Financial planning for normal humans

You don't need a finance guy to sell you stuff. You need someone you can relate to, who knows what they're talking about.

Maybe the answer isn't paying a percentage of your net worth to some guy in a suit, just to sit on your wealth.

Thanks Wealth Planning offers straight-talking financial planning for people who want to make better financial decisions, without jargon or hard selling. Calm, honest help with the decisions that matter - and the confidence to act.

Am I going to be alright? – free guide

In their own words

Hear from clients

"Sam's always given advice which is pragmatic and looks at the long term - that's certainly allowed myself and my wife Una to retire early."

Liam, 15-year client

"The biggest change for me has been getting everything together under one roof in terms of my financial planning - knowing where it is, knowing it's all sorted."

Jennifer, 15-year client

"Fourth time since we retired three years ago - thanks to you. We've squeezed in a safari in South Africa and a trip to Thailand, and been able to support our kids when they've needed it. Brilliant guy."

Len & Caroline, Retirees

"Sam's been by my side on all major financial decisions. He went above and beyond - he knows his stuff, and above all he's a really lovely guy."

Sally, 14-year client

"Sam held my hand through the long process. His calm, measured approach - it's all coming good."

Toby, 15-year client

"Sam helped us structure the things to think about - not just the financial aspect but the underlying life goals behind those."

Simon, UK Citizen Client Based in US

"After 40 years in financial services, when it came to planning my own retirement I knew I wanted a professional. Sam was everything I could have wanted in a financial adviser."

David, retired finance professional

"Sam has worked tirelessly to keep us financially secure, minimise taxation, and has saved hundreds of thousands in IHT. We wholeheartedly recommend him."

Paul, 15-year client

"Stepping into retirement was a big move - I wasn't sure the finances would work out. Now I've got the confidence to live the lifestyle I want, knowing Sam's got my back."

Mike, early retirement

"He doesn't force his opinions or ideas onto you - he adapts them to what you really need. I can't sing his praise highly enough."

Steve, 15-year client

"Before, it was all so confusing - I had numerous pensions and needed somebody to help me. I feel so much calmer. I couldn't have done it without Sam."

Claire, newer client

"We combined about 12 existing pensions I'd had over the years - they were getting very confusing. I retired early and Sam planned a strategy I'm very pleased with."

Garry, early retirement

"The bespoke advice given to us has empowered both of us to take the leap into retirement much earlier than we first thought was possible. We've built up a trust in Sam and his team without reservation."

Hiten, early retirement

The problem

Does this sound familiar?

Your situation has changed, but your plan hasn't caught up.
Life has thrown something at you - like a divorce, retirement, bereavement, an inheritance - and your old approach no longer fits.
You're going back and forth on big decisions: invest or pay down the mortgage? Gift to the family now or later? When to actually retire?
You've tried googling it, spreadsheets, doing nothing and hoping it gets clearer. None of it worked.
You don't even know what the unknowns are - you just know things aren't as joined-up as they should be.
You've spoken to advisers before but it felt formal, salesy, or full of jargon.

You don't want to be sold financial products you may not need. You just want to talk it through with someone who is calm, straight-talking, and who actually listens to you.

The process

Three steps. No surprises.

Book a discovery call

A relaxed conversation to see if we're the right fit. No hard sell, no obligation.

Build your financial masterplan

We look at where you are, explore your options, and stress-test everything. Plain English, not a 50-page document.

Leave with a clear decision plan

You'll know what to do next. Act on it yourself, or ask us to help implement it. Either way, you're in control.

Optional: ongoing support
Park everything with us and stop carrying it around. Or do it yourself with the confidence that you've got a proper plan behind you.

About

Serious decisions. Not serious people.

Sam Whybrow founded Thanks Wealth Planning in 2019, after decades in financial services. The name is a nod to gratitude: being happy with what you've got, and making it work harder for you.

Thanks WP exists because Sam got tired of an industry that puts wealth before the person. Too many suits. Too much jargon. Too many firms chasing assets under management instead of actually helping people think clearly.

Fixed fee, not percentage-based. Your wealth is not the measure of the service you get. A fair, transparent fee that reflects the work, not the size of your portfolio.

Planning first, investing optional. The real value is helping you make smarter decisions. If you need investment management afterwards, great. If not, you'll still leave with a plan you can act on.

Collaboration, not orders. This is a sounding board, not a lecture. You stay in the driver's seat. We just help you see the road more clearly.

Thanks WP works best with people who want to use their money meaningfully - not just accumulate it.

CFP™ · AFPS · RLP® · Chartered Financial Planner · FCA Reg. 840337

“Money is something you have to make in case you don’t die.”

