Dear Me,
You have just got married. For me it is now ten years in the future and I want to give you a few words of financial advice so that the next ten years can go a bit more smoothly.
1. Start Saving
You never know what is going to happen. I thought I had my life planned out. I was going to work for a couple of years. Have two children with 3 years in between so I would be able to work part time. It was all going according to plan until I was thrown the curve ball that is twins. It meant I couldn’t really afford childcare and gradually all my savings have been depleted. Paying regularly into a good savings account would have made the last few years a bit less stressful.
2. Sort Out Bank Accounts
One of the jobs we have never got round to doing is to consolidate our bank accounts. We just have too many different ones and it gets really confusing meaning it’s hard to keep track of spending. If we had made one joint account things would have been a lot easier.
3. Quality Not Quantity
There have been too many times over the past few years where I have bought something thinking it is a bargain only to have it fall apart a few weeks later. It would be much better to pay a bit more for quality. The best example I could think of is with changing bags. I really wanted to buy one of those lush looking changing bags but couldn’t justify the price on just a bag. Instead I ended up buying 5 or 6 cheaper bags which were constantly falling apart. I definitely spent more in the long run.
4. Shop Around
It took me a while to realise that you didn’t have to stay with the same service providers. You can shop around and find the best deals. It’s amazing what you can save. I spend a few hours each year going through direct debits and looking for good deals.
5. Go on that holiday
Ok this might not sound like a good proposition financially. I know I should be telling you to save, save, save but really once you have children that dream holiday trekking round somewhere exotic looks less and less likely. I wish we had taken the chance to visit Italy like we planned. Much more fun than buying a new shed.
I guess tall these things boil down to the same things – save money where you can because there will always come a time when you need those savings but make sure the money you spend is
Right I’d better go and do that shopping around I was talking about, or maybe I will just dream about a childless trip to Venice. If I start saving now perhaps we can go in another ten years!
In association with Santander