Ready to level up your money confidence without the boring finance chat?

Listen to the SHE MEANS MONEY SHOW

Episode 1 — Debt, Shame, and the Lies We Tell Ourselves About Money

December 30, 2025•5 min read

Custom HTML/CSS/JAVASCRIPT

Let’s talk about the thing no one wants to talk about.

Money.

Even saying it feels like we’ve broken an invisible rule, doesn’t it? We’ve been taught to keep it quiet — to smile, to cope, to pretend it’s fine.

But for a lot of us, it’s not fine.

In this episode, In this episode, I’m sharing my real, messy money story.

Not the polished “look at me now” version — the honest one.

We’ll unpack why money feels so emotional — and why you’re not bad with it. From the gender pay gap and the pink tax to Klarna culture and emotional spending, you’ll see exactly how the system was designed to keep women feeling behind.

Because money isn’t a maths problem — it’s an emotional one. And once you start talking about it, the shame starts to shrink.

If you’ve ever looked at your bank account and thought, “I should be doing better than this,” — this episode’s for you.

What you’ll learn:

My honest money chaos story — and what it taught me
Why feeling behind with money isn’t a personal flaw
The cultural and systemic roots of women’s financial shame
The pink tax, Klarna culture, and how the system profits from our stress
How emotional spending isn’t weakness — it’s communication
What calm, guilt-free money systems actually look like

Your Next Steps:

Find me on socials: https://www.instagram.com/iam.sianpalmer/
Start taking control of your money with these free tools: https://shemeansmoneyclub.com/links

Facts, Figures and References

Unsecured Debt in the UK

Around 84% of UK adults use at least one form of unsecured credit — credit cards, store cards, or personal loans.
The average unsecured debt per adult was £4,352 in February 2025.
Source: The Money Charity – UK Money Statistics April 2025 (PDF):
https://themoneycharity.org.uk/media/April-2025-Money-Statistics.pdf

The Gender Pay Gap

The UK gender pay gap (median hourly pay, all employees) is 13.5% as of April 2024.
Source: Office for National Statistics – Gender Pay Gap 2024:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/genderpaygapintheuk/2024
That 13.5% gap equals roughly 35 working days — around 7 full weeks (almost two months) of unpaid labour for women each year.

The Gender Pension Gap

Average private pension wealth (ages 55–59):
- Men ≈ £145,000
- Women ≈ £94,000
- A gap of £51,000 (≈ 35%).
Source: UK Parliament Research Briefing CBP-9517 – Gender Pensions Gap (2024):
https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9517/CBP-9517.pdf
Using the PLSA Retirement Living Standards “moderate” lifestyle cost of £31,700 per year, that means:
- A £94k pot would cover ≈ 3 years of retirement spending.
- A £145k pot would cover ≈ 4½ years.
Women also live, on average, 3–4 years longer than men — so the shortfall stretches further, increasing both personal hardship and long-term pressure on public services.
Source: PLSA – Retirement Living Standards 2024:
https://www.pensionsuk.org.uk/News/Article/Latest-Retirement-Living-Standards-show-costs-for-Minimum-retiree-needs-have-fallen-while-Moderate-and-Comfortable-Standards-see-modest-rises

Pay Transparency and Salary Discussions

Under Section 77 of the Equality Act 2010, employers cannot enforce “pay-secrecy” clauses if an employee discusses salary to identify possible discrimination.
Source: Equality Act 2010 – Section 77 (legislation.gov.uk):
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/notes/division/3/5/3/14

Women's Access to Bank Accounts in the UK

Until the 1970s, most banks in the UK required a husband or father’s signature for a woman to open a bank account, take out a loan, or get a mortgage.
The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 made it illegal for banks and financial institutions to refuse women access to financial products on the basis of gender.
This was the first time women could legally open their own bank accounts and access credit independently.
Source: UK Parliament – Sex Discrimination Act 1975:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1975/65/enacted

Shower Gel Price Gap

Women’s shower gels cost on average £4.45 more than men’s — a 428% difference for essentially the same product.

Source: The Co-operative Bank, 2024 – “The Pink Tax: Why Are Women Paying More?”:
https://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/content-hub/articles-and-advice/pink-tax-women-paying-more-for-their-essentials/

Razor Price Gap

Women’s disposable razors cost, on average, 61p more than men’s — about 23% higher for the same functionality.

Deodorant & Moisturiser Pricing

Women’s deodorants are around 9% more expensive, and moisturisers about 34% more than the men’s versions — same ingredients, different label.

Source: World Economic Forum, 2022 – “What Is the Pink Tax and How Does It Hinder Women?”:
https://www.weforum.org/stories/2022/07/what-is-the-pink-tax-and-how-does-it-hinder-women/

Overall Price Difference Across Products

UK research found that products marketed to women are, on average, 7% more expensive than those marketed to men — even when they’re functionally identical.

Source: Unbiased, 2024 – “Pink Tax Statistics: How Gender Impacts the Cost of Living”:
https://www.unbiased.com/discover/taxes/pink-tax-statistics