— Sam Whybrow

Your financial life, in one place

Meet MyThanks

See how your investments, property, pensions, and insurance fit together — updated daily. No more scattered paperwork, no more panic when markets wobble.

Investment tracking with daily valuations and fund price updates
Property values tracked against the Land Registry index
Income and spending monitoring with automatic categorisation
Secure messaging and document storage
Renewal calendar for insurance, MOTs, and key dates
Biometric login — quick, safe access from any device
Family access so your dependants can find everything if they need to

“

Sam and the Thanks Wealth Planning team have a genuinely unique approach — friendly, supportive and refreshingly free of jargon, always helping you focus not just on money, but on what you actually want to achieve in life. Before meeting Sam, financial planning felt overwhelming and chaotic. Through his patience, empathy and clear guidance, he helped my wife and me build a proper plan — and the structure, confidence and long-term perspective we needed to stick with it. He continues to support us whenever we need him, big questions or small. Or, as I’d put it more simply: speak to Sam the man.

D Glynn

“

He takes the time to really understand your life - your future priorities, hopes, dreams and fears - and then supports you to make informed decisions. Two years on, my investments have seen healthy growth despite wider global instability, and I feel far more confident and in control.

Fiona, inheritance and pension planning

“

Thanks to Sam’s guidance, my wife retired a few years early and I retired three years ahead of plan. We now travel extensively and enjoy every minute of retirement life without financial worries.

Bernard & Lorraine, retired early

Free guide

Am I going to be alright?

A short, practical guide that walks you through the questions worth asking before any big financial decision. Plain English. No sales pitch. Follow-up emails included if you want them.

Get the free guide

Who this is for

A good fit - and who isn't

A good fit

You're at a crossroads and want someone alongside you who knows the route - without taking the wheel.
You value plain English over jargon and want to understand the plan, not just be told what to do.
You're open to a collaborative process where you stay in control.

Not a good fit

You want someone to predict the market or time your trades.
You're looking for someone to take orders, not offer guidance.
You want fund-picking without any conversation about your life and priorities.
You're not open to an honest, two-way conversation about what matters to you.

FAQs

Common questions

How do I know if I need a financial planner?

Most people come to us when life or money starts feeling more complex - approaching retirement, building wealth, managing multiple pensions, or just wanting clarity and reassurance. Good financial planning, especially from a Chartered and Certified Financial Planner, helps you make better long-term decisions, feel more organised, and reduce financial stress. If you're not sure you need an adviser at all, that's fine. The discovery call is there to help you figure that out, no pressure either way.

Do you only work with wealthy people?

No. We work with people from all walks of life who want clarity, confidence, and help making important financial decisions. Some clients have built significant wealth, while others simply want clarity and guidance as life and finances become more complex.

What makes Thanks Wealth Planning different?

We started Thanks Wealth Planning because too much of the industry felt complicated, sales-driven, and focused on money rather than people.

We built a firm that helps people make even smarter financial decisions. That starts with understanding your life, goals, and what's important to you before discussing pensions, investments, or financial products.

We combine technical expertise with honest conversations, plain English, and long-term thinking to help you feel more organised, confident, and in control of your future.

What happens in the discovery call?

It's a relaxed conversation. We'll talk about what's going on, what's on your mind, and whether we're the right fit. No prep needed. No obligation. If we're not right for each other, we'll say so honestly.

Do I need ongoing financial advice?

Not necessarily. One of the things that makes us different is that we separate the initial planning work from any ongoing service.

Some people come to us for a Financial Masterplan, a second opinion, or help with a specific decision. Once they have clarity and a plan, they're happy to take things forward themselves.

Others value ongoing reviews and having a trusted adviser alongside them as life and finances evolve.

We'll help you decide what level of support is right for you.

Do I need to move everything to work with you?

No. Many clients already have pensions, ISAs, investments, protection or workplace schemes in place. Our role is to help you understand what you already have first and only recommend changes where we genuinely believe they improve your position or add value.

Is it just you, or is there a team behind this?

Sam handles all the planning work personally - you'll always deal with him for the conversations that matter. Behind the scenes, there's an experienced team covering investment management, regulation, administration, and operations. So you get the personal relationship with Sam, backed by a proper infrastructure that keeps everything running smoothly.

Will this involve lots of paperwork and jargon?

We take our regulatory responsibilities seriously, but we won't bury you in paperwork or legalese. We'll explain what's required and why, in plain English. Our job is to make things feel clearer and more manageable - not more overwhelming.

What if I'm not confident with money or investing?

That's completely normal. Many people come to us feeling overwhelmed, unsure where to start, or worried they should know more than they do.

You don't need to have everything organised or know all the answers before speaking to us. Our role is to help you make sense of things, understand your options, and feel confident about the decisions you're making.

Can you help me prepare for retirement?

