Dancing star Neil: It’s Strictly crypto for my savings
He once slept rough, now he can invest in Bitcoin...
STRICTLY Come Dancing star Neil Jones says the best decision he ever made was investing in cryptocurrencies. The professional dancer – who has been paired with EastEnders actress Nina Wadia in this year’s series – also tells DONNA FERGUSON how he slept rough when he unexpectedly became homeless while dancing in Finland. A few years later, after winning the World Latin Dance Championships, he could command five-figure sums for a 15-minute performance. Having split with fellow Strictly dancer Katya Jones after a sixyear marriage, the 39-year-old now rents a flat in Wembley, North London.
Q What did your parents teach you about money?
A
MY dad wasn’t around much for me,
but my mum taught me to work hard for it. She was always telling me to take any job I could find – not to sit on my backside, basically. She was also a great believer in saving. My parents got divorced when I was about four. My dad was in a tank regiment in the Army. He didn’t contribute much, so my mother brought me and my three siblings up single-handed.
She worked three jobs simultaneously: she was a carer, a manager of a snooker club and a cleaner. She would work pretty much all night sometimes. Money was definitely tight. We were always watching the pennies and aware of how much money we had. But my mother did everything she could to make sure we had what we needed. She was a great cook and would not waste anything. She was often frugal, but she was also a positive person who taught me anything was possible if I worked hard enough.
Q Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?
A
YES. The worst time was at the
beginning of my career when I was about 18.
I’d followed my dancing coach to Finland so I could carry on my training. I worked part-time in catering and on building sites taking any job I could get to make ends meet. I was sleeping on friends’ sofas and one day I ended up homeless. I had nowhere to go, so I slept rough for a week in a sleeping bag.
It was winter, but I wasn’t too cold because the studio where I trained was inside an old warehouse. I managed to get inside and sleep in there. I got food from a shelter during the week. I was too embarrassed to tell my mum, but shortly afterwards I realised it wasn’t working out with my coach and returned to the UK.
Q Have you ever been paid silly money?
A
YES. When I was 29, I did a tour of Asia as a world dancing champion and earned a fivefigure sum for each show I performed in. It was incredible. I only had to do a few of those shows each week, each time dancing for just 15 minutes, to earn the equivalent of an annual salary. My mum was so proud of me. But at the same time, she’d say: ‘When are you going to get yourself a real job and go on a show like Strictly?’ That was happening the whole time I was competing.
Q The best year of your financial life?
A
IT was 2013. That was at the
peak of my competing. I was already a world champion several times over by then and everybody wanted me and my partner to come and do a show. We would travel from country to country earning all these crazy sums for the shows we did. But it wasn’t about the money. I dance because I enjoy it. Q The most expensive thing you bought for fun?
A IT was a white Toyota GT86 for £35,000 in 2013. I loved it because it reminded me of something from the action film series Fast And Furious.
Q What is your biggest money mistake?
A
BUYING stuff I don’t need. During lockdown last year I discovered that I had so many items in my flat I hardly ever used. I started thinking, ‘Why do I have two TVs? Why do I have clothes I rarely wear?’ I realised I was buying things because I had the money, rather than investing for the future. Q Do you save into a pension?
A NO, I don’t. I used to live in Hong Kong where it’s compulsory to save into a pension, but I stopped when I gave up my residency a year ago. The returns weren’t great and I decided instead to invest in cryptocurrencies. I’ve put a five-figure sum into three currencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin. I’m also looking to invest in others. I just feel that’s the way we are heading. A lot of people are now using far less cash. Overall, my investments in cryptocurrencies have risen in value by a respectable four per cent over the past year.
Q Do you invest directly in the stock market?
A NOT at the moment. I think
that when you invest in a company, you need to understand the people behind it. For example, if you invest in Tesla, you need to understand Elon Musk and watch his interviews. I haven’t got time to do that at the moment.
Q Do you own any property?
A
NO. I’m renting in Wembley,
North London, and I am happy doing that. I’m looking at buying a buy-to-let property outside London, probably somewhere rural in the North or in Wales – somewhere I can get a good rental income as well as capital appreciation.
Personally, I see property as an investment. A home for me is not about having pictures on the wall or owning my own place. A home is simply wherever I am. One day I plan to settle down and buy a house
in the countryside – near a lake, a river or the sea. But I’m in no hurry to find that place. Q What is the one luxury you treat yourself to?
A WHEN I travel, I always fly business class. It makes a plane journey a time to really relax. Q If you were Chancellor, what would you do?
A
I WOULD pour money into
theatres. I’ve seen so many shows and theatres close because of Covid. I’d give theatres more funding to make sure that doesn’t happen. It’s important artists have a place to perform and there’s so much history in those old theatre buildings. Q Do you donate money to charity?
A YES, I donate to Parkinson’s UK because both my grandads had the illness. I also donate to a wheelchair dancing charity called Para Dance because I feel that everybody should have the opportunity to be able to dance. Q What is your number one financial priority?
A TO have enough money so that I can take care of myself and choose to do the things I want to do.