12 August 2025 

Money wasn’t something we really talked about when I was a teenager. No one sat me down and explained what a credit score was, how interest worked, or how to plan for unexpected costs. I didn’t know what a sinking fund was, or that it was even a thing. Like a lot of people, I learned the hard way — through mistakes that, looking back, I probably wouldn’t have made if someone had just told me what the consequences could be.

That lack of knowledge stuck with me. Throughout my twenties, I made it my mission to learn everything I could about money. I figured out how to budget properly, started using sinking funds, opened a separate bill-paying account, and got into the habit of saving. The more I learned, the more I realised how many of my friends and family didn’t know these things either. It wasn’t that they were careless — no one had ever taught them. That’s when I realised how passionate I felt about financial education, and how much I wanted to share what I’d learned with others.

Before moving to my role as a Financial Wellbeing Officer at Money Advice Scotland, I worked with women and children who had experienced domestic abuse. I saw how women’s choices — to leave, to stay away, to rebuild their lives — were often limited by their financial situation. I don’t believe financial education alone can solve all of that. But I do believe that we can start earlier. We can talk to girls and young women about money, power, and choice. We can have open conversations about the gender pay gap here in Scotland, about why women’s pensions are often smaller than men’s, and about the systems that create these inequalities. I wanted to be a part of that.

Now, I get to do just that. I work with a wide range of people — from school pupils learning about money for the first time, to adults in community groups, to employees in workplaces trying to get on top of their finances. One of my favourite parts of the job is hearing what people already know — which is often more than you might think — and finding out what they want to know. It feels like such a privilege to be part of those conversations.

Last year, I was promoted and now have the chance to support my team in new ways, while still delivering some of the sessions I enjoy. I’m proud of how far I’ve come — not just in my career, but in my own relationship with money. And I’m even prouder that I get to use that journey to help others start theirs a little sooner.