CLAIRE ROACH – Money Saving Blogger & Owner @ Money Saving Central – The Money Saving Blog with a twist! Passionate about personal finance and helping people to live frugally, save money & cut costs. Featuring Tips, Guides, Online bargains, Voucher codes, Glitches, Deals & Discounts.
How did you balance being a mother and professional?
I won’t lie, sometimes it can be hard! I work from home which has it’s highs and lows. I am lucky enough to be able to be here when my babies are ill, I don’t have to miss concerts and parents assembly’s, I get to take them and pick them up every day – which is fantastic. But…I often find myself spread extremely thin! I work very late most evening to catch up as a lot of my day is taken up by the children and their needs.
When the twins were about one year old, I made the decision to put them in private nursery twice a week as I was running on empty and my business was suffering. That made a huge difference.
What have you sacrificed (both personally and professionally) at each stage of your career?
I have made many sacrifices, mainly sleep in my personal life! Professionally it was by being a late starter, I wish to god I had the balls to follow my dreams all those years ago and make a blog, but a full time job and 3 (then) children just left me no time to put so much time in to another project for potentially no monetary return.
FANTASTIC FEMALE – CLAIRE ROACH UK MONEY BLOGGER
Who inspired you and why?
The UK Money Bloggers. They are a network of UK based influencers providing the UK with a plethora of money advice on their blogs, podcasts, youtube channels and more. Being a mum of 5, I was always looking to save money, which is how I eventually decided to become part of their group.
What advice would you give to young women who want to succeed in the workplace?
Do not let anyone think you are any less important than they are because you have a womb! Having children does not make you stupid, it just means you may have to put them before your job occasionally – and that’s ok!
Do you think women feel intimidated in business?
Absolutely! I used to, until I realised that I was far superior to most men in my field. Now I make sure I am a force not to be reckoned with, when I enter a room.
Where will we find you on a Saturday morning at 10 a.m.?
At my computer, trying to cram in as much work as possible before spending the day with my family.
FANTASTIC FEMALE – CLAIRE ROACH UK MONEY BLOGGER
What do you love about your job?
Helping people and getting paid to do something I absolutely LOVE, It really is satisfying.
What’s the best career decision you’ve ever made?
To give up my web design company to follow my dream as a full time money blogger. It took 10 years to procrastination but ended up being the best decision I have ever made.
What’s the worst career decision you’ve ever made?
Honestly, there haven’t been many that I can put my finger on – apart from not starting my blog years ago.
How do you organise your time?
Badly! My family gets what they need, when they needed it and I fit my career around that. Even if it means working until the early hours of the morning. Hopefully that will change when they are older.
FANTASTIC FEMALE – CLAIRE ROACH UK MONEY BLOGGER
What do you think is your greatest strength?
My intelligence and work ethic. I’m not afraid of a challenge, I love to work and if I don’t know the answer to something I will spend hours/weeks/months to self-teach myself until I am an expert in it.
What do you think is your greatest weakness?
Body confidence. In the blogging world, YouTube videos, media appearances and putting your face out there is really important to gain notoriety in your field. But I just hate the way I look and really can’t face it.
How do you make decisions?
In a split second. If they’re wrong, I’ll start again!
What do you read?
Other money blogs occasionally. I really don’t have time for much reading any more.
What do you think are the secrets behind getting to where you’ve got to?
Hard work and determination. I worked many hours unpaid, plodding along in the hope that one day I would be recognised…that someone would read what I was writing….that Google would rank my website.
It took three years before anything started moving and I had to keep my other company running at the same time for income, as well as looking after 5 children.
Author Bio
Claire Roach
Claire is a Money Saving Blogger at Money Saving Central – The Money Saving Blog with a twist! Passionate about Personal Finance, Sales tracking, helping people to live Frugally, Save Money and Cut Costs.