I‘m having the time of my life... I love being a grandma
FAMILY holidays have always been special for Kym Marsh – and now they’re even better because as well as her children, she can share them with her precious little grandson too.
Although the 45-year-old former Coronation Street actress has just got engaged, she isn’t planning a romantic getaway with her fiancé Scott Ratcliff, 32, but a staycation with her whole family.
The getaway will include Scott, her two grown-up children and their partners, her 10-year-old daughter Polly, two-year-old grandson Teddy – and hopefully her mum and dad.
“On family holidays it’s just a given that we’re all going together, that’s never changed – when we go away there tends to be all my family,” says Kym, who now presents Morning Live on BBC One.
“We took Teddy on holiday the year before last, but he was a tiny baby, so I’m looking forward to this year as I’ll be able to do more things with him, because he’s two. He’s walking around and more interested in things in general, so it’ll be great.”
“I absolutely love being a grandma,” she says. “People who’ve got grandchildren said, ‘Wait till you’ve got your own grandchild, it’s such a great feeling’. You never think you’re going to be able to love anybody the way you love your kids, but oh my goodness it’s a whole different feeling and it’s just the best thing ever. I’m really enjoying it and having the time of my life.”
The glamorous granny says she’s been “very fortunate” to be able to see little Teddy a lot, as she’s been in a childcare bubble with him for much of the lockdowns.
“Looking after him and taking care of him has been wonderful,” she says. “Obviously there was a little bit of time when childcare bubbles weren’t in place and I wasn’t able to see him, and that was tough,” she admits.
And like mums and dads up and down the country, Kym found herself having to be a teacher during lockdown. “I’m not on my own when I say it’s been difficult – home schooling was a tricky thing to do and I don’t think anybody would disagree with me on that,” she says.
“But my son still lives at home with his girlfriend, and my little one’s at home, obviously. (And) as I was in a bubble with my grandson too, I feel like I’m one of the lucky ones.”
She’s also been able to spend more time with her army major partner Scott, who proposed on her 45th birthday on June 13.
When Scott came back from Afghanistan he was supposed to start staff college. “But obviously all colleges and schools were closed, so Scott and I have spent the best part of a year together which never normally happens.
“It’s not been easy, don’t get me wrong, trying to juggle everything, because I’ve been working all the way through the pandemic, and while I’ve been lucky to be doing
Kym with daughter Emilie and grandson Teddy and, below, with fiancé Scott that, it’s been difficult trying to juggle looking after Polly.
“But we’ve made good of the situation – there wasn’t a lot open for kids to do, so you’ve got to make your own fun.”
There has also been sadness for Kym and her family as her dad has recently been diagnosed with pros
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than they earn
■ Research by digital financial coaching app Claro, claims that more than third of under-30s in the UK, earning £40k p.a. or higher are HIPPYS – ‘High Income Perpetually Poor Young’, regularly spending more than they earn, despite having a good salary.
This problem is exacerbated by poor financial habits, the study reveals, with 42% of high-income under 30-yearolds admitting to having no monthly budget to track their spending against income (compared to just 29% of the age group as a whole).
This group also struggles to save or maintain an emergency fund, with only 25% having money set aside in a regular savings account and only 29% having a basic investment such as an ISA in place. This group is also failing to make longer term plans. 75% of high earners under 30 have not started a pension.
Stacey Lowman, Financial Coach at Claro (claromoney. co.uk) said: “A high income doesn’t protect us from financial worries. Earning a lot of money can often mask poor financial behaviours.
“The money will continue to disappear if there’s a hole in your pocket. For others, they may feel that they can never earn enough. No matter how much their income increases, factors like lifestyle inflation seduce them onto a perpetual cycle of always needing more.”
■ The average UK house price slipped by 0.5% in June as the full stamp duty holiday came to an end. It marked the first monthly fall since January, indicating that the peak of buyer demand is now likely to have passed, according to the research from Halifax.
But typical property values were still more than £21,000 higher than a year earlier. The price drop meant annual house price inflation eased slightly from May’s 14-year high of 9.6% to 8.8%. Across the UK, the average house price in June was £260,358.
People who are tricked into transferring money to a fraudster should have similar protections to crime victims whose money is stolen from their bank account without their knowledge, according to Which?
The consumer group argues that the way banks apply a voluntary reimbursement code when people are tricked into making an authorised bank transfer to a fraudster is “riddled with chronic problems”, and victims are not getting the safeguards they need.
Which? said the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) should be given new powers to make it mandatory for all firms to reimburse customers who have acted appropriately.
This would mean standards of protections would be similar to unauthorised fraud, such as when someone loses money after their identity is stolen, where there are clear expectations on when customers should get their money back. Which? says more than £700,000 is being lost to bank transfer scams every day.