Nadiya Hussain says every woman should have a 'running away fund'
Watch: Nadiya Hussain says every woman should have a 'running away fund'
Every woman and girl should have some "running away" money that no one else is allowed to touch, Nadiya Hussain has said.
The beloved TV chef said that she learned the importance of putting money aside for herself after leaving home and achieving independence - and now, she teaches her children the same thing.
During an appearance on ITV’s Loose Women on Friday 8 November, Hussain, 39, said: "I grew up in a house where everything was tight, everything was red letters, bailiffs.
"For me, when I had independence and I had my own money, I always had something on the side. Even if it was little, it was mine, and even if everybody knew about it, nobody was getting access to that."
Asked if her mother taught her to always have "running away" money, Hussain said: "No. She should’ve, but she absolutely did not - life taught me that. Life taught me that I need to look after myself.
"And that’s something I teach my children, I teach my boys but mostly my daughter. I’m like, 'You, missy, need to know, you really need to look after yourself'. So we always have running away money and she talks about it openly."
The 2015 Great British Bake Off winner’s comments come after research from the Building Societies Association showed that nearly half of all parents have a secret savings account their partner doesn’t know about.
The main reason for keeping a secret savings account is to maintain independence (40%), followed by wanting to be able to use the secret money to surprise their family or partner (23%).
The research also revealed that women are more likely to put money into an emergency fund (37% of women compared to 30% of men) to give them peace of mind.
Dating and relationship expert Sarah Louise Ryan previously told Yahoo UK that it is empowering for women to have their own finances outside of their partner as it helps them feel self-reliant.
"If a woman has her own funds, no matter her relationship status, it is supportive," she said. "Financial health can affect mental health and so navigating each dating and relationship path with good financial health and systems in place means that a person, no matter their gender, will be able to be free to make choices."
Elsewhere in the interview, Hussain also emphasised the importance of teaching children how to budget so that they are prepared for when they leave home.
"It’s great when you’re at home and seeing me do it, but then you have to go out into the big wide world and do it yourself," she told her fellow Loose Women panellists.
Her own children are starting to pick up certain habits when it comes to avoiding wasting food in order to save money. "They’ll say things like, 'Mum, what should I do with this?' or 'Should I throw it away?'
"It means that when they go to their own houses they will ask that question."
Read more about saving money:
How Millennials and Gen Z are breaking taboos around money talk (Yahoo Life UK, 7-min read)
Woman saves £5k in three months with 'envelope hack' – and you could do it too (GlasgowLive, 2-min read)
11 tips to help you save - and even make - money ahead of Christmas (Yahoo Life UK, 5-min read)
