Schrodinger's Lottery Ticket

Today, driving home from the school run I remembered that I had a lottery ticket tucked into a pocket in my handbag.  We only buy them occasionally, like when there's a triple rollover or for a special occasion, so it was a few weeks old and it hadn't been checked.  In that instant I fantasised about my six numbers coming up and what I would do with the millions that I'd win. Daydreaming about winning the lottery is such a wonderful way to fill the time when your mind is empty of any actually important thoughts.  Because, if you have a lottery ticket, until you categorically know it is not, it could be a winner.  In these moments, you are both potentially a millionaire or  just another person with a losing ticket.  Just like Schrodinger's cat in a box who is both dead and alive until proven otherwise...my lottery ticket is simultaneously a winner and a loser until I Google the results.

In these fleeting moments, I think about all the good I could do: helping out family and friends; buying a house with a granny annex for my parents to live in; investing in some lovely little local companies that share my ethics; donating things to the childrens' schools; setting up my kids for life and holidaying in Bora Bora!

I always think I'd make a good millionaire.  I don't believe that I'd suddenly get a taste for designer clothes, flash cars, private jets or expensive jewellery.  I'd be just like me now...only richer!

So on arriving home, I unearthed my Schrodinger's Lottery Ticket from my bag, holding on to the theory that until I checked it, I was potentially going to be able to give my dearest and nearest the opportunity to sort out their lives for the better. It was such a great feeling knowing I could help fix up Auntie Debbie's cottage, pay off Joe's car, fund Ella's way through uni, help out my nephews and nieces and set up Megan in her own high flying business venture.  Just imagine all the good that could be done.  Not to mention the fun that could be had!

I Googled the lottery results and one by one checked the six numbers...9, 16, 27, 43, 45, 48...and guess what?  Not a single match.  The dream was over until next time.  Schrodinger's Lottery ticket which was now officially a losing ticket was reigned to the paper recycling pile and reality was once again restored.

Kalixa Pay - helping you to manage your finances at home or away!

There is no getting away from the fact that many of us are struggling to manage our finances in this economic climate. Times are hard with prices in supermarkets going up every week.  The price of petrol and our household fuel bills are at an all time high.  Our hard earned cash has never been so stretched.  With a few changes we can however regain control of our bank balance and get our budgets back on track.

The Kalixa Pay prepaid MasterCard® is a pay as you go card which can help you stick to a monthly spending budget safely and easily.  You simply transfer the money you wish to spend for the week or month onto the card, and use it instead of your usual debit card.  It is a simple, secure and effective payment option  for online or in store purchases, helping you keep track of what you are spending.  It is a great solution for families trying to manage their finances in the New Year.

The benefits of using Kalixa Pay to help you budget are:

• You receive a free email or SMS alert every time you use your card (for purchases over £5) detailing what you have spent and your updated account balance ensuring you always keep on track of your spending.
• The account includes an online portal (eWallet) so you can keep an eye on where your money is going how much is left to spend. 
• The card has no overdraft facility so you can rest assured that you cannot exceed the amount pre-paid onto the card. This means you will not be stung by expensive unexpected overdraft charges.
• Your Kalixa Pay account is not linked to your main bank account, so even if the worst was to happen and your card is cloned or stolen, you will not lose your entire bank balance.
• Sticking to your budget will definitely help to improve your finances!  With the Kalixa Pay card, when the money's gone, it's gone, so you won't be tempted to overspend.

The Kalixa Pay prepaid MasterCard® also gives you a simple solution to spending when abroad. With zero foreign exchange fees and the most competitive rates on the market, it allows you to top up with one currency and spend in any other giving you total flexibility and convenience.  Perfect for both business or pleasure trips and a great way for families to manage their money when holidaying abroad.

This simple payment solution is perfect if you need multiple currencies or frequently travel to different locations. Kalixa Pay enables you to pay securely in any currency, both online and at over 36 million locations worldwide, eliminating the hassle of carrying and exchanging cash. Simply top up your card and you are ready to go. If you do need cash on your travels you can also use your Kalixa Pay card to withdraw your money at over 1.2 million ATM’s worldwide. (International ATM Fee - £2.25)

Once your trip is over, if there is money left on your card you do not have to worry about the exchange rates  or charges involved in converting your money back to Pounds Sterling. You can just continue using your card once you are back home - no fees, no hassle. 

