About ‘Be More Peter’

Hi there! My name is Nicky. Thank you for visiting Be More Peter.

A few years ago my company went through a restructure. I survived, but a colleague of mine – I call him Peter on here (because that was his name!)- did not. He was being made redundant, and I was asked to spend a few weeks with him learning his role before he left.

I expected it to be awkward. Peter losing his job while I kept mine felt like the kind of situation that should have been tense and uncomfortable. But Peter was fine. Genuinely, visibly, unbothered fine. He showed up with a notebook, walked me through everything efficiently, and when I eventually asked how he was really doing, he said something I have thought about almost every day since.

He said he had a decent amount in his pension, his mortgage was manageable, and he had a few months of savings as a buffer. He would find something else. He said it the way you would say you had an umbrella when it was raining. As a matter of fact. Completely untroubled.

I sat there nodding, while quietly running through my own financial situation in my head. Pension – existed, had no idea what was in it. Mortgage – did not have one yet, had no real idea how to get one. Savings – some, not much. ISA – knew what it was, had never opened one. Investments – none. The inventory was not impressive.

The difference between us was not money. Peter was not wealthy. He was a regular person on a regular salary who had done a regular job. The difference was that he understood his finances and I did not. He had looked at the numbers, knew what they meant, and had made decisions accordingly. I had been hoping everything would sort itself out.

What this site is

Be More Peter is my attempt to close that gap – for me, and for anyone else who recognises themselves in that story.

There are free calculators covering mortgages, savings, pensions, tax and property. There are blog posts that explain the things most people quietly nod along to without quite understanding. Everything is written in plain English, because most financial jargon exists to make simple things feel complicated, and I have never found that particularly helpful.

I am not a financial adviser. I do not have a degree in economics or a background in banking. I am a writer who spent too long winging their finances and eventually decided to do something about it. Everything on this site is information and education, not advice – and I always say so clearly.

Where to start

If you are new here, the Start Here page is the best place to begin. If you already know what you are looking for, the tools hub has all sixteen calculators in one place. And if you want to read more about the things Peter already knew, the blog is updated regularly.

However you found this site, welcome. You are already doing better than I was on that train home from work, staring at the ceiling of the carriage, realising I had no idea what my pension was worth.

The gap between you and Peter is smaller than you think. It just needs a bit of attention.