Oh god, yes. I keep thinking about how often I’m working with such tiny amounts - I just had to chase a £22 invoice three times (and then they paid £30 cos they felt bad, result) or doing multiple pointless marketing surveys to get a fiver. It feels like the very definition of “playing small.” No alternative rn tho. And, yes, I had an Arts Council grant too.
Love this! A friend always called playing the lottery an ‘idiot tax’. I have dabbled at times in my low moments but i think it’s a fools game, better to focus on working as best we can and learning to be happy with less!
I remember often thinking about how completely life-ending it would feel if you had your regular numbers and then forgot to play one week for whatever reason and then that week all your numbers came up 😱 luckily for me I’m far too scatterbrained to either @) remember 6 consistent numbers or b) get around to buying a ticket on anything like a regular basis (last one was years ago now). Dodged a bullet there eh 😄
Oh Keris you don’t know how happy I am to see someone else admitting to doing those surveys for absolute peanuts! So much *not*the abundance mindset. But then the peanuts are better than no peanuts…
I got my YouGov fifty quid a little while back and haven’t been able to face starting again as it just took AGES to get there. But yeah at least it’s not just your thoughts on cereal bars or whatever. Best one I think is Prolific with academic research stuff.
I've made £506 with Prolific, it's def the best one! Also I was never a huge lottery player, but (ridiculously) I stopped when they changed from 39 numbers to 49, on the grounds of "NOW it's impossible to win".
That's funny and kind of sweet that you had the feeling of forgetting to do something then realised what it was... the thing you'd been doing so regularly for so long! Body/mind probabs needed a wee holiday. The lottery Q is interesting too. I very rarely buy lottery tickets and always forget to check them. When I find out I haven't won, I think see, that's why I don't buy lottery tix! And thanks for inviting me to talk about money Keris. Actually I feel like I could redo that whole interview and dig down into the REAL issues I have around money. About being a pauper freelance artist who has no property, no savings, no retirement fund while most of my friends own property, have savings and retirement funds, and we NEVER talk about it. About how deeply buried our emotions around money are. Like shame. When you asked what Qs would you ask women about money I wrote down before crossing it out —what part does shame play in your relationship with money? In my rural lower middle class upbringing (parents were schoolteachers, grandparents were working class railway workers) the message I got from my mother was that we had no money, we couldn't afford expensive things and I def felt ashamed that we didn't have the things our well-off farmer friends had —fancy clothes and skiiing holidays. They always had the latest model car and ours was old and second hand. But interesting how we learn to bury the shame, put on a brave face and act 'as if', which I still do today. Ultimately I know we all go naked to the grave and in the end money doesn't matter a fig. What matters is being able to live a life rich in creativity and curiosity (another thing my mother taught me) and to use it to turn around these old beliefs we carry with us from childhood. In the past 20 years I have certainly been able to use my creativity to manifest a lifestyle of creative travel and adventure, staying in extraordinary international locations and living 'as if' I have all the money in the world. It took a level of daring and chutzpah and a willingness to challenge the poverty mentality that has always been lurking. And when my Little Match Girl persona turns up these days, I know what she needs — a waffle gown, a day spa and an overnight stay in a fancy seaside hotel. Even if I can't afford it the fantasy is almost as good!
Jan, I think the way you live your life is so inspiring. I think I contacted you originally after you commented saying you’re not where you should be financially, but you seem to be managing pretty well! You’d always be more than welcome to write something else for me about money, whether that’s re shame (HUGE topic), financial security, or living “as if” (which is what I tend to do too).
(And I definitely need a break. Going to be writing about that for my other Substack this weekend.)
Thanks Keris, I’ll def think about that. I just realised doh, what a long comment I left! there’s the beginning of it… oh good to hear you are going to take a break, hope there’s a day spa and waffle gown factored in. All best, Jan
You worrying about who you’d need to help out with your fantasy lottery winnings reminded me of a woman I used to work with. The first time I met her I learnt that her office syndicate had won the lottery previously (something around £1.9m). And her ex husband had managed to claim half of her share because they hadn’t filed a form that severs finances post-divorce yet. I still feel full of injustice for her 21 years later, and I haven’t seen her in 19 years!
Oh god, that’s awful! Me and D don’t have a financial agreement cos we did the divorce ourselves. Not worried about the lottery, but do need to sort out pension split asap 😬
The thing that really got me was that she wanted to put most of the money aside for THEIR children to go to uni or a deposit for a house, etc when they were 18. And he just spent his part on himself 😡
Oh god, yes. I keep thinking about how often I’m working with such tiny amounts - I just had to chase a £22 invoice three times (and then they paid £30 cos they felt bad, result) or doing multiple pointless marketing surveys to get a fiver. It feels like the very definition of “playing small.” No alternative rn tho. And, yes, I had an Arts Council grant too.
Love this! A friend always called playing the lottery an ‘idiot tax’. I have dabbled at times in my low moments but i think it’s a fools game, better to focus on working as best we can and learning to be happy with less!