The free SMS alerts detail exactly what you are spending allowing you to make your holiday spends go further and keep track of how much you are using to buy souvenirs, ice-creams, sun cream or meals out! Especially useful if you are one of the 10% of holidaymakers who admit to recklessly spending all their holiday money within 48 hours of arriving at their destination!

I really like the idea of the Kalixa Pay cards for older children, allowing them to go out shopping independently with a budget they can't exceed.  You can give them a clothes budget or the money for a day out already pre-paid onto the card.  This way, they won't be carrying large sums of cash and you, as a parent, can keep tabs on what they are spending.  It gives youngsters the opportunity to learn about budgeting and gives them independence, while you keep hold of the purse strings.  It is also a simple way to help a child who is away at university, by topping the card up weekly for grocery shopping or other expenses.  Again it allows them to learn how to manage money in the real world, without the danger of going over budget.  

The Kalixa Pay prepaid MasterCard, including the eWallet service, is available for a one-off payment of £6.95.

For more information and to register for your Kalixa Pay MasterCard visit www.kalixa.com/Pay.

This post is a PR collaboration.

How Would You Spend £20K?

We all dream of a financial windfall finding its way into our lives.  Who hasn't fantasised about matching six balls on the lottery?  I know I have!  Everytime I've bought a ticket for the Euromillions rollover I've thought long and hard about who I'd help out and how I'd treat my family.  The £2 stake buys me a few days of wishful thinking until the draw dashes my hopes again until next time.  But the dreaming is still fun!

Britmums have teamed up with the National Lottery and are asking bloggers what they would do if they had £20,000 to spend in the #Spend20K challenge, which is the same amount as the new guaranteed prize in the National Lottery raffle draw.  That's some raffle prize...the most I've ever won in a raffle before was a bottle of wine so £20K would be quite an improvement on that!

£20,000 would be a great lump sum to enjoy.  Forget doing sensible things like buying a new car or paying a lump sum off of my mortgage, this cash would be for something just for us.  Something fun.

Something I really want to do but could never justify doing financially, is to renew my vows with Ian. I want to celebrate our relationship, our love and our family. We are happier now than we have ever been and I'd simply adore standing up and declaring my love for the man I married 16 years ago.  At the time of my wedding I still suffered with my mental health issues and although it was a wonderful day, it wasn't everything it could have been.  I wasn't the best version of myself and I'd love to do it all again now with me being in such a better place.

Organising a second wedding without the pressure and expectations that came with the first, would be such fun.  We don't like anything too fancy or frivolous. The guest list would be small and intimate, made up of all my favourite people.  The venue would be somewhere beautiful, and definitely not the impersonal registrar's office where we first got wed. The menu would be a glorious vegetarian feast and my wedding cake would be something totally indulgent from Choccywoccydoodah or The English Cheesecake Company (or both...after all I have a 20K budget to play with)!  At my first wedding I wore Doc Martens and a black lace skirt.  This time I would go sophisticated and feminine in a proper, pretty dress and girl shoes!  I'd buy outfits for my nearest and dearest and they would all look gorgeous.  I'd hire a funky photographer to capture some quirky shots for the photo album.

I'd follow the wedding with a night or two at Alton Towers Hotel for all my family (which is where Ian and I had our actual honeymoon back in 1997) and we'd all ride The Smiler and go on Nemesis Sub Terra the next day.  How very perfect...how very us!!

I'd better keep playing the Lotto so I can turn this dream into a reality.


This post is an entry for BritMums #Spend20K Challenge sponsored by The National Lottery, with more ways to win more money on the new Lotto game. Find out more about new Lotto, which starts in October, here – www.national-lottery.co.uk

Superkids Savers Challenge

Being a mum with five children, budgeting our money has always been a very important part of everyday life.  I am quite frugal and do lots of things to make our money go further, so we can get to enjoy our lives without having to stress about debt or not having enough money to enjoy the odd family treat.  Teaching these skills to the children is really important, especially in this day and age where the economy is not working in anyone's favour.  I'd hate my children to end up in a spiral of financial difficulties when they are adults and I believe that learning about saving and handling cash starts when they are very young.

• Leading by example is one of the most effective ways to instill a respect for finances in your kids.  My children see me being careful with my cash and understand that resources are not unlimited.  I'm not one to spend lots of money on myself (in fact I'm very low on the list when it comes to buying things for myself!)  I don't aspire to own the best brands, the latest must-have items or designer labels and I'm more interested in finding good quality, good value products on the market and keeping my money in the bank.  Thankfully, my girls are following in my footsteps and do not expect the latest mobile phones, designer clothes or shoes.  In fact they are proud to be individuals who don't follow the fashion hungry crowd.  They have developed a love of Primark, which will stand them in good stead for the future!  Being a savvy shopper goes hand in hand with being a savvy saver!

