BBC’s Cherry tells of £10,000 payday – in a loo roll ad
BBC presenter Cherry Healey on day she was really on a roll...
What did your parents teach you about money?
TO live within my means. My dad is a criminal fraud lawyer and my mum occasionally worked as a London tour guide. She tried to teach me to budget and always spend less than I earned, but I am not naturally good at that.
I am a spontaneous person and sometimes I will spend and go crazy. Then I look at my bank account and see that I do not have much money left.
I have to watch myself and put measures in place to make sure I save for my tax bill and have enough to pay for shoes, clothes, hair and make-up for work. Luckily, the minute I see my account is starting to get low, I calm down. I have got a huge f ear of debt which saves me from disaster.
I never got the sense that my family did not have enough money when I was growing up. But when I was 11, I went to an expensive boarding s chool, Cheltenham Ladies College, which was paid for by my godmother.
I loved that school, but it then made me realise we did not have as much money as other families.
Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?
YES, two years ago when I became a single mum at 35. I was self-employed and had to balance my work and looking after kids.
I did not want to work five days a week but there were lots of bills to pay and it was all rather challenging.
Paying for childcare was particularly difficult.
Have you ever been paid silly money?
YES – to do a funny toilet paper commercial in Los Angeles. I had to ask complete strangers about their bums.
I am not going to reveal how much my fee was, but it was more than £10,000.
What was the best year of your financial life?
2012 – the year I did that commercial. I was doing a lot of TV and voiceover work as well and writing my book Letters To My Fanny.
What is the most expensive thing you bought for fun?
IT was a quilted Yves Saint Laurent bag with gold chain that was big enough to fit inside my laptop. It cost £1,300.
I just walked in and bought it as a ‘well done’ to myself for supporting my family for nearly ten years. Sadly, it got stolen from my car earlier this year along with a suitcase containing a favourite pair of jeans, my best heels and all my make-up.
I had insurance but the limit on possessions left in the car meant my losses were not fully covered. It is just stuff though and in a way it is motivating.
I earned the money to buy that bag in the first place and I will earn the money to buy another one at some stage in the future.
What is your biggest money mistake?
GETTING a Nationwide Building Society credit card when I was at university. I was a student with a part-time job at Starbucks and I used the £3,000 credit limit.
Nationwide should have seen I was not managing my card well and taken it away from me. It took three years to pay off the £3,000 and during that period I lived in fear of bills.
What is your best money decision?
BUYING my house, a threebedroom new-build in Shepherd’s Bush, West London.
I bought it for more than £500,000 three years ago. I think it has gone up in value since then because the area has really taken off. It provides my family with financial security.
Do you save into a pension?
I DO not. As a single mother, a pension is important but I have not had any spare cash to make contributions.
As for the stock market, it intimidates me. I am not good with numbers so I like to keep my finances simple. I do want to start a pension this year though.
What little luxury do you treat yourself to?
NINETY minutes of massage costing £ 90. I stand up for most of the day at work and it makes my back sore. I look after myself because I need to be well enough to work.
If you were Chancellor what would you do?
I WOULD make childcare cheaper and i ncrease t he amount available.
I would also incentivise companies to provide creches and match any savings made by self-employed workers to cover their time off when they are on maternity or paternity leave.
What is your number one financial priority?
MY kids. My son Bear is four and my daughter Coco is eight. I never want them to worry about whether we have enough money.