Angellica Bell: I paid £50 a week in rent whilst presenting CBBC

In our How I Manage My Money series, we aim to find out how people are spending, saving and investing money to meet their costs and achieve their goals. This week, in our celebrity edition, we speak to broadcaster and Celebrity MasterChef winner Angellica Bell, who reveals how she paid just £50 a week in rent to save for her first home, why she has never been a spender and the surprising investment in herself that landed her a four-year radio job. What was money like in your household growing up? Money was never something I worried about as a child. Shorts Now, if I think back at that time, I do remember my gran having to find 50p for the meter to heat the house. I never went on holiday, and I lived in a housing association house. So, money wasn’t in abundance, but I never felt it. It really laid the foundations of learning to make ends meet, living within your means, but subconsciously. It wasn’t something that weighed me down or made me feel different. It was just what we did. What’s your first memory of earning money? I had a paper round delivering the free local newspaper, Ealing Leader, at the age of about nine. I remember getting my first little pay packet in a brown envelope and feeling really proud of that. Then I had a job at McDonald’s as a teenager, which was great because I wasn’t just earning money, I was meeting people and learning about customer service. The money I earned went back into the household, so it wasn’t really for myself. What do you remember about your first television job? When I got my job at CBBC, that was my first proper job in terms of contracts and understanding how everything worked at 23. People probably think television means you’re earning loads of money, but it wasn’t – it was less than £20,000 – although it still felt like a lot to me. Before I got the job, I’d moved in with an amazing lady who rented out rooms in her house. I paid her £50 a week. Some of the other presenters couldn’t believe it. I’ll always be grateful because that’s how I managed to save enough to buy my first property. Has having such a varied career changed the way you think about money? Definitely. CBBC was one of the few times I had any security because I had rolling contracts, sometimes for two years. After that, I’ve always needed to be careful. I’ve never been someone to splurge. I’ve never treated myself, and that’s probably one downside because I always think, “I don’t know if I’m going to be working”. There have been periods in my career where I’ve thought I’m going to have to sell my house. There are still months where I won’t even buy a coffee out. What’s the best purchase or investment you’ve ever made? Probably my first house. Buying it was a big achievement because I was the first person in my family to own a home. Have you ever invested in yourself in a way that paid off financially? Yes, and it came from doing something purely because I enjoyed it. When I was younger, I played the cello, then years later I started lessons again. The week before my Celebrity MasterChef final in 2017, I took my grade three cello exam and got a distinction. I put a picture of my cello on Instagram and a few months later someone from the media industry got in touch after seeing the post and asked me to help launch Scala Radio as a presenter – they’d discovered I played the cello and sang in a choir. That job lasted four years and gave me a steady income. If you want to do something in life, invest in it while you can because so many people wait until