How do you become financially independent?

[Catlady0808]

I always see advice on here telling women to be financially independent, but how do you do it?

This is a genuine question. I have no idea how to be. I’m 32 years old, I’ve always worked, I’ve had office jobs but I’ve never earned over £23k a year. I’ve never earned enough to completely support myself and I’m really sad about it. Not to mention I know I’m in a vulnerable situation. I share rent/bills with my DP but could not afford to support myself alone in the town I live in.

I feel like it’s so easy to blame women in this situation but most jobs aren’t particularly well paid, and housing has become ridiculously expensive over the last 10-15 years whilst wages haven’t gone up. I feel like we live in an economy now where just to support yourself you have to be successful, you can’t just have a regular job anymore.

I have good GCSE’s/A Levels, no degree. I’d be willing to study. I’m not good at IT, Science, Maths (which I know are big earners). I have no idea what I could realistically do at my age.

Just looking for some advice on which careers someone like me at my age could realistically move into that make decent money.

How did you manage before you met your DP? An extension of that.

When I was supporting myself and living alone, my full time income was way too low for my outgoings so I had more than one job, I had my full time job and two part time jobs at evenings and weekends. When I moved in with then boyfriend and we were able to split the bills I reduced it to two jobs. With the spare time created by dropping a job I studied part time for several years and then got a better job. Which was better after I’d had DC and was a single parent as I had more earning power. Then I went freelance, became self employed and I’m still the breadwinner in the household.

How did you manage before you met your DP? An extension of that.

I never really have 😳 that’s the problem. I was with my first boyfriend aged 18-21 and we split bills, when we broke up I lived with my Mum for two years, met my current DP whilst living with her and moved in with him and split bills, we’ve been together for nine years.

What can you actually study though to earn more money? I know this might come across stupid but I have no idea. If I was good at IT I know I could easily just do courses on that but I’m not good at anything that guarantees you a good wage (£40k+) like STEM etc.

How about a sports physio? I know someone who did a few short courses and she works her own set hours for £70 per hour. She has a huge waiting list and has moved house a few times and had no trouble getting customers.

You don’t need to earn loads to be financially independent. I’m a year older than you and earn £1k more than the amount you say is the max
you've earnt. I’m single and that is enough to support myself on - I’m far from rich but I have enough to pay for rent and utilities on a one bed flat and have enough for a small amount in savings too. A lot is just confidence in knowing you’ll be ok, I didn’t think I would be when I split from my ex but I’m more than ok. I’m training in psychology and my aim is to earn more but it’s not a career I would urge anybody to go into if you aren’t really passionate about it.

Do you have a private pension ?

I’m pretty sure you can’t call yourself a physio without a proper degree qualification is she perhaps a sports masseuse? Still good money in it.

Ridiculous advice. Becoming a physio requires years of study plus an interest in and dedication to the work. A few short courses might bring a sports massage qualification but again that requires a desire to do the job and an interest in physiology. She might charge £70 an hour but she'll have insurance, equipment, NI and tax to pay, no holiday pay etc. Just saying become a sports physio is one of the most naive things I've ever read on here.

I didn't go to uni either but I earn double what DH does and have pretty much always been financially independent (we moved in together age 18!)

I was determined I wanted a "career" not just "a job" and that I didn't want children until I had worked my way up into at least a management position.

All of the post sixth form qualifications I hold (including a masters equivalent) I gained while working full time and all but one was funded by various employers.

Talk to your line manager. Tell them what sort of things you love about your job, which tasks etc. Tell them you would like to progress and ask what you can do to do that and ask how can your line manager/employer help you achieve that.

Even speak to people in your organisation at the next level up and as how they got there.

Talk to other departments, find out about what they do - there may be something that interests you more than your current role - secondments are a good way to get different experience.

A good line manager will support and even mentor you. A good employer will have career development and progression paths that allow these things.

If your current role has neither, look for a similar role or level of role at a different employer who DOES offer these things.

