Jo and Leisa are twin bloggers who both gave up the ‘joys’ of teaching to enjoy their second passion: writing. This lead to them starting two successful blogs: joleisa.com and joleisareviews.com. They hail from the sunny isles of Jamaica but have called the UK home for nearly two decades. They lead a simple, frugal lifestyle and aim to inspire others to do the same. Their blog led them to having a spot on Channel 5’s Shop Smart Save Money, which gave them a bigger platform to promote awesome frugal living ideas.

Conversations with money bloggers: Joleisa

What is your earliest memory of having and spending money?

As little girls we used to get a little bit of money to buy snacks. The shop was not far from home so we would walk to the shop and eat the snack on the way back home. Saving any money didn’t even cross our minds! Those were the days!

Have you ever felt out of control with your money?

Yes, certainly. Before the frugal bug hit, we used to spend without a care in the world with little or no thought of saving, etc. Even as grown teachers, we used to be sympathetic to any and everyone who needed to borrow money (most of whom never repaid), we would grocery shop when there was no need and we would buy more clothes for the entire family than was necessary.

What was your worst money decision?

Perhaps one of the worst money decisions made was being duped into having a credit card. It was the most stressful time ever! Soon after getting the card, the spending spree began. Not being money savvy at the time and having ‘free’ money, I was certainly caught out. I ran up a bill that seemed impossible to pay off. That’s when I decided: ‘Never again!’. I pledged that if I ever paid it off I would never ever get one again. That was over 14 years ago and I have kept to that promise, thank God.

What was your best money decision?

Debatable, but perhaps investing in real estate, both here and abroad. That way we have somewhere to stay for part of our vacation when we go abroad and also our properties  give a good rental income. We think that is a good investment as well for other reasons: when the stress gets too much, we can sell on or if the market is very favourable for sellers, we can benefit.  I wish I understood the stock market more, though, because I hear there is some money to be had that way.

What is your best tip for saving money at home?

In a word (or two, in fact) MEAL PLANNING. Man, we have wasted a lot of money on food! But not any more! We plan the meals for up to a week, shop for just those ingredients and then execute the meals. Along with that we also batch cook and freeze or  refrigerate meals for the family.

One good tip: if there is a glut on the market for a particular food  produce, then it is usually reduced in price so that is a good time to buy the produce and get your culinary creativity going. Look at various ways to use the product, who knows, you might even invent a recipe! We have invented quite a few and have saved lots of money along the way.

What is your best tip for saving money out and about?

Plan, plan, plan.  Plan for as many incidentals as possible. Think, will I be out at lunch time? Should I pack myself something to eat or am I making a conscious decision to buy a ‘treat’ lunch? Is my destination near enough so I can walk, saving me petrol or bus/train cost? Just think, think, think. Don’t be caught out by making impulsive purchases. It’s so good to do a little victory dance when you are back home and you have stuck to your plan.

What would be your advice to the 18 year old you regarding finance?

Learn how to make and use a simple budget. The simple parts should be:

• Money coming in
• What I MUST spend
• Savings
• How much do I have left to spend

I find if this is simplified for youngsters, they are more likely to understand and to take it in. Many have no knowledge of money management (a sad state of affairs in schools). We should not sit back and think, they are 18 and they are adults now, so they should know. They can’t know if no one teaches them. So teach them the simple way and eventually they will get it.

Warn them against using money that is not theirs (credit cards!). Advise them to save up for what they want rather than buying things on the spur of the moment and paying for excessively long periods of time and with interest. Let us try to spare them the hell we went through because of lack of knowledge.

What was your biggest ever bargain?

Recently, on the Channel 5 show, Shop Smart, Save Money, we managed to purchase ingredients for three meals for a family of four for £9.00! That was a real bargain. Needless to say, we won that challenge!

What was your most recent purchase?

Hair products. We are doing a no spend January (except for must-buys). My hair is breaking badly so I have bought some products which promise to heal it. We will see!

Do you stick to a monthly budget?

In a word, yes. However, we are so adept at the budget now, it is not written. However, it does follow the same format as detailed above for under 18’s.

Do you have any long term financial goals you would like to share?

Yes. We would love to become debt free by the end of 2019 (except for our mortgages). Hopefully we can retire at 60, by which time we should have paid off all mortgages. The plan is to be healthy enough to do some travels.

If you won a million on the lottery, what is the first thing you would do?

