Shirley Bowen says it has become more difficult to make ends meet now bills have increased
In our How I Manage My Money series we aim to find out how people in the UK are spending, saving and investing money to meet their costs and achieve their goals.
This week, we speak to Shirley Bowen, 68, who lives in Wallasey with her husband, Tom, 73. Shirley, a volunteer at Christians Against Poverty, worked in the Child Maintenance Service before partially retiring and taking a lump sum from her civil service pension. She uses the shower at a gym to save money on water and heating each month, and has become savvy with spending since being involved with CAP. Shirley thinks the state pension isn’t enough to live on and believes the triple lock should be maintained.
Monthly budget
My monthly income: I receive around £1,700 per month from my civil service pension and the state pension. I have a full state pension. My husband also receives income from pensions.
Our monthly outgoings: Groceries, £460; council tax, £242; gas and electric, £115; water, £47; TV licence, £15; broadband, mobile and landline, £70; Amazon Prime, £8.99; gym, £24.95; contents insurance, £15; car fuel for two vehicles, £200; car insurance, £70; car maintenance, £70, though this is variable; eating out and takeaways, less than £200; leisure, £50 to £60.
I grew up in Carlisle as the youngest of three siblings. My dad worked in the Ministry of Defence while my mum stayed at home. All our clothes were hand-made and we were taught how to knit and sew in order to save money.
When I was 14, I was desperate to go on a school trip to Italy, but my parents said they couldn’t afford it. I got a paper round seven days a week, earning 80p per week. However, I spent all the money I made, so I never went on the trip!
I got married when I was 24, and we purchased our first house for £16,000. We lived in the house for 38 years. After our children moved out, we decided to downsize and purchased a flat in Wallasey in 2019.
After getting married, we had a mortgage, and it was a struggle for us financially. I was not good with money and would never have any left at the end of the month. That said, I don’t think it was frivolous spending as we had to spend money on the children and our house, as well as keeping up with all the bills and the mortgage.
I pursued a career in the civil service, starting as a clerical officer in 1977. I started off on about £2,000 a year, but was earning around £24,000 by 2012.
When I was 57, I decided to partially retire and received a £10,000 lump sum from my pension. I was working part-time three days a week as an enforcement manager for the Child Maintenance Service at this point. I used the lump sum from my pension to help pay for our daughter’s wedding.
I left the civil service in 2019 and started working in a community church, overseeing the running of its cafe. It was hard work, and the hours were long. When Covid-19 came along, I was furloughed. At this point, I fully retired from paid employment.
I became eligible for my state pension when I was 66. I was informed that I didn’t have the national insurance contributions required for a full state pension. Fortunately, I received a tax refund at this time and was able to top up the national insurance contributions to receive a full state pension.
I do think it would be very difficult to survive solely on the state pension, particularly for those still paying rent. I think the triple lock should be maintained to ensure the state pension rises each year.
I started volunteering as a CAP money coach in 2012 at my local church. I was part of a small team invited to develop CAP’s Life Skills course in 2015, and it’s an amazing eight-session course helping people on a low-income budget better. It’s still going strong today. I also do drop-in services for CAP and am one of their national speaker team.
My work has shaped my approach to my personal finances. I’m much more savvy when it comes to spending and am always thinking about whether I need or just want something. I save money on our water bills by taking a shower in the gym. We use an induction hob, microwave and air fryer, which helps save money on our energy bills and plan meals for the week, so there’s no food waste.
While we are careful with our money, it has become more of a challenge to make ends meet. Our council tax, gas and electricity and water bills have all gone up. We used to eat out and go to the theatre a lot more, but it’s just become too expensive, so we’ve cut how much we do these things. We check our expenditure and bank accounts regularly and are careful not to overspend.
I think a lot of people are struggling financially because their bills just keep rising, and people’s wages, benefits and pensions are increasing less, or being reduced.
It would be good if some MPs tried living on a low income to see what it’s like. Where I live, many people are out of work, and it’s really tough because they need more in-depth, face-to-face help to get back into work, and people already in work but on a low income need help so they can find better-paid employment.
I’m not out looking for more money, and we have learned to live within our means. I’d never do the lottery to try and win more money because I’m a Christian and don’t gamble. If I did have a higher income, I’d like to visit our daughter in China again.
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