"What would I do with £10,000? I’d spend it on something that would bring me joy."

It's Make Money Monday!

Aug 12, 2024

Hi and welcome to The Ladybird Purse, my weekly newsletter about women and money. I’m not a financial advisor and am in no way qualified to give financial advice. Also, I’m knackered. (It genuinely took me five goes to type that.)

Hello! How are you this maybe sunny Monday? I had a rubbish sleep, but in a minute I’m going to walk to town with my teen to collect a Too Good to Go bag from the Pound Bakery. Maybe sugar will fix me. (It won’t.)

Last week I started watching a Netflix show called Owning Manhattan. For book research. Ish.

Early in the first episode, the main guy, Ryan Serhant…

Ryan Serhant GIFs - Find & Share on GIPHY

…is being driven through Manhattan and tells his driver it’s ‘Make Money Monday’. And then he calls through the car’s open window “Hey! Do you know it’s Make Money Monday?” And, because it’s New York, a guy immediately shouts back, “Fuck you!”

This newsletter’s a bit shorter at the moment, because I’m taking some time out this summer to relax and reset, hang out with my boys, and read all the books. So over the next few posts, I’d love to hear from you…

Are you making money this Make Money Monday? Have you watched Owning Manhattan? What’s your favourite bakery item (I’m hoping for an egg custard)?

An interview with Stephanie Chapman-Laing

Stephie is a romcom writer living in the south of the UK (but she’d much rather be living in the south of France).

Her first two novels, Call Me Maybe, and Swipe Right, are available on Amazon, and she’s currently serialising her third, Love You Too, Esty Mackie, here on Substack.

When she isn’t dreaming up your new book boyfriend, she’ll either be found organising her teenagers, or organising her boss. Basically, she’s always organising something.

What is your relationship with money currently?

Pretty good at the moment. I’m careful and organised and interested in how I can make it work for me, and for my family, and aside from a few months when I was eighteen and was approved for credit cards, generally always have been.

What’s your earliest money memory?

Discovering the tooth fairy was my mum! I stayed awake after losing a tooth and in she pops and slides a coin under my pillow. I think I realised at that point that it wasn’t something that just magically appeared.

Learning later on that we were absolutely brassic when I was a child, to the point of mum counting out coins for the milkman etc, made that memory all the more poignant. I kept it a secret for years.

What advice would you give your younger self about money?

Start your pension before your mid thirties and take it seriously! And in fact, I’m passing this exact advice on to my children.

Every year they were given some money from my grandfather, which has been sitting in savings accounts or in the Premium Bonds. The idea was initially that they’d be granted access to it when they turn eighteen, but I’m going to heavily suggest it’s put into a private pension scheme or one of those trust accounts where you can withdraw the money only under certain circumstances. It’s not like they’ve missed the money, so it might as well work for them.

What’s the biggest money mistake you’ve made?

Those credit cards I mentioned! Talk about giving me the keys to the kingdom, good grief! I had such a banging wardrobe and mountains of shoes, and loads of meaningless stuff.

It was a few thousand at a fairly high APR, and repaying it pissed me off enough to make me far more considerate with my spending.

I still like having stuff, but I put a lot more thought into my purchases. I’d rather have one nicer quality, higher ticket item that I know I’ll love for years than lots of things I don’t like as much.

What’s the best thing you’ve ever spent money on?

I thought about this a lot, and the answer is my breast reduction, though the healing takes ages and the recovery is definitely more uncomfortable than I was led to believe!

I was never going to be offered it on the NHS but it was something I’d considered for years for all the usual reasons women have for wanting that procedure.

I found a surgeon and had two quotes for the different hospitals he worked from, and the differences in those quotes was surprising. One was almost £10k, the other just under £8k, including the anaesthetist’s fee, which I think is possibly something you wouldn’t think about.

I went for the cheaper one partly because of scheduling, partly because why would I spend the extra when the care, surgeon and procedure are the same? Nice nurses, a ward waiter (!!) and two nights in a private room. How the other half live, eh!

Do you have a pension? If not, do you have a plan?

Yes, I have several! I am self employed so it makes a lot of sense to pay into a private pension because of the tax breaks and the government top up.

I’ve also always made sure I pay my NI, even voluntarily, so that I have enough credits to get my full state pension too.

My husband and I are also in the fortunate position of being able to overpay our mortgage, which we do every month, because the sooner our gaff is paid off, the better.

What would you do with £10,000?

As in, if someone handed me £10k? I’d spend it on something that would bring me joy. We’re planning an extension on the house, so I might put it towards a really beautiful kitchen, as that’s where I spend a lot of time. Maybe some terrazzo tiles and a wine fridge and some really nice hardware. Something pretty I’ll look at and love for a long time.

What little luxury could you get with a tenner?

I really like doing my nails, and I like Essie nail polishes. I think they’re about £9, so that’s a bit of change leftover for a Twix!

If you were me, what would you want to ask women about money?

Do you think kids should be taught about how to manage money, and every day money issues, in school? Is there enough easily accessible information out there currently?