{"id":489957,"date":"2026-06-09T02:59:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T02:59:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/489957\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T02:59:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T02:59:24","slug":"i-was-a-single-mum-when-my-first-son-was-small-and-it-made-me-ultra-careful-with-money-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/489957\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I was a single mum when my first son was small, and it made me ultra careful with money\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Children\u2019s author Sarah Webb\u2019s new book is The Bookshop Sister. She will host a Creative Writing Workshop for children (age 9+) on Saturday, June 20th, as part of the Dalkey Book Festival. <\/p>\n

Are you a saver or a spender?<\/p>\n

I was a single mum for several years when my first son was small, and it made me ultra-careful with money. Balancing the books every month was difficult, with childcare costs, food, transport and so on, but I managed it. To this day, I like to squirrel away money in case I need it in the future. <\/p>\n

What was the first job you received money for, and how much were you paid?<\/p>\n

My very first job as a teenager was babysitting for local families. I really enjoyed it, and I think I got around IR\u00a320 for the night. That was a small fortune at the time. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Sarah Webb: By age 12, I was reading Stephen King and all kinds of dodgy horror booksOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Do you shop around for better value?<\/p>\n

For big-ticket things like washing machines and cars, yes. However, I work part-time in the small independent children\u2019s bookshop Halfway up the Stairs, in Greystones, Co Wicklow, and we can\u2019t compete with the prices that large online retailers can offer. I\u2019m very aware that fellow local shops need support too, so I buy as much locally as I can. <\/p>\n

What has been your most extravagant purchase, and how much did it cost?<\/p>\n

For my 40th birthday, my partner and I took a trip to Iceland. I\u2019d wanted to visit for years, and it didn\u2019t disappoint. The landscape is amazing, but it\u2019s not a cheap place to visit. One night, I remember paying \u20ac50 for one pizza and almost \u20ac100 for a bottle of wine. We stopped ordering wine in restaurants after that night!<\/p>\n

What purchase have you made that you consider the best value for money?<\/p>\n

My laptop, or more accurately, the three or four laptops I\u2019ve owned over the last 25 years or so. I\u2019ve written over 50 books on my laptops, and my current one, a HP, is a fine piece of machinery. <\/p>\n

Is there anything you regret spending money on?<\/p>\n

Not that I can think of. <\/p>\n

Do you haggle over prices?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m very bad at haggling. I have a friend who is excellent at it, so I bring her with me if needed.<\/p>\n

Do you invest in shares and\/or cryptocurrency, and why or why not?<\/p>\n

No, it doesn\u2019t interest me. I do invest in myself, however. I take courses, go to talks and book festivals, travel and read a lot. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Sarah Webb: \u2018I\u2019ve set up writing classes on Zoom for kids, but they\u2019re also good for me\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Do you have a retirement or pension plan?<\/p>\n

Yes, I set up a pension a while back, and I pay into it every month; it\u2019s not much per month, but it\u2019s something. I don\u2019t intend to retire. Hopefully, I can keep writing in some form or another, but it\u2019s good to know there will be something to fall back on if I need it. <\/p>\n

What was the last thing you bought, and was it good value for money?<\/p>\n

The last significant thing I bought was an Alan Ardiff necklace to celebrate a new book contract. Wearing it makes me happy; it\u2019s like wearing a mini piece of art around my neck, so I consider it very good value for money. <\/p>\n

Have you ever successfully saved up for a relatively big purchase?<\/p>\n

Yes, the trip to Iceland involved quite a bit of saving. The next thing we\u2019ll be saving towards is a trip to Japan. <\/p>\n

Have you ever lost money?<\/p>\n

Money, no, jewellery, yes. We were burgled a few years ago, and a lot of my jewellery was stolen. <\/p>\n

Are you a gambler and, if so, have you ever had a big win?<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve never been a gambler. Writing for children and trying to make a living from it is enough of a gamble for me.<\/p>\n

What is your best habit when it comes to money? And your worst?<\/p>\n

My best habit is keeping receipts. My worst habit is buying too many books, including books I already own. This is where the receipts come in handy.<\/p>\n

How much money do you have on you now?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t carry much cash these days. Like most people, I lost the habit during Covid. I have a few loose coins for the supermarket trolley in my wallet, but that\u2019s about it. <\/p>\n

In conversation with Tony Clayton-Lea<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Children\u2019s author Sarah Webb\u2019s new book is The Bookshop Sister. She will host a Creative Writing Workshop for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":489958,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,61,60,27998],"class_list":["post-489957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-me-my-money"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=489957"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489957\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/489958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=489957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=489957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=489957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}