This Girl Talks Money

If you’re expecting right now… this is your sign to book a baby-free girls weekend away now for next summer. future you will thank you booking a weekend away abroad over a year ago with the girls when two of us were pregnant might have sounded mad, but it turned out to be so important when the days feel so so long and parenthood seems relentless, having a date in your diary is the best thing to help you push through yes we’ve had days and evenings off but there’s nothing like actually switching off from mum duty for a few days & feeling a little bit like the carefree you of older years plus there’s plenty of time to save up your spending money between now and next summer! so where are we all heading next summer?! ✈️👀

💸 BARE MONEY 💸 Our career paths impact so many aspects of our adult lives, so I’m speaking to you lovely people about your career journeys, spending insights & words of wisdom with money. This week, I speak to a Principal Business Intelligence Analyst in Lancashire earning £52k + bonus. PS if you’d like to write your own Bare Money, drop into my DMs!

don’t get me wrong, being a mama is a lot 🤍 yet at the same time, in some ways it’s the easiest thing in the world. not always the practical parts like entertaining a demanding small human and staying calm when he throws my carefully prepped meal on the floor to his dog… but being his mum + meeting his needs has, especially as someone who never was 100% sure about kids, come instinctively for me. I love being J’s mama 👶🏽 it’s why I find a lot of the narrative about motherhood online frustrating. it’s gone from sugarcoated to the opposite aka how awful life as a mother will be. But the reality, from my experience at least, is that it’s a rollercoaster of ups + downs. the real challenge? it’s that modern mothers in the western world have far far too much else on their plates. money undoubtedly is at the centre of a lot of it 💸 bills to pay mean that so many women don’t have a partner at home for more than a couple of weeks when they need support the most. we no longer have a village a lot of the time; we have to build our own. and in my case, working for myself meant zero maternity leave alongside the life-altering adjustment of becoming a mother. although you couldn’t pay me to switch my set up even for six months full pay, self-employed parents have yet another layer of mental load to deal with alongside a baby. so perhaps we need to shift the narrative from motherhood being the ‘issue’ + look at how to build a society where mothers can thrive? 💭

💸 BARE MONEY 💸 Our career paths impact so many aspects of our adult lives, so I’m speaking to you lovely people about your career journeys, spending insights & words of wisdom with money. This week, I speak to an Account Manager based in London. PS if you’d like to write your own Bare Money, drop into my DMs!

Or can you?? 💋 There are multiple industries that would disagree with this. In fact, billions of pounds and dollars are spent each year on telling us that we will like ourselves more if only we… buy that bronzer and contour our faces better get our hair cut in this style for summer wear that viral swimsuit on the beach drink those shakes to drop a couple of lb It’s noisy out there, and I’d be lying if I said that I’ve never fallen down the rabbit hole. I have, many times - in fact, I’m still very much climbing out of the ‘this-will-fix-your-tired-eyes’ product hole… But as a millennial girly who grew up on a diet of ANTM (iykyk) then it’s safe to say that older really is wiser 👌🏽 Because as much as I hoped it would make me like myself, fitting into a size four dress didn’t suddenly overhaul my self confidence 🤷🏽‍♀️ So whilst yes, I feel good when I have my hair and make up done, I also know that no amount of glam is going to change whether or not I really like what I see in the mirror at the end of the day when I take off the make up and put on my pyjamas. You’ve got to dig a lot deeper to really like who you are and value your true self. I’m curious to know though, what’s your experience? Have you spent significant money on your looks and it’s changed how you feel for the long term? 💭

A little bit of life lately ✨ new profile picture to bring new energy to tgtm days with J hanging out at @_millieandmaisie talking financial wellbeing at the OG Bank of Scotland my words in @hellomag Invest in You column if I’m lost you’ll probably find me at my local @gailsbakery brand new shiny website by the fab @studi0pie J + K running my life as per reminder to me always

💸 BARE MONEY 💸 Our career paths impact so many aspects of our adult lives, so I’m speaking to you lovely people about your career journeys, spending insights & words of wisdom with money. This week, I speak to a Project Manager earning £48k. PS if you’d like to write your own Bare Money, drop into my DMs 📧

The first full day working away from my 9 month old and I hopped up to Edinburgh 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 to talk about financial wellbeing to a group of women in finance 💸 The take away? Flight delays and shoe failure aside, I felt inspired after some time in work mode & J had lots of fun with his grandma 👶🏽

Let’s talk about wedding gifts 💒 Once upon a time, weddings were a one day long affair and happy couples looked forward to embarking on their new lives together after the big day. Go back a few decades and the wedding gift list helped newlyweds set up to move in together and build their first home. Fast forward to today and the average age of marriage is over 30, with the majority of couples living together and setting up their home before they say I do. Plus with the rising cost of being a wedding guest, should guests still be expected to give a pricey gift on top of spending hundreds (or thousands) to attend a wedding? Or is there another way to mark the day that doesn’t cost 💸? I’d love to know your thoughts on this one 💭 Do you think a wedding gift is a non negotiable?

There’s no doubt that however well you plan ahead, motherhood throws all sorts of surprises at you, especially with money 💸 ad One thing that’s helped me stay on top of my finances juggling motherhood & running a business since J arrived has been a clear cut budget so I know where I stand. Recently I’ve discovered @moneyhubapp & it’s safe to say that it’s made managing my money a whole lot easier! Especially when I’m short on time (and sleep) it makes it super easy to review regular payments and with spending analysis, it’s quick to see where my money has gone each month 👀 If you’re ready to get ahead with your money, the best bit is that @moneyhubapp is completely free for 6 months & there’s no auto renewal, so you’ll only pay going forward if you choose! You can download the app now via my stories.

This may be controversial but… It seems like the scale and cost of weddings has totally lost the plot 🤯 and whilst many couples do choose to have a low key affair, the cost of weddings for couples and guests is on the rise ↗️ Gone are the days of a day long stag or hen and instead, we’re asked to find hundreds to go abroad for a weekend. Then on top of that, increasingly weddings aren’t simply a day but a whole week long string of events… & I LOVE love ♥️ but I do wonder, are we forgetting to truly consider the eye watering cost for friends & family to attend our extravaganzas? I’d love to know your thoughts on this one, whether you’re married, a bride to be or a guest!

I never dreamt about being a mother 💭 I’ve always been a career driven girly and frankly didn’t think much about how I’d find the transition to motherhood 👶🏽 eight months in, it’s safe to say that it’s not at all what I expected. It’s far better than I imagined - and 100x harder than anyone can ever articulate until you experience it… especially when you add into the mix running a young business that relies on showing up & being visible. It’s a LOT but would I change it for a second? Absolutely not. I remind myself regularly that every stage of babyhood is so fleeting and careers are long. Work can wait 👌🏽 so, aspiring parents - what do you want to know about parenting and work? & parents - what do you wish you’d been told before you embarked on the wild ride of parenthood? ⬇️