• I've always let my children handle money and introduced ideas of spending and saving through play.  From popping pennies in their money boxes to counting it up to see how much they have saved, it starts an early understanding of cash.  Playing a game of shops is great fun.  Letting your toddler be the shopkeeper or the customer and buying and selling things with pretend money is a good introduction to money handling.  The song "Ten Currant Buns in a Baker's Shop," is all about money and shopping and another idea for an activity for pre-schoolers to enjoy.   "Paying the lady" in the supermarket is also something we do with the children from a young age so they understand that the money is handed over in exchange for whatever we have purchased.  Freddy at 3 asks if we have enough money for our shopping when we do our weekly shop, which shows he is starting to grasp the concept of cash and whether we can afford what we are buying!  This is definitely a good firsts step in becoming financially aware.

• Saving is so important.  I always tell me children about the fact that I saved my money when I was a child which meant that by the time I needed to buy a car and pay a deposit on my first flat, I had the money to do so.  Surely being able to do that is more important than buying packets of sweets every week?  In fact it is useful to make them understand that if they are spending £2 a week on sweets they are spending over £100 a year.  If they are buying the latest released CDs from One Direction, JLS or Nickie Minaj every month, they will have spent in excess of £150.  Yes it is nice to buy things, but be sure you really want them and you aren't just buying them because your money is burning a hole in your pocket!!  All those £1's soon add up to a substantial amount that could make a real difference to your future if you had popped those pounds into a savings account!

• Each of my children has had a bank account since they were born.  When birthdays and Christmases have seen them receive a nice chunk of cash, I always encourage them to put some into their savings.  Again, if they want something specific they can buy it, but I do not support the idea of them frittering it away on bits and pieces they don't need or even really want.  The girls have always been happy to save at least half of what they get given.  In fact they enjoy going into the local branch of the bank and paying the cash in.  Seeing the total balance going up gives them quite a thrill and they enjoy some healthy competition with their siblings as to who has the most money in their account!

• We recently discovered  Roosterbank, an online virtual savings account where Kizzy is given 'pocket money' which is recorded in her Roosterbank account.  To access the money she has to send me a request and funds are then used to make a purchase or are deposited into her real bank account.  This gives her control over her finances and allows her to watch her money grow.  A virtual wishlist can be created so if she wants to save up for something specific, she can see the total cash she has in her account approaching the target sum she needs.  When given such a visual incentive, the urge to spend the odd pound here and there on sweeties is nowhere near as powerful.

• As a family we talk about money openly which I think is important.  Money should not be a taboo subject and I want my children to experience real life finances within the family.  Ian and I discuss our credit card bills and the fact that we pay the full balance off every month in full so we are not charged interest.  We never take out loans or buy things on HP.  Ian really wants a 3D TV but he is having to wait.  I don't think it is a good message to buy such a luxury item straight away...I don't want the children to think they can have whatever they want whenever they want.  (Especially with powerful advertising from shops like Brighthouse who suggest otherwise!)  We do enjoy treats as a family, but we don't ever take them for granted.  We often say "yes we can afford it, but we can't justify the expense" if one of the kids asks for something that is expensive and unnecessary.  I think it is important to realise that just because you have cash doesn't mean it needs to be spent! Our financial viewpoint is conveyed to the children naturally and organically and will hopefully help shape their opinions and give them first hand experience of what it's like to be an adult responsible for making financial decisions.  Fingers crossed they will see how being savers has benefited our family.

I am proud of how my girls handle their money and I hope Freddy follows in their footsteps with a respect for saving and an understanding of what you save today helps you in the future when you really need it.  Living in the 21st century isn't easy.  Everything is so expensive and we are earning less due to cuts in hours, pay and benefits.  Loan companies are constantly trying to seduce us with promises of quick cash fixes.  Their adverts are shown on the kid's TV channels, exposing our children to them from an early age. It's more important now than ever before to make sure our children understand money so they can become a future savvy saver!! 

This is my entry into the MoneySupermarket.com Superkids Savers Challenge. 

Spending Pocket Money The Roosterbank Way

Kizzy has been using Roosterbank for a couple of weeks now.  Not only has she had fun playing the games,  she also has had several pocket money payments paid into her account.  This means that she has enough saved to buy something from her wishlist.

