Money & Me: ‘I always have a contingency pot for emergencies and rainy days’

Shelley Bosworth, a business and mindset coach, maintains a balance between spending money on things she loves and preparing for the future

Shelley Bosworth, a business and mindset coach, says investing in property at the age of 18 was a financial milestone. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Shelley Bosworth took a leap of faith after working in the corporate world for 25 years to train as a business and mindset coach.

The Briton, 48, mainly works with female entrepreneurs, supporting them to start, grow and scale their businesses. “My work involves supporting women with the strategy and the mindset to be successful,” Ms Bosworth says.

She started her own coaching business in 2020 and in 2023 moved to Dubai, where she lives in Emaar South with her husband, who works in the hospitality industry.

Ms Bosworth started working at the age of 18. She went to a grammar school in the UK, but did not go to university because her family could not afford to support her financially.

After completing her A-levels, she began her career at the luxury London department store Harrods. She spent 25 years working in retail and hospitality, working with household names such as Woolworths, Waterstones, Tesco and Starbucks.

But she knew something was missing, and a series of family struggles and bereavements prompted her to change direction and train as a coach.

Did wealth feature in your childhood? What did you learn from it?

We were not a wealthy family, but we weren't on the breadline either. We had what we needed, but we didn't have excess.

What I learnt from that is money is hard to come by. You've to work hard for it and look after it. My dad, who worked in the health industry, taught me to think about the future.

I grew up with a feeling that while we weren’t struggling, we couldn’t have everything we necessarily wanted.

How did you first earn? What did your first job pay?

We had to do chores to earn pocket money. I had two paper rounds at the age of 13. I earned about £8 ($10.40) a week for each round. When I was 14 to 15, my very first Saturday job was working on a market stall in a town in Essex where I grew up.

After my A-levels, I applied to every single retailer in the UK that had a management training scheme, and I got several offers. I started my career at Harrods in Knightsbridge.

I was on a 12-month management training scheme with them. I had high aspirations for my life at a very early age. I learnt various elements of working in a department store and earned £12,500 a year.

Shelley Bosworth says she is learning to have a better relationship with money. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Any early financial jolts?

I took that role because I could work in a big city and at Harrods, but that wasn't a lot of money in 1986-87. I lived in Essex and travelled to London every day. I had left home because I was very independent and was renting a house with a friend.

It was a shock to the system, paying the rent and bills, travelling to London and the lifestyle that came with it. I realised there was not enough money at the end of the month. I got into a bit of a mess with a credit card in the first year. I learnt budgeting very early on.

How do you grow your wealth?

I have my business, so a huge amount of effort goes into growing it. Over the last 25 years, with the businesses I've worked with, I built some good pension pots for the future.

I am a bit of a saver, so I like to have a buffer. [My husband and I] always have a contingency pot for emergencies and rainy days. Thankfully they don't come that often. I pay attention to our monthly income and outgoings, and we save regularly. We’ve also done a bit of work on investment portfolios for the future.

Are you a spender or a saver?

A bit of both. I like to spend money but need to know there's a certain amount of money in the background all the time. We both work very hard in our careers to be financially secure. We think about investments for the future but also have a “life is for living” philosophy.

Have you been wise with money?

Not always. As I've become older, I've got wiser in a number of ways, money being one of them. The experiences I've had [have brought] the realisation that life is precious and it's for living now, but equally thinking about what lies ahead.

I believe in always maintaining a balance between having the money to do the things you want to do and preparing for the future.

What has been your best investment?

Investing in property. We don’t have a portfolio of properties, but I made sure I got into the property market at quite an early age in the UK, which enabled me to move up the ladder without taking on more debt.

I bought my first property when I was 18 and over the years, I sold it and bought another one, and so forth. I don't have multiple properties, but by buying at that early stage, I've been able to move with the market. We've worked hard over the years on reducing our mortgage so that what we have is an asset rather than a debt.

Also, the work we've done with financial advisers on our investment portfolio for the future.

Any cherished purchases?

It would be my first designer handbag, which I still have. My husband bought it for me, that’s why it is cherished. However, material things aren’t very important for me. Instead, I believe money is for experiences, living and to make life a little bit easier.

How do you feel about money?

I love money because I love what it enables me to be able to do. But it's taken me a long time to be able to say that. I've had to work hard on my view of money.

Money is a great tool. [But] it has too much power over people, and I don't want it to have that power over me, so I'm learning to have a better relationship with money.

Money is just a tool, so let go of the power it has over you

Shelley Bosworth,
business and mindset coach

Any financial advice for your younger self?

Money is just a tool, so let go of the power it has over you. Stop looking at what everybody else is or isn't doing with money. Instead, focus on what you want to or don't want to do with money. I wish I'd learnt that in my twenties, not my forties.

Any key financial milestones?

Buying my first property, hitting six figures, both as a salary during my corporate career and income from a business owner perspective, are milestones I’m proud of.

What luxuries are important to you?

Holidays and travel are important to my husband and me. Also, good food. Being able to go to lovely restaurants, enjoy good food and not worry about what that costs is an important luxury.

What are your financial goals?

The overarching goal is to achieve financial freedom and be in a place where I don't worry about money. I'd love to be in a position where I'm working because I want to, rather than because we need to. I want to be in a position where we get to do all the travelling we want to, go to all the places and do all the things we want to.

My biggest regret in life would be to get to the end and think “I wish I'd”, so my financial goals are to mitigate those regrets.