Becoming a physio requires a 3 year degree which is highly competitive to get on to. Sports physio is even more competitive after graduation and often requires further specialist training. Any patient-contact professional will also require indemnity insurance. OP could try doing a few courses to become trained in massage but this definitely not the same.as physio!

What does your current company do and are there opportunities?

What do you enjoy? What are your strengths?

I would look at degree apprenticeships

Do you have any savings?

What PP said. Ask at work what your options are for further education, if they aren’t supportive then find a new job that are! You will need to show you have ambition to move up to be considered so be brave!

Another option is a part time degree. You don’t have to look to the top 0.01% of jobs and subjects to be able to do very well. I think the first step is speak to your line manager. If they aren’t receptive take one of the above actions and look for a new job!

Do you think you and your DP will be able to buy in the future, if so buy in joint names and you’ll build up equity.
Try and build up some savings even if you can only put a small amount away each month.
Contribute to your pension.
Gaining assets is a step towards financial independence.
Where about on the Uk are you, have you looked at other office jobs? Could you have a chat with a recruitment officer and see if studying at home for anything will help your future prospects? I remember years ago my mum doing this.

I don’t think it’s specifically around salary. For me it’s having your own income, living within your means, not taking on debt, building some level of savings even if it’s just a few months rent/bills.

A few short courses to become a sports physio? I don't think so!

This is what I came to ask. It's not what you earn OP it's how you mange your money. Even on 23k if you share bills 50/50 that's a decent wage.

In the 9 years you have been together with your DP have you saved?

The higher up admin types I know have qualifications in business administration or management or something like that. Would your work sponsor you to do something like that? Do you like your current job enough to progress in it or do you want something different? There's loads of apprenticeships out there that your work could sign you up for. Do a bit of research on what's out there and how they work - I don't think they cost the business much money as in a lot of cases they've already paid via the apprenticeship levy so they may as well get something out of it.

I don't have a degree and earn a very good salary, I started in call centre work and progressed through team leader, team manager roles. Then moved into managing the more specialised teams like quality/training/IT service Delivery. Learning what the teams did as I went, self study using Google, free training materials, and asking lots of questions.

Look at your current role and what the next step up is, then talk to your manager about progression routes, mentoring, taking on additional responsibilities etc.

Well you could support yourself but you would have to lower expectations of some things.
I was financially independent on £4.50 an hour because I house shared and that was my compromise. But i could afford travel and parties.
Then you can also upskill and keep changing jobs to get more money. Which is what most people do.

Either look for a job in the company you work for which is better paid
Or
Apply for better paid jobs elsewhere

I know lots of people who have changed jobs since covid for better pay & better terms & conditions.

Have you looked at jobs in your area for councils, schools, hospitals for more money ?

dependent on where you live and the support you have but in my life women I know who suddenly need to be so have gone into; nursing, dental assistant, dental hygiene, pharmacy assistant, bookkeeping, accounting, teaching, electrician, realtor.
often time it wasn’t a passion as much as a need. They looked at income charts and went from there.

There are lots of fields beyond STEM that pay well. I’m not even sure that these are that well paid compared to financial sectors in the UK. You need to look at career progression in the field and the rates of pay. What qualifications are expected. If it is just a degree, do any old degree not a difficult one.

How to go about it. The first step to independence is to think this through on your own. If you want to climb a career ladder, you need to show initiative and self motivation.

If you want to progress your career and earn more you have be proactive. If you pick an entry level job and just coast along you will stay pretty much where you are and the longer you stay there just doing the job the less chance an employer will think you have the skills/ initiative/ ambition to want to progress. What are you good at, what areas do you need training to get better at, what's the next level? Identify the gaps, address them and push yourself.

If you want to stay in admin can you look at expanding your skill set - eg upping your game on MS Office, becoming a whiz at PowerPoint and Excel - these are always needed. Move into exec assistant work - that can pay from £22k a year at a charity to upwards of £40k in finance. From there you can jump to lower roles in governance or project management.

There are jobs which pay reasonable wages outside of STEM subjects.
Comms roles for example can be well paid. The NHS also has roles which can pay reasonably well which aren't clinical or research.

It's about looking for development opportunities, applying for more senior roles etc