The Vault with Financielle - I Suddenly Have Money - What Should I Do? | The Vault Episode 23

Episode Date: July 31, 2024

Send us a textWelcome to The Vault with Financielle.In Episode 23 of The Vault, we discuss the controversial opinion, ‘Everybody should do unpaid work’, before diving into our listener dilemmas:"My husband wants to relocate for a new career" "I'm receiving a large sum of money and I don't know what to do"We also celebrate a listener paying off a £7600 loan, and cheer her on in paying off the rest of her debt 🎉🥳💸If you’d like to share your money win, head to the community in the Financielle app or email [e-mail] your (totally anonymous) money dilemmas to [e-mail] and we may feature yours on a future episode 💌Visit https://www.financielle.co.uk to join our community!Chapters:00:00 Lost Microphone Mishap01:03 Tea Preferences at Financielle HQ01:38 Welcome to The Vault03:10 Unpaid Work Controversy12:16 Dilemma: Relocating for a New Career15:09 Train Fare Woes16:28 Wine in a Can and Northern Banter17:15 London Living and Relationship Sacrifices19:14 Navigating Career Moves and Life Changes21:45 Community Wins and Financial Milestones24:45 Receiving a Large Sum of Money: What to Do?33:58 Final Thoughts and Listener AppreciationThe Vault is an entertaining yet thought provoking podcast that answers our community’s dilemmas and confessions surrounding women and money.Visit https://www.financielle.com to download our app.Watch the podcast on YouTube.Follow Financielle for more:▶︎ TikTok▶︎ InstagramAbout Financielle:Financielle is a female focussed finance app helping women to take back control of their money, ditch debt, increase savings and invest in their future.Recorded and Produced by Liverpool Podcast Studios▶︎ Web ▶︎ Instagram▶︎ LinkedIn

I was on the BBC this week and I lost my microphone in my hair. Really? Yeah. They were like, this doesn't happen a lot. I was like, I have a lot of hair. It was like in here somewhere and it's clear. And they were looking and I was looking and I was like, you're going to have to try and find it.

And we found it at the end. So then they needed to tape a lot. I saw they're a shampoo. Yeah. I saw they did a reel of like all the like people presenting and their drinks and I didn't know if it was on the day that you were in and I was like waiting for you to come up and be like a tea with literally no milk is that a coffee or a tea I made my own recently just because you know what I'm like with my tea specific and if it's too much milk it goes down the drain.

When you're stuck on TV, on live TV with 1.3 million people and you don't like the brew you've got. You just don't drink it. Taking a sip like. Dying with a cough you're like nope, not touching my mouth. We have a lot of different tea style drinkers in Fan and Shell HQ. Lydia is a cup of milk kind of gal with Lucy, your milky brew. Your herbal princess. Not with milk.

Cup of milk. No, no. And you and I are proper builder's brews. Yorkshire tea, hardly any milk. Just how it should be. What about sugars? No. No.

No. Are you a tea tea milky tea and sugar gal i could be oh yeah there's sugars to distract from the awful taste of the milk just milky sugar drink milky real just get a bowl of cereal welcome to the vault with financial this is a safe space where we talk all things life and money and no topics are off limits. Good morning. Good afternoon. Good morning. Good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening. No idea what time it is, but hello. Hello, everyone. How are we doing today? Fantastic. We're all in kind of like a monochrome cream black situation. We always are. We have no individuality. I'm just like chameleons emerging to everyone.

Literally. We all end up looking like each other. I'd love to look like Lucy. I'm going to stick with you. When I was on there, when I was at the BBC this week, I was on and then I worked from there during the day because I had meetings in the city

and got changed into like my black dress and my cream linen blazer. And everyone was like, oh my God, you look really different. I was like, this is what I look like.

This is me. You put me in colour temporarily and everyone's like oh my god like you look really different I was like this is what I look like this is me you put me in color temporarily and it's weird and no everyone in my life's like oh wow this is what I look like and um all the presenters are always in color aren't they so I bet when they go back no one recognizes them because they're also like colorful and I look like a member of the beautiful crew because I'm in my black leggings my black hoodie like all I need because that's the the crew will wear black so they don't get seen oh yes I'm like this is exactly what I like wearing can I swap places and wear this outfit but yeah for the fact you don't you someone's asking to you go make me a brew oh no no I work here like I would do it just to give them a strong groove. Yeah. I'm into the talent. I'm actually kind of a big deal.

