‘I’M SO GLAD I’VE GOT A RUNNING AWAY FUND’

Freelance writer Eimear O’Hagan, 39, lives in the Scottish Borders with her husband Malcolm, 39, and their sons, Ruadhán, five, and Donnacha, three. She says, “In 2012, a week after I quit my job in London and moved to Scotland to live with my nowhusband Malcolm, I walked into the local bank and set up a savings account in my name only. There’s now £6,000 in it, and I add to it every month – even if it’s only £10.

“Setting it up was, first and foremost, about being financially independent. Leaving a secure, well paid job at a magazine to become selfemployed with no guaranteed income or security, I wanted to know I had a safety net and would never need to rely on Malcolm for money.

“Not because he’d begrudge me a penny of his salary – he works in management at a university – but because I firmly believe you need equality and independence for a relationship to work.

“I’m also a realist. Malcolm and I have been a couple for 10 years and married for seven, we’re very happy. But, of course, things can change. If I ever wanted to leave, I could. So many women are trapped in unhappy relationships because they don’t have the funds to flee. That will never be me, which gives me a great sense of peace.

“I told Malcolm about the account a few years ago. I hadn’t been deliberately hiding it from him but I saw it as my money and therefore my business, and he totally understood.

“I am so glad I have a running away fund - I think all women should have money of their own they could fall back on – I couldn’t stand to be trapped in an unhappy relationship with no escape plan.”