Bhavi’s money lesson: start young

Investing isn’t about getting everything right. It’s about starting – and learning as you go. 

The best lessons often come from lived experience. So, I’ve been chatting to members of our Wealth Management service to explore the influences that shaped them, the paths they’ve taken, and what we can all learn from their journeys.

Here’s Bhavi’s letter and what she’d tell her younger self.

Dear Bhavi,

I’m writing to you just a few months after your 16th birthday. I can picture you reading this while you’re pinning your name badge to your McDonald’s uniform. In a few minutes, you’ll be reaching for your coat and heading out of the house ready to start your shift. Congratulations on getting your first part-time job.

Of course, it had been on the cards for a while. It was your dad who encouraged you and your sister to start earning while you were still at school. He’s been showing you the value of working hard and saving money for as long as you can remember. Ever since he came to the UK with very little money, he’s worked long hours to build a future for himself and for your family. He’s even talked to you about the importance of saving into a pension as soon as you can. A pension! The day when you’ll need one of those seems like an eternity from now. Trust me, though – in a couple of decades you’ll be really pleased you started early.

Over the next couple of years, as your wages start building up in your savings account, you’ll develop a real interest in how best to invest them. And at the age of just 18, you’ll open your first Stocks and Shares ISA.

A word of warning: during the early years of investing, you’ll make a few mistakes. (Relax: we all do). One of those rookie errors will involve panic-selling your investments when you see them drop in value. At your age, £200 feels like a lot of money to lose, so it’s completely understandable that your instinct will be to try to cut your losses. Don’t worry. In time, you’ll gain more confidence and learn to ride out the natural ebbs and flows of investing.

We’ve only talked about ‘Teenage Bhavi’ so far, and I’m sure you want to know a bit about ‘Grown up Bhavi’. I won’t spoil all the surprises – I’ll leave them for you to discover in your own time. But I will say that you’ll fall in love and marry a man who shares a similar attitude to investing as you. (It’s probably no surprise to learn that you’ll both be working in finance.) After the wedding and honeymoon, you’ll start thinking about how you want the next chapter of your life to unfold.

Not long after that, life will move on in the most wonderful way. I’m now a mum to a one-year-old little boy. And becoming a parent has given Dad’s words an entirely new meaning. Being responsible for someone else changes everything. It’s no longer just about making the right decisions for yourself – it’s about laying the groundwork for your child’s future.

I think about Dad and how his quiet determination, his steady guidance, his belief in starting early and staying consistent helped shape me. I want to have that same kind of impact on my son. When the time comes, I’ll teach him the same lessons about earning, saving and investing. But for now, while he’s still small, my job is to do everything I can to help him start life on a firm financial footing.

There’s so much he may one day need help with – from education, to getting a foot on the property ladder, to navigating whatever retirement looks like in sixty years’ time. Who knows what the State Pension will even look like by then? What I do know is that the habits you’re building now – the discipline, the long-term thinking, the resilience – will shape the way I prepare for his future.

Well, I’d best let you finish getting ready for your shift. As you clock in, just remember you’re laying some great foundations for the future. I’m proud of you – and, as a new parent, I know your dad is too.

Love,

Bhavi.

About Bhavi

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