It will be 25 years in April since the Treasury recognised that wives are not their husbands? chattels and introduced independent taxation of spouses. But many women remain reluctant to engage with financial reality and rely on their partners to deal with pensions, mortgages and other money matters.
A new ebook aims to help women stand up for themselves. Your Best Friend?s Guide to Cash, written by Kara Gammell and published by Harriman House, describes eight simple steps to make the most of your money.
Unlike many other books, this is not just for people who already have cash to invest, but also for those who would like to accumulate enough to do so.
Packed with facts, but jargon-free, it could prove a gift that keeps on giving for wives, daughters, goddaughters and granddaughters seeking financial independence.
For example, Gammell explains how she saves more than £2,300 a year thanks to childcare swaps with another mother. Contrary to recent news reports elsewhere, there is no need to register with Ofsted as a childminder unless money changes hands. Kara told me: ?It is a great way for mothers to save cash and feel a bit more comfortable about going back to work. When our daughter, Audrey, was a year old, I was shocked to learn that it costs £53 a day for her to go to nursery ? so I had to get creative with a good friend. All we did was split the costs of two extra high chairs, travel cots and a double buggy, which cost £180 each in total, or just 3½ days? of nursery fees.?
It just shows that personal finance is personal first and financial second.