She had 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' picked out as something she wanted to buy (the kids are keen to complete their Disney DVD back catalogue!)   She had it saved in her Saver Basket on her dashboard.  Once she had saved enough virtual cash, she had the option to send her order through to me and her account balance was adjusted to show her spending.  She also received a little message congratulating her on saving up enough money.

Once Kizzy sent her order to me, I received notification in my account in the Parent's Area.  I then had the option to checkout the item. To do this, I was taken to the Amazon secure checkout where I paid for the item which will be delivered to our door free of charge.  Kizzy then receives email notification that her request has been fulfilled!

The process really is easy.  Roosterbank puts the item directly into your shopping basket ready for payment, so you only need to log in and pay.  All purchasing is done directly through Amazon, and up until that point the money in the child's Roosterbank account is virtual.

I am really impressed with this simple but extremely clever idea.  Purchasing through Amazon is secure and the stock levels are high, plus postage is free.  Kizzy has watched her account balance go up and waited until she had enough cash saved to be able to request an item from her wishlist.  This is teaching her about the importance of saving money and has given her real satisfaction.

The communication between Roosterbank and both Kizzy and myself as a parent is very good.  Notification emails are sent when orders are sent through and approved.  It is a really efficient service.

Money doesn't just have to be spent on things bought through the shop.  The child can request money to be withdrawn or paid into a savings account using a similar process.  The beauty of  Roosterbank is that it manages pocket money in a virtual way that is perfect for parents like me who do not deal in cash.  You only need to come up with real money or pay for things by credit card when your child sends you an order, and only when they have enough saved up.

Take a look at www.roosterbank.com ... it's free to join and no actual money exchanges hands until you approve your child's request for a withdrawal or to check out an item.  It's educational, teaches saving and money skills and is a lot of fun!

Roosterbank...Reinventing Pocket Money

As a parent to five kids who rarely uses 'real' cash for financial transactions, pocket money is not something that I've ever really bothered with.  The children know that if there is anything they want or need, I will buy it.  Clothing, sweets, magazines, books, music, DVDs and other things on their wishlists have been purchased for them, at a rate that costs me about the same as if I were parting with cash every week.  Thankfully, my kids are not too demanding and they don't have designer tastes, so this system has always worked fine for me.

Kizzy, however,  is the sort of child that enjoys list making, scheduling, organising and generally future planning.  So, although she is grateful for everything we buy for her, she has always hankered for her own financial independence.  She would rather have some cash earmarked for her that she can use to budget for her next wishlist purchase.  Paying money into the bank account that she has had since birth is fine to build her a nest egg for her future, but would not work as an alternative to paying her weekly cash amounts.  To access the cash means a 20 minute car journey to our nearest bank!  That just equals more hassle for me!

Roosterbank is a new online website that is re-inventing pocket money for the 21st century.  Parents like me, who favour online transactions, can keep kids like Kizzy, who wish for some control over their finances, happy!  The site allows children to manage their money, learn about money matters and have fun whilst doing it.  Sounds good!

Roosterbank have invited Kizzy and I to test out the site for a month to see how we get on.  As a parent I can 'pay' cash into Kizzy's online account on a weekly or ad hoc basis.  It is not a bank account, and no real money is deposited, it is instead a virtual savings account for Kizzy, containing pocket money that I promise to honour.

There is an online shop that has thousands of products that children can save up for.  Once the money in their account has built up, these can be ordered directly via the parents and delivered to the door.  The equivalent sum is then removed from the child's saving account.  It gives the child control over their finances and purchasing decisions, helping them learn important lessons about money...they can not order anything until they have enough money saved up!

In addition to the educational benefits of learning about money and good spending habits, Roosterbank has a safe online community where kids can play, learn and chat.  There are games which are fun but at the same time can involve maths, counting or money skills.  Children can earn Roosties which is a virtual currency that can be used to buy things in the village for their virtual farm.   Kizzy has already played some games and is building herself a farm using her currency.  She loves the fact that she can polish up her maths skills whilst playing games!  She has picked something from the shop that she wants to save up for and I have set up her pocket money to be paid in every week.

The children have their own dashboard and parents have their own area where they can oversee their child's activity, set up pocket money payments, pay in money to their account for odd jobs etc. and check out purchase requests.

We'll be reporting back throughout the month to let you know how we are finding the experience of Roosterbank!

Take a look at www.roosterbank.com for more information and to sign up.