Money Mentors

Do you find it hard to say no to your friends?

Yes.

I'll get round one, round two, round three.

I'm a generous person.

How do you know each other?

We’re friends. 

At the moment living together.

Are you worried about the cost of living crisis?

We're actually scared.

Like, what's going to come next?

Yeah.

Yeah, because everything around us is going up.

but our pay is staying the same.

And now I have no flexibility to save.

Not that I was a great saver anyway.

That can be hard.

I was trying.

Yeah. Yeah.

I've never had that sort of

I need to put it away for this

or I need to put it away for that.

I just like to spend when I need to.

You just don't care.

It’s not that I don’t care.

I just like to see my friends have a good time.

I think that's your problem.

That’s my problem.

I find it at times really hard to say no.

But this is why I'm saying from my own experience

I think it can be helpful.

You can think of the reason why you're saying no

in the first place.

It's to save to buy a house, for example.

And that's when, you know

saying no and things like that become easier

because you're very clear

about what you're working towards.

I'm sure good friends

they'll be able to understand that.

We're all in the same boat.

It's difficult for all of us right now.

Yeah. Yeah.

For sure.

You know, you're not just saying, for example

Oh, no, I'm not doing this.

You can say

you know, I'm not doing this tonight

because, you know

I really have to tighten up with my finances.

But what about you come to my house instead.

Having that conversation in the first place

you then realise

oh, actually, you know, I was feeling this too.

And then you can kind of share the goals you have.

When you achieve

you can kind of make each other accountable as well.

I told you, I'm going to achieve these things.

So you're going to come back to me

and Su will go back to you.

She will. 

You said, you were going to do this.

Maybe we could open up about it more.

Yeah.

And then we

that just gives us a bit of a conversation

and then we can speak about where we are.

This is how much I save or can we cut back here.

And stuff like that.

I think that's a great idea

if you felt comfortable doing

between both of you.

Yeah.

I needed this help.

I needed to have this conversation.

I am very, very happy.

Pleasure. Thank you.

It's been a pleasure to be with you.

Nice one.

Let's talk wants versus needs in 20.

So needs are the things you really can't go without.

Whereas wants are life's 'nice to haves'.

Then there are things that seem like needs but are actually wants.

Like a meal at home, becoming a meal out.

So, separate what you want from your needs and make sure your budget reflects it.

Let's talk micro-budgeting.

Budgeting across a whole month can be tricky, but micro-budgeting can really help.

You can start by covering the essentials, like your mortgage, your rent and your bills, then split what's left into micro budgets and stick to them.

You can split by purpose, like meals out or clothes.

I tend to split mine by weeks.

It makes getting to the end of the month feel more manageable.

Let's talk Kakeibo Budgeting in twenty.

Kakeibo is a mindful budgeting technique where you write your spending down while asking yourself: Why do I need it?

Can I live without it?

Can I afford it?

And how do I actually feel about buying it?

Which helps you really understand your relationship with money.

Money stress is incredibly common, especially at the moment.

It can feel really scary and all encompassing.

This three step approach just might help.

First, look at any payments you need to make What's in your control and what's not?

Second, break down the things that you're in control of.

Make a plan Set realistic targets of what you can pay and when.

Finally, look at the things that you feel are out of your control.

If your bills have gone up, mine have You might be entitled to some support If you need help Reach out to the relevant organisations Someone you can trust Or online communities.

You could take a look at the government's Help for Households website To find out what you might be entitled to.

I really hope having a plan helps.

Spending to improve your mood?

Sounds like you could be an emotional shopper.

I get it.

Buying new things can make you feel great, but it's a cycle that you should try to break.

So remove temptation.

Find yourself browsing?

Find something else to distract you. Go for a walk, call a friend, they'll love that and it will make you feel better.

Seen something you like?

Leave it in the basket.

Go back to it in a couple of weeks and ask yourself whether you still need it, Want it?

I really hope that helps.

Let's talk managing regular payments in 20.

So, login to your Barclays app, And head to 'regular payments' so that you see everything together.

Are there any you can cancel?

You can also think about moving some payments to just after payday.

It'll give you a better idea of your money for the rest of the month and more control.

Let's talk standing orders vs direct debits in 20.

...in 20 ish?

Okay.

So they’re both set payments out of your bank account.

But a standing order is set up by you, like a monthly payment into your savings account.

You can cancel them and change the amount and date.

Meanwhile, a direct debit is an agreement between you and The company, like your mobile phone provider.

and you'd have to speak to a company to make any changes.

Making the minimum payment is pretty common.

The problem is, the interest starts to build up.

And the longer you take to pay the card, the more it could end up costing you.

If you've got lots of cards, prioritise the ones with the highest interest.