Working as best I can, yes. Learning to be happy with less… not yet 😂
I should say learning to be happy with less temporarily, while reaching for much more!
That’s more like it! 😂
What was I thinking?! 😆
I remember often thinking about how completely life-ending it would feel if you had your regular numbers and then forgot to play one week for whatever reason and then that week all your numbers came up 😱 luckily for me I’m far too scatterbrained to either @) remember 6 consistent numbers or b) get around to buying a ticket on anything like a regular basis (last one was years ago now). Dodged a bullet there eh 😄
Haha! Right? I just don’t know how anyone could ever get over it. Or the people who’ve lost the ticket!!!
Oh Keris you don’t know how happy I am to see someone else admitting to doing those surveys for absolute peanuts! So much *not*the abundance mindset. But then the peanuts are better than no peanuts…
Right? I paid off my PayPal credit with those fivers. (The actual surveys are complete nonsense tho and make me want to get a job making better ones.)
I’m heading for my YouGov £50 Amazon voucher too and very excited about it 😂 At least the YouGov surveys are more interesting.
I got my YouGov fifty quid a little while back and haven’t been able to face starting again as it just took AGES to get there. But yeah at least it’s not just your thoughts on cereal bars or whatever. Best one I think is Prolific with academic research stuff.
“Which brand of tuna makes you feel safe.” 😂 I haven’t seen Prolific. I’ll have a look.
I've made £506 with Prolific, it's def the best one! Also I was never a huge lottery player, but (ridiculously) I stopped when they changed from 39 numbers to 49, on the grounds of "NOW it's impossible to win".
Oh no way! Getting on Prolific now. I don’t remember it being 39! I did remember another one of my numbers tho so now I def have to avoid it 😂
😂
Gah there’s a waitlist.
Oh, that’s annoying 😣
No I absolutely have never played the lottery. I mean, I’m not likely to be eaten by a crocodile so…. 🤣
I hope not! 🐊
That's funny and kind of sweet that you had the feeling of forgetting to do something then realised what it was... the thing you'd been doing so regularly for so long! Body/mind probabs needed a wee holiday. The lottery Q is interesting too. I very rarely buy lottery tickets and always forget to check them. When I find out I haven't won, I think see, that's why I don't buy lottery tix! And thanks for inviting me to talk about money Keris. Actually I feel like I could redo that whole interview and dig down into the REAL issues I have around money. About being a pauper freelance artist who has no property, no savings, no retirement fund while most of my friends own property, have savings and retirement funds, and we NEVER talk about it. About how deeply buried our emotions around money are. Like shame. When you asked what Qs would you ask women about money I wrote down before crossing it out —what part does shame play in your relationship with money? In my rural lower middle class upbringing (parents were schoolteachers, grandparents were working class railway workers) the message I got from my mother was that we had no money, we couldn't afford expensive things and I def felt ashamed that we didn't have the things our well-off farmer friends had —fancy clothes and skiiing holidays. They always had the latest model car and ours was old and second hand. But interesting how we learn to bury the shame, put on a brave face and act 'as if', which I still do today. Ultimately I know we all go naked to the grave and in the end money doesn't matter a fig. What matters is being able to live a life rich in creativity and curiosity (another thing my mother taught me) and to use it to turn around these old beliefs we carry with us from childhood. In the past 20 years I have certainly been able to use my creativity to manifest a lifestyle of creative travel and adventure, staying in extraordinary international locations and living 'as if' I have all the money in the world. It took a level of daring and chutzpah and a willingness to challenge the poverty mentality that has always been lurking. And when my Little Match Girl persona turns up these days, I know what she needs — a waffle gown, a day spa and an overnight stay in a fancy seaside hotel. Even if I can't afford it the fantasy is almost as good!
Jan, I think the way you live your life is so inspiring. I think I contacted you originally after you commented saying you’re not where you should be financially, but you seem to be managing pretty well! You’d always be more than welcome to write something else for me about money, whether that’s re shame (HUGE topic), financial security, or living “as if” (which is what I tend to do too).
(And I definitely need a break. Going to be writing about that for my other Substack this weekend.)
Thanks Keris, I’ll def think about that. I just realised doh, what a long comment I left! there’s the beginning of it… oh good to hear you are going to take a break, hope there’s a day spa and waffle gown factored in. All best, Jan
No need to apologise! And no, no spa and waffle gown, just less work/worry, more rest/fun.
You worrying about who you’d need to help out with your fantasy lottery winnings reminded me of a woman I used to work with. The first time I met her I learnt that her office syndicate had won the lottery previously (something around £1.9m). And her ex husband had managed to claim half of her share because they hadn’t filed a form that severs finances post-divorce yet. I still feel full of injustice for her 21 years later, and I haven’t seen her in 19 years!
Oh god, that’s awful! Me and D don’t have a financial agreement cos we did the divorce ourselves. Not worried about the lottery, but do need to sort out pension split asap 😬
The thing that really got me was that she wanted to put most of the money aside for THEIR children to go to uni or a deposit for a house, etc when they were 18. And he just spent his part on himself 😡
Ugh. Awful.