Meet the top cash-savvy women to follow online who will help you get out of debt or double your savings
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There are times we all wish we'd be given better money education, and these are usually the rough times.
To help you get through a rough patch in your finances and even turn your fortunes around, we speak to the money bloggers who have been there themselves.
Whether they were forced to move back with their parents or struggled to get on the property ladder, our money mavericks have now come out the other side, wiser and wealthier.
Here they share tips they learned on their skin on anything from how to shop savvier - don't shun those yellow stickers, ladies - to managing your bills and the right way to ask for a pay rise.
The Pay-Rise Guru
When doctor Nikki Ramskill let her finances get on top of her six years ago after splitting from her ex, she was forced to move back in with her parents. “My mum and dad are frugal, but I’d ignored their advice to avoid debt and save money,” recalls Nikki, 33, who lives in Milton Keynes.
“I’d let my ex-partner deal with the finances and when I walked away, I lost everything. I was sick of feeling like I had no money and, as a GP registrar, I’d constantly see the shame, stress and worry people carry due to bad financial management. That’s where my blog idea came about.”
Nikki’s website, set up last year, isn’t just about general money woes, as she wants to empower women to make smart choices when it comes to their money and careers.
“The current coverage of the gender pay gap is good because it’s highlighting the need for companies to do more about how they are employing women,” she says.
“But as women we can do more to help ourselves, too – and that starts with ditching the embarrassment that comes with discussing our salaries and worth.”
Even other doctors at her hospital have been following Nikki’s advice.
“One colleague got in touch to thank me for helping make a positive impact on her confidence with money, which made my week!” she says.
Nikki’s top tips:
- When asking for a pay rise, show your company the value you bring – have you improved performance in your team? What did you change to increase efficiency? Can you show you’ve made monetary gains or savings? Let your bosses know. If they say no to a rise, ask for a review in six months’ time or consider a move. Could switching to self-employment mean higher earnings?
- If you’re looking for promotion, network with people who are doing what you want to do. Don’t be afraid to ask them for mentoring – they’ll likely be flattered and you’ll gain invaluable insight.
The Millennial Must-Follow
Trying to get on the property ladder or even start a savings pot can feel impossible for millennials, thanks to stagnant earnings, student debt and huge rental costs. That’s something journalist Iona Bain, 30, was all too familiar with only a few years ago.
“Working as a musician in my early 20s, I was struggling to make ends meet after the recession,” she explains. “I soon realised our generation was having a rough time, and my friends and I were all really worried about what the future held. But nobody was talking about it – so I decided to.”
Iona, who splits her time between Edinburgh and London, set up a Gen-Y focused money site, and is now one of the UK’s best-known commentators on millennial money, going on TV and radio to dish out advice she wishes she’d been given, such as the basics of investing or how to bank ethically.
She won Money Blogger of the Year at the 2016 Santander Financial Journalism Awards, has written a book called Spare Change about how to budget and save, and last year set up the Young Money Agency, advising companies.
Iona’s top tips:
- Flip your financial thinking. Instead of saying you’re bad with money, try telling yourself: “I can be good with money – it’s down to me to improve my financial situation. Prioritising this will change my life for the better.”
- Get a prepaid card. Setting up your bills, essential Direct Debits and a savings payment to leave your bank account as soon as your wages go in, then shifting a set amount of money on to a prepaid card (which you use like a debit or credit card), means you physically can’t overspend, even if you try.
The Food Frugalist
As an airline crew member, Kelly Eroglu, 42, from Cwmbran, is used to regularly dishing up impressive meals in first class. But several years ago a difficult break-up led Kelly to apply what she’d learned in the air to her own life.
“When I left my partner, I was forced to move from a really comfortable lifestyle abroad back to my parents’ house with my children, starting from scratch,” she says. Determined to make delicious, healthy food for two small kids, then aged five and seven, on a budget, Kelly launched Reduced Grub in 2016.
Balancing the blog with her airline job, Kelly went on to win the 2016 and 2017 Budget Food Blogger Awards, with her tips featured regularly on TV. “I started the blog to prove you can ‘eat posh for pennies’.
On our budget, the only things we could afford were the likes of turkey dinosaurs and waffles, which have little nutritional value, then I began shopping in the reduced aisle of the supermarket.
As someone who always loved cooking, I taught myself how to turn my budget ingredients into tasty recipes, using tips from friends, cook books and online. We ate fresh, tasty food like home-made burgers and sweet potato fries, as well as one-pot dishes like veggie shepherd’s pie or mackerel and spinach pie.
My children couldn’t tell the difference – although they sometimes tease me about my basket full of yellow-stickered items! Still, if I can feed a family for under £50 a week, who cares?”
