving, investing, building financial reserves, addressing debt or taking other financial action would benefit us and still not do it. Business owners can know they need to increase their prices, follow up with potential clients, make more offers or take a particular commercial decision and continue postponing the action.

Knowledge matters. But knowledge alone doesn't determine behaviour.

If we want to help people create lasting financial change, we also need to understand what influences the decisions they make and the actions they take.

The insights from the project continue to inform the Financial Wellbeing Framework and the programmes, workshops, tools and resources I develop today.

Putting Research Into Practice

Research becomes valuable when we can translate what we learn into something people can actually use.

For individuals, that means helping people understand the influences behind their financial behaviour, make more intentional decisions, develop habits that support their goals and create greater financial confidence, security and choice.

For entrepreneurs and business owners, it means looking at the relationship between the person and the financial health of the business — including the decisions they make about income, pricing, investment, opportunities, growth and the future they are trying to create.

For organisations, it means moving beyond financial information alone and exploring how financial wellbeing initiatives can help people understand their behaviour, increase their sense of agency and take practical action in their own financial lives.

Different audiences require different approaches, but the underlying question remains the same:

What actually helps people turn what they know into decisions and actions that improve their financial wellbeing?

Areas I'm Interested in Exploring

Financial wellbeing is a developing field, and there is still much more to understand about what creates meaningful and lasting financial change.

I'm particularly interested in further research, innovation and collaboration around financial identity; the gap between financial knowledge and action; financial decision-making and behaviour; personal agency and financial wellbeing; entrepreneurship and financial wellbeing; behavioural approaches to financial education; and the factors that help people sustain positive financial behaviours over time.

I'm also interested in how these ideas can be translated into practical interventions, programmes, tools and resources that work across different communities and contexts.

My aim is not for research to remain on a page or in a report. I want it to inform work that people can use to make better decisions and create different outcomes in their lives, businesses and organisations.

Partnerships & Collaboration

I welcome conversations with organisations and individuals interested in improving financial wellbeing through research, education, innovation and practical application.

This could include collaborative research with universities and researchers exploring financial behaviour, identity, decision-making and wellbeing; programmes and workshops for employers investing in the financial wellbeing of their people; work with business support organisations helping entrepreneurs build financially healthier businesses; and projects with schools, colleges, universities, charities, community organisations and public-sector bodies developing practical approaches to financial wellbeing.

I'm also available for speaking, workshops, programme development, research collaborations and strategic partnerships where my experience and approach could contribute to the work being done.

If you're exploring similar questions, developing an initiative or see an opportunity for us to work together, I'd be very happy to hear from you.

Let's explore what we could create together.

Get in touch. Email me. [email protected]