Well, first thing to do is to pay off all debts including mortgages, then retire earlier and start the travelling earlier too. Of course, we would support some worthwhile causes and make some  family members and close friends financially set for life.

Thanks so much to Jo and Leisa for this brilliant and interesting contribution. Check them out on Shop Smart, Save Money too! If you enjoyed this, check out some of my other On the Money interviews here and here.

This week we meet Maria Nedeva, a business school professor and the creator of The Money Principle, where she teaches people in financial trouble how to build sustainable wealth. You can follow Maria’s work on Facebook and Twitter. 

Conversations with money bloggers 

What is your earliest memory of having and spending money? 

I was probably four or five years old. Growing up on my grand-parents farm meant I didn’t have much awareness of what money was or how it worked outside of fairy tales. When living back with my parents, I remember having a stash of small coins. This was my treasure. I discovered chewing gum and bought some…I couldn’t believe that all my treasure was gone. This is my first experience of ‘paying pains’. 

Have you ever felt out of control with your money? 

Oh yes. I was not in control of my money until approximately nine years ago. And it wasn’t only a feeling either – I really had no control. This means that I didn’t know how much I earned, how much I spent and how much things cost. I had no savings and no investments, at least not substantial enough to mention. I just wasn’t interested. Having wealth in property and pensions was accidental rather than a thought through strategy. 

Nine years ago, we reached a crisis point – we were £100,000 in consumer debt. This is when I decided that things will change, and I would become a ‘money master’. We paid off all consumer debt in three years and continued to increase our wealth by investing.   

What was your worst money decision? 

In the mid-1990’s, John and I decided to invest some money (approximately £6,000) in the stock market. We had to do the old-fashioned thing: select shares to buy and make sound decisions about the (small) portfolio later. 

Instead of reading up on some companies and learning about value stock investing, I put some of the money in a company because I liked its name. Okay, I wasn’t that shallow – it was also in biotech and I suspected biotech would be big. Yep, you guessed it – within several months I lost 95% of my investment. 

Since that time, I’ve made money and I’ve lost money; but I’ve never bought shares without doing my homework. 

What was your best money decision? 

My best money decision was to learn about, and experiment with, investing in businesses. Businesses not only yield unrivalled returns; they also make money by contributing value to people and society rather than speculation. 

What is your best tip for saving money at home? 

When I analysed our spending for the first time (nine years ago) I found that up to 80% of overspending on our budget was from: 

• Wasting food; 
• Overpaying for insurance; and 
• Entertainment. 

I would also emphasise that saving around the home, or any saving, for me is about reducing waste. Hence, my tips would be: 

• Make a weekly menu a buy for what you are going to cook; 
• Batch cook and freeze meals; 
• Snap out of  the ‘I don’t like left overs’ mentality. What is left from dinner is your lunch, not rubbish. 
• Check your insurance payments regularly; use comparison sites to do this. Even our life insurance is a fraction of what we used to pay (and we are decades older). 
• ‘Entertainment’ is only what makes your life more enjoyable. How much of this is free? 

What is your best tip for saving money out and about? 

At first, I thought to say that I don’t do this.  But I do, I just do it differently. I focus on two things: buying quality and training myself to want less. 

What would be your advice to the 18 year old you regarding finance? 

People will tell you that mastery of money comes from learning how to save and invest it. Don’t believe them! Money mastery comes from learning how to spend money mindfully. 

What was your biggest ever bargain? 

Our house, I suppose. Its value has increased five-fold in 25 years. 

What was your most recent purchase? 

A pair of shoes. I was in Capri and my shoes were killing my feet (at least this was my excuse for buying a lovely, and comfortable, pair of Italian shoes). 

Do you stick to a monthly budget? 

This is difficult for me to answer. If you ask me whether we have a monthly budget, and stick to it, the answer will have to be no.  Still, I know exactly what we spend every month and the ‘God knows what’ budgeting line when I do our budgeting is very small (no more than several pounds). 

There are two things behind this apparent conundrum. First, we minimise our spending by controlling our wants. And second, we have built a positive monthly cash flow that affords us spending flexibility. 

Do you have any long–term financial goals you would like to share?

I used to dream about a time when no employer would control my life. This is no longer a ‘long-term’ financial goal – I’m already in a position where continuing in my university professorship role is a matter of choice. 

