From a super saver to a mum with ZERO in the bank, we meet four women with very different approaches to money
From fixed-rated bonds to financial failings, Fabulous finds out what four women have got stashed away
WHEN it comes to putting our pennies in a piggy bank, it seems that we need to start being a bit more savvy.
Recent figures reveal that 15% of women aren’t paying into a pension yet – compared to only 6% of men.*
But what’s really scary is that 34% of women aren’t putting any savings aside.**
Even so, it’s not necessarily surprising, says financial expert Jasmine Birtles from Moneymagpie.com.
“On average, women earn 18% less than men because of the gender pay gap, and are more likely to work part-time, both of which impact on their income and ability to save,” she explains.
“Also, women tend to be the ones who take time out of their careers to have and care for children. This all affects a woman’s earnings and has a knock-on effect on her savings potential.”
However, Jasmine warns that some women are being unrealistic about the future.
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“It’s easy to be despondent about saving at the moment, with interest rates low and the economy rocky, but it’s essential that women try to save both for the short-term – so they have a financial cushion for emergencies, such as the boiler breaking down – and for the long-term, so they have a pension to live off in the future,” she says.
“I still meet 30-somethings who think the state will look after them when they stop working, which is nonsense as benefits are being stripped away. Or, depressingly, they think they’ll rely on a man for their financial security – the ‘white knight syndrome’ as I call it.
“It’s vital that women look after their own financial future and get into the habit of saving, even if it’s just a small amount every month. A little is better than nothing.”
Here, we meet four women with very different balances on their savings accounts.
In The Pot: £0
Kim Thursfield, 29, is a part-time singing teacher. She lives in Bromley, Kent, with her husband Matt, 34, a college lecturer, and their two-year-old daughter Alana.
“When you haven’t got any savings, people either assume you are financially irresponsible or living in poverty.
Neither are true for me – I simply can’t afford to save.
Even so, it’s embarrassing, as I’m actually very sensible with money.
I used to work full-time in PR, but childcare is so expensive that it didn’t make sense for me to return to work after Alana was born, so I now teach singing to children part-time, earning around £5,000 a year to add to Matt’s £30,000 salary.
But as the rent for our two-bedroom house is £1,200 a month, we can’t even begin to save for a deposit for our own home.
On top of that, we have credit card debts totalling around £15,000 – dating back to our early 20s – and we still use our cards for emergencies.
By the time we each pay the minimum payment of around £80 a month, plus all the usual bills and grocery shopping, there’s often nothing left over. It’s a vicious circle.
With our second baby due this summer, there’s even more pressure to find a way to save.
Some days, I feel so guilty about not creating a nest egg for my children’s future.
But it’s hard to see a way out of this situation until I can go back to full-time work when they’re at school.
I do feel anxious about it all, as most of my friends are in a better financial position than me.
They have either opted to continue living with their parents so they can build-up their savings, or delayed marriage and children until they are more financially secure.
My main goal is to own our own home.
We’ve never applied for a mortgage – even though we could probably afford the repayments – because withouta deposit I don’t think we’d get one in the current economic climate.
Neither of us would ever ask our families for money, though.
We need to be standing on our own two feet at this age, no matter how long it takes.”
In The Pot: £3,200
Kate Beavis, 44, is a vintage-fashion blogger. She lives in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, with her husband Adam, 43, a carpenter, and their two children Herbie, eight, and Kitty, six.
“When my husband and I met 10 years ago, we were like chalk and cheese financially.
I was working full-time as a senior manager for a supermarket chain earning around £55,000 a year, and spent all my disposable income on clothes, shoes and holidays.
I’d bought a flat in 1999, so it didn’t bother me that I had no cash savings and owed around £5,000 on credit cards.
On the flip side, Adam was a lifelong saver who hated debt.
He never nagged me about my spending, but over time his approach to money began to wear off on me.
I was earning around £55,000 a year, and spent all my disposable income on clothes, shoes and holidays.
Kate Beavis
So when I sold my flat in February, 2008, I used some of the £45,000 profit to pay off my credit card debts, and the rest was spent on buying our first home together.
Around that time, I also developed a love for everything vintage – from clothes to furnishings – and began buying second-hand outfits and pieces for the house whenever we needed anything.
It meant I had more money left over at the end of each month, so I started to put it in a savings account.
Like most women, having children impacted on my finances.
I wasn’t able to earn as much or save, so I would sell vintage clothing on sites such as eBay to generate some extra income until I returned to working full-time, launching a career as a blogger.
Then, in January 2015, I decided to give up booze as I was fed up of relying on half a bottle of wine a night to help me unwind.
How to start saving
If you feel you need to be topping up your coffers, Clare Francis, savings and investments director at Barclays, has this advice.