Okay. Speaking of work, I've got a controversial opinion. Everybody should do unpaid work. Oh? Is this like character building thing? Tell me more. Do you mean like at a job?

So I'm thinking start of your career, just started out. You want to get into an industry. Maybe it's a creative industry. Doesn't pay. Amazing. A lot of opportunities come from volunteering. Unpaid internships. What were you thinking about that?

I just think the hills. The hills. You're going to have to follow. Team Vogue. Olivia Pal Palermo she probably got paid not that she needed she probably could afford not to be paid but that type of like it's a creative industry that's really competitive fashion I worked I did um an internship it was paid because it was part of the university it was a foundation degree so one of the years you go and do your work as a placement, a paid placement. But so many people I imagine

would have done that year for free as well. If it was a really prestigious fashion house in London or whatever it might be. You hear people saying they go and move to London and they work for people for a year. And I feel like there was a big expose a few years ago in the press whereby they were finding out people working for big high designer brands like Couture people just working for free everyone's fighting to get into that

industry free in london sounds like hell on earth it's so hard because i'm really conflicted because sometimes being able to do a little bit of work and it's it's different if it's for a long period of time and you are grafting and delivering value to a business or a brand and you're not getting paid for it if it's because you want to try it out you want to learn a little bit more you want to see if it's the right industry for you and you kind of approach your business and say like would you mind if i came in for came in this week and i'll help out a little bit but the helping out is to learn not because it's not your short start oh do you want to come in i'm short staff you can learn a bit and i'm out is to learn not because it's not your short staff oh do you want to come

in I'm short staff you can learn a bit and I'm not going to pay you if it's pushed from the individual and it's for a defined short period of time and there's nothing expected of you during that time you're just there to sit and watch and learn it can be really really valuable it can be when it crosses the line into work like proper work and it's required and you're on you're on a shift or you you're running around after people for an extended period of time that's not that that should be agreed I think that's what it is when it's it's hard because the lines get blurred because it's so competitive that people employers do can't help but take advantage because there's just so many people that are

fighting for these internships, especially in prestigious careers, that the lines probably do get blurred from an employer perspective. Like Laura said, whereby if the person's saying, oh, I'd kind of just come and do a week's work experience, a bit of shadowing, that's very different to then an employer being like, can you come in next week? Can you do it? Like when it starts to take in the piss, basically. I basically bigger brands and bigger companies won't do it now like it's you know it's it's recognized that from an insurance point of view from a health and safety point of view from a well-being point of view from it's just like oh it's just not worth it um but I can imagine in smaller industries or businesses it's like you look we've talked about it um was it last week on Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders it's for

the opportunity it's for the opportunity like you would do this for free because it's such a good opportunity like I think it might be a millennial thing do you know whereby Gen Z's we talk about a much more like they respect themselves a little bit more they stand up for anyone taking the mic like they're like no why would I do that? Yeah, that's a great opportunity, but I can go. I just thought there's an air of confidence in the younger generation whereby they won't take that kind of stuff lying down, whereas I feel like millennials, it was kind of expected for us to do that.

Working life is very different. We've spoken to other people who, like, employed the different generations, and it's a really fine balance between like presenteeism and staying late and and actually not staying late and but I'm trying to say I'm trying to think about what I'm trying to say what I'm trying to say here is I think there's a danger that you make over delivery and working hard and going above and beyond and doing things that you don't get paid for sometimes as a bad thing some of my best years when I was learning as a lawyer was out of hours it was doing photocopying but you were listening and learning and you were tired and

you're waiting for facts to come in about whether a deal would complete or not you were sent across town to go get a signature from someone and come back. You went to make the drinks for everyone. Like that's where you find out if you really want to do that job as well. You don't just get the good bits of the job because career is a long time. So you have to experience all elements of it