My long-term desire is to build enough wealth to start a foundation to deal with some of the most acute problems of humanity. One of these is inequality in all its manifestations.  

If you won a million on the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? 

First thing I would do is let it rest for several months – this way most of my emotions would have settled.  After that, I’d start researching businesses to buy/invest in. (I know, this sound far too boring, but my foundation is not going to build itself.) 

Thanks to Maria for a really interesting perspective on money. Check out her blog, the Money Principle! You can read more gems of wisdom from my On the Money series here and here.

In the latest in my On the Money series, I meet Samuel Jefferies from the Money Nest. Sam is on a mission to educate a generation. He aims to help 20-30 year olds who’ve missed out on the benefit of personal finance education in school, and breaks down everything they need to know about money now and in the future.

On the Money: Conversations with money bloggers

What is your earliest memory of having and spending money?

My earliest memory is from the age of 5, when my parents had decided to start giving me pocket money and it felt felt like a new world had opened up to me!

My pocket money, however, was just 20 pence so I was limited to a 20 p vending machine offering two choices – bubble gum or miniature trolls!

Have you ever felt out of control with your money?

At 19 I started a paid one year internship overseas, it was the first time I was totally responsible for my own finances. Part of my wage came from funding via a European government agency, the payment was paid in two tranches and shortly after moving over a decision was made to delay and reduce the initial tranche.

I had been relying on this coming through; my planned income suddenly crashed yet my outgoings remained the same. Worse still, I had to complete a planned internship as part of my university course so couldn’t simply drop out.

The bills kept pouring in and money really started to dominate my mind. It’s difficult to explain how this feels unless you’ve been in a situation like this. Thankfully for me, this only lasted several months, not years. I clawed myself out of the difficult situation by moving to a cheaper shared apartment, negotiating a salary increase by a factor of almost 100%, taking out an additional student loan and having my kind parents lend me £500 until the student loan came through.

In hindsight of course, I look back at this as a huge life lesson in financial planning, frugality and saving. It definitely taught me a lot and I’m glad I learned these lessons in my early adult life.

 What was your worst money decision?

My first investment was in silver. I’d come across some of these scaremongering articles and thought since the fundamentals were positive and it had recently dipped it was the perfect time to buy. Unfortunately for me, it carried on declining (and still is!).

Thankfully I didn’t bet the house! But it definitely taught me the importance of good asset allocation.

What was your best money decision?

Books! The perfect example is Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It. Written by an ex FBI hostage negotiator, the book teaches others negotiation advice. It cost me less than £10 but has made me at least several thousand pounds through negotiating rental contracts, cars and employment contracts.

What is your best tip for saving money at home?

A classic but a clear winner for me is ensuring you compare all your insurance/energy/internet/phone providers every time your renewal comes up. The reduction in car insurance alone has saved me thousands.

An extra tip is buying your car insurance early. From my own research I’ve seen the cost jump by 20% or more when buying a week before compared to a month or two.

What is your best tip for saving money out and about?

Try and make it easy on yourself by buying weekly groceries online against pre-planned meals. This way you avoid the temptation of wandering through grocery stores several times a week salivating over all the tasty snacks!

What would be your advice to the 18 year old you regarding finance?

Take it easy on yourself, everything will fall into place in time.

What was your biggest ever bargain?

In our previous apartment we knocked £100 per month off the monthly rent as we were able to move in the next week. It was a great spot and originally outside of our budget, so I was pleased I worked up the confidence to ask!

What was your most recent purchase?

Hmmm, difficult! I tend to spend my spare cash on investments, books and travel. We came back from a week’s road trip around the Scottish highlands recently – does that count!? It was awesome.

Do you stick to a monthly budget?

I automatically deduct my investments the day after I get paid, we shop online and I have a generous phone allowance so that only leaves socialising and clothes. I’d say I stick to it by around 10%. I’m not perfect but if I can get 90% there I’m happy!

Do you have any long term financial goals you would like to share?

We recently started planning to purchase a house, so that’s the big one. They’re expensive where we live (£300k for a 2-3 bed) so it will require a fairly chunky deposit!

If you won a million on the lottery, what is the first thing you would do?

Buy ourselves a home, mortgage free!

Thanks to Sam for his interview. Head on over to the Money Nest to see what else he has to say.

If you enjoyed this post see my On the Money interviews with Mean Queen Ilona and with Emma Drew.

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