How I’m Too Sexy was a top investment… and other choice cuts from 2023

How do we pay off Christmas debt, protect our homes from the ravages of winter and invest for our financial future? Your A Question Of Money section answered all those questions in 2023 with plenty more advice and personal experiences from experts and celebrities, including Des Lynam, Denise O’Sullivan, right, Ken Hom and ‘Rogue Trader’ Nick Leeson. Here’s our pick of what they had to offer this year:

■ If you’re deluged with debt, get in touch with your local credit union to cut your interest bill in half (compared to most credit cards). David Malone, Irish League Of Credit Unions CEO, advises popping into your local credit union to work out ‘what solutions can be put in place’.

■ Soccer hero Denise O’Sullivan, whose goal clinched qualification for the World Cup this year, is also a fan. ‘My whole family had credit union accounts. They signed me up when I was 11 years old,’ she said. Her financial ‘first touch’ was ‘making money from my confirmation’ and saving it in the credit union.

■ The most surprising revelation was that Des Lynam is a Clareman, once mocked for his incomprehensible accent after moving to Britain as a child. But he used that challenge to reinvent himself as an icon of British sports commentary.

■ When it comes to best investments, the family home is nearly always cited by interviewees but the best investment musician Fred Fairbrass of Right Said Fred made was borrowing €1,750 to record 1991 hit I’m Too Sexy. He went from being homeless to being able to pay cash for a four-bedroom house.

■ Most authors we interview seem disappointed with their financial lot. South African-born former UK foreign secretary Peter Hain said his thriller-writing career pays less than the minimum wage.

■ However, racing driver Ben Collins – The Stig in Top Gear – claimed his book earned him more money than the BBC at the height of his fame. His best financial year was as a stunt driving double who drove Batman’s Batmobile and Bond’s Aston Martin.

■ Feargal McKenna, co-founder of Moneycube.ie had our best advice on pensions: ‘Tax relief gives your money a big head start compared to any other investment… your pension can be one of the biggest assets you will own by the time you retire’.

■ Our most dramatic comeback award goes to Galway-based Nick Leeson who racked up over two billion euros in losses in fraudulent trading and broke ‘The Queen’s bank’ Barings – in the Nineties. He ended up in a hellish Thai prison.

‘For the first two years, I was locked up for 23 hours a day.’ After that, he cleaned dishes in prison earning enough to buy one chocolate bar a week. Now he gets €6,000 an hour as an after-dinner speaker.

■ The toughest upbringing was that of chef and TV presenter Ken Hom. ‘My father passed away when I was eight months old, so I was brought up by my mum,’ he said. ‘I often went hungry. I was so skinny when I started school that I was given a test to see if I had tapeworms. I still dream about food.’

■ Chief underwriting officer at insurers Allianz Helen Merry had tips on preparing homes for winter. ‘To protect against frozen pipes, you can insulate pipes with heat tape [or] put your central heating on a lower temperature and for longer. And if your tank is in the attic, leave the attic door open a tad to allow heat in and keep the pipes warm,’ she said.