Finances aren’t necessarily a common conversation for brunch with the gals. Meaning that sometimes we don’t know where to start if we want to learn more. In this article, we’ll be sharing the financial stories of three City Girls to destigmatize the conversation of money and show that everyone has a unique background and journey. 

Silvija, 24

Silvija grew up in Croatia. There, the schooling system is different to what many of us may have experienced here in the UK, instead specializing in a subject at high school age. Silvija chose to study business.  

At 14 she was introduced to savings, stocks and taxes; financial terms and practices that many of us aren't introduced to until much later in life. The skills and perspective she obtained in these early years had a strong influence on her, and helped create the building blocks for her own financial literacy.

Silvija was financially independent from a young age and started working a part time summer job when she was 16. However, growing up in a culture where frugality is encouraged, she was careful with where she put her money.

Attitude To Money

"Once I started earning money, just spending it didn't do anything for me," she says. At the age of 19 she moved to Cardiff for uni. On her own both financially and physically, Silvija really started to build systems to save money and today she continues to do so.

 One of the ways she saves money is to shop the sales... and make it a game! Silvija takes pride in the many great deals she's found in the past, in particular a Zara dress she managed to pick up for £3 marked down from £25 - a steal! 

She practices patience when it comes to clothes shopping. If she finds something she loves at full price, her trick is to wait a month before going back, where more often than not the price has been discounted. 

She also prioritizes cooking at home instead of eating out or getting takeaway. Not only is it better for her wallet, Silvija points out the health benefits of buying fresh ingredients and produce too as "you don't always know what's in the food" when you buy it out.

2021 Financial Goal

Saving up to move to London! Silvija is keen to experience the big city life, but acknowledges the high cost that comes with it. She also intends to create an investment portfolio that targets companies she’s personally excited about. "I love the stock market, obsessed with it," she says, "but I want to invest in companies that I care about and believe in rather than just hop on trends."

Advice

Silvija's advice for those wanting to get better at saving is to: "treat money with the same respect as you have for yourself, consider it your future. Rather than spending money because you feel like it, always consider how it can impact future opportunities."

You can find Silvija on instagram at  @zabckova

Lisette, 30

Lisette recently achieved her goal of buying a house. She began her financial journey working at the age of 16 and saved up for a full year before university, allowing her to pay her way through her studies. "I've always been good at budgeting my money," she says, and has lots of useful tips and tricks to share with fellow City Girls. 

Attitude To Money

"When I get paid, I put everything into a savings account," Lisette explains. She gives herself a tight budget of £50 per week. Though she may exceed that weekly allowance, having the rest of her cash in a savings account makes her think carefully about her purchase and adds an extra barrier between herself and spending on something she may not need.

"Online banking really helped me out", she says. It allows her to take money out as she needs it and keep the rest in her savings account. If she only needs £20 extra, it's very easy to move only that over. 

Lisette stays very disciplined with where she places her money. She makes it a point to not spend money while she was at the office on things like eating out or coffee. "If a coffee is something that makes you really happy, go for it," she explains. "Because I save quite well, if there's something I want to do, I just do it". 

Lisette also says that she does not stress about spending her money on holidays, instead being careful about spending her money on things which don't add as much value. 

To buy her house in Leeds, Lisette worked a lot of overtime and wanted to save at least £300 a month at the minimum. She wrote down all her direct debits which led her to find one going out for a phone insurance she no longer used. 

Lisette also recommends selling any items which she does not feel a need for anymore. “There's a place to sell anything.” From Vinted to sell used clothes; Zifiit to sell CD's, DVD's and books; and Facebook Marketplace for anything in between. 

2021 Financial Goal

As is the case for many people in the UK, the pandemic has brought its own set of financial challenges. In March of 2020, Lisette was put on furlough, and in September she was made redundant. However, she found Office Angels a great resource for temp work. She was able to find temp work with them until January this year, when she found a job in her desired industry of the Civil Service.

Advice

For those who don't know where to begin with their finances, Lisette tells me, "I learned a lot of tips and tricks from Martin Lewis." She also advises that it's always helpful to go into the bank and talk to someone (once it's safe to do so again). She wasn't sure about credit cards and had many questions about her mortgage. Speaking with someone at the bank helped her navigate both. 

"Check out the working from home tax relief," she also advises - if you're working from home, it's a quick form which can knock some money off of bills!

You can find Lisette and her new home on Instagram: @fromonebrickup

Charlotte, 25

Charlotte is a PhD student living at home. She has also occasionally lived part time with her partner where the expenditure was usually food shopping, however, more recently she has been splitting bills as well. 

Attitude To Money

This year, Charlotte made a pledge to save more. She had already saved, having not spent much over the past year, but she wants to carry on the habit. To do so, Charlotte has made a massive spreadsheet of an itemized budget for the year. This includes how much she'll allocate towards her phone contract, car insurance, shopping, etc. She's planned this based on her past spendings. 

2021 Financial Goal

What does Charlotte have planned for 2021? "I want to start a side hustle to get more money behind me". 

She explains how it's important to have money saved because you never know what's going to happen (such as Corona!) "I'm fortunate," she says, but acknowledges there are other people who are not as lucky. 

She hopes to start an Etsy shop but has a lot of hobbies to choose from. We look forward to checking out Charlotte's Etsy shop later this year!

Advice

"We have a family friend who said 'make your money work for you,'" Charlotte explains. Taking that advice over the past year, Charlotte’s had an ISA as well as a regular saver account. She recommends shopping around for a general savings account and doing research on different interest rates to get the biggest pay off. 

Charlotte also highly recommends Martin Lewis and his website Money Saving Expert. “There's a savings account page for whatever your circumstances are,” she adds. Charlotte herself found a Welsh bank with a really great online savings account. She was initially skeptical, but upon researching found it was a reputable bank and was able to make the most of their rates.  

You can find Charlotte on Instagram @charlotte_m_bird and on Twitter @CharlotteMBird

Help us keep the City Girl Network running by supporting us via Patreon for the price of a cheap cup of coffee- just £2 a month. For £3 a month you can also get yourself a Patreon exclusive 10% off any of our ticketed events! You can also support us by following us on Instagram, and by joining our City Girl Network (city-wide!) Facebook group.

Written by Ratuja Reddy