About Catriona

Catriona Brand is the UK’s leading money expert focussing on issues affecting women. She is passionate about helping women gain the skills needed to make the most of their money (and even make more of it!).

Formerly an IT Consultant, Catriona changed career direction when she found that communicating with a computer all day and helping big companies to make big bucks was not “doing it for her”. She then spent time nailing down what she really wanted to do, and ended up training as a financial adviser. Her last post as a financial adviser was with a major high street bank, where she was truly shocked to see the lack of basic skills held by the general public due to a lack of help and education surrounding money matters in the UK. She was also saddened to see how many women let their partners make all the decisions regarding money, whilst they take a back seat believing that their ‘partner knows best’. Through this experience, Catriona discovered where her true passion lay. She realised that she wanted to help women learn more about their money, how to manage it, how to make best use of it, and how to make more of it!

Why does Catriona focus on women? Women have different needs, and women communicate in a different way from men. MoneySkillsForWomen.co.uk has been specifically created and developed to meet the needs of women. This isn’t about women being better than men when it comes to money, it is about women asserting their financial independence and making it quite clear that the traditional view of men being in charge of the money no longer holds. But it’s more than about your daily cash. It’s about why women need to know what is going on with their money and why they need to be involved in all financial decisions that affect her, her family and her life. It’s about women learning the necessary skills to enable them to manage their money better, make their money go further and learning the skills needed to make sound decisions.

 

A Personal Message From Catriona

Hi! Thank you for visiting Money Skills for Women. I’m so excited to be helping people like you to increase your money skills and really feel comfortable about discussing and making those vital money-related decisions.

Some of you have been emailing me asking about me from a more personal viewpoint. So here we go…

I’m married to Steve (a freelance cameraman) and have a son, Ben, who is nearly three! I’ve put a photo of him here. Obviously I’m biased but I think he’s the cutest chap I’ve ever seen! When I’m not working on Money Skills For Women (which isn’t really working – as it is a complete pleasure), my time is taken up with doing “small boy” things. I am an expert on Thomas the Tank Engine and, more recently, I have been made to watch Toy Story, Toy Story 2 and Finding Nemo at least a thousand times. I could be on Mastermind and score full points on the subject of Buzz Lightyear! My family is, and always will be, the most important thing in my life and it is important to me to have financial stability to provide a stable family life.

I also have three other sisters (yikes!) in Bristol, Manchester and Chicago in the U.S of A (which gives me plenty of opportunity to save lots of money by buying plenty of things whenever I cross the pond to go and visit). I personally live in a town called Chepstow which is just over the English border in Wales. However I must say that I have not met a single Welsh person in Chepstow. It seems to be full of people like myself who moved here from just over the border in Bristol, England. I have to say though, I absolutely love living here and hope to be here for many years to come. My parents live in Edinburgh (where I was brought up) and we thank Easyjet for providing cheap flights between Edinburgh and Bristol airports!

Anyway, that’s a bit more about me….

If you sign-up for “Money Skills for Women”, my free monthly ezine for women in the UK who want to discover the secrets of making the most of their money (and having more of it!), you will get to know a whole lot more!

Do you see that box in the top right hand corner? Yes? Just enter your name and email address and you will receive your free monthly ezine as well as my Free Special Report “7 Top Tips to Defeat Rising Household Bills”. Do it now before your forget!

I look forward to communicating and learning with you in the coming days, weeks and months.

Best wishes