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'A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart.'

-The author Jonathan Swift

'A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart.'

-The author Jonathan Swift

'A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart.'

-The author Jonathan Swift

'A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart.'

-The author Jonathan Swift

Jonathan Swift meant that we should spend time thinking about money, but that it shouldn’t become too important to us.

That’s easy for him to say! Money is SO vital in almost all parts of our lives that it can be really tricky for it not to become the only thing that matters to us. Where you go to school, what clothes you wear, what phone you pick, how you might get around, where you live – in all of these, and so many more, money plays a crucial role. Worrying about money can affect your mental health and your relationships, so learning how to take care of it is an essential life skill.

Being financially capable – understanding money, how to budget, where to get it, how to save it and what support is available to you – is very important. Your school may well be supporting you with this and your foster carers are expected to help you manage your money. Financial capability should also be talked about in your pathway planning.

Getting started

It’s worth noting that there are always ways to develop your financial capability and positively change your financial situation. Here are some great resources to help you improve your financial capability:

MoneyHelper

A good place to start for all your money questions is MoneyHelper. Which is a website packed full of useful info and resources.

Visit MoneyHelper

Supporting Yourself Financially

Particularly helpful on MoneyHelper is this guide to supporting yourself financially

Visit the guide

Your Money Matters

The ‘Your Money Matters’ textbook is for young people aged 14-16 and covers topics including spending and saving, borrowing, debt and future planning.

Open the textbook

The Share Foundation

The Share Foundation has a lot of useful resources aimed at young people in care, including a focus on life skills and financial capability.

Visit The Share Foundation

The Getting Ready Project

Children in Wales and Voices from Care Cymru have worked together on the Getting Ready Project, which focuses on building young people’s financial capability. There are loads of great resources covering topics such as budgeting, benefits, housing and savvy shopping.

Visit the Getting Ready Project

Free money?!

Young people who are looked after continuously for more than one year have a long-term savings account opened on their behalf by the government (who put £200 into each account when it is opened). The Share Foundation looks after these accounts until a young person turns 18, when access and control of the account transfers to them.

The savings plan might be a Junior ISA or a Child Trust Fund, but either way some savings will be in place for you. How much money is saved and where that money comes from might vary, although in Wales many fostering services are working towards an agreed amount of savings per child.

Some fostering services take the savings directly from the allowance that foster carers receive, others contribute additional funds to help build the savings account for when a young person needs to access it. Foster carers and young people are encouraged to contribute to these accounts too.

Find out more at sharefound.org What is a Child Trust Fund?

It's good to talk

It’s a really good idea to talk to someone with a bit more experience about your finances, whether they’re looking good or not. Good people to chat to might be your foster carers, personal advisor or visit the MoneyHelper website.

Visit MoneyHelper