Financial literacy: I taught myself to understand money jargon - then funded a £1,000 trip using only interest

• Vanessa Thompson funded a £1,000 summer trip solely using interest earned on her savings
• She dedicated 10 hours a week to mastering financial terms and making savvy investments
• Her journey into financial literacy began after struggling with contractual language in her teens and twenties
• Her understanding of financial jargon enabled her to avoid costly mistakes and manage her finances
• Vanessa says financial education in school should be improved, and encourages others to educate themselves on money

A holidaymaker has shared how she funded an entire £1,000 summer trip to Crete using only the interest earned on her savings.

Instead of focusing on local language skills, Vanessa Thompson, 33, dedicated 10 hours a week to mastering financial terms and making shrewd investments in a fixed-rate savings account.

This effort allowed her to cover the trip solely with interest earnings.

Vanessa's journey into financial literacy began after encountering difficulties in her teens and twenties. At 17, she purchased contract phones for herself and a friend, but struggled with the contractual language, leading to misunderstandings about the terms. Vanessa, from Birmingham, said: “I remember thinking, what am I looking at? What does this mean? Why can’t you put it on one piece of paper?” Vanessa isn’t alone, as new research commissioned by AI-powered global payments network Klarna reveals millions of Britons (40%) think mastering money terms is harder than learning to speak a language - with young adults feeling the pressure most.

(Photos: Getty Images/SWNS) | Getty Images/SWNS

Vanessa added: “I didn’t understand how much money I owed and it messed up my credit score for years. I couldn't open bank accounts or get new contracts. It took years to fix it. “Later in my twenties, I should've paid off something I bought for my house, but the language around the deadline was muddy and I got hit with this massive charge, over £100. I had to pick up overtime at work to pay for it. “I was so frustrated with myself at first. It's like, 'come on, this is basic money stuff, right'? But then I realised no-one really teaches it to you, so you learn from your mistakes. I think 1000 per cent the banks and government should be doing more to improve financial education in schools.” To help educate herself, she spent her time reading books, social media, podcasts - anything which helped increase her knowledge. She said: "Understanding financial jargon has totally changed the game for me. “Take my recent holiday booking, for example. With my fixed saver account maturing, I knew I'd earn a certain amount of interest. So, I’m going to use that interest to cover the £1,000 cost of my trip to Crete this summer. “It's something I wouldn't have even considered before diving into financial terms. Knowing where to put my money for the best return? That was a mystery to me before. “Now, thanks to learning about different accounts and their benefits, I can make smarter choices with my finances." For those looking to improve their financial language literacy, she advised them to take it slow, and pick three things they want to learn first to avoid overwhelming themselves, as well as following people on social media who talk about finance – but only after checking out their credentials.

Vanessa’s story comes after another survey revealed that the average holidaymaker spends £250 more on “extras” during a one-week getaway than when they are at home.

Dining out, live events, clothes and transport are among the items people are more inclined to splash out on, according to HSBC UK. The research also indicated that people do not like talking about spending splurges.

Jo Hemmings, a behavioural psychologist, said: “Our holiday mentality which encourages us to spend much more than we would at home is down to three main factors.

“Simply being out of our usual daily routine contributes to a sense of relaxation and reward, stimulating our feel-good hormones of serotonin and dopamine and reducing our stress hormone, cortisol, making us more likely to spend money on clothes, dining out and new experiences.

“Holidays are also associated with special occasions and escapism – whether that’s a birthday or an anniversary, the arrival of warm weather or simply the holiday itself which we have anticipated and saved for, enables us to justify spending more money than usual.

“We are also less inhibited on holiday, so we feel less constrained by our usual financial mindsets and the sense of spending more on immediate pleasures rather than deferred rewards – known as temporal discounting – is also heightened.”

As part of Klarna's commitment to promoting greater transparency in the financial industry, rapper-chef Big Zuu, along with financial expert Bola Sol, have released a short ‘Financial Takeaway’ series. Developed in collaboration with the AI-powered global payments network and shopping assistant, it aims to simplify financial jargon, making it easier to understand and more digestible for everyone.