June's Newsletter

Sandwich Generation

I am of an age where I could be known as part of the sandwich generation. This generation are people caring for both children and elderly parents. I just have the children, my Mum died when I was 33 and my Dad when I was 2.

1.3 million Women in the UK are caring for both generations and it has particular impact on their wellbeing. These women are trying to hold down jobs at all levels, probably menopausal, keeping a relationship alive (maybe) and facilitating for their teenage children.

They are also trying to eat well, not drink too much all the while being told they need to lift weights, look after their pelvic floor, go for mammograms, sit in terminally boring meetings at work or for good measure, run their own business!

These are the strains these women are under.

1. Time management and stress - Caring for someone whether you are there in person for helping sort them out from afar takes time. Time on the phone organising things, sitting in hospitals waiting for appointments or just providing company. For a woman who is already working full time, has a family and maybe doesn't live near their elderly parent this is an extra stress burden.
2. Finances - The sandwich generation of women may need to take time off/ drop their hours at work or stop work altogether to care. Whether they are self employed to employed, this has short and long term ramifications for their financial health.
3. Physical Health as mentioned above, mid life is menopause time. The symptoms are different in every women, but it heralds another level of tiredness. Add this to the stress of caring and the stress of having no time to rest, illness and burnout lurk.
4. Lack of support - social care in the UK is at crisis levels. Knowing how and where to seek help is difficult. It can also be expensive to hire help, this places an extra burden on the carer, especially if money is an issue.
5. Legal and Administration work - I have written many times about the lack of financial literacy in the UK and the impact it has on our lives. Many elderly women who are being cared for, have no idea about their money. One daughter I talked to claimed her Mum had never used a cashpoint. Another daughter said her Dad won't talk about money at all as he thinks they are going to steal it from him! Legal affairs also take time to navigate and are expensive, and social services are piecemeal having been strapped of cash and investment for years.

It seems like a perfect storm of stress. If you are one of these women, and you are struggling with your wellbeing, it may be time to ask for help, for yourself.

Lasting Powers of Attorney

When I have a client, my first few questions concern LPAs and Wills. What would happen if...............?

Whether the LPA is for themselves or if they are part of the sandwich generation above, for their elderly parents. Most of the mid life women I meet, do not have them in place for themselves nor for their parents.

A Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document which allows a person to appoint one or more people (attorneys) to make decisions on their behalf if they no longer have the mental capacity or are no longer able to make independent decisions. There are 2 types. Property and Financial Affairs and Welfare and Medical. If you do it yourself through the OPG ( Office of the Public Guardian) it costs ￡82 for each and takes about 6 months to register.

If you sign and register to be an attorney for a loved one, these are your roles for the property and financial affairs LPA.

1. To manage finances, including bank accounts, paying bills, collecting payments and making investment decisions.
2. To handle property including buying or selling property, arranging repairs, paying mortgage or rent.
3. Accountability, keeping records of all of the above for the Office of the Public Guardian.

It is a big job.

But what is the cost of not having the LPAs in place at ￡82 each? These costs are not just financial but also time and emotional stress.

If there is no LPA and help is needed, a Deputyship Application to the Court of Protection is required.

This may take as long as 6 months while they assess suitability and the situation. The cost of this application is ￡371. You will also incur extra costs. These will vary but are likely to include, at least, an assessment fee, a Deputy bond, a supervision fee, the cost of a solicitor, medical evidence expenses and the cost of the court hearing.

Ongoing reports need to be submitted to the court during the deputyship and there may be limits to the authority a person has to make decisions.

So there is the choice. We hope we will never get ill enough to lose our independence but what if......................?

Budget

I am not a fan of a restricting budget. Why? Because it sounds and feels to me like a diet, and I like my food. I also think it is difficult to stick to a budget if the bills you receive every month fluctuate as wildly as they seem to have over the past couple of years.

I do like the thought of living a rich life though.

I was asked in a session, "what percentage of my disposable income should I put away for holidays?" I answered, "how important is travel to you?" There is no magic figure, I had no figure in mind when I went plant shopping. I can get a bit over enthusiastic about flowers though so took my son with me as an accountability partner. I also have a small car. That helps!

So the type of rich life everyone wants is different. Some may want a big house, some may want a yacht, some may want to be able to shop in Waitrose, some may wish to have children, some to return to university and some may wish to live in a small stone house with flowers in the garden overlooking the Italian Dolomites - oh that's me again! So I use two different methods of working with my money. Firstly a values based budget, buying local and spending on experiences and flowers! and I like a zero based budget. A zero based budget is giving every ￡1 a purpose (including savings and investments), leaving the figure in your bank account at zero. What works for me though may not work for everyone. How do you decide how to use your money?

Facebook

I am trying to build an audience on Facebook. I have not used Facebook before as I am quite new to Social Media. I have already found that I need to be selective in my feed! I would like to build a community. My ideal client hangs out on Facebook and I would like to gather them together to share what I have learned about money and finances over the past few years. If you would like to join me in Facebook my group (1) Money Matters Mum! | Facebook

please do. You don't have to be a Mum (I can be the Mum in the group) but I invite you to join if you'd like to find out how to look after your financial health. For now and for later.

I am a Financial Adviser Qualified Coach and Educator, available for Financial Wellbeing Corporate workshops and one to one or couples’ money coaching. My why is to empower more people to financial wellness through education and awareness, to plug the financial advice gap. My expertise is personal finance, money mindset and ideas for wealth creation. Contact me directly if you think I can help you find funds to live a generous and adventurous life.