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Kelly’s top tips:
- Always have spinach in the freezer and lentils in the cupboard – they bulk out curries and casseroles, packing them with iron for next to nothing.
- Try switching up your weekly shop. If you usually go to Sainsbury’s, Tesco or Waitrose, try Aldi or Lidl, or go “own label”. Chances are you won’t notice any difference – apart from in your purse.
The Freebie Finder
When finance journalist Charlotte Burns found herself jobless and homeless in 2011, she became determined to find ways to live as cheaply as possible.
Fast-forward seven years, and Charlotte, 32, now shares her deal-hunting knowledge on the blog she started in 2016, and with nearly 30,000 Twitter followers all clamouring for advice on living better for less.
“After graduating in 2009, I moved to London and rented a really expensive flat when I didn’t have a job, which meant I quickly blew all my savings,” explains Charlotte, who’s since worked at Moneysavingexpert.com.
“I did find a job, but then I was made redundant and ended up sleeping on friends’ sofas.
"It was a real wake-up call and I became obsessed with money-saving sites like Bitterwallet.com and Skintdad.co.uk. I learned how to see gigs for free and where to find coupons for cut-price food.
"Once, I got £60 worth of fresh fruit and veg for £15 by combining offers on Amazon Fresh, and I had a free steak in a restaurant thanks to an offer on social media.
"It gave me control when I felt powerless, and that’s what I want to share.”
Charlotte’s top tips:
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If you’re redecorating, look up the Community RePaint network, sponsored by Dulux – it’s a scheme facilitated by local councils, where you get free or really cheap unwanted paint (Communityrepaint.org.uk).
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Join sites like Showfilmfirst.com, which fill out seats in theatres (because no performer wants to look out at a half-filled audience!). I’ve seen Tom Jones and Guns N’ Roses, as well as West End shows such as Let It Be, all for free.
The Debt-Buster
A volunteer at her local Citizen’s Advice Bureau since 2001, Sara Williams has seen it all when it comes to spiralling money problems, from serious spending addictions to people on the brink of losing their much-loved homes.
That’s why in 2013 she decided to set up Debt Camel to help people struggling with loans or credit cards.
“I wanted to answer real questions and worries, not just give lots of stuffy facts and legal jargon,” says Sara, 58, from London.
“My aim is to give advice on everything from dealing with bailiffs to improving your credit record so you can get a mortgage.”
As a member of the Institute of Money Advisers, Sara’s savvy articles – she uploads two or three a week – regularly lead readers to comment on how much Debt Camel has helped them, and her no-nonsense advice has been praised by National Debtline.
“One person posted on my blog recently that he’s receiving a £10,000 refund for an insurance product he was mis-sold,” she says.
“It’s amazing to know my advice is paying off.”
Sara’s top tips:
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Don’t panic if you’re contacted about an old debt you haven’t made any payment to for more than six years. The creditor probably can’t make you pay as it falls under The Limitation Act 1980. But don’t ignore it, or you could end up with a County Court Judgement, which allows creditors to claim back money they’re owed. Speak to a debt advisor one-on-one for help.
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Always pay more than the minimum for credit card repayments or catalogues. If you only pay the minimum, it can take 15 or more years to clear a balance. Even just an extra £5 means that next month you’ll be charged less interest.
The Single-mum Saviour
In 2016, Francesca Henry spiralled into thousands of pounds of debt when her relationship ended and she became a single parent. “It was a real struggle and left me feeling so trapped,” remembers Francesca, 28, who lives in Bristol with her six-year-old daughter.
“Unable to afford childcare but with endless bills to pay, I needed to make extra money from home, so started to research practical ideas that could improve my finances.”
Using the tips she found, Francesca managed to pay off all her debt last year and decided to start a blog so she could help others do the same, offering sensible advice on how to survive on a low income.
“Even though I’m out of debt, living on just one part-time wage can be tough and I want to make sure my money is used wisely,” says Francesca, who juggles her blog with a part-time office admin job alongside studying criminology at university and raising her daughter.
“Last year my little girl went on her first holiday abroad, which was one of my money-saving goals,” she adds.
“My future targets include saving for a house and ensuring I’ll be OK for retirement – things that just wouldn’t ordinarily be possible on my budget.”
Francesca’s top tips:
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If you can’t afford childcare, there are plenty of ways to earn cash with your kids by your side – anything from mystery shopping to dog boarding and answering surveys. I’ve done them all with my daughter beside me. Or earn cashback while you shop using sites like Topcashback.co.uk or Quidco.com, which pay you when you click through to retailers’ sites via them.
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Follow a zero-based budget. It means allocating all your income to a ‘pot’ – whether it’s £100 to your holiday fund, £100 to debts and so on – until you’re left with £0 unallocated. So instead of wasting what’s left after bills, you’ll see your savings grow.