Insights from Podcast #6: Working parents and their relationships with money

The final episode of the Futureproof series explores the realities of balancing a young family with work, and the solutions parents are looking for from financial service providers as they navigate this testing environment.

Remi Sade (left) and Alex Holder

• Parenthood forces people to engage with their finances in a different way — and people want tools that reflect that
• Working mothers in the UK are 40% more stressed than the rest of the population (UK Household Longitudinal Survey, 2018–19)
• “We realised early on that we had to talk about money more. I would say we sit down every other week and talk about our finances. It’s simple. Having a child means you can’t hide from your finances anymore” — Alex Holder
• “I’m trying to help my daughter respect money, rather than fear it, and understand that you can make it grow — but only if you know what to do with it, and where to put it” — Remi Sade

A combination of an uncertain economic climate, limited access to home ownership and difficulties surrounding long-term saving has meant many millennials are choosing to start families later or, in some cases, not at all.

Working parents in this demographic face vastly different challenges to those before them — from new co-parenting dynamics, to concerns around social media and technology, to balancing fast-paced careers with family time.
This is reflected in the tools they look to use to help them stay on top of their family’s finances. The industry can no longer rely on the ‘nuclear family’ model to shape the financial products it develops; instead, businesses must take into account the new dynamics of modern parenthood to ensure these products are resonating with real people in meaningful ways.

Episode 6, the final one in the series, sees Jamz speak to Alex Holder — author of Open Up: The Power of Talking About Money — and writer and podcaster Remi Sade to discuss these issues through the lens of finance.
The panel dissects what it means to be financially confident as a family, as well as the tools and products already available to support those new to parenthood.
We dive into some of the key insights below.

"Parenthood forces people to engage with their finances in a different way — and people want tools that reflect that"

Alex: “We realised early on that we had to talk about money more. I would say we sit down every other week and talk about our finances: What is coming in? What’s coming up that might be a struggle? Are we going to make rent this month — and what are we going to do if we’re not? It’s simple. Having a child means you can’t hide from your finances anymore.

“One thing I have had to do is really pay attention to my spending triggers. There is so much pressure put on new parents to buy certain things from certain brands; all they are are status symbols. These subliminal influences can really impact your monthly budget; it’s important to be able to get a handle on them.”

For parents, planning for their child’s future is almost as much about transferring knowledge as it is wealth

Remi: “I grew up in a socio-economic environment where stable incomes were not commonplace. We didn’t talk about money as a family, and I think this resulted in me feeling detached — and a little bit fearful — when I thought about my finances. I’m trying to help my daughter respect money, rather than fear it, and understand that you can make it grow — but only if you know what to do with it, and where to put it.

“These aren’t conversations we are necessarily used to having with banks. People aren’t approached about credit cards until they have a certain amount of money coming into their account; until this point, they may not understand the impact — positive or negative — these can have on your credit rating.”
At Bud, we wanted to understand how banks and fintechs can better serve their customers from across the financial spectrum — as well as identifying the tools needed to help them achieve their goals. To hear more on these issues, check out the full episode here.