Robin is in his late 20s and lives in East Anglia where he works in the care sector and is also a part time, self-employed musician.
The pandemic was a stressful experience for Robin because it hit his income hard. Learn how he reduced his anxiety by using Moneyhub to get a single view of his money, all in one place.
““It’s super powerful. The anxiety I feel is about not knowing when things are coming in and going out””
Despite being in his late 20s this self-employed musician and respite care worker talks with insight beyond his years about his experiences with money throughout the Covid pandemic.
He explained, “I had income that was fixed and regular and then I would get lump sums from gigging which is seasonal work. As you can imagine, the entertainment industry took a beating from Covid so I put more time into care work. I was a lot poorer, WAY poorer, though the seasonal work is picking up again”.
We asked him how money made him feel during the pandemic and how using Moneyhub helped him.
“A lot of my friends have salaried jobs whereas my income is a mix between seasonal and agency work so money is a lot tighter. Sometimes I am paid weekly and sometimes even randomly. And because I’m an anxious individual it plagues me if I do not have an overview of my money. The anxiety I feel is about not knowing when things are coming in and going out”.
He continued: “That’s why I use Moneyhub. I really need to know where money is going. Moneyhub enabled me to look at my finances whilst also being automatic. I’m not really a detail man and what I like about Moneyhub is that so much of it is automatic”.
Our Moneyhub user is not alone in feeling anxious about money. In February 2021 the FCA reported that nearly 28 million UK adults exhibited characteristics of vulnerability. We wanted to know more about how he had coped. He told us:
“When you know about your money things become less scary. When you understand things it's less fearful. Money is one of those things that feels elusive, especially when it's all digital and we are not physically handling it day-to-day. Whilst I understand the benefits of it being digital it can be hard to manage money when it’s a number that’s floating around somewhere so having a tool that tries to make it more tangible, especially pooling it all together, is really helpful”.
And what role did Moneyhub play? He laughed when he explained his experience:
“I tried using another app but it mildly sassed me and made me feel like I’d been naughty. I just wanted to know the figures! I was dealing with a lot less money so the ability to connect all my bank accounts is good as it allows you to see everything. In fact when I first linked I was amazed at how easy it was. When I do gigs and the money comes in it identifies all the different pots and different banks individually so it does not get too messy”.
He went on: “A feature I really enjoy is where you show one graph on top of another to compare money spent this month to last month. I also like being able to see all my regular monthly payments on one single page. You click and it's there, even if it's not a proper payment it spots any regular outgoing and lists it”.
Looking ahead, and with the pandemic (hopefully) behind him, we asked about his financial plans for the future. He smiled and said:
“For a long time my goal was just to get to the next month but things are changing now and are becoming more comfortable. Being at one with my money in the app today means I am starting to think more about the future. My goals are to pay for my wedding, help my other half learn to drive and then one day, maybe get a mortgage”.
Given his experience managing a tight budget we asked him what words of advice he could share with anyone in a similar position.
He said, ”if you are not good at saving, and God knows I wasn't when I was younger, you have to start with an amount. Just see what you can do without twenty quid a month because the habit is harder than the amount. Knowing where you are with money is not just half the battle. When you can see the numbers you’re already 70% of the way there because you can see the possibilities. Even if it’s bad news, when you can see your money in one place it's no longer an imaginary enemy. And if it’s good news, you can relax. You have to know the numbers though”.
And on Moneyhub’s role, he concluded: “Moneyhub does a lot of things right. I don’t think there’s much I can say is missing. At least as a layman who is not a financial advisor or an investor. I’m just a guy trying to make sure his money goes well”.
