My Golden nuggets letter to my daughter
Chloe we have talked about you getting a part time job next year and I know that you want to earn more money than the allowance I give you each week – your crop top and Costa addiction don’t come cheap do they! Babysitting would be ideal because of all your sporting commitments but sometimes life isn’t that easy and you have to make choices. It is always a balancing act and we can’t always have everything we want therefore you might need to cut back some of your sport.
I’d quite like a Mulberry bag but don’t think that is ever going to happen on my income so I make do with what I can afford. I have some advice for you and I hope your listening because it’s really important to me.
I want you to be independent and take all the opportunities that come your way. I want you to grasp them with both hands and a smile on your face. Like your upcoming Ardeche trip, I’m going to miss you so much for those 10 days but I will be scouring your social media to see you having fun and trying new things. Travelling is a great thing to do and there are still so many places I want to go to. Mexico is high on my list as it looks full of vibrancy and colour.
We can do these things because we save for them. I hope you see how much goes into saving for our big experiences and we enjoyed Disney Florida because we had saved hard for it and this year we are having a more low key holiday because we blew the budget last year. My golden nuggets of advice is to always pay for things upfront and you will appreciate them so much more. Like Christmas we always buy within our means, who wants to be paying things off months after you have done them?
Getting a job will be good for you and it will mean that you can save some, spend some and maybe even give some to charity like we do. We know through sponsoring our girl in Nepal that we are helping someone else get an Education and hopefully lift themselves out of poverty. We have a responsibility to others and I have brought you up to know that and I hope you continue to be that charitable girl with a big heart.
You have already learnt to budget which is why I give you your allowance in a current account yes of course I sub and treat you now and again that’s my job too! But we are learning life’s lessons. I know we are good role models when it comes to money just like all your grandparents are to your dad and me. I think it is important to have the same ideals over things like money, parenting and Education. It makes life less complicated.
My nanny used to say look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves and I too think that is wise. Basically if you don’t waste the little coins the big coins will keep growing. So maybe just limit yor Costa spending a little – remember we can make smoothies for just 12p!
We have been careful with money and we do not owe anyone anything (apart from the mortgage) it makes me happy that way and we don’t have to worry about the future then. That’s what I want for you and your brother and sister obviously. I want you all to be happy and to appreciate all you have.
Love mum x
2 Responses
Sound advice as always Emma
This is all very wise. I think finding a bit in the budget to give to charity is so important, too – sounds as though you’ve all got your heads screwed on, and that’s a great example to set to your daughter. On a completely different note, it was lovely to see you at BritMums Live!