to know whether you're truly in the right place. And then those bits aren't paid. Can you come in and help on a Saturday? We've got a big deal on, let's get on the table. And you don't go yeah do i get paid for it you just like it's kind of part of the deal but that's on top of a paid environment so i do think there's a bit of a change in the amount of work of work ethic that we see in the media we see on tiktok and we see from linkedin love it oh yeah there's always a linkedin post from a lawyer but i love the respect on the other side of your own time and your own space and you know that i'm not doing what's free for you all like you know that i've you pay if you want me to do that

you'll pay me for it i love that yeah i think it's an individual situation it just genuinely does compare depend on the context the The hard thing, and you said this earlier, Holly, where things are competitive is, so much about employment is network, right? And for those people that do not come from a strong, if you want to get into finance and you know no one in finance, it is all Nepo babies. It's all the sons and daughters of this and that.

Private education, golf clubs, you know, my whole families are all friends. We all holiday together. And so it's really, really difficult when you're not from that environment. If you get the opportunity to do some unpaid work for a big brand that you would love to work for and you impress, that sets you up for life. So I don't want, it's really hard to say to someone, you should be like, oh, you shouldn't do it unless you get paid. That, as long as they're not being taken advantage of massively, I would advise someone do that.

I would. I'm so conflicted with this answer because I'm changing my mind every minute. Unpaid internships are really quite privileged, aren't they? Yeah. If you work in those like if you live sorry yeah and you're like oh my dad my dad will give you like an internship and you're like oh yeah you can see those people be like what a great opportunity of course I'm going to do that there's normal people that cannot afford to do that they can't they have to pay the bills

they won't be able to afford to get to it in the first place to travel where would they stay like yeah that's an additional level of privilege isn't it yeah to do unpaid internships especially for an extended period for a summer yeah yeah I know a lot of the um you know law firms accounting firms that they're paid summer placements and they're very very careful and particular about it um but if someone yeah if you listen you want to do a bit of unpaid work to get your foot in the door somewhere as long as you don't look after yourself and and understand what it's about it's about learning whether you like that career or not having a feel for the job and hopefully

meeting people because once you've met people you're in that circle yeah and give yourself a deadline don't let it keep getting extended extended extended be like i'm gonna do it for you know you can how long you can afford to do it for but don't be taken advantage of I think on TikTok I see a lot of people and it's a lot of like freelancers who kind of market to get people to be more freelancers sometimes I think they go too far this might be controversial but I think they go too far and it's like never work for free and like never do a task like an unpaid task that you might not get a job for but if you flip that round and you were going for like a full-time job interview and it's like yeah we've got a task we need you to go through this this this and this you wouldn't bat an eyelid at that but for a freelance I get obviously you're

not getting paid for that time but it's the same in the interview process yeah there's a balance between respecting yourself and not being taken advantage of but also sometimes you've got to and if you've got a little to make a little things in your portfolio of course they don't know what it's a risk for the brand yeah there's um and like this is true in life and with customers and with business i mean gary v talks about is it jab jab jab right hook and it's like you give you give you give you give then you go for the punch and it's because sometimes that's what it takes and like you said said, respect yourself, know why you're doing it, know the boundaries. But if that can get you into a really impressive door, who am I to say you shouldn't do it? But like for the brands that do provide unpaid internships for extended period of time,

shame on you because that's labor and it's work and you should be paying people appropriately for it. And you absolutely can't afford it like even even like a token minimum wage or living wage for if they're doing the right amount of work and they're delivering then just pay them agreed okay dilemma number one my husband wants to relocate for a new career. Hi girls, my husband has recently received an incredible job offer that requires him to relocate to another city. This opportunity comes with a significant pay rise and the potential for an amazing career advancement, which initially felt like a relief after being the main breadwinner for the last few years.

