On not saying f*ck it
+ Pick'n'mix, therapy, and Taylor Swift tickets
In the past, whenever my money situation became (even more) desperate (than usual), I would find myself spending more. I can literally remember thinking fuck it, if I’ve got no money, I might as well really have no money. And I’d use the last tiny bit of credit on a card to buy myself a book or I’d take the boys to McDonald’s or something.
I haven’t done that this time. Instead I’m being super careful. I mean, I don’t massively have a choice. There isn’t much credit left on my cards. I have commitments that I need to make sure there’s money available for. But that’s not really the point. The point is in the past, I know I would have said fuck it. And I’m not saying it now. And that’s a relief. And progress. Again, tiny progress. But progress all the same.
The other thing I’ve noticed is how many offers I’m getting for more credit. Credit cards and loans and car loans. Apparently I may be preapproved for some of them. (I won’t be.)
Obviously I’ve been aware of this in the past. I probably would’ve taken advantage of one in the past. But this time it seems so obviously predatory that it’s just pissing me off. The offers are coming because my credit rating has plummeted because I’m up to the limit on my cards. The answer to that is not more credit.
What is the answer? Yeah, no idea.
In more cheerful news, I’ve been interviewed by lovely Eve Menezes Cunningham:
I would love it if you would consider becoming a paid subcriber. This Monday newsletter and interview is free, but I’m writing a second post every Thursday for paid subscribers and I think so far they’ve been pretty good.
An interview with… Laura Robb
I’m Laura. I’ve had various guises over the years from book blogger, avid band fangirl but currently I run my own small business, Makeadaze, as well as part time barista for the day job to pay those pesky bills.
Why do you think women are often reluctant to talk about money?
I think we love to talk about how much something costs (particularly if it’s an Uber mega bargain) but who really wants to talk about tax, pensions or budgets?
Also because of the ‘careers’ I’ve found myself in, compared to my friends, I’ve often felt like ‘the poor one’ who is always looking for the yellow sticker items in Waitrose so don’t like to show that card if I don’t have to.
What is your relationship with money currently?
Currently - okay. I wish I had more like everyone does, but I cover my bills and have enough spare to buy the odd fancy coffee or ‘must have’ treat. Could be better, I’m sure, but I’m not gonna be on a Channel 5 reality show with bailiffs any time soon.
What’s your earliest money memory?
I remember after school my mum would give me and my brother a pound coin each on a Friday and we could pick our own pick’n’mix from the chemist. As we filled up our tubs we had to add them up right or if we overspent we lost the whole pot. Harsh but made our math skills get properly tested.
The flip side was when we were growing up - my parents got in a lot of debt problems (mostly due to my dad) and the memory of that really lingers with me when I have to spend anything more than £100. His debts basically followed us for years and caused a lot of problems which make me nervous to spend in large amounts.
What’s the biggest money mistake you’ve made?
Not saving earlier. I lived from pay check to pay check quite happily and it wasn’t until I moved out into my own place that I realised just how expensive things are. I should have put away money for those surprise expenses like omg car tyres are how much? What do you mean I have to buy a new fridge? Surely if I didn’t mean to break the shower then some magical genie will fix it rather than the pricey plumber?
It’s been lovely to watch you setting up and growing your business. (Also I love the earrings I bought from you.) How did that come about?
I started my business as a lockdown baby - basically my hubby suggested I backed away from the banana loaf and do something art and crafty as I love doing silly art. So I was lucky starting when I had the luxury of time and my wages were still being paid.
I’ve slowly evolved my business to work for me alongside my day job and also as someone with a neuro spicy brain that doesn’t always want to do the thing you wanna focus on at the right time.
What did you do about the initial investment?
I decided to use about a few hundred pounds of my money to invest in raw materials and the etsy listing costs etc but I’m always about making the most of what I already have so anything I have lying around gets used for business purposes now.
Plus I’m lucky as most of what I do can be done from home and is fairly low cost to start with compared to some crafts like silversmith or ceramics.
I’ve been lucky as well that it’s been going well enough that I’ve been able to pay myself back some of my seed money too.
How do you manage it alongside another job?
I’m SO lucky that I now work for a small business that is super supportive of me being a small business too and so I work Monday - Friday about 4 days and then I do markets and such on the weekend if I have them booked or help with work events if I can.
It’s been a game-changer working for someone that gets the ups and downs of small biz life and how it basically is a 24/7.
I have to be strict with myself and plan jobs and tasks for the days off from the day job to make sure it’s all done but I really try my best.
What’s your plan for the business going forward? Would you like it to be your main income?
Would love to be doing it full time and have my own little craft room for all my making, but realistically I know it’s not gonna happen right this second. I’m looking into ways to make passive income like designing things that I can upload to card selling websites and can be made and sold and then I just get a cut.
I’m learning all as I go but hoping to evolve my business to grow as I learn too.
What’s the best thing you’ve ever spent money on?
Therapy. I wanna say concerts that were amazing or my wedding (which was great) or holidays but therapy and counselling means I can function and it’s helped me a lot understanding my brain which led to my ADHD diagnosis last year. Having ADHD undiagnosed until my late 30s has been *hard* without knowing it was a thing.
It’s been a game-changer especially with how I spend money and not feel so bad if I spend some pennies on a whim because ‘I had to have it’ and feel guilty when I didn’t save better.
Do you have a pension? If not, do you have a plan?
I do but only because the government makes me. I have have a few ‘pots’ from previous jobs but I always forget to combine them so they are with various places that I often forget about until a random letter turns up.
What would you do with £10,000?
I wanna say I’d invest it in my business for stock, new products and market dates, etc., or maybe get all the scraps and bumps removed from my car or even new carpets in the house (the glamour), but I know that I’d just go all out and use it on Taylor Swift tickets.
If you were me, what would you want to ask women about money?
How the heck do you budget? Like, I feel like I check my Monzo constantly over a month but I still don’t seem to ‘save’ no matter how much I budget in my mind.
I’ve been drastically paying down my credit cards and while my credit score has gone up, so have my credit limits which is infuriating. Like, I’m trying to pay them off and you’re offering me double what I could spend before?? Dammit!!!!