This week in Money Talks, Johanna Noble recalls her pride walking through the doors on her first day at The Times last year and describes her team's work in helping readers counter the cost of living crisis. We also discover her first question for our new PM and why her go-to karaoke song is no surprise, as a Swede working in personal finance.

Job-title & media organisation: 

Editor, Times Money Mentor.

Twitter handle

@JohannaMNoble

The main beats that I cover are:

Anything personal finance - from mortgages and banking to pensions and investments.

So don’t waste time telling me about:

Non-personal finance stuff unless it’s for amusement.

The biggest influence on my journalism career to date is:

Lawrence Gosling, who gave me my first job in financial journalism back in 2003. Apparently my covering letter was the only one without any spelling mistakes.

Rachel Lacey, my Editor at Moneywise, for helping me transition from B2B to consumer journalism.

Guy Anker and Martin Lewis, for letting me be part of the senior team at MSE and teaching me everything there is to know about digital publishing.

The proudest moment of my time working in financial journalism has been:

For me it’s always been about making a difference. So leading the Money Team at MSE during the pandemic was incredibly hard work but I felt privileged being able to help so many readers.

The piece of advice I'd give to someone starting out in financial journalism is:

Always check facts with the original source, and remember, the devil's in the details so triple check your copy.

My favourite media outlets for financial news are:

It depends on what topics I’m looking at but I tend to scan most of the major outlets each morning (including the trades).

The best/worst times for PRs/press offices to contact me are:

I don’t bite but perhaps try to avoid calling me about how to cut the cost of dog shampoo etc. five minutes before a big announcement.

My relationship with PRs could be improved if:

I’ve got a pretty good relationship with PRs, but please don’t call me about a press release you’ve sent out. If it’s of interest I’ll make sure I’ll be in touch.

My favourite financial expert is:

My team at Times Money Mentor of course.

The financial interview I’d most like to arrange is:

Liz Truss on who is going to foot the £150 billion energy freeze bill.

The piece of financial services research I’d most like to read is: 

Contrary to previous beliefs, having kids can significantly bolster your bank balance (I’m still recovering from a very expensive summer holiday).

My view on the humble press release and how it could be improved is that:

Nothing wrong with the humble press release, it still got its place but just get to the point.

My dream job in financial journalism would be: 

I love my current job - ever since starting journalism school I’ve dreamt of working for the Times, so walking through those doors on my first day last year was pretty special.

Are there any recent campaigns/features your team has worked on that you would like to highlight?

We’ve just launched a Cost of Living campaign. It will be running for four weeks and will focus on fighting back against rising costs. It'll include everything from incredible (and really cheap) recipes from chefs to practical ways to lower your energy consumption.

The one piece of kit I cannot do without as a financial journalist is:

Good old fashioned pen and paper.

Given £1,000 I’d invest in cash/gold/shares/property/cryptocurrencies/other:

I’d invest in a beautiful piece of art, no NFTs allowed though.

You won’t know this, but I’m really good at:

Plaiting hair. Fishtail, French or rope, I’ll give it a go.

You won’t know this, but I’m hopeless at:

Keeping plants alive. Please send help.

And finally… what’s your go-to karaoke song?

For a Swede in personal finance? It must be 'Money, Money, Money' by ABBA surely…

This interview was submitted prior to the sad announcement of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.