I have a BA from my home country. I am lucky as my parents paid the fees and I was able to commute every day (although it was exhausting) from their home. I spent six months of my degree in a foreign country with two EU grants that covered all my expenses for that time.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
My parents lost a lot of money following 9/11 and other relatives and acquaintances lost capital in poor stock investments. This made me very conservative with money. There was never a formal financial education but there were general rules about never borrowing money. I had great holidays all my youth and we dined in nice restaurants, however, when my dad was made redundant, we struggled. My mum had to hide some spending from my dad, even if she was buying me a few books.
If you have, when did you move out of your parents’/guardians’ house?
I moved out to participate in the Erasmus scheme when I was 20. However, once I came back I was in and out for another two years between apprenticeships and low-paid jobs. I moved out for good at 23 and shortly after started cohabiting with my partner, M. When we both were out of work in London due to COVID, my parents kindly let us stay with them for a few months until I found a job and we moved to Portugal.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
At 23. Nobody covers any aspect of my financial life now. M and I have separate finances, but we do treat each other, depending on who has a better cash flow at the time (we’ve both had stints of unemployment and M has a few months when there is no work in her industry). For the next couple of months I will be in the worse situation so I am confident M will be offering some drinks/meals, as we normally do.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
My first real paid job was a six-month contract as a marketing and communications assistant for an airline where I had done my internship during uni. They offered me the same role in the Nordics, this time paid (€500/month plus two return tickets). It was little money, but I loved the job.
Do you worry about money now?
I do and I don’t! I don’t worry about the present as I am optimistic and I have good savings, but I do worry about the future, especially if I were to find myself unemployed again at an older age. I also worry about retirement (I am scared of looking at my combined pension from all the countries I’ve lived in).
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
Yes. When my grandpa passed away, my mum, extremely generously, gave me €60,000 from her inheritance. She said since I don’t have brothers or sisters, the money would one day be mine anyway and we have less when we are young. I’ve only ever used part of it when out of work to get me by and to pay the deposit on rentals. The rest is still invested. I know I am lucky and it was completely unexpected as I didn’t ask for any of it.
