Presenter – Dan Lane
Life is full of times when things change, whether that's for better or worse these moments are all opportunities to take stock, reassess and maybe change direction.
Susan
There has been such huge big changes in my life, moving to the UK was a huge change for anybody, it's a big change because you're leaving family. But I was moving country that was huge, but it was the right decision. And then also moving from London to Kent, it was a huge thing because at this stage now you have children and you have to think about um are they going to be happy.
Abby
I kind of underestimated how hard it would be, I thought oh it will be a doddle I'll just get on with everything like normal it'd just be like..., you know but actually it's quite hard work. Well I think mostly sleep, because actually not sleeping anymore so …but having a baby but yeah.
Sam
Yeah.
Abby
And I think we were a bit in doubt about our financial ...
Sam
Yes.
Abby
... side of things with Una.
Sam
It's something that we..., obviously we thought about and discussed but until it actually happens, it didn't hit as much until I looked into our bank account and thought ...
Abby
Yeah because our money's been tailing off over the last few months.
Lloyd
The most obvious changes have been in work life um which have been positive decisions on, on our part. We got married along the way which actually was quite a surprise in that we had spent so many years feeling ... that was never a possibility and not being too concerned about either, and then Civil Partnership came around and um it felt like a good way of cementing finances uh apart from anything else
Jeremy
But mainly it was a good excuse for a party. [LAUGHS]
Kristina
In university I wasn't able to save because I wasn't working unless it was a summer job to save for my next term or my next year, and then after graduating I've ... constantly had to readjust my goals because of moving around quite a lot. So I had to constantly pay these lettings fees, or oh great I've got a massive deposit I've gotta pay and my first month's rent at the same time. It was quite stressful trying to juggle that with also my long term goals and I've had to make the choice of, well I've got to do this right now because it's an immediate requirement, but being mindful of my long term goals.
Amber
I think we are primarily focused at the moment on putting down a deposit for a house, and that's quite an all consuming thing at the moment because our respective direct debits are quite substantial parts of our salaries, so we haven't really been able to put aside that much money towards other future things at the moment.
And it's funny with life goals, I suppose you don't really think properly about the ones beyond those before..., until it's actually happened. So I suppose we'll put down a deposit for a house and then we'll be able to start thinking about goals beyond probably.
Sam
We are saving for Una even now, but I think where, where we're at with in our lives at the moment we can only save a finite amount of money, whereas maybe further down the line we'll be in a better position to save more for Una. So I think the habit of saving for Una is strongly embedded for us, but how much that is I think will, will change, yeah exactly.
Jeremy
We feel very fortunate that we're both pretty fit and healthy. It's not something we're necessarily that much in control of, but uh we take care of ourselves, we're both physically active. I think also perhaps some of the decisions we've made along the way in terms of changing jobs, to be doing more of what we want to do, I think that's contributed a lot to our, our mental well being too.
Lloyd
Yeah absolutely, and to some extent financial well being underpinning the whole lot. A lot of stress comes from not having enough money and we've been fortunate also in that we're happy with what we have.
Kristina
I've got a great job, I work for a really established firm, um its given me the stability and the opportunity to save quite aggressively as well. I want to be able to save without having to lean on anyone else. Where I am currently, it means that I can take control of my own financial independence.
Susan
When you lose so much in life you are discouraged, you are disappointed, you are demoralised and you really feel you can't go on, but you can. I have done it, I'm here. It's difficult, but you've got to motivate yourself and know that you have the power to go back to work if you have to. It starts from something even if it's putting away something every month no matter how little. I never knew I had the inner strength that I had, that's the positive out of this experience.
Sam
For whatever financial situation we're in at the moment, Una just completely overrides everything.
Abby
Yeah.
Sam
She really brings something, she brings this whole house, she completes the house for us, doesn't she? She completes the whole unit.
Lloyd
Sometimes in life it can be quite volatile in itself, things happen that are beyond our control and they can feel a bit scary, but if you step back uh and think uh you can turn them into an opportunity. And I was thinking um particularly of your redundancy.
Jeremy
Yes, that enabled me to do something that I'd, I'd long dreamed of doing, um but I doubt whether I would ever have found the energy to go and do it without that trigger. So that was very positive in the end.
Lloyd
Yeah.
Kristina
Life is unpredictable, there's always gonna be change and you can't control that, so all I can do is be as financially prepared as possible.
Presenter – Dan Lane
We should all prepare for changes in our lives if you can, but sometimes it's just not possible, what matters then is being flexible and making sensible adjustments. Watershed moments can be an opportunity to reassess and get things back on track, and it's not just about reacting to what happened, planning your finances will help you navigate the future. Whether that's a change of career, and having more children or retiring, the steps you take today might allow you to make more of your life tomorrow.
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