I won €350 after putting wrong bet on football match

CORK comedian Chris Kent gave up his day job as an electrician to pursue a career in comedy. Over the last 10 years, he has established himself on the Irish comedy scene, sharing the stage with comedians such as PJ Gallagher and Dylan Moran. He also recently starred in The Young Offenders TV series.

He lives in London with his wife and son. He is currently touring around Ireland and the UK until the end of March. For tour venues and dates, visit chriskentcomedy.com/live What’s the most important lesson about money which your career as a comedian has taught you? Book travel and accommodation early — or you could be paying more for your own gig than the punters. What’s the most expensive country you ever visited? The Middle East. I was in Abu Dhabi gigging with some other comedians on a tour with the Laughter Factory. I got a round of coffees at our hotel before the show. I didn’t bother working out the exchange rate and just tapped my card. They were eight quid each — and the coffee was rank. I learned when checking out that the coffee was free and unlimited for guests. What’s the best advice you ever got about money? Honestly, I’m still waiting for it. I am terrible with money. My wallet is bulging, but only because its full of loyalty cards for coffee shops I’ll probably never see again. What’s your favourite Irish coin? The punt coin was my favourite — I just felt like it went a long way. If I managed to hold onto seven or eight of them, I could have brought myself a house, but I had a fierce sweet tooth. The closest I will ever come to owning a house now is by playing Monopoly. What’s the most expensive thing you have ever bought? My car. Even though I only paid £2,000 for it a few years ago, I have since haemorrhaged roughly £6,547 on it. Today it is worth about eight packets of super noodles — and only because I put new car mats and an air freshener in it. What was your worst job? Working in a fishmongers. I did it for a few months. The days were long, the work was hard — and I walked home because I was too smelly to get on the bus. What was your biggest financial mistake? Buying my car. What was your best financial killing? I accidentally put the wrong bet on a football match and won €350. Are you better off than your parents? I wouldn’t go telling them if I was, because I owe my mam money. If you won the Euromillions, what would you do with the money? I would pay my mam back with a lot of interest, look after the family and pay to see my car be blown up. I would also buy a house and give money to help with the housing crisis in Ireland. Your favourite song or tune about money? I Need A Dollar by Aloe Blacc. Have you ever made an insurance claim? If so, what for? I have indeed. It was for a smartphone. It was only insured 48 minutes. I definitely didn’t drop it in a cup of tea. It just stopped working all of a sudden... What was the last thing you bought online? A Ryanair flight. It cost €2.99. I don’t even need to go anywhere. Would you buy property now? No, because I actually got nervous yesterday tapping my card to pay for a coffee. So a house is out of the question for now.