YOU may or may not believe this but I am not in control of our household finances.

My husband sorts everything out in that aspect, for many reasons. He likes to save, it’s his thing. In one year he saved for a deposit on our house which was very sizeable.

He is fantastic with money, I suppose that’s because he has had to be. I’ve never really been involved for one reason or another, either because it just didn’t interest me, as immature as that sounds, but also because as a teenager I was in control of the money.

I worked and went to college and paid all the bills. It was a massive struggle. I was classed as my mums carer and I applied to the council for carers allowance for which they offered me £7 a month!

Our bills were £800, including food. That was well over 20 years' ago and we were living in a council maisonette in London.

We didn’t get by. It was hard. My mum would get doorstop loans to get me presents, but then I would have to pay it back every year. At 14 I was already in debt, it just didn’t have my name on it. Maybe that’s why I’ve never taken a keen interest.

No one ever taught me about money. My mother was the kind of woman that spent just because she wanted to, even when she couldn’t or shouldn’t. But now I really want to be involved.

The boys are of an age where it’s all about holidays and creating those special memories and if you’re not saving or planning then you’ve got no chance. So I’ve been doing my research.

I’ve got all the bills written down and my gosh. I do not know how people manage it. No longer are our bills £800 per month, which I obviously knew. But the price is eye-watering. We are ok for money so it bewilders me how the average family cope. We don’t have massive debt but the range of the bills and the amounts are vast and varied.

At 14, I never paid a mobile phone bill, insurances, or TV subscriptions. There are so many ‘new’ bills that are necessary for every day life these days that never ever used to be. I paid the council rent, TV licence, electric, which was on a meter and was £5 every week, and water. Then food for which I never really ate so that wasn’t much either.

It really makes you wonder what bills will be necessary in another 20 years' time. Which then makes you think about your children’s futures and how they will get by.

Will they be successful or will they struggle? It’s now that we need to instil a key work ethic into them for such a life.

It’s so unnerving and stressful and yet these are the very same stresses our parents had. Clearly not mine but still. We turned out ok-ish, didn’t we?

What are your tips and tricks to save money? Let’s all share. I am doing more research and will share my findings once I have clarity, I don’t want to give incorrect information.

It bewilders me how financials, feelings and personal preferences are all still not talked about even though there is so much more awareness.

We all just need to be more open. Not because you feel people will judge you, forget about that, but because we could learn something from someone else. However big or small. It might just be life changing. 

Jolene Wilson, Weston Mum.