Ask Financially Fearless – who are our money role models?

My grandmother. She was a typical 1950s housewife who got a monthly allowance from her husband to run the household. She would always squirrel away some of that allowance, much like most frugally minded women of that time. The difference, though, is that she didn't stash the money in a tin on the kitchen counter. She invested it in the stock market.

I remember very clearly as a child, her with the Sunday newspaper checking how the stocks that she'd bought had performed.

She was a financial revolutionary.

Maike Currie, Head of Marketing Campaigns and Content

Maike Currie, Head of Marketing Campaigns and Content

My dad was key in helping me find my financial personality, which then helped me form good money habits.

From a young age, lessons using pocket money taught me that being good with money isn’t about being rich, but rather about making the most of what you have. The phrase ‘a budget is telling your money where to go, not wondering where it went’ has resonated with me throughout my life.

Oprah Winfrey would make my list of celebrity money role models. Her ‘rags to riches’ story is an inspiration – particularly for young people. A self-made billionaire from the humblest of beginnings is evidence that hard work, discipline, and consistency can lead to success.

Clare Stinton, Financial Wellbeing Analyst

Clare Stinton, Financial Wellbeing Analyst

I'm really lucky to have grown up in a family with a lot of strong females who have shown me not to be afraid of finance, money and business.

My mum in particular taught me lots about money. When I was about five years old, my mum was a single mum, and I was begging her to take me out for Chinese food because that was my favourite.

She told me that we couldn't afford it that month. She was a business owner and things were a bit tight at that time.

I then told her that she should just go to the machine in the wall and take some more money out. She explained to me that she had to work to put money in the hole in the wall, which completely blew my five-year old mind.

But it's from that moment on that I really remember understanding money as a concept.

Sophie Lund-Yates, Lead Equity Analyst

Sophie Lund-Yates, Lead Equity Analyst

I’m going a little left field to say my money mentor of 2023 is Rihanna. Not only did she boss the Superbowl while pregnant and smashed the motherhood penalty. But she also performed with the cool calmness she is known for – she knows her worth and knows she doesn’t need a huge fanfare of performance to deliver a great vocal experience.

Laura Burridge, Marketing Lead

Laura Burridge, Marketing Lead

So, it's very predictable, but my parents are my money role models, because they saved for literally every eventuality. We had a frugal life growing up because they were busy squirreling money away.

That meant that when I needed help during one particularly difficult time in my life, I was able to fall back on a savings pot they’d put aside just in case.

I’ve always wanted to be able to do the same for my children.

Sarah Coles, Head of Personal Finance

Sarah Coles, Head of Personal Finance

Dolly Parton is my ultimate money mentor, not only for the way she has built wealth but for what she has done with it.

She has given enormous amounts to COVID research, promotes literacy, helps people stay in education and supports her local community. She’s used her money in ways that really matter and improved the lives of many people.

Helen Morrissey, Head of Pension Planning

Helen Morrissey, Head of Pension Planning

My mum and dad.

They taught me that being frugal can be a lot of fun – such as when they took me and my sisters – aged 9, 11 and 6 to France backpacking because taking a car was too expensive.

It meant they could also save and invest for all the big moments in our lives.

They are still travelling at aged 80 – but often in a tent – preferring the beauty and value of the big outdoors to a pricey package holiday.

Susannah Streeter, Head of Money and Markets

Susannah Streeter, Head of Money and Markets

Cher, she needs no introduction, she’s an icon.

My favourite quote from her was during her 1996 interview with Jane Pauley where she says: “My mom said to me, ‘you know sweetheart, one day you should settle down and marry a rich man’. And I said, ‘Mom – I am a rich man.’"

These are words I live by.

Emma Wall, Head of Investment Analysis and Research

Emma Wall, Head of Investment Analysis and Research