Not that he's ever made me feel pressured, but I put a lot of pressure on myself to earn as much as possible. I'm deeply rooted in our current city Edinburgh with a stable and fulfilling career that I've worked hard to build. My job provides a good income and good benefits which contributes significantly to our household finances. We're currently renting but I've been able to put away money to buy a house which we are planning on doing in the next year. The cost of living in the new city, London, is much higher and I'm concerned about the financial impact if I can't find a comparable job quickly. Side note, there is no way I can work remotely unfortunately. We currently have a comfortable lifestyle with savings, no debt and obviously our plans to buy a home. The move would mean potentially delaying our plans due to the higher living expenses

and the uncertainty of my job situation. My partner is so excited about the move and sees it as a necessary step for his career. He's hopeful that I can find new opportunities in a new city but the job market is super competitive and I worry that the strain of relying on one income is in such an expensive place even if it's just temporary. We've considered compromises like maintaining long-distance relationship for a while with him commuting back on weekends but these solutions seem expensive and unsustainable. I fear that choosing to stay might drive a wedge between us while choosing to go might lead to money stress and resentment. How you navigate this is there a way to balance his career aspirations with our financial stability and my need for a secure income i'm torn between supporting his dreams and preserving

our financial health what should we do to find a path that works for both of us oh it's like a rom-com okay first who's playing who j-lo came to mind j-lo i mean in j-lo in edinburgh i love edinburgh as well i know stay in edinburgh done move on no offense london Stay in Edinburgh. Joke. Joke breaker. I wonder what the job is. Yeah. She can't work remotely, so it's obviously something that she's got to do in person.

Oh, it's a tough one. And then vice versa, like his job, it's one heck of a train journey. Yes, but so many roles in London now are hybrid that even budgeting one day a week train fare, and it's a really long day. Can we just talk about the price of the train fare? But from Scotland,

it's not as bad. It's really annoying. We literally live one hour and 50 minutes Warrington Bank Quay to London and Euston. How much was the last train journey that we went on?

Like £500? It was over for... For not seven hours on? Like £500? It was over for... For not seven hours in London and back again. It was. It was off-peak and people were really annoying on the train because they were really annoying. She was tired.

And then we were in a quiet carriage and we definitely weren't in standard premium first. Just a quick one, Laura here. If you're wanting to take back control of your money, ditch debt, make better decisions and build wealth for the future, the Financial app is for you. With Financial, you can track your spending on the go, hit your money goals faster and create a realistic budget that you can actually stick to. Not to mention, you'll be part of an exclusive money community who share tips, offer support and celebrate your successes along

the way click the link in the description to download financial and start your free trial now this is your sign to take control of your money today okay i'm done let's go back to the vault and then we went up to edinburgh first class we had a great time first class meal this lady came like literally comes from the kitchen and brings you a hot meal like Hogwarts wheel cut away like Hogwarts

I mean the first thing that came to mind sweet trolley there's no chocolate frogs there was wine in a can

I had my land pollies she was driving to the other end yeah we liked to train to Edinburgh so stay in Edinburgh everything's fine sorry we're all northern here we're all gonna point have you seen that compilation I think

it's on Corrie and it's all like all the time someone's mentioned London they all go London yes yes I have seen that what do you want to go there for I think when Katie Thistleton moved to London for Radio One she kept, everyone kept sending it to her. She was like, everyone stop sending me the Corrie meme, I know. You can't get gravy. So it's a no. I like going to London, but I certainly feel for all you guys that live and pay to live in London.

It is a treat, that kind of math equation. So I'd be really interested to know whether there's any level of hybrid for him because it's much more accessible now for the city of London. Lots of people are popping in for one day a week, work from home the rest of the time. And so if that's not possible for her,

then maybe it's something that can be explored. It's a real crunch time in the relationship. So if that's not possible for her, then maybe it's something that can be explored. It's a real crunch time in the relationship. What I found, and I think Michelle Obama talked about this really well with her and Barack, when she was like a leading partner in a Chicago law firm. She happened to be married to a senator. He then obviously made his way forward and became president and she had to give up her career. But she talks about it's never equal there's always going to be times when sacrifices need to be made lots of people do

it if their partner um has has the higher income job and it demands the city move and that's what we've talked about in this episode it could be um like we've had a friend who um we've got friends and one of them played sport. And so our, they were both our friends, but the woman had to travel around the country, you know, move home, away from family. Put things on pause, raise the children. Yeah, put whatever she wanted to do on pause. But it was a timing thing.