Yes - retirement planning is a major part of what we do. Whether you're a few years away, already retired, or simply wondering if work is optional sooner than you thought, we help you understand what's possible and build a plan around it.

Are you independent financial advisers?

Yes - we're an independent, whole-of-market firm. That means our advice is built around you, not tied to any provider, product, or agenda. We help organise your pensions, investments, tax planning, and protection into one clear, joined-up plan. We also work closely with trusted professionals - accountants, solicitors, mortgage brokers, insurers and other specialists - so you have one trusted place to turn when life gets more complicated.

Do you manage investments, or is it planning only?

Planning is the core of what we do. Investment management is available if you want it, but it's never the starting point. Some clients act on the plan themselves. Others ask us to implement it. Either way works.

How do you invest clients’ money?

We take a long-term, evidence-based approach. We don't try to predict markets or chase trends. We build globally diversified portfolios focused on sensible risk, low costs, and long-term discipline. A big part of our role is helping clients avoid emotional decisions that can quietly damage long-term wealth. Successful investing isn't about being clever - it's about being consistent.

How does your pricing work?

Our fees depend on the type of support you need - whether that's a one-off Financial Masterplan or ongoing advice. We charge a transparent, agreed fee, not a percentage of your wealth, so the cost reflects your situation rather than the size of your portfolio. We'll always explain the costs, what's included, and whether we believe the advice is likely to add value before any work begins.

Useful documents

Transparency, not small print

📱

MyThanks Overview

A quick guide to the MyThanks app - your personal financial dashboard.

Download PDF →

📄

MyThanks Client Guide

Frequently asked questions about getting started with MyThanks.

Download PDF →

Get started

Your situation has changed. Your plan should too.

Come as you are - it's a conversation, not a pitch.

Privacy Notice

Why should you read this document?

During the course of dealing with us, we will ask you to provide us with detailed personal information relating to your existing circumstances, your financial situation and, in some cases, your health and family health history (Your Personal Data). This document is important as it allows us to explain to you what we will need to do with Your Personal Data, and the various rights you have in relation to Your Personal Data.

What do we mean by "Your Personal Data"?

Your Personal Data means any information that describes or relates to your personal circumstances. Your Personal Data may identify you directly, for example your name, address, date of birth, national insurance number. Your Personal Data may also identify you indirectly, for example, your employment situation, your physical and mental health history, or any other information that could be associated with your cultural or social identity.

In the context of providing you with assistance in relation to your Financial Planning requirements. Your Personal Data may include:

Title, name, date of birth, gender, nationality, civil/marital status, contact details, addresses and documents that are necessary to verify your identity
Employment and remuneration information, (including salary/bonus schemes/overtime/sick pay/other benefits), employment history
Bank account details, tax information, loans and credit commitments, personal credit history, sources of income and expenditure, family circumstances and details of dependents
Health status and history, details of treatment and prognosis, medical reports (further details are provided below specifically with regard to the processing we may undertake in relation to this type of information)
Any pre-existing investment, pension, mortgage, savings, finance and insurance products and the terms and conditions relating to these

The basis upon which our firm will deal with Your Personal Data

When we speak with you about your investment, pension, mortgage, savings, finance and insurance product requirements we do so on the basis that both parties are entering a contract for the supply of services.

In order to perform that contract, and to arrange the products you require, we have the right to use Your Personal Data for the purposes detailed below.

Alternatively, either in the course of initial discussions with you or when the contract between us has come to an end for whatever reason, we have the right to use Your Personal Data provided it is in our legitimate business interest to do so and your rights are not affected. For example, we may need to respond to requests from mortgage lenders, insurance providers and our Compliance Service Provider relating to the advice we have given to you, or to make contact with you to seek feedback on the service you received.

On occasion, we will use Your Personal Data for contractual responsibilities we may owe our regulator, The Financial Conduct Authority, or for wider compliance with any legal or regulatory obligation to which we might be subject. In such circumstances, we would be processing Your Personal Data in order to meet a legal, compliance or other regulatory obligation to which we are subject.

The basis upon which we will process certain parts of Your Personal Data

Where you ask us to assist you with for example your insurance or ethical investments, in particular life insurance and insurance that may assist you in the event of an accident or illness, we will ask you information about your ethnic origin, your health and medical history (Your Special Data). We will record and use Your Special Data in order to make enquiries of insurance and investment providers in relation to insurance products that may meet your needs and to provide you with advice or guidance regarding the suitability of any product that may be available to you.

If you have parental responsibility for children under the age of 13, it is also very likely that we will record information on our systems that relates to those children and potentially, to their Special Data.

The arrangement of certain types of insurance may involve disclosure by you to us of information relating to historic or current criminal convictions or offences (together "Criminal Disclosures"). This is relevant to insurance related activities such as underwriting, claims and fraud management.

