It’s time that I point out the mistakes that I believe can keep you broke.
Frugal Queen in France
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We are a British couple living in Brittany on a budget.
Frugal recipes, days out, home renovations and day to day making do in France.
We’ll give you hints, tips, advice and an insight into our life in France.
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LEARN MORE ABOUT: Retirement Pension Plans
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As we all know, financial problems can be incredibly difficult to manage. From mounting credit card debt to not having enough saved for retirement, financial issues can cause a lot of stress and anxiety. Unfortunately, many people are their own worst enemies when it comes to their finances, and it’s important to be aware of the ways in which we can cause our own financial problems.
One of the most common causes of financial problems is poor budgeting. Many people don’t take the time to create and stick to a budget, meaning that they’re more likely to overspend and rack up debt. It’s important to understand your income and expenses, and to create a budget that allows you to save money and pay off debt.
Another cause of financial problems is not having enough saved for retirement. Many people fail to plan for their future, and don’t understand the importance of saving for retirement. It’s important to start saving as early as possible, and to take advantage of any employer-sponsored retirement plans or pensions.
Finally, another cause of financial problems is not understanding how to invest properly. Investing can be a great way to grow your wealth, but it’s important to understand how to invest safely and wisely. It’s also important to understand the risks associated with investing, and to diversify your investments so that you’re not putting all your eggs in one basket.
The bottom line is that it’s important to be aware of the ways in which we can cause our own financial problems. By taking the time to create and stick to a budget, save for retirement, and understand how to invest properly, we can ensure that we’re on the right track to financial success. Don’t be that person who causes their own financial problems – take the steps to ensure that you’re in control of your finances!
We do of course know and understand that not everyone causes their own financial problems. We also fully understand that some people live in poverty and destitution.
The depression of the 2007 era was an eye opener and a lesson learned! No consumer debt ever again! Never a balance on CCs! Savings was key. Retirement savings #1 gave us the cushion. Now we still live frugally and the USA is back to being worse than broke. Frugality is key.
Jane thank you for the trailblazing comment for women in their 60-70’s. I’m one of those women. We’ve come a long way but women in the U.S. are still paid less than men in 2023. Retiring in the U.S, is hard especially for women as they have to drop out of work due to having kid, taking care of sick parents or spouses. Saving is really hard but absolutely critical.
Oh new subscriber! Great content
As a American in California I had the unfortunate experience of living under Reagan rules as a govenor and then the disaster he spread all across our country as president.. still living with his terrible legacy
I love your hard chats ❤️
This was our first month ever of no spend. It really makes you think about your spending habits. We have saved £400 this month, which is going to our emergency fund. It does help you sleep at night, knowing you have a bit of a cushion behind you just in case. March will be another no spend month, and hopefully that too can go in emergency fund. We’ve never been massive spenders, and have saved for the big things, and have lots of good secondhand items in our home. You two gave us the idea for no spend, and we thank you.
I’m always thinking how lucky we are to have the Internet and so many people doing free content for us. Remember when I was a student I had to go to a library, order a book a few years or even decades old, and wait for a few days or a month to read it in a reading room without the opportunity to take it home. So, I had to take notes to remember. And now I can watch a fresh educational video during the bus journey. Thank you!
I am 66 and my parents struggled financially. It taught me that I was responsible for my own finances. Unfortunately, the lessons were more about "should" with no concise method of "how." Today, there is such an expanse of info that it can easily be overwhelming. If I had to start somewhere, I would record all of my expenses. I've always known my income… I don't know why there is such pushback from recording expenses. numbers have to be exact, or they don't mean a thing. Thanks Frugal Queen for your vlog. Your concepts were different than I have heard others speak about lately. Would love to see a drill down series from you.
I and my husband have always worked two jobs, because we worked two jobs we always practiced paying yourself first at a very early age. I also can say not having a credit card in our early years have helped us stay out of dept, and our simple lifestyle has helped us stay out of dept. Great video
We are of a similar age then. I remember when we got married, and bought a house, we furnished it with carpets off a friends mum who had died, a bedroom suite off my late uncle, a washing machine from the coop on a weekly HP scheme. I didn’t have a credit card, we both worked full time, and waited a year for our honeymoon, once the initial house purchase bills had calmed down. Most people setting up homes seem intent on everything new, and some go into debt to do so. Seems mad to me, we had far better furniture than we would have got buying new. Old was proper wood, not flat pack, carpets were Wilton, not cheap laminate, etc. We bought a little 2 up 2 down terrace, now we live in a three bed detached, moving up when we moved area through OHs job. I still have my uncles dresser, 40 years on, for our clothes. I had something new when we married, I had saved a bottom drawer of cutlery, sheets, towels, rugs, dishes, tin openers, pans. Hubby was very impressed with that. But I had grown up knowing poverty… we went 3 years through winter, with no electricity. We had one coal fire to heat the house. I went to school the year I was 14 with sodden plimsolls all winter as no money for shoes. Plenty of money coming in, mum just didn’t see most of it at times. No tv for about 4 years around 10-14 yrs I think. For budgets, my work is hap hazard as I contract. So hubby pays all standing bills, and I pay for food and cars, savings and things that need replacing. I have to save for the lean times, sometimes a contract doesn’t land as another one ends.
