Jessica Geere is an Associate Financial Planner at Magenta Financial Planning. She is training to be a Chartered Financial Planner and studying for her exams. She graduated from Swansea university, obtaining her BSc in Physics in 2018. Since then she has been working in financial services, learning about the profession and its various roles.
In her spare time, Jessica enjoys keeping active, walking the Gower coast or taking classes in her local gym. She also loves food and keeps a food blog of all the delicious places she visits and meals she experiments with.
How would you summarise your passions, both in and out of work?
I love my two cats, having previously identified as a dog person that has dramatically changed! I also love travel and am always booking or planning trips away. We bought a campervan in lockdown to try and get out and about as much as possible. The ideal world would be having cats that didn’t mind travelling with me.
In work, I’m still in the learning phase and getting through my chartered exams. I’m really enjoying reaching my first few year milestones, getting the diploma, my first chartered exam and now taking my first meeting with a client. Whilst I am involved in the planning process at the moment, I can’t wait to get up and running and see how I can personally add value to my future clients lives.
What’s your happiest memory?
Getting engaged. It was by far the happiest memory, it really felt like everything aligned to make it a special moment. I had accidentally ruined a number of plans whilst we were on holiday in Thailand, catching Covid-19 being one of them! But when I finally got out of hospital and the sun started setting on the beach that evening it couldn’t have been more perfect… Another group further down even started letting off some fireworks!
What one thing do you wish you’d been told about finance when you were 15?
Investing! I really wish I was taught the value of saving and investing younger. Whilst I have enjoyed spending my money at university and beyond, I really wish I was taught the discipline of saving earlier and the benefits of this.
What made you want to become a financial planner?
After university I was a bit lost, knowing I didn’t want to pursue physics after obtaining my degree. I was talking to a friend in a similar role who graduated a few years before me and she really pushed me to give it a try. I haven’t looked back since!
What prompted you to join the Institute for Financial Wellbeing?
I want to support any initiative that is trying to evolve the profession into a better place. Being in an environment of passionate professionals making us all better planners!
What drew you to financial wellbeing in the first place?
It’s something that we work a lot on at Magenta Financial Planning, with our MD Gretchen Betts being a financial coach and watching her identifying clients that need a little more help than the standard financial planning process.
What’s the biggest thing you’ve learnt about financial wellbeing since joining?
There are so many more emotions to money that I ever realised. There is so much research that goes on behind the scenes and I find it really fascinating hearing about that in IFW member events.
What are you doing to advance your own financial wellbeing?
I practice what we preach, saving for the future but making sure we still enjoy the here and now. I keep emergency funds back and put something towards my future but use the rest to make sure I’m living a life I’m proud of and taking every opportunity to make memories with those I love.
Is there an IFW member you would like to see featured in the IFW Showcase? Send an email to members@ifw.org.uk and we’ll see what we can do!