What can you afford to pay now and in the longer term?

Now, if you are struggling, ask your provider for some help.

Or a charity like Citizens Advice or the National Debtline.

I really hope that helps.

Let's talk wants versus needs in 20.

So needs are the things you really can't go without.

Whereas wants are life's 'nice to haves'.

Then there are things that seem like needs but are actually wants.

Like a meal at home, becoming a meal out.

So, separate what you want from your needs and make sure your budget reflects it.

You alright?

Yeah.

I think it will be good.

Some new ideas, hopefully.

Yeah.

I don't think we realise

how much teenagers worry

about money.

And I think often

as a grown up, we kind of say

don't worry, it's fine, there's enough.

But because of all the hype

they're just processing it all the time.

And it does build up anxiety.

If I ask, how much is this?

Or, how much are we earning?

It's never

oh, we earning this much.

It’s only

we’re earning enough.

As parents, we want to protect our children

and they don't need to know everything.

The key is to have an open discussion and

it helps you appreciate things a lot more

if your parents share things with you.

If I was doing it all over again

I think we would’ve had more of those discussions.

I think we've been a bit late

starting and managing money

so we need to get over the anxiety of it

and just get practical with it.

Because, you know, as a grown up

that's what you got to do.

It panics me when we go to the shop

and mum opens her little banking app and it's got £7

and then she's moving money around.

Is  that from your savings?

So it's quite common for people to have

money in different pots that you can't see.

You can even hide them

in your apps nowadays

to help make it easier for you to save.

Maybe, you know, as a family

you could discuss that

and explain how you work your budget out.

If you maybe had a budget

and then you tried to work together

and gave it to Phil to do

you know, Phil is learning around

how to manage a budget.

Something as simple and, you know

everyday task as doing the food shopping.

If she gave me a list and a budget

I reckon, I could do it.

I think you could absolutely do it.

And, hopefully, you feel a bit more comfortable

you know, knowing that those pots do...

Yeah.

do move around for a reason.

And, hopefully, that's reassuring.

Yeah.

 It's been lovely talking to you today.

Thank you.

I wonder what they’re going to say.

Hopefully some good advice for us.

Were you surprised at how much having a child

had affected your budget?

Torpedoed the budget.

We had no idea.

It's expenses you can't escape

 such as nappies, food

clothing ever so often

because they grow up so quick.

Yeah.

Do you look out for any certain offers

or do you buy items when they're on sale?

Yeah, basically

Absolutely.

We're the yellow label King and Queen now.

You definitely have to shop around

to see which promotion is on at which time

just to make sure you're getting the best value.

There are sites online

where you can have a look at what

you know

the dates that these things are coming up

so you can plan it into your budget.

I didn't realise that was even a thing.

We can definitely get better at that.

Do you prepare for those seasons changing

when you do your budgeting?

We can learn a couple of tricks to get ready

for the colder seasons especially.

Yeah, I mean, there's so many

different seasonal sales in the shops nowadays

that it's really useful to buy the key items

such as, you know, winter coats.

And it's really good

to have like a rotation of clothes.

So you've got some for them to grow into.

And it's really useful

if you've got friends and family

 that have got young children

to not be afraid to ask and to get those items

because they do grow so fast

that they don't get a lot of wear

out of clothes.

That's a brilliant way of saving

and one I definitely do myself with my daughter.

That's a really good idea.

Thank you very much.

No worries at all. Thank you. 

Thank you.

SPEAKS IN HINDI: Are you excited?

SPEAKS IN HINDI: Yes, very. Let's see what happens.

SPEAKS IN HINDI: Let's see. Here goes.

What are the main financial challenges

you and your family are facing?

We have to think twice before we have to do something.

After a couple of years, we need to remortgage,

so we are a little bit worried like,

what interest rate would it be then?

So you've bought your new home, congratulations.

It's fixed for two years did you say?

Yes, two years.

Before it does come to the end,

at least 90 days before you can start looking around

and it can be fixed for you as well.

It's always good to plan beforehand.

We'll definitely give it a try.

Yeah, definitely.

Yeah.

What do you think your biggest expense is

apart from your mortgage?

Groceries, everything is going up.

You know, in Indian family

we have not only one dish, we have three, four different dishes,

so now we have to cut down on our dishes

to just save some money.

Of course, a lot of people bulk buy during Diwali and Eid.

Instead of buying your 5KG flour,

they're buying 15 to 20 and then with the bulk buying,

thinking about maybe bulk cooking as well

and putting it in the freezer.

Not only is it saving money on your gas,

it's saving money on your food and also 

time as well, because time is essential at the moment.

Right.

Definitely a good idea.