And I'm sure it's gone back the other way now. And I'm sure it's all her fun time. But there's just going to be times where you have to have those chats and that doesn't mean to say that they have to sit down and go okay well what pal like because it's a big thing if to up and move your life and they've not got a house yet and and sometimes like time moves really quick so delaying something for a period of time if she's up for pausing her job, moving job, getting a new job, because she doesn't, she sounds like she's just stressed about the one income thing, not that she's not, I love my job and I really don't want to leave it. So that could

be a nice new adventure for her. It might not be that she walks into the same salary of job, but if his is that good and such a good opportunity, she could take a different job for a couple of years. But again, put that, like, let's assess it. Let's do it for a couple of years but again put that like let's assess it let's do it for a year let's give it a year and then let's see how we feel um at least they've not got roots in either place I like the idea of giving it a deadline and be like okay let's give it a year and a half in London you can establish your career and then you could take that back to Edinburgh if you still want to move back there buy a house you've got that experience in London you'll probably walk into a job if you're like

got that experience yeah the key will be if the career is something that can come away again because imagine I'm going to doomsday here

so sorry listeners I know you've written in but imagine if you move oh my god it's just like off Sex and the City when she moves

for Jarrett like for Smith she goes I did all this for a man oh yeah I made sushi I thought you were talking god it's just like off sex in the city when she moves for jarrett like for smith she goes she goes i did all this for a man oh yeah i made sushi i thought you're talking about when um she goes to paris for the she does that as well yeah no it's when she moves to california and puts her career on hold and moves across the way from all her friends and all family and goes she's just resentful in the end she's resentful and so but imagine if he then doesn't want to move back and she does like it's yeah it's accepting that it's all scary what you don't

have you don't have regrets so you don't want to you know him being 10 years on and you've got kids and you've got a house and you own and you wish you'd have gone to london so that could be a nice little thing but again defined period of time but the danger is you might both end up liking it and it it's not the danger the danger is one of you might not like it but it's you just have to have those conversations where you go is this really what you want to do because if you really want to do it I will support you on the understanding that there's risks involved in moving you home leaving your job but then big city like it could be fun it could be fun if you i think if you start off with a deadline you can't always plan whatever but yeah having a fun year in the city before you settle

down and buy a house yeah make a list of the things that you could do if you're ever going to do at any point in your life no it's going to be now yeah it isn't it isn't now or never kind of i would say i don't like it when people say that but realistically you've not bought a house you don't have children like now you've got the money for the house already saved up yeah you've done so well that doesn't need to be touched no well it might do in london so the house is off the table oh let us know what you do let us know what you do and um would love to hear maybe come to the community guys in the app and we'll put this in there tell us what you

would do what advice do you have for this listener because this is so sensitive and some people might have some amazing success stories of we did this we moved it was the best thing we did we then stayed there or it might be we didn't go we regretted it or whatever you can always come back if it doesn't work you can always come back yeah either alone or together let us know there's no place like home as they say okay time for a nice community win thanks to financial and the encouragement of this community, I've just paid off

£7,600 loan to my parents for a new car and it only took a year. Oh my God. Nice one. Your parents will be so proud. So be nice enough

and kind enough to lend it you in the first place. Like it's such a big thing for families. Imagine how proud you'd be as a parent. That last payment when you paid it to your mom and dad if you slide it across the table going I've done it oh that's it yeah what a ledge that's iconic well done if you'd like to tell us your

head to the community in the app or email it to the vault at financial.com it's time oh god I know it's gonna be me is that because well i was two weeks ago and then lydia you had to do last week didn't you yours was really good to remember all right so obviously it's going to be a five star okay hang on hang on sorry go on oh yeah sorry it's because i'm so scared she's been preparing the pressure so we would love it if you could give our little podcast

a review five stars again preferable if it's any lower don't review if it's any lower don't bother

and I'm going to pick on Holly what would you give a review I would give a strong five star chic presenter chic guests chic sofa I would give a strong five star. Chic presenter.

Chic guests. Chic sofa. Chic sofa. We're supposed to be here every week. We're replaceable, let's be honest. Five out of ten. Five out of ten! Oh my god!

The pressure is absolutely... 2.5 stars. She's crumbling. It's a five star review. But a ten out of 10 pod. Just about salvaged. Never ask me again. The pressure's got to me.

