Steadying the ship - a perilous voyage across the financial middle

cheesymouse

Another happy Starling customer here, both business and personal.

Suffolk_lass

Radishes need regular watering once they have sprouted or they will bolt and go like little lumps of wood(chip); good only for mulching. No need to ask how I know this

Lauraebrad

My penny worth is that the small one opened a H@lifax in branch as an 11-yo and gave as good as he gave in return to the 'fiscal responsibility' / financial literacy chat from the person opening the account! However he now (just 14) has N-wide which he's super impressed by due to (a) the fairer share payment and (b) linked savings account at 5% …..

edinburgher

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82090761#Comment_82090761

Good to hear that your little one is getting into the fiscal swing of things 😊 The one spread across the nation would have been my first choice but they require an in-person visit and our local branch is only open every second Tuesday when the parking warden walking past outside is called Alan and there is a purple cloud in the sky.

edinburgher

£13.57 withdrawn from Prolific, spent a wee bit of unplanned work downtime making pennies for tomorrow's "last day of the holidays" trip to Largs ❤️ Ice cream, chips, the arcade, and fresh air await.

It has been a very difficult summer, as I suspect that many parents feel after six weeks of disruption to the family routines. My mouth has been foul on occasion and frustration has definitely got the better of me more than a few times. Still, we have done what we needed to to cope, and it can be challenging when you don't have the proverbial "village" to lean on.

On more positive notes, both girls seem happy and are looking forward (in their own ways) to returning to education. This will be DD1's last year of primary school, and DD2's last year of "early years" education.

I have started some gentle discussion with DD1 of her future choices. We have raised a real wee creative and I have a strong suspicion that her interests could lie in that world. It is somewhat alien to us but we are determined to support her as best we can with whatever she decides.

Without meaning to have a rant, both myself and Mrs E feel that we got the square route of bleep all when it came from actionable career advice/support from our parents before we went down the path of life goals, we would both have welcomed it. Looking back, I'm sure this was because my parents were nackered (f-t jobs and a house full of weans) and because Mrs E's parents maybe didn't think they had anything to add (Mrs E the first generation of her family to go to university and pass). So we'd like to offer the limited benefit of sharing our experience, with the understanding that the past is a foreign country. This doesn't mean that we plan to helicopter parent DD1's young adult life, but we will certainly cover some of the basics and reinforce to her that we are here to help.

Topics touched on to date have included:

1. The power of consistency when it comes to saving and investing
2. Recognising that a "job" isn't necessarily the same thing as a "career" and that it's fine to do the former until you figure out what you'd do for the latter, if you ever do…
3. General introduction to matters financial (bank account opened today with the oily-feathered bird) 😉
4. A wee bit of background info on the course she's interested in (entrance requirements, length of course, need for a portfolio etc.)
5. The fact that her mum and dad won't let her starve if she needs to stay at home until she can get established in a career that might (whispers it) make her happy. As one of 5, it was always completely apparent to me that I needed a job and that my parents couldn't bear the luxury of me not having one. I do realise that is the case for most people, but I spent all of my student years working, with no time to think. I made some bad choices as a result. Younger siblings were given more space and support to find their feet. If nothing else, my lack of love for my career provides the financial space for my children to be a wee bit more intentional with their choices.

Sorry for the wall of tangent, more interesting than half of my recent rants 😂

Ps. I sometimes think that I missed the opportunity to explore my creative side. Art school would have been my first choice, but I never got there. I'm always very grateful to DD1 for letting me re-experience that side of myself after a 30-year gap.

Pps. Work have agreed to fund my Masters, it's a bit last minute, so waiting to see if my application has been accepted.

KajiKita

You could still explore your creative side more as time goes on? Start going to drawing classes with DD1 for example, maybe? Around our way there are many arty events geared to younglings - maybe start looking out for those? What would be your preferred media? Watercolours, oils, pastels, mixed, fabrics, yarn, clay etc etc?

I love that you are doing such excellent, life preparing, parenting for younglings, (frustrated foul mouth aside - I suspect that if the mouth is apologised for, it soon gets forgotten 😊) Like you, my parents did diddly for life / career planning for me too, despite being an only - I think I was supposed to absorb it by osmosis! 🤣

Congrats on the Masters! 🤞 for the formal application.

KK

edinburgher

@KajiKita - that is a good idea although I'd be wary of cramping DD1's style - usually existing is enough to do that!

I was a jewellery maker in my wholesome youth, an interest DD1 has fallen for (deeply), too. We are exploring whether dad and daughter could run a wee cost covering eBay/Etsy outlet for beading supplies. Doubt it would do more than wash its face, but e-commerce would be another string to her modern bow. From what I read, younger generations are forced to be all about the side hustles, she may as well explore what does (and doesn't) work at a young age.

Watty1

Actually I think that is a brilliant idea - even if it only pays for supplies used the lessons discovered and the potential for a CV discussion point at some distant future is worth it.

KajiKita

Well that wasn't the answer I was expecting ….! 😊 In my head I had you down as classic figurative art in oils … I was miles off!! 🤣🤣😉 (Thank you for knocking my stereotypical view of you 😊👏)

I'm intrigued, as I love jewellery …. Style? Stones? Silver? Gold? Natural materials?

Totally agree with Watty too 😊

Oh and for Christmas this year, find a jewellery making course you fancy, that Mrs E / the wider family can pay for 😊

KK

greenbee

Ed - my mum didn't finish art school in her 20s, although she did study woodblock printing for a while in Japan, and batik in Indonesia while travelling. Then she had kids and had an admin job that worked round us and my dad. When she got to retirement age, she did a diploma (not saying what as it would identify her if any friends are reading!), and got back into art - to the extent that some of her pictures are in national collections. It may not have paid well, but at least now (in her 80s) when people ask her 'what she was' she replies that she IS an artist. Eyesight and arthritis mean she's having to change her style now, but we are all so pleased she made the leap and went back to her real passion.