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MNHQ

What small things make a big difference when life changes? Tell Money Advice Service for a chance to win a £300 Love2Shop voucher NOW CLOSED

273 replies

AngelieMumsnet · 11/09/2015 13:42

Money Advice Service would like to find out what small things make a big difference to Mumsnetters when they go through big changes in life.

Money Advice Service Say "Life is full of unexpected changes, but sometimes we're not prepared for how they might impact our money. More than one in six working families would receive little or no help from the state and see their income drop by a third, if the main earner became unable to work."
"Here at Money Advice Service, we help people manage their money by providing free and impartial advice. We're really interested to know what Mumsnetters find helpful when going through changes in their lives."

So, what have you found helpful when going through significant changes in your life? Maybe you've found having savings particularly helpful when going through career changes? Or perhaps you find it reassuring to know that you have protection insurance? Maybe it's as simple as knowing you have someone in your life who can support you if you're going through a difficult time?

Whatever small things that make a difference to you when life changes, Money Advice Service would love to hear about it.

For more information on securing your financial future, check out this Money Advice Service guide.

Everyone who adds a comment will be entered in to a prize draw where one Mumsnetter will win a £300 Love2Shop voucher*.

Thanks,
MNHQ

*Provided by MNHQ

OP posts:
k8vincent · 22/09/2015 21:49

Amazingly generous family and anonymous friends who have shared what they have with us. There were the times when we didn't know whether the rent would be there that month. We had used up the savings.

We lived in a small flat and made the most of our space, spent a lot of time in the park and spent as little as possible.

But ultimately, I'm convinced it was, as Signoritawhocansway says, because we were provided for by God - through those amazing friends and family.

hunhun007 · 22/09/2015 22:23

Friends and loving family!
They are the best support you can have when everything else falls apart

NegativeIron · 22/09/2015 22:51

The CAB

Knowing that charity and pound shops can provide amazing things.

Realising that as regards presents for small children and cars, new to you is just as important as new. And on cars, you don't suffer instant depreciation if you buy second hand.

Being brilliant ( smug boast) at using up left overs. And using my slow cooker and hot pot. And knowing that I can cut our food and heating bills fast.

Having a new bar of soap in my bath, that has hardened off in my linen cupboard to make it last longer.

Seeing my home made lavender bags and realising my Christmas presents are on the way.

Having a small nest egg that my family doesn't know about.

Knowing my sister would come to my rescue as I would her.

steveyh · 23/09/2015 01:26

Having an emergency fund and the willingness to cut back on non-essential items is a great start, in times of financial uncertainty.

matphil · 23/09/2015 02:04

Having good friends and family around me is all that I need to help me, they always make me feel better and offer their words of wisdom.

bellaboo194 · 23/09/2015 10:05

We are lucky enough to have help from both sides of the family, would be lost at times without it.

BodieBroadus · 23/09/2015 10:43

Small amount of savings, family (not rich but willing to help in a crisis), and being in a good partnership with DH where we have the same opinions on money matters all help.

juju3 · 23/09/2015 11:12

When buying online always use a cashback site - even small amounts add up - after all its free money

sootyo · 23/09/2015 12:18

Having some savings in the bank , is very reassuring

skyeskyeskye · 23/09/2015 17:22

since my divorce I have had to cut back in many ways. One thing I always do now is to use a cashback site. This either puts money in DD's CTF, or is used by me to buy Christmas presents. Makes a huge difference at Christmas time.

Orangeisthenewbanana · 23/09/2015 19:02

DH and I both have life insurance policies which would pay off the mortgage if either one of us died. He also has income protection (I couldn't get because of medical history). Although I'm currently PT, I'm very glad I stayed in work as it would mean I could up my hours/do private work if DH were to lose his job or be unable to work for any reason. We have good savings and currently live within our means. We are not big spenders, but could probably cut back more if we really had to. And apart from our mortgage, we have no debt.

I'm sure either set of our parents would help us out with a loan in an emergency, but that would be our last resort.

