I don’t think TV presenters are overpaid... it’s a challenging job

KAY BURLEY, the Sky News TV presenter, aims to save the maximum allowed into her own pension each year and has been saving for retirement since her early 20s. A successful author in her spare time, she published her first romantic novel, First Ladies, in 2011, followed by Betrayal in 2012, and feels she now earns ‘more than enough money’. She is an ambassador for Women of Influence, an initiative that champions young, female scientists involved in cancer research.

If you were in charge of government finances, what is the first thing you would do?

Young people think they are immortal. Only when you get to my age, galloping towards retirement, do you realise how little your pension pot actually buys you. We are increasingly going to have look out for ourselves. I think it should be obligatory for young people and anyone else entering the workplace to have a pension, and it should be compulsory for both employee and employer to save 3 to 5 per cent of salary towards that pension.

What did your parents teach you about money?

My mum was a chef at Wigan technical college where my father was a lecturer. They were not wealthy. They taught me to work hard, and always buy the best that I could afford – which is what I do, to this day.

What was the first paid work you ever did?

Working in a grocery shop when I was 15. I was paid 50p an hour.

Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?

Not really. I bought my first house at 19 when interest rates were at 15 per cent and I was working for a local paper. It cost £15,500. I had to pay the mortgage and the bills. But I have only ever lived within my means.

Have you ever been paid silly money per hour for a job?

Not really. Some people might say television presenters get paid silly money for what they do, but I disagree. It is a challenging job. I am not one for corporate after-dinner speeches. I would rather spend downtime with my family than be making more money. I earn more than enough as it is.

What is the most expensive item you have ever bought yourself, just for fun?

To celebrate spending 21 years at Sky News in 2009 I bought myself a white gold Cartier watch. It is a limited edition Ballon Bleu. I have noticed that Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, has one. I would rather not say how much it cost, but it was more than I should have spent. [Prices today range from €20k to €120k.] But I squared it away with myself by saying it is something I can leave to my son when I am no more.

What is the biggest money mistake you have ever made?

Buying a brand new Range Rover Evoque. I hated it – it’s the worst car I have ever had. I kept it for less than 12 months and lost several thousand pounds on it.

What is the best money decision you have ever made?

Buying a two-bedroom garden flat in Crouch End, North London in 1985 for £50,000. Property has always served me well. Was it not Mark Twain who said: ‘Buy land. They’re not making it any more.’ That is so true.

Do you save in a pension? For how long?

Since I was in my early 20s. And I have dabbled in the stock market since the mid-1980s. Recently, for example, I had a wander round Poundland and thought: ‘My goodness, this store is busy.’ So I bought some shares. It then bid for the 99p Stores and the Poundland share price went up significantly. I made a few bob on that. I think a balance of pension and property is best. I try to invest the maximum I can into a pension every year.

Do you own any property?

Yes, my house in West London. It has five bedrooms. I bought it in 1999 – it belonged to Kenneth Connor, who used to be in the Carry On movies. I refurbished it slowly but surely, and put an extension on it. I am very lucky, I bought at a good time and it has quadrupled in value.

Do you pay off your credit cards in full?

I most certainly do and I always have. I do not like the idea of being in debt and paying interest unnecessarily.

What is your top financial priority?

My 22-year-old son Alexander. I want to make sure he is comfortable, but understands the value of money.

Kay Burley hosts a new breakfast programme on Sky from 7am-9am Mondays to Thursdays. She was talking to Donna Ferguson.