Thai Pork Curry with Shift Happens: Overwhelm, Invisible Work and “Is This It?”
Introduction
In this episode of A Taste of Financial Planning, Dennis Hall and Sarah Steele are joined by Annabel Veysey and Dr Katie McBride from Shift Happens.
Annabel and Katie are close friends, but they approach the same question from very different perspectives: why do so many capable people feel overwhelmed by modern life?
Annabel looks at the problem through a practical lens. She helps people build support systems when work, family and everyday administration have become too much, including those whose brains do not work particularly well with the tidy systems they are often expected to follow.
Katie takes a wider view, looking at the structures around us. She asks why individuals are so often encouraged to blame themselves when services, organisations and systems are fragmented, poorly connected or simply not designed around the realities of people’s lives.
Over lunch, the conversation explores the invisible load many people carry, from school apps and family logistics to careers, appointments and the continual pressure to keep everything moving.
Dennis, Sarah, Annabel and Katie also discuss early memories of food and money, the growing role of AI, the continuing importance of human judgement and how to decide whether you have enough financial security to make a significant change in your life.
Money, overwhelm and the question “is this it?” are not always easy subjects to discuss. But around a table, they can become a little easier.
On the menu
Dennis served Thai-inspired pork with tamarind, lemongrass, peanut and red curry.
For dessert, he made a parfait with peanut praline, toasted black sesame and pineapple.
In this episode
Dennis, Sarah, Annabel and Katie discuss:
- Why capable people can still feel overwhelmed by everyday life
- The invisible workload involved in keeping a household or family running
- School apps, life administration and fragmented systems
- Why conventional organisational tools do not work for everyone
- Creating practical support systems that fit the individual
- The effect of neurodiversity on planning, organisation and daily life
- Why people often blame themselves for wider systemic problems
- How poorly connected services increase pressure on individuals
- Early food memories and the role of shared meals
- How childhood experiences shape our relationship with money
- The potential uses and limitations of AI
- Why human judgement still matters
- The relationship between financial security and personal freedom
- How to know when you have enough to make a major life change
- The difficult question of whether the life you have built is still the one you want
Links
Find out more about Shift Happens:
https://nas.io/shifthappens/community
Connect with Annabel Veysey:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/annabel-veysey/
Connect with Dr Katie McBride:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-katie-mcbride-62078523/
Find out more about Yellowtail Financial Planning:
https://www.yellowtail.co.uk
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The podcast is hosted by Dennis Hall and Sarah Steele.
To contact Yellowtail, email ask@yellowtail.co.uk.
Yellowtail is a financial planning firm founded by Dennis Hall. We work with individuals and families across the UK, helping them understand their finances, make considered decisions and plan for the future with greater clarity.