By Cat Ivison, Financial Coach
The start of the year is a time we often decide we need to be on top of our money, or as I call it, getting money confident. Standard Life found only 52% of UK women felt money confident and 65% felt worried about their money. It’s even more challenging for parents.
We all know life changes when we become parents. So let’s do something we’ve always been taught not to do, let’s talk about money.
When I went back to work in 2014 my baby was one, I’d not earned income for 9 months and my nursery fees, for 1 child 10 years ago, were £2,000 per month. That was the rate in the area so I worked for nothing until my children went to school. The monumental cost of UK childcare (and later holiday/wrap around care) coupled with loss of income (from parental leave and beyond), home space, energy, education, extracurricular activities means it’s no surprise money confidence is challenging for parents.
And as a finance professional and coach, I am painfully aware of the long term personal, professional, economic and societal impacts of losing brilliant, experienced people from the workforce because they feel they have no other choice. It’s a significant hit not just to your earning power but also to your non-financial wealth, the satisfaction you get from your career, your colleagues and your contributions.
Family money challenges have escalated recently. With spiraling inflation, interest rates and energy and food costs, feeling money confident feels like a distant dream for many people, especially because the media are so focussed on negativity (it sells).
As a financial coach I empower women (mostly parents) to feel confident managing their money. Right now I am spending a lot of time meeting people who are terrified because they hear about the economic doom and all the stress on the ‘squeezed middle’ (what even does squeezed middle mean?!). Our money anxiety is from not knowing what it means for us personally or our families. So naturally, we’re anxious about our financial security, how will we pay their mortgage or their bills, will our small businesses survive, can we still go on family holidays that are much needed for rest and family time?
For everyone I’ve worked with, their situation has been much better than they think. They often need to make some changes (to how they view and use their money) and learn some money skills (like planning) but they are rarely in a terrifying financial situation, they just feel that way, because they lack money confidence.
I’m not suggesting money anxiety isn’t real. It is so, very real and has devastating impacts on our mental health and our lives. And it’s why I do what I do, to help people turn their money anxiety into money confidence. It’s highly likely your financial situation is better than you think, you just need support to build money confidence.
Money confidence comes from combining:
- Understanding your money (practical)- enough knowledge about your personal finances (eg mortgages, debt, savings, investments, tax) to feel confident but not overwhelmed; and
- a great Money Mindset (positive feelings, beliefs & habits with money) that create wealth in your life (money and non-financial wealth) and feeling like you have enough.
Click here to receive my FREE 7 steps to feeling financially confident today
To make your 2023 money confidence happen, I’m offering 4 slots (first come basis) on my personal 121 financial coaching programme, “A month to feeling in control of your money” at a 15% discount. Sign up and by the end of February you’ll feel in control of your money. Make that money NY resolution happen.
