I had the last laugh on debt collectors
He fell into financial trouble trying to become a comedian. Then, on Britain’s Got Talent Amanda Holden pressed the golden buzzer for Daliso Chaponda
What did your parents teach you about money? THEY tried to teach me to value every penny and be frugal, but I am not sure they managed. I am not good at being tight and have never really understood the value of money.
My parents did not have much money when I was born. They were refugees in Zambia and it was a tough time.
We always had enough food but life was a struggle financially. I still remember sharing a single bed with my elder brother – we slept head to tail.
Then, when I was six years old, my dad got a good job as an advocate for refugees at the United Nations. The jump in lifestyle was huge.
We went from being broke in a small flat to living in a big house and having a fancy car.
It was bonkers and because it was so sudden, my dad started spending money foolishly. He would talk about being frugal, then go out and buy five suits. I think I got mixed messages about money as a result. How much pocket money did you get as a child? ONE hundred rand – the equivalent of £ 10 – every three months from age 11. I went to a boarding school and once a week was allowed to go to town and the cinema which cost ten rand. What was the first paid work you ever did? ABOUT £50 for a short story I wrote. It got published in Ellery Queen Mystery magazine. I wanted to be a writer at the time. I carried on submitting stories and would get one accepted for every eight rejections. Q Have you ever struggled to make ends meet? A OH yes, especially when I came to England and was trying to make it as a comedian. I was getting gigs but I did not have a regular salary and there were a lot of hard times. I sometimes had to borrow money from family or tell the landlord my rent would be a week late.
I constantly paid for things with a credit card. At one point, I had bailiffs come after me.
The biggest difference t hat Britain’s Got Talent has made to my life is that it has allowed me to pay off my debts.
At one point I had a £12,000 credit card debt and it was unmanageable.
My greatest joy this year has been paying back all the family members I had borrowed money off. Q Have you ever been paid silly money per hour for a job? A YES. The first time I did TV comedy, I got paid more than £ 1,000 for five minutes. It was absurd. It made me realise why successful comedians do so much TV. Q What was the best year of your life in terms of money made? A LAST year. Everything that has come in since I did Britain’s Got Talent is paying so much more than I am used to being offered.
I have recently had a series of shows commissioned for BBC Radio between 4 England about the and relationship Africa. I am also doing a UK-wide tour which is selling out like crazy. Q What is the most expensive item you have ever bought yourself just for fun? A FOR doing so well on Britain’s Got Talent I treated myself to a Samsung Gear watch for £200. What is the biggest money mistake you have ever made? TAKING out a £10,000 loan to put on a stand-up show at the Edinburgh Festival in 2012. It was a gamble – I thought my talent would be discovered and then I could pay it off. It was a bad decision. It took a long time to get rid of that debt.
I had to live off credit cards and some months I did not manage to make my repayments on time. That meant I ruined my credit record. It was like a cascade of bad stuff.
I ended up owing debt collectors. Unlike credit card companies, which just send you angry letters, those people stalk you and send ugly messages.
When I came good, I so enjoyed calling them and saying: ‘Never ever speak to me again. Here is your money and goodbye.’ Do you save into a pension or invest in the stock market? NO. I rent a one-bedroom flat at the moment in Manchester so my next goal is to save up for a house deposit. Once I have bought my own place, I am going to start t hinking about a pension and investing. What is the one little luxury you like to treat yourself to? STAYING in a comfortable four-star hotel when I am on tour. It makes a difference to how I feel when I go on stage. It is an investment so that I do not end up grumpy and tired at the show. Q If you were Chancellor of the Exchequer, what is the first thing you would do? A I WOULD cut down on military spending. I can understand why America spends so much on defence because they attack everybody. Britain is pretty peaceful.
I would prefer to spend money on the National Health Service. When I first came to England, I could not believe it when people said healthcare was free.
It is the most amazing thing that people do not appreciate. In other countries, without money you do not go to hospital until you are near death. Do you think it is important to give to charity? YES. I believe in karma. You can think you are not affected by the suffering of people around you but there is a ripple effect. The less suffering in a society, the better we all are.
I give to the Red Cross every month because I trust them and I have seen the good work they do in Africa. I also give money to individual beggars I see on the street.
I always gave to the Red Cross even when I was struggling to make ends meet. Even when I was broke, I was not destitute and on the streets. I could still afford to give. What is your number one financial priority? TO l i ve a debt- free l i fe. I was not i n the black for a decade and the peace of mind that now comes with having no financial stress is new to me. Long may it last.