Do you talk to like the wider community,

your family, about the cost of groceries?

When we get together, then we'll know where there is a sale or

where is the discounts and

my sister gives me a lot of tips on that actually,

when we meet.

If we buy a pack of sugar,

we share with the family friends

and when they buy they do it with us.

I don't know if you know,

but you can have money saving food apps*.

You'd have to pay for the item

but then you take a picture of the receipt and then

this money goes back onto your app*,

and then you could potentially save one or £2

and that one or £2 you could put towards

Definitely.

The bread, the milk.

That's nice.

We will give it a try.

What other big expenses do you have

that prevent you from saving?

We moved out of the city thinking it's cheaper,

so, now we have to pay extra for transport?

Have you compared the price between

driving to work and using public transport?

Yes, we did.

That's the reason I car share with somebody else now.

I can't do it because I have to drop my daughter to school

and pick her up, so,

most of the stuff you can say is grocery and our bills.

Do you feel like these challenges

are putting pressure on your relationship as parents?

Definitely,

because he's the one who says yes to everything for her

and I know I'm like we have to see our budget also.

Yeah but, it's difficult to say no to our daughter,

not to her.

Never feel bad for saying no.

We have to financially educate our children

teaching them fun ways of saving

like a jam jar saving so,

like a little jam jar, fill it up to the top

once they've filled it they can maybe use it

and then giving them a little budget as well,

while we have to budget as adults,

they have to budget in there to get what they want.

Now, is the time,

If we teach them, then they will value the money

and value the things what they are getting.

So it's good.

Have you heard of the 50, 30, 20 budgeting rule?

No.

It's where 50% of your wages

goes into your bills

and then 30% goes on to your wants

and then 20% goes into your savings account.

You can set yourself a goal**.

So, on the Barclays app* you set a category on what it is,

so it could be a holiday, it could be a rainy day.

The most fantastic thing about this is

you can actually track your progress.

Yeah,

definitely, we'll give it a try.

We will try it, definitely.

It was lovely meeting you both.

Thank you so much.

No problem. Good luck.

Let's talk loan to value ratio, in 20.

If you have a £20,000 deposit on a £200,000 house, you're paying 10% of the value, and need to borrow £180,000.

Which means your loan to value ratio is 90%.

Lenders like a lower loan to value ratio, and could give you a better interest rate.

So the bigger your deposit, the better, which is something worth bearing in mind.

Let's talk agreements in principle in 20.

Agreements in principle are something you've probably heard of.

They’re the first step in the mortgage process, And give you an indication on how much a bank would be prepared to lend you.

Based on your income, spending and debt.

They come with no guarantees, but they won't affect your credit score, and they can also help sellers take your offer more seriously.

Instant access savings accounts are perfect for saving smaller amounts.

Usually you get a lower interest rate, which can change, but you can access it when you need it.

For instance, if your boiler breaks down.

Fixed access savings accounts give you a fixed rate, so you'll know exactly what you'll get in return.

But withdrawals are restricted.

If you're a Barclays Blue Rewards customer you could open a Rainy Day Saver account.

You just need to choose the type that's right for you and your circumstances.

I hope that helps.

Let's talk credit scores, in 20.

Credit is money You need to borrow from a lender.

and your credit score is a three digit number that tells lenders how well you've repaid credit in the past.

The higher your score, the better your chances of you getting a mortgage, a credit card, or even a new mobile contract.

Got it?

Score!

Let's talk loan to value ratio, in 20.

If you have a £20,000 deposit on a £200,000 house, you're paying 10% of the value, and need to borrow £180,000.

Which means your loan to value ratio is 90%.

Lenders like a lower loan to value ratio, and could give you a better interest rate.

So the bigger your deposit, the better, which is something worth bearing in mind.

Let's talk workplace pensions, in 20.

So a pension is basically an income for your retirement.

The sooner you start one, the more comfortable you should be in later life.

The good news?

If you're at least 22 and under retirement age, and earn £10,000 or more, you should already be in a workplace pension scheme.

Not sure if you are?

Ask your employer.

Let's talk pension types, in 20.

There are three main types of pension in the UK.

These are paid by the government when you reach retirement age, based on your national insurance contributions.

These are set by employers.

When you pay in, they do too!

A popular choice when you're self-employed.

You pick the provider, and where your money is invested.

You can have multiple workplace and personal pensions, but you can only have one state pension.

Let's talk agreements in principle in 20.

Agreements in principle are something you've probably heard of.

They’re the first step in the mortgage process, And give you an indication on how much a bank would be prepared to lend you.

Based on your income, spending and debt.

They come with no guarantees, but they won't affect your credit score, and they can also help sellers take your offer more seriously.