You're a troll. I told you, off the cuff I'm fine but to present something 5 out of 5. Can't live without. That's what I'd write. Adding things on. Forever.

I'm going to type this all out. And put it on Instagram. Amen. Vote for Holly. Okay. I'm receiving a large sum of money and I don't know what to do hi I'm looking for some advice as I'm really stuck on what to do for the best I'm receiving a large sum of money imminently 20k I'm currently on universal credit I'm a single mum to two kids but I feel like once I've declared

this money to the DWP they will just stop my claim and I'll be left to manage my money on my own. What's the DWP? Department of Work and Pensions. Okay. I was torn between applying for shared ownership to get on the property ladder, but now feel differently about this. I'm privately renting

and my rent is quite low, fortunately, and I have a good landlord. I have a housing benefit overpayment of £8,500 which I'm torn between paying it all off or only paying a third off as I feel I could use this money for savings and other goals etc. I have set up a standing order of £100 per month with my local council and this is 0% interest so I feel like I could increase this monthly payment to get it down quicker. My children need new mattresses and I'd like to get passports for myself and my son and maybe treat us to a few things that we wouldn't otherwise be able to afford so I will probably have

£15,000 left once that's all done. I don't want to waste this money as I won't get it again but I also want to be 100% debt free so I'm struggling on what to do for the best. As much as I would love to be the master of my own destiny with money, I will struggle each month without the UC payments. And I don't want to use this money for groceries or bills, which is what will happen if my claim is stopped. I also have £2,000 credit card debt, which will be paid off straight away. And I will pay off my phone debt. I also intend to pay off the rest of this year's household bills and save the amount for next year in a separate account to use for next year's bills.

Any advice? Welcome and thank you in advance. There's so many technicalities with this one because we're talking about using universal credit and so I guess I want to caveat that with everyone's different, they've got different personal circumstances. If you've never had universal credit before,

you might not understand what it's like to have to rely on it. If you do have it, you might have some nuances and some extra benefits and stuff. So this is going to be a generic answer. I know she's got a very specific question. And however you came into that money, it's a really good opportunity to use it in the way that you're saying, which is to do better for you and your family. And unfortunately, when you do come into money like that,

benefits are meant to be reduced. It's not meant to be a penalty. And I know what you want more than anything is to like have the savings and you don't want to blow it on like, you know, a cruise, you know, you want to feel stable. You want to feel supported. You want to have some money in your back pocket and then still have universal credit income. And honestly, that should be commended. I felt we should call that out because you, you, you don't want stuff. You want security. And that's, I wish there was a space where people could have emergency savings, not as much as that, but some emergency savings and income. And with the universal credit, you can have that. So what you're talking about doing is paying off your debt.

And again, completely personal. The way I'm going to answer this, and you do the same, Holly, is like, what would you do? Because it's so different. I would want to pay it off. I would want to, it's there. It's not going anywhere. It sounds like your income levels are not typically high. You're not going to have an opportunity again to pay off so much at once. So I would want to clear the credit card. I would want to clear the housing overpayment. I would want to

commit to myself that I'm never going to go into debt ever again. You've talked about a couple of items that you might need as a family, whether it's a mattresses and maybe a little bit of enjoyment. I think what I would say is do not treat this like a lottery win. Like this is not, this is a chance to treat it like any other money that's coming into the house. It's not special. It's not a gift. It's not something to be blown. It's something to be put into a plan that you would have done anyway. You've just got it a lot quicker. And you may find, but I would recommend speaking to sisters advice, if you send the money to these responsible things, and like you say,

you don't use it for bills and stuff. No, you do, because it's income. Like it's not meant to be, don't think that because you get a gift or a bespoke money like that, that you have to go to something fancy or impressive. Real life is about nailing the basic payments. She may find and it speaks to

his advice about it that it's legitimate spending so paying off the debt and buying like some basic stuff like mattresses and not blowing it can be reflective of responsible spending and she might drop into the threshold where her savings are definitely below 16, but even close to the six. And if they're close to the six, you can reapply for universal credit. And if you can document and evidence everything that you spent it on, prove that you were paying down debt, prove that you were looking after your family, you could end up in a position where you become debt-free, you have a small amount of emergency savings, you can reapply for universal credit and start on the path to building momentum not having those debt payments not having that stress and if you can't reapply

