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When Sarah Reeve became engaged, she told her fiancé Lee that he needed to clear his debts before they could get married. Reflecting on their financial situations when they met in their early twenties, Sarah explained, “I was paying my mortgage and bills whereas he was giving his mum some rent.” At 45 years old, she was firm in her stance, stating, “I told him I wouldn’t marry him if he had any debts.”
With that in mind, the couple planned their wedding for two years later, giving Lee time to repay a £2,000 bank loan—equivalent to £4,000 today—he had taken out to purchase a car. Once Lee was debt-free, they combined their finances into a joint account, with Sarah managing the household’s bills, savings, and budgeting. Lee acknowledged his own financial shortcomings, saying, “You can sort it all out and take charge with money because I’m rubbish with it.”
Sarah’s approach to managing finances is representative of a broader pattern, with research from St James’s Place revealing that over 80% of women are actively involved in daily money management tasks such as budgeting and household expenses. Sarah earns £24,000 working part-time in insurance, while Lee spent 27 years working in maintenance at the same factory, earning around £26,000 before being made redundant four years ago. He now runs his own property maintenance business, earning roughly £30,000 annually. As a couple of 25 years with two daughters aged 19 and 21, they view their finances as shared. Sarah emphasizes, “It’s very much our money rather than mine or yours which is really nice especially as I took four years off work when we had children.”
Despite handling the financial responsibilities, Sarah admits it has not always been easy. She wishes Lee would take on more ownership, adding, “I feel like it’s all down to me.” Lee is not particularly focused on money matters and is happy to let Sarah make decisions, quipping, “I met you and I had nothing, so I don’t care if I have nothing.” Sarah, meanwhile, has felt the pressure of planning for their future. Though they had “a little pot of money,” she admits, “I never knew what to do with it, I didn’t have the confidence and I wouldn’t even know where to start.” Supporting this, St James’s Place research involving 6,000 people found only 44% of women feel confident making changes to investments independently, compared to 63% of men.
Encouraged by her widowed mother’s positive experience with a financial adviser, Sarah decided to seek professional guidance herself. Initially, she believed she didn’t have enough money to justify consulting an adviser, thinking, “In my mind, I thought you needed half a million to do that.” During their meeting, the adviser reviewed the couple’s spending habits, risk tolerance, and future expenses, including holidays, a new car, and home improvements. Sarah says this support gave her greater peace of mind and helped shift their focus from just saving day-to-day to planning for the long term
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