Fabulous video Jane and Mike . Thank fully although I am not able to nurse at the moment I am so glad I paid into my nhs pension for many years and if not working in nhs I have always paid into pension scheme with other employers . I saw many colleagues opt out of pensions which never made sense to me
I spent a good portion of my life being the grasshopper in the story of The Ant and the Grasshopper. I am 63 this year, and scurrying like heck before my life's winter comes.
Division in a family is not right
The financial advice was good, but honestly, I sincerely wish you had left the politics out of the conversation. Perhaps it's not this way in the UK or France, but America is very seriously divided over political philosophy now more than ever in my lifetime (and having been born in the 1950s, I'm one of the viewers you addressed). I don't know if we can even recover from this divide. Some states are discussing secession. It's your channel, and you can say whatever you want, but bringing up politics is a sure way to lose viewers, not only because of what you say, but especially due to the comment section…..Carla H.
As an American, it's pretty scary how many people in my country are relying 100% on programs that legislators are constantly talking about cutting. I have more working years ahead of me and am saving all I can, in part because I don't want my life and well-being when I'm old to be in the hands of the political flavor of the month. I'd like to leave something to my community also, if I can.
My biggest money mistake was thinking that I would have my pension to live on at retirement, then in 2009, my company told us they would no longer provide a pension, instead, they introduced a 401k and stated they would match up to 3%. So at 45, I had to start putting money into the 401k to fund my retirement.
I look forward to your videos and really enjoy them all. I just wanted to tell you that I believe this video has been my favorite so far! I have always been a reader and naturally curious and I know that has helped me to become more financially knowledgable than I would have been otherwise and for the most part it was something I enjoyed. Thanks for all you do!
We started saving for retirement in our early 30s. Now we are retired we have a modest but comfortable retirement. But I am also glad that we spent money on fun and trips along the way. We never know how long we have. I have two friends who didn't live long enough to enjoy a retirement.
I'm glad we saved from a place of prudence and not fear.
Jane: So many good, valid points in your chat today! I would like to add this when saving for retirement (and of course, this is something that I didn’t do or think of until it was too late): if you receive a “bonus”/incentive pay from your job, do not treat it as “fun” money! Take that bonus/incentive money and immediately deposit it back into your retirement plan/401K plan! It’s known as delayed gratification.
Every unnecessary purchase that you make not only robs you of savings but also robs you of future earnings on that money. Every penny you pay in interest lines the pockets of millionaires/billionaires and robs you of the benefits of that money. I say rob them of this unearned income and generate your own unearned income in the form of savings and investments.
Hi!! For me the worst financial money mistake is people truly believe that their value and the only thing that matters is what others see. Spending all that money in new cars, bigger houses or extravagant holidays so that others may believe that they are successful. People should realize that money is for buying this that brings us happiness and confort
When my children were growing up, we didn't have anything spare and a lot of debt to pay off. It took everything my husband earned to live on and we had to do without many things. After the kids grew up and left home, we got out of debt and started saving for retirement. Now that I'm widowed and living on a lower income, I have to budget every penny to be able to meet my obligations. So far, I'm doing okay, but inflation is nibbling away at my budget.
My parents were born in the 50s in Hong Kong. They grew up in poverty. So they were trained to save and also make it financially more comfortable for their children. To not have to starve like they did. But its all individual minds. Some are bad with money even with a poor upbringing. Just have to make the tough decision yourself.
Οne of your most powerful videos . Thank you for bringing forward good british common sense…….
I just turned 58 and I’m realising how many wasteful spending mistakes I’ve made over the years.
Cut right back on spending now.
We were always taught to cut our cloth to meet our means. We have always saved and paid our debts. We know there are people who through no fault of their own have found themselves in toxic debt but so many live on credit cards, hire purchase and as you say, 'Be cosy with debt.' No way! We grow food to cut costs and not rely on supermarkets, which are the biggest tempters when people buy food they don't need and then waste.