Mapping mothers' experience of financial resilience

Three community researchers – mothers themselves – led in-depth interviews with 16 mothers from around Bristol where they together mapped out participants’ financial lives: from discussing income, expenses and strategies to cope with financial shocks, to exploring key support, worries and hopes for the future. The participatory interview approach and the status of researchers as mothers themselves made it easier to build trust and allow participants to speak openly.

Figure 1 | Characteristics of mothers interviewed (total = 16) to map lived experience of financial resilience.

The team analysed interviews together, building on a framework developed in a parallel community research project that identified how diverse factors interact to build or hinder financial resilience:

• Infrastructure factors – stable housing, good health, and accessible childcare – that build the foundation of financial resilience;

• Financial and social factors – manageable expenses, a reliable and sufficient income, targeted financial services, a source of motivation and pride and a supportive community – that allow resilience to grow;

• the broader support environment factors – economic and social policy as well as offerings of community groups, support and advice services (Figure 1).

Figure 2 | A framework of financial resilience showing how diverse factors - infrastructure, financial, social and environmental - interact to build or hinder financial resilience.

Key insights

Focusing on the situation of mothers specifically, the team crystallised key insights on the factors that were most helping or hindering from building resilience:

Constantly juggling

Most mothers receive income from several sources (e.g. from multiple jobs or pensions, through tax credit and other government support, contributions from family) – this can be welcome as it allows for flexibility, but often is just necessity as no one source is sufficient. Many work part-time or would like to be part-time, and highlighted that they enjoy (or would enjoy) spending time with their children, but also that this causes financial difficulties.

To manage expenses, and provide for their children on low and sometimes variable incomes, mothers use a variety of financial services and strategies. While successful management can be a source of pride, it also creates stress for many, especially with rising costs, and is detrimental to the mental health of some. Strategies widely used include:

• Bills first using strategies such as direct debits, looking at the account balance only when bills have gone out or paying bills in advance.
• Strict budgeting with the help of multiple accounts, spreadsheets, apps, lists, cash accounting and an attitude that mothers describe as “staying within one’s means”, “cutting down on non-essentials” and “you got to do what you got to do”. For many, food shopping and cooking are important strategies to manage expenses – from buying and cooking in bulk, to getting discounts, reducing consumption of meat and other expensive items or buying reduced items at last sell by date.
• Credit cards for everyday emergencies or extra security. Some avoid credit cards altogether or only use them for extra purchase security and pay off expenses right away while others appreciate the buffer and security credit cards can provide.
• Avoid loans except for larger purchases (e.g. mortgage, car) that cannot be put off and pay debt off as soon as you can. Being mortgage and debt free means freedom.
• Savings are important. Saving for their children’s needs – in cash or separate accounts - and for goals - from birthday presents to after school activities – is a priority for almost all, even if money is tight elsewhere. Most also save for emergencies and many for larger goals, although the latter is put on hold when day to day expenses take priority. Attitudes about saving for the future differ between those for whom that feels too far away, those that want to save up but feel unable to prioritize it alongside more urgent demands and those who are able to invest in pensions and insurance for later life.

Shouldering responsibility

Providing for their family, being a role model and wanting their children to succeed are important motivations. However, it can also be a source of worry and stress. A lack of affordable and convenient childcare is a major barrier to gaining more income for many and when describing how they manage finances, many mothers – independent of their partnership status – assume most of the responsibility of childcare, children’s expenses and the financial impact of having children (e.g. taking time off or working part-time). Fathers were mentioned as contributing by paying child support (if separated) or picking up the “larger bills” (e.g. for housing). These arrangements are often based on implicit assumptions around responsibilities, roles and expenses, rather than transparent discussions and calculations between partners.

Getting support and advice

Community and family are a major source of support, providing direct support by donating items or stepping in for larger expenses; offering advice and financial education; and helping out with childcare. This creates issues for those who don’t have a strong family or support network, especially as there is little uptake of more formal advice and low awareness and expectation of what support might or should be available.

Some point to a gap of “good old fashioned in person” and “safe and comfortable” financial advice and services for women, for example around pensions, investments and financial planning for those who only have small amounts of money to put away, how to handle finances in case of divorce or how to navigate the UK system for recent immigrants.

How to support mothers’ financial resilience through community-centered financial services

Having developed a deep understanding of the enablers and barriers to financial resilience for mothers, researchers shared their learnings with GWCU and together developed potential solutions in a co-design workshop.

Reviewing their findings and participants’ priorities, the team decided to focus on three key issues:

1. Positioning GWCU as a partner to mothers and showing how the institution values and centers mothers.
2. Encouraging safe and honest conversations about finance between mothers, between mothers and their partners, and between mothers and GWCU.
3. Supporting mothers to save for their goals both in the present and the future.

In response to the focus areas, three ideas were developed:

1. An online mum’s hub that could include advice from mothers for mothers, stories from GWCU mothers, information about GWCU services for mothers and in-person advice available, training for mothers to become “money mates” to each other and tools to get conversations about money started, and opportunities to get involved with GWCU activities and shape strategy.
2. Parent-oriented savings products such as savings jars for parents that help saving up for specific events (e.g. birthdays, Christmas, school start) as well as longer term goals, opportunities to sign up for automated savings from child benefit (a product that already exists for loans through the GWCU Family Finance Plan), and accounts that combine short-term emergency saving and longer-term savings.
3. Financial planning and products to help parents plan for parental leave such as 1:1 appointments to discuss budgeting, savings plans and interest-free loans.

GWCU is currently looking for avenues to develop these further. Community researchers together with the GWCU team are also organizing a discussion event for research participants and policy stakeholders to discuss the findings from this research, collect their feedback, ideas and suggestions and connect mothers to each other.