ISeeIt · 23/09/2015 19:17

As cheesy as it sounds, a sense of strength and grit has helped me pick myself up and find my own way out of some very hard times. Faith in one's self can go a long way

Kangakate · 23/09/2015 20:10

My family would love to be able to help us out if things got tough, but I don't think they would be able to, my husband an I try to enjoy ourselves but be thrifty at the same time and we try to save as much as we can when we can

idleweiss · 23/09/2015 20:32

I save money in case we find ourselves in an emergency monetary situation, but luckily we have family who would help us out, even though they are not well off, my mum saves a bit of money for us & our DCs just in case.

Gill81uk · 23/09/2015 22:03

I love having the security of having savings so that we have a little cushion if things goes wrong. I always like to do surveys to build up amazon vouchers so I don't have to spend real money on kids presents, and they dont lose out.

LizB62 · 23/09/2015 22:41

Savings help but it's hard to save.
I save £20 a month in a couple of different long term accounts that I try and forget about and they've come in handy a couple of times. Once when I was trying to work out how to afford to pay the mortgage while I was on maternity leave (welcome, just unexpected!), again 12 years later when I was made redundant, and again when my ex-husband decided that he didn't want to pay child support any more....

LookAtAllThesePhucksIGive · 24/09/2015 00:59

Just something small like a hug, cup of tea and my favourite chocolate bar. I can't afford to pamper myself. Have never had a holiday, never set foot in a spa or had a massage etc. Sometimes one of my kids will surprise me by doing all the above and setting my foot spa up and surrendering the remote. :o

kevinb1967 · 24/09/2015 08:11

When I was made redundant recently, we gave ourselves a financial overhaul and redid our monthly budget spreadsheet. We are now able to survive with less income and should have looked at our finances before we actually did.

strewthie71 · 24/09/2015 10:28

Just as you feel you are getting ontop of things financially, the threat of interest rates going up slaps you in the face and you worry about mortgage repayments. Any good easy to understand advice on mortgages and getting the best deals is always helpful, but it has to be in laymans terms otherwise I shut off and end up doing the wrong thing.

katieskatie82 · 24/09/2015 12:32

having goo family and friens who are always reay to listen and give advice x

ThomasRichard · 24/09/2015 14:03

On the financial side, small things like knowing how ISA's and savings accounts work really helped when it came to organising my own finances. It would be great to get a 'welcome to being an adult' pack on your 18th birthday :o with a ticklist of things to consider: budget, savings, pension (increasingly important these days it seems), house buying/rental costs, what to set up on moving into your own home etc. I was lucky to have supportive parents who made sure I understood savings and bank accounts before I left home, but some of the other bits were a mystery to me.

feeona123 · 24/09/2015 14:37

Luckily my husband has a good wage, but I know if something happened to his job then we would be in trouble. I do have savings which are there for that very reason but it is nice knowing my parents would help me out if we ever needed to ask them for short term help.

grannybiker · 24/09/2015 15:59

Probably off at a tangent, but having been skint at the start of our marriage and learning frugality, we're now pretty comfortable. However we seemed to find it hard to "Treat ourselves"
The not small thing that changed this was a cancer diagnosis at the start of the year. Months of gruelling treatment have followed, but attitudes towards saving / spending are now VERY different and we're much more likely to splash the cash.

suzyq50 · 24/09/2015 16:19

Having an authorised overdraft helps when money is stretched for a week or 2. Makes me feel at ease knowing there's a buffer when I need it.

theshooglypeg · 24/09/2015 17:00

I've recently learned the value of seeking professional advice. When we moved house, I was shocked at the quotes I found online for taking out a new mortgage life insurance policy. So I asked my friends and got a recommendation for a local financial adviser, who pointed out that there was no need for both myself and my partner to be covered for the full mortgage amount - as long as we were each covered for half of the mortgage, that would provide sufficient protection if one of us died. We ended up paying less than half than the cheapest quote I had found - and didn't have to pay the adviser a penny, as he worked on commission. So glad I asked!