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Saturday 9 February 2008

Fame and fortune: Trisha Goddard

Last Updated: 2:53am GMT 09/02/2008

Trisha Goddard, 49, has been a TV presenter and talk-show host on British TV for nearly a decade. She has two daughters, Billie, 18, and Madison, 13, from her second marriage, to Mark Grieve. She now lives with her daughters and third husband, Peter Gianfrancesco, in Norwich. She tells Mark Anstead about her money struggles and investments

How did your childhood experience influence your attitude to money?


	Trish Goddard: 'I hate carrying cash, I'm like the Queen'

On the one hand I'm a hoarder, and I think that's because there was never any extra money around when I was a child. I didn't get given pocket money – I had to do jobs so I've always been a grafter.

But there's another part of me that loves to spend money because I still can't believe it when my account is not in the red. I find a good credit balance is a source of great excitement.

Are you cautious with money or liberal?

I'm somewhere between. As soon as I get paid anything 40 per cent of it goes offshore and sits in a deposit account waiting for the taxman.

Other than that I believe money is to be enjoyed, so when it comes to holidays, for example, I won't scrimp. A New York taxi driver said to me, "I never saw a Securicor van in a funeral procession", and that's how I feel about spending money on the family.

Now that you are better off than when you were young, are you happier?

Having money has bought me the house of my dreams. Eight years ago we bought an eight-bedroom country house in Norfolk with two acres for £500,000 – we've gutted it.

With two interior designers we have designed it with many different décor styles. It has an indoor pool and tennis court and it's the house I've always wanted. We spent £180,000 on it and now it is worth about £1.7m.

But I was a wealthy lady when I had a mental breakdown while living in Australia, and although money made things more comfortable I went to hell and back. What's the point of having money if you can't enjoy it? Family is my happiness, not money.

How do you separate responsibility for finances with Peter?

There's a thorny subject. When we were in Australia he was the major wage earner, but now it's the other way round. Men and women often have different priorities and he's admitted that if he was in charge of the finances, we wouldn't travel business class on holiday.

He's a dyed-in-the-wool socialist and he'd make us sit in economy. We have a joint account, but I have a separate bank account as well. What's mine is his as far as I am concerned.

Have you learned any difficult lessons about money through mistakes?

The only times I have lost money is buying new cars. I currently own four cars – a Jaguar XK8 convertible, a Mini Cooper, a Land Rover Discovery and a vintage Jaguar. Some people think it's ridiculous to have so many because of the damage to the environment, but I only drive one at a time. The difficult part is as soon as you drive a new car away you have lost thousands of pounds, so technically it's a mistake.

What do you hate about dealing with money?

I hate carrying cash, I'm like the Queen. I hate getting cash out of ATMs, so I try not to use it. If I start the month with £50 I'll finish it with £30 of that still in my purse.

What has been your best buy?

In 1985 I bought a mews cottage in Surbiton for £37,000. I was a stewardess for Gulf Air and I picked the property as it was convenient for Heathrow. It was also easy to get to London by bus or train. I sold it five years later for just under £100,000.

Worst buy?

Anything I've bought in a clothes sale. It serves me right – never buy clothes in sales – they are basically the things that nobody else wants so you will hardly ever wear them. Every time I buy something in a sale I kick myself.

Do you prefer to pay by cash card or cheque?

I hardly ever use cheques and I hate using cash so I usually pay by Switch or credit card and pay the whole amount due every month. I have a Coutts World card, a Coutts Visa, a Coutts Mastercard and a National Australia Bank Mastercard. I would never use American Express because they turned me down numerous times when I was in my twenties.

How do you tip? Are you an easy tipper or do they have to work hard with you?

Attitude is important. It might not be the most brilliant service, but if it's light and breezy with a nice, friendly attitude I'm more likely to tip. You can have luxury service, but if it's delivered with a sour face I'll only tip 10pc, which is the minimum I give when I don't want to tip and I'm doing it grudgingly. When I'm pleased I'll tip 15 per cent - 20 per cent.

What's been your greatest extravagance?

My Jaguar XK8. I was reading somewhere that when you buy something new you love it for a while and then go off it. I still haven't gone off my XK8. It cost more than £70,000 and is a beautiful gold colour.

What is your most treasured possession?

I love making play lists for my iPod. If I lost my iPod I would be really annoyed because you invest a lot in those lists and I would hate having to make them up again.

What do you use for an investment vehicle?

I bought a two-bedroom flat in Cannes in 2003 for €385,000 (£290,000). The prices there have gone up quite considerably since then and it's probably worth about £450,000 now. We let it out for €2,500 a week and I have no mortgage on it so that's been a great investment.

We go ourselves three or four times a year for long weekends. I love the accessibility to Italy and you can hop on a train and go to Monte Carlo. It's somewhere I can be myself and not get recognised.

Have you ever invested in shares? If not, why not?

I've got shares in Abbey which I've had since about 1985. I was given them when they floated because I had an account with them. But generally I'm not really a shares person – I've just got these so I've kept them.

What about Isas?

My accountant recommends that for the sake of tax efficiency I should put money into an Isa to the tax-free limit each year. I always argue with him because I prefer to invest in property, but eventually I do what he says because he knows better than me.

What is your biggest fear?

I have a fear of being poor. That's another reason for my hoarding instinct. I collect a lot of things because I think if everything crashes then I can always trade my jewels or something like that.

Trisha's fitness DVD, Trisha Rejuvenates, is on sale now