ON MONEY WORRIES… With Fern Brady and Simon Cowell

How To Fail With Elizabeth Day

Sony Music

Society & Culture

4.7 • 9.6K Ratings

🗓️ 5 January 2026

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Money worries are far more common than we like to admit: from keeping you awake at night to quietly shaping your choices and decisions, financial anxiety affects us all - especially after a season of festive indulgence. In this episode, comedian Fern Brady (recorded live in Edinburgh) speaks about not having enough money to stay at university - and the unconventional ways she earned a living to keep going. Media mogul Simon Cowell reflects on going bankrupt in his late twenties and how he *still* worries about money even now because of the fear that he’ll have to start again from scratch. Together, these conversations explore financial failure, resilience and the belief that setbacks don’t have to define what comes next. We hope they offer reassurance to anyone feeling overwhelmed by money issues right now. Listen to Fern Brady’s full episode of How to Fail here: http://swap.fm/l/cmeompBv7EHK20enmwbS Listen to Simon Cowell’s full episode of How to Fail here: http://swap.fm/l/hSwuCNEuZNgnaG20v0yB 🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS: Elizabeth’s Substack: https://theelizabethday.substack.com/ Join the How To Fail community: https://howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content 💌 LOVE THIS EPISODE? Subscribe on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts Leave a 5⭐ review – it helps more people discover these stories 👋 Follow How To Fail & Elizabeth: Instagram: @howtofailpod @elizabday TikTok: @howtofailpod @elizabday Website: www.elizabethday.org Join Elizabeth Day for a special How to Fail live show at Crossed Wires Festival in Sheffield! Tickets on sale now: https://crossedwires.live/podcast/how-to-fail Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, I'm Elizabeth Day from How to Fail and I'm thrilled to tell you about Hamnut,
0:06.5	the breathtaking new film from Academy Award winner Chloe Zhao, starring Jesse Buckley and Paul
0:13.7	Meskell. It's adapted from Maggie O'Farrell's internationally acclaimed best-selling novel.
0:19.2	Hamnet brings to life the story of a woman,
0:21.9	history overlooked, Agnes, the force who shaped William Shakespeare's world. Through the vision of
0:28.7	three remarkable women, Chloe Zhao, Maggie O'Farrell and Jesse Buckley, this film reimagines
0:35.3	Agnes's and William's love, their family and the devastating loss
0:39.7	that would echo through Shakespeare's greatest tragedy, Hamlet. Early reactions have been extraordinary,
0:46.6	and having just watched the trailer, I can tell you, it is powerful, hauntingly beautiful,
0:52.4	and already being tipped as a major awards contender.
0:56.7	Hamlet is in cinemas January 9th. Book your tickets now.
1:01.2	I just wanted to take a second to interrupt and tell you about something very important
1:05.8	in the shape of a pink lady. Now, I'm always on the move, whether I'm recording this podcast,
1:13.0	going to meetings with my agent, or out and about on my book tour. So I often struggle
1:18.9	with finding a healthy snack in the middle of a busy day. Grabbing something sugary or salty
1:25.6	is easy, but it's rarely what I actually want in that moment.
1:30.2	That's why I reach for a pink lady apple. It's the quick feel-good boost that brightens my
1:35.9	lunch break and makes the whole day feel a little lighter. Crisp, sweet and bursting with juicy
1:42.6	crunch, a pink lady apple turns an ordinary lunch into a
1:45.9	moment you genuinely look forward to. Find your fizz and liven up your lunch with pink lady apples.
1:52.2	Add a packet to your shopping basket this week. It's the new year and it's a time for assessment.
1:59.9	And for many of us, financial stresses will be part of that.
	...

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