We will use special Data and any Criminal Disclosures in the same way as Your Personal Data generally, as set out in this Privacy Notice.

Information on Special Category Data and Criminal Disclosures must be capable of being exchanged freely between insurance intermediaries such as our Firm, and insurance providers, to enable customers to secure the important insurance protection that their needs require.

How do we collect Your Personal Data?

We will collect and record Your Personal Data from a variety of sources, but mainly directly from you. You will usually provide information during the course of our initial meetings or conversations with you to establish your circumstances and needs and preferences in relation to investment, pension, mortgage, savings, finance and insurance products. You will provide information to us verbally and in writing, including email.

We may also obtain some information from third parties, for example, credit checks, information from your employer, and searches of information in the public domain such as the voters roll. If we use technology solutions to assist in the collection of Your Personal Data for example software that is able to verify your credit status. We will only do this if we have consent from you for us or our nominated processor to access your information in this manner. With regards to electronic ID checks we would not require your consent but will inform you of how such software operates and the purpose for which it is used.

What happens to Your Personal Data when it is disclosed to us?

In the course of handling Your Personal Data, we will:

Record and store Your Personal Data in our paper files, mobile devices and on our computer systems (websites, email, hard drives, back office systems and cloud facilities). This information can only be accessed by employees and consultants within our firm and only when it is necessary to provide our service to you and to perform any administration tasks associated with or incidental to that service.
Submit Your Personal Data to Product Providers and Insurance Product Providers, both in paper form and on-line via a secure portal. The provision of this information to a third party is essential in allowing us to progress any enquiry or application made on your behalf and to deal with any additional questions or administrative issues that lenders and providers may raise.
Use Your Personal Data for the purposes of responding to any queries you may have in relation to any investment, pension, savings, finance and insurance products you may take out, or to inform you of any developments in relation to those products and/or polices of which we might become aware.

Sharing Your Personal Data

From time to time Your Personal Data will be shared with:

Investment and Pension Providers and Insurance Providers.
Third parties who we believe will be able to assist us with your enquiry or application, or who are able to support your needs as identified. These third parties will include but may not be limited to, our compliance advisers, product specialists, estate agents, providers of legal services such as estate planners, conveyancing, surveyors and valuers (in each case where we believe this to be required due to your particular circumstances).

In each case, Your Personal Data will only be shared for the purposes set out in this Customer Privacy Notice, i.e. to progress your investment, pension, savings, finance and insurance products enquiry and to provide you with our professional services.

Please note that this sharing of Your Personal Data does not entitle such third parties to send you marketing or promotional messages: it is shared to ensure we can adequately fulfil our responsibilities to you, and as otherwise set out in this Customer Privacy Notice.

We do not envisage that the performance by us of our service will involve Your Personal Data being transferred outside of the European Economic Area.

Security and retention of Your Personal Data

Your privacy is important to us and we will keep Your Personal Data secure in accordance with our legal responsibilities. We will take reasonable steps to safeguard Your Personal Data against it being accessed unlawfully or maliciously by a third party.

We also expect you to take reasonable steps to safeguard your own privacy when transferring information to us, such as not sending confidential information over unprotected email, ensuring email attachments are password protected or encrypted and only using secure methods of postage when original documentation is being sent to us.

Your Personal Data will be retained by us either electronically or in paper format for a minimum of six years, or in instances whereby we have legal right to such information we will retain records indefinitely.

Your rights in relation to Your Personal Data

You can:

request copies of Your Personal Data that is under our control
ask us to further explain how we use Your Personal Data
ask us to correct, delete or require us to restrict or stop using Your Personal Data (details as to the extent to which we can do this will be provided at the time of any such request)
ask us to send an electronic copy of Your Personal Data to another organisation should you wish
change the basis of any consent you may have provided to enable us to market to you in the future (including withdrawing any consent in its entirety)

How to make contact with our Firm in relation to the use of Your Personal Data

If you have any questions or comments about this document, or wish to make contact in order to exercise any of your rights set out within it please contact:

Sam Whybrow
THANKS Wealth Planning Ltd
3rd Floor
86 - 90 Paul St
London
EC2A 4NE
Email: sam@thankswp.com

If we feel we have a legal right not to deal with your request, or to action, it in different way to how you have requested, we will inform you of this at the time.

You should also make contact with us as soon as possible on you becoming aware of any unauthorised disclosure of Your Personal Data, so that we may investigate and fulfil our own regulatory obligations.

If you have any concerns or complaints as to how we have handled Your Personal Data you may lodge a complaint with the UK's data protection regulator, the ICO, who can be contacted through their website at ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/ or by writing to Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.