The cost of having a period: How Revolut’s new campaign aims to help keep women’s finances out of the red

The financial app wants to help offset some of the cost of menstrual products for people who have periods.

Periods can get expensive, and if you’ve never done the maths, then you could be in for shock. Women and people who have periods have around 456 of them in their lifetime - costing around £18,000 in total.

Research suggests that if we're not opting for reusable period pants or mooncups, we’re spending around £1,915 on tampons and £2,326 on pads - but as we all know, it's not just about sanitary products. There’s a whole costly survival kit to consider. This includes chocolate, coming in at £686, wine at £2,804, breakout cream costing us £4,127, junk food at £6,840 and pain relief setting us back by £4,127.

Whilst the government’s removal of the ‘tampon tax’ this year (January 2021) - meaning you no longer have to pay the 5% VAT on period products - will save you around 7p per pack of 20 tampons, is it really enough to cushion the blow to your bank balance?

Probably not. But there might be another alternative...

Can a bank help me pay for my period? 

To help you slash the cost of your menstrual cycle and make better use of your money, banking app Revolut has teamed up with Yoppie, an organic female-owned menstrual wellness brand, to help you offset the cost of your period. 

Revolut is a banking app which boasts over 15 million users, and says the move forms part of a new campaign "invest in yourself". Fundamentally, it aims to help women look after their financial wellbeing and boost their savings.

If you sign up to Revolut’s 'Metal' plan, the bank will give you £5 cashback on your menstrual products bought from Yoppie every month for a year. That includes tampons, liners, facemasks and more.

The idea is that you can then use the money for investing, or you can put it into a ‘savings vault’ where you can earn 0.4% interest via Revolut.

Is Revolut’s Metal plan worth it?

Now, it is worth considering that Revolut’s metal plan costs £12.99 a month - but the card comes with a number of other benefits alongside the £5 off at Yoppie, including access to a wide range of savings products that could help to offset the cost.

Revolut insists that this is not a marketing plan, but you should do the maths to see if it's worthwhile and suits your needs. To help you decide, here are some of the benefits that come with Revolut’s metal plan:

✔ Cashback on your purchases in any currency you want, including cryptocurrency if you want

✔ Travel savings, which includes fee-free spending overseas (many debit cards charge around 3% on purchases made outside of the UK) as well as medical insurance and travel delay cover - and you also get access to travel lounges.

✔ Cover from lost/damaged purchases or from ‘bad luck’ if you don’t make it an event for whatever reason

✔ Access to investing products at low rates

✔ Disposable virtual cards - which can protect you from fraud when shopping online or via social media

✔A metal card in various colours (always nice to pull out of your purse, right?)

✔And if you’re the forgetful type that fails to take things back for refunds in time, then you’ll enjoy the 90 day return window whereby if a retailer refuses to give you a refund (on items costing between £50 and £300) then Revolut will. 

You can see a list of benefits on Revolut’s site. But if you travel frequently, shop online regularly, or you are looking to start investing at low costs, the card may well be worthwhile. Of course, you’d also have to be happy to use Yoppie for your period needs.

Revolut’s campaign starts on 17 November and you have until 28 February to join. If you already have a Revolut account, you have until 28 February to upgrade the account.

And the good news is, partners can also take advantage if they have someone in their life that could do with a bit of financial help towards the cost of having a period. So... something to think about?