Staying Resilient Through Life Changes, With Clare Francis
🎙 A former financial journalist, Clare Francis is an expert in consumer finance, having spent eight years working on national newspapers and seven years as Editor-in-Chief at MoneySuperMarket. She is currently a Savings and Investments Director at Barclays and a Board Trustee for the Money & Mental Health Policy Institute.
💸 Clare is passionate about getting people to think about why it’s important to invest and overcome whatever barriers stand in their way.
💥 Today on The Wallet:
1️⃣ Clare talks about her personal career journey, what it’s like to step into the unknown and take risks, and how she balances having a career with single parenting.
2️⃣ Financial security is important to everyone, and Clare shares how she came around to investing and planning for her future, what her goals are and how she’s working toward them.
3️⃣ It’s important that you know your limits and learn how to put work to bed when you need to, so Clare discusses the importance of prioritising her life with her son, as well as her mental health.
***
You can listen (39 min) and subscribe here:
***
stepping into the unknown
“You’re not stuck into this rigid plan. There’s a perception that every year, in theory, if you get a pay rise, that means you need to start saving more. But it doesn’t have to be like that - the key thing is that you have to do what works for you. ”
Clare started her career at The Times in 1999. Her background is in financial journalism, and she has over 15 years’ experience of covering consumer finance. Clare spent 7 years at MoneySuperMarket before being approached by Barclay’s during her maternity leave.
It was admittedly scary to make the change. Clare lost her husband in 2011, and she had the baby on her own. She didn’t have a second income to fall back on, and had to think about the cost of childcare as well as many other elements that come into play with being a newly single mother.
After turning to friends for advice, Clare thought, ‘what’s the worst that could happen?’, and took the plunge. Stepping from the known into the unknown, especially after taking a year off to be with her baby, wasn’t easy, but it all worked out for the better.
Making changes and taking risks requires bravery and fosters confidence, and Clare is glad that she took advantage of the opportunity presented to her, despite initial reluctance.
More adjustments were to come with the pandemic and working from home as a single parent.
Clare notes that the one silver lining that came out of the pandemic is the normalisation of working from home around kids. It’s no longer an issue for (most) employers to recognise that their employees have lives outside the workplace.
2. the importance of financial security
The reality of working full-time and taking overnight trips for work when you have a young baby is that you need to employ a nanny, and nannies are not cheap. Taking the job at Barclay’s however, meant that this was something Clare was able to afford.
Having financial security removes a significant amount of stress and pressure, especially when you are the sole provider for your children.
As a child, Clare learnt from her parents that going into debt was only okay if you could afford to pay it off, and Clare think she’s been fortunate enough to have carried through a positive money mindset that didn’t land her into huge financial trouble.
Clare started investing because her job involved writing around finance. The amount of money she has been able to put away into a Stocks and Shares ISA has ebbed and flowed over the years.
Ultimately, Clare’s savings goals are shaped around providing the best she can for her son, as well as potentially retiring early. For Clare, financial security is all about having options.
Clare has a workplace pension, and makes additional contributions to top it up. She also takes part in the Sharesave scheme, and the rest she does ad-hoc. When Clare first had her son, she didn’t have spare cash as everything went towards childcare.
Taking money out of your investments is okay — especially if it’s for a good reason. Initially reluctant, Clare stopped investing and took the money out to spend it on full-time childcare. Once the childcare costs dropped, she went back to investing.
It’s obviously important to only invest if you have that surplus money that you need to put away, but if you find yourself starting to invest a certain amount only to have to reduce it — don’t stress, it’s fine! Investing doesn’t have to be linear.
3. know your priorities and limits
When Clare begins to feel overwhelmed, she allows herself to take ‘me’ time to wind down and clear her head.
At this point in her career, Clare feels like she’s in a good place. It’s important for her to stay challenged, but she is very much looking forward to enjoying the ‘now’ in her job as well as with her son.
Free time is hugely important to Clare. Being able to ‘put work to bed’ and take an evening, weekend, or holiday off and spend it with loved ones is a big priority.
Learn to spot your triggers and signs that you’re stressed and overworked. If you find yourself going through a dip, take a step back and re-balance. Always make time for you, especially if you’re struggling.
RESOURCES:
You can follow and connect with Clare at:
Twitter: @clareefrancis
*** Our podcast partners PensionBee are also offering you a £25 pension contribution (£20, plus £5 in tax relief) when you sign up. To claim the offer, follow this link: https://www.pensionbee.com/vestpod. Capital at risk. ***