for universal credit for a period of time if you are precluded from doing that at least you do have savings to rely on and that's what they're for you know we can't we can't double benefit if you will that the point of benefits to help us yeah and i think my view would be to think a bit bigger like do you want to be on universal credit for the rest of your life it's a very privileged position for me to say do you want to be on universal credit the rest of your life i'm not saying it in that respect i'm saying in there there is a chance here for you to build some really strong financial foundations with some of the tips that laura's just said we can workshop it you're paying

£100 overpayment on this debt that you need to pay off clear that debt that's £100 back in your expenses every single month that you've got to work with as well credit card minimum £2,000 debt gone the minimum credit card payments go phone bill gone another it could be £50 a month I don't know just to guess that could be like £ 15 that could be 200 pounds a month going back to you that's your money that's for you to do what you want to do with every single month and and when I say that you do want to do be on universal credit for the rest of you this is just see it as a really good opportunity to get ahead well like Laura said it could have taken years to get into this position you're giving a bit of a fast pass not many people get this like a fast pass it's giving disney it's

like passing passing go and collecting 200 pounds yes but use it wisely don't don't don't buy like i don't know what can you buy yeah and you know what again privileged position but don't feel that this is a you need to treat the children and treat you don't like treats can come in lots of different forms a treat can be a chilled out mum that isn't stressed about money. It can be, you know, a takeaway and it doesn't need to be gifts and stuff. You can treat yourself every month if you do a budget properly.

You've just got yourself 200, by doing all that, you've just freed up 200 pounds a month. Work, you should have treats every single month. Work it into the budget. It doesn't have to be a bougie. I know so many people that have had a lottery win or an inheritance gain. a sale they've just you ask them what they bought with it

they can't tell you no they're like I literally couldn't tell you and it's such a waste imagine being debt free being in a really good situation and having excess cash every single month for you to decide what to do for you and your children. It's a great opportunity and people would, you know, fight for the chance to kind of get ahead and do that. It's really exciting that you've got this opportunity. And I feel like this is such a typical question that we get, which is overwhelm. There's too many options.

I want to do this, I want to do this, I want to do this. And suddenly you're given this opportunity with some money and it's a really good time to slow down, pretend it's just normal income. It's got an extra zero on the end and it's a really good time to slow down pretend it's just normal income just got an extra zero on the end and it feels a bit big let's pretend it's small and go what do we want okay you said you want to be debt free you said there's a couple of emergency things that you really want to get for the family and you've said that you want to be able to get head-on sinking funds and bills and that's a really good space to be and again these are normal things so I would make a

list one at a time, tick them off and build that mini plan for you. And you get to a point where you look at it and go, yeah, that makes sense. Run it by someone at Citizens Advice or the Department of Working Pensions and go, look, this is what my plan is. Because you're declaring it, you're sharing it.

You're going to be very honest and transparent. This is what our plan is. Once I've done this, is there an opportunity to reapply for universal credit for whatever period of time that is like say we don't know

her situation we don't know if she's off work she could be off it for years she might never need to go on it again or she may need to go on it

whether the children's are a certain age or whatever it is but like Holly said it's a fast pass and it's going to be really exciting to see what you do next

it's that dopamine hit she can either get a quick dopamine hit by buying some stuff that she wants or she could have a really long-term dopamine hit for the next few years whereby she feels financially well every single month when an expenditure comes in, when there's a fixed expense or an unprecedented bill that wasn't planned for. Do you want to feel well every single month or do you want to feel like just drop some cash here, time hit I feel like I would want the long-term one yeah

I agree after all that big answer I just my point is I agree any final words for Ecclesiastical on this fine Thursday not today no thanks for sharing. Every week, everyone's sharing the vulnerable kind of worries, questions, wins. It's what gives us, you know, the chance to do this pod every week.

So just thanks for messaging in with them and giving them to us. That's all for this episode. The Vault is now closed. The Vault is just a chat around life and money topics and we are not giving financial advice.