- Do you think you can’t afford to save? Look at all your outgoings, including daily takeaway coffees or expensive gym memberships, and work out what you really need.
- Set yourself a goal to motivate you, such as saving for a dream holiday or a house deposit.
- Don’t keep more than three times your monthly outgoings in an easy access savings account, as you could be missing out on extra interest. For larger amounts and for long-term savings goals, consider a stocks and shares ISA or a fixed-rate bond.
Not only was it better for my health, but my bank balance benefitted, too, and I was soon saving an extra £100 a month.
These days, I try to put something away every month.
This depends on how much I’ve earned, which is around the £30,000 mark, as I’ve been self-employed for the last four years.
But I don’t lock my savings away, I keep them in an accessible account for things such as family holidays or a new pair of hair straighteners. Plus, I can use it as a back-up fund in case I become sick and can’t work for a while, as Adam and I split all the household bills.
I know that if I’d had my savings epiphany sooner, I would have a bigger pot by now.
But I don’t regret the years being carefree with my money as it really let me enjoy myself before I had my kids and had to be more sensible!”
In The Pot: £17,000
Holly Clark, 24, is a sales office supervisor. She’s single and lives in London with a friend.
“My parents opened my first savings account for me when I was just five years old and paid me a few pounds to do chores, such as tidying the house, so I could buy things I wanted.
It definitely helped me realise from an early age how good it felt to always have some money put away.
By the time I was 18, through working part-time babysitting and waitressing, I had enough to buy my first car – a Renault Clio for £3,500. I paid half and my parents covered half.
While friends went to uni, I got a job in sales when I was 20, earning around £16,000.
Since then, my salary has grown – as have my savings.
While friends went to uni, I got a job in sales when I was 20, earning around £16,000.
Holly Clark
I now transfer £200 every month from my £30,000-a-year salary into a stocks and shares ISA, which lets me invest in companies, and if they do well I make money.
I’m not doing enough to justify paying a broker, so I do all my own research on who to back.
It might sound risky, but interest rates are currently so low, I feel my money is better being used in this way than simply sitting in a traditional savings account.
At the moment, I am saving for two specific things – a deposit for a buy-to-let property somewhere outside London, and my travelling fund. Seeing the world is my passion, and my savings mean I can indulge it without getting into debt.
Later this month I’m off to Bali and Australia for the rest of the year, taking £2,500 of my savings with me.
Once that runs out, I will work to fund the rest of the trip.
I’m a bit concerned about leaving my job in the current economic climate, but I know I will have my savings as a buffer while I look for a new one when I get back.
I know some of my friends think I’m very sensible as most of them aren’t savers and have debts.
But I couldn’t be a splurger, racking up debt and not future-proofing my finances. I’m much happier as a saver.”
In the Pot: £30,000
Sarah Ryman, 42, is a freelance marketing consultant. She lives in Brighton with her husband Rob, 42, a mechanic, and their children Daisy, 11, and Honey, seven.
“Checking my savings accounts, I never fail to get a buzz when I see the balance.
I’m a lifelong saver, happily stashing pennies in a piggy bank when I was only seven while my sister, Alison, now 44, spent hers on sweets.
I’ve worked since I was 16, mainly in marketing and advertising, and went freelance a decade ago.
When I was in a full-time job before my kids, I’d save around £500 a month from my £30,000 salary.
Now it’s less, as I have more outgoings.
But I still save every month – even if it’s £50 – as my salary fluctuates between £10,000 to £30,000, depending on my workload.
I still save every month – even if it’s £50 – as my salary fluctuates between £10,000 to £30,000, depending on my workload.
Sarah Ryman
I have both cash and stocks and shares ISAs, plus an instant access savings account that I dip into.
As well as my own accounts, I have a joint one with Rob that we both save into, as well as each of us having a very small pension.
Saving is important to both of us.
On top of saving, whenever I buy something online – whether it’s holiday accommodation or clothes on eBay – I use Topcashback.co.uk, as it gives me money back on my purchases, which I then put into savings.
Admittedly, it helps that I also don’t tend to splash out on myself, but this is only because designer clothes and expensive gadgets don’t really do it for me.
As a bit of an eco-warrior as well as a saver, if I can get something second-hand, I always will.
I have friends who’ve taken out loans from their elderly parents, or ended up in debt to the bank when they hit a rocky financial patch and had no savings to fall back on, which I’d hate to do.
I can’t understand people who spend every penny they earn, with no care for the future – the thought of that terrifies me.”
Want more money-saving advice? Whether you're saving for a house or a phone, here's what the experts have to say.
For Kate Beavis' vintage fashion blog . Holly Clark uses a free online platform for creating a financial plan. Sources:*Portafina **Wealthify