Emma Waller worked with Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis to create the Young Money Matters textbook for UK schools
Emma co-authored the Young Money Matters textbook for UK schools with Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis(Image: Copyright Unknown)
A financial expert has shared one spending mistake every parent should seek to avoid during the summer holidays, as she issued her advice on how to ‘survive’ the school break when it comes to family finances. Emma Waller, from St Helens, runs Money Minded, which offers wellbeing training, workshops and guidance to anyone looking to improve their finances.
Emma co-authored the Young Money Matters textbook for UK schools with Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis, and she helps families across the UK to budget and manage debt, as well as working with financial institutions like high street banks.
On Tuesday, July 15, Emma is hosting a workshop to help families ‘survive the summer holidays on a budget’ at MADE to be MUM in Kirkby. Made to be MUM was opened last month by Samantha Clair, 31, who turned a derelict butchers shop into a hub for local families.
The workshop will take place from 12.30pm-3.30pm at Unit 18, St Chads Parade and will cover the best uniform sales, lists of where kids eat for free, local deals and tips on budgeting for the school holidays.
Speaking to the ECHO ahead of the workshop, Emma shared a piece of useful advice for families heading into the school holidays. She said: “We recommend that families create a budget for between now and September when the new term begins. How does that look? What does that additional spending look like? How much do you realistically need from now until September?”
Emma said families should factor in costs like new uniforms, increased food bills, trips and activities, plus their usual outgoings like rent and bills. This foreword planning can help parents to make sensible financial decisions during the holidays.
With weeks of free time to fill, Emma said parents can sometimes find themselves spending a similar amount to their usual Christmas budget on summer holiday activities and related costs.
The financial expert also warned parents to avoid making one key mistake when spending money this summer. She said families will often use “buy now and pay later” platforms to cover the costs of their summer activities, which she says simply delays the spending until September.
Instead, Emma advises parents use her advice at the workshop to help access grants they may be eligible for, as well as free activities and cheap deals that are particularly useful for anyone on a low income.
She said parents should ask themselves: “If it wasn’t on a buy now and pay later, would you be buying it?”
Samantha Clair at her play cafe Made to be Mum in Kirkby. Photo by Colin Lane(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
You can find out more about the workshop here.
Samantha had the inspiration to open ‘MADE to be MUM’ play café after finding it ‘impossible’ to find venues that worked for her as a working mum of three children under the age of four.
Her business has a play café on the ground floor where children can engage in imaginative play while their parents or carers enjoy a hot drink, a piece of cake and a catch-up.
Upstairs, MADE to be MUM has a workshop space which offers a full timetable of events offering support to parents, from pregnancy up until their children are aged five.
The classes include hypnobirthing classes, pregnancy yoga and sessions for bereaved parents, in an attempt to support parents at every possible stage.