Money Matters

Cash - A girl's best friend?

It may come as no surprise to you that 2020 is cancelled. Fact! That holiday or wedding may have been delayed until 2021, however there are still ways we can do something for ourselves in 2020 that will definitely have lifelong benefits. 

What benefits could 2020 bring, I hear you cry? Now, for many of us thinking about sorting out our finances during this pandemic is not possible, with many people being furlough or losing their jobs keeping your sanity is the most important thing. If you’re in that situation, do keep reading because I’ve still got something to share that might be good food for thought. 

What would it mean to you to be financially free? If you didn’t have to work for money, what would you do? You could retire early, quit the rat race, think about it - no more commuting on overcrowded trains or sitting for hours in traffic! You could do all those things that make you feel alive. 

For me the benefits from working from home far outweigh the negatives, hear why! I haven’t had to pay for travel, clothes, no hair or nail appointments, no soy lattes, my gym membership has been frozen and no lunches out and no nights out – apart from my enormous shopping bill that seems to be largely made up of snacks (how do we return to life without snacks?)  So imagine my surprise when four days before my last payday I had over £700 left in my bank account! My first though was S.H.O.P.P.I.N.G, what I need/want, what’s in my basket that I can press checkout on.  However I was stopped in tracks when I realised that I could pay off one of my credit cards and with the next month looming, I realised that if I reined in my spend on snacks then I could paid off another credit card. And with that my friends, that is just what I did. I paid off £913 in credit card debt in 3 days! (Yay!! for me – I am here for the self-praise!). Now, I know for many people that is quite a low sum and what you owe might be quite different but now might be a good time to look at your income. Are you in deficit or surplus?  If you are in deficit, were could you make some small changes to get you into surplus?

Let’s be frank, talking about money is uncomfortable for most and can even be embarrassing as money management or personal finance is not taught or shared. For example, I remember my mum giving my sister and I £40 to go shopping and getting to the checkout and putting items backs when the cashier said £43.21! I think my fear and anxiety of not having enough money probably started back then, so it comes as no surprise that when I got to university the ability to have student loans, overdraughts and credit cards things spiralled out of control. This continued throughout my 20’s and into my 30’s, it got to a point that I would become so anxious about the next debt collections letter that I wouldn’t even open them. Slowly and thankfully I was able to pay off that debt but I still had outstanding credit cards that I couldn’t pay off and when I did they were quickly maxed again.

What quarantine is teaching and giving me, is the space to think about my long term financial goals that will give me financial freedom and allow me to live the life that I want.  I am a great believer in that the universe is conspiring to give us what we want and need, I realised that when a lot of the conversations I was having were all about finances, all incidental too. Good books, how to budget, attending workshops, Instagram pages and even on my own vision board. I remember being out with friends and telling them about having a three month emergency fund – who could possibly save three months’ salary I thought. Whilst me and my other friend laughed, my other friend said she had three months of salary already saved. I guess not everyone had the same cavalier approach with their finances as me.  

As you read this, I can hear it already with most people saying I can’t afford to save. If you can’t, you can’t. You do not have to convince me boo. But for most of us – we can! Even more than what you think you can.

I realised that I’ve been on this financial journey for a while by paying off that £913, it showed me that I need to get serious – I can be serious.  Apart from my student loan, I am debt free and with my new job I’ve got an increase in my salary, so it’s another opportunity to save. If you want to start your financial journey here our my top three tips to get you started

• Open those letters – if you have the mounting pile of letters on your doormatt or stuffed in a folder somewhere then open them. It not as bad as it seems.
• Check your bank statements – You will always find your paying or subscribing to stuff that you no longer use, want or need.
• Have a look at your credit score – it’s not as bad as think, and if it is, then you can make it better. They're loads of free sites out there for you to use but the ones lenders look at are Experian, Clear Score and Equifax.

Here are some of the Instagram finance pages that I follow that you might want to check out. 

Most come with free workbooks and useful advice:

• Myfabfinance – Tonya provides great nuggets of advice and has her own website.
• MyblackgirlfinanceUK – I am new to this page, but I love it already. Selina who runs the site messaged me and told me “Let’s smash our financial goals together” I love teamwork. #squadgoals
• Herwellspentlife – This was the account that made me even consider paying off that second credit card #BOOM!

There are so many books on finances but I am currently reading “Your money or your life” by Vicky Robins and Joe Dominguez. My friend told me that paying off your debts makes you feel free, whilst I am still anxious about building my savings, creating an emergency fund and saving for a house. I am excited about betting on me to give ME my own financial freedom.  

I am by no means done and for me to be financially free then I am going to have to work to change my mind set, especially when the world opens up again. Wherever you are on your financial journey I hope this leaves a nugget for you to start thinking about your own financial freedom.  The most important thing to remember is no shame, no blame – forgive yourself and make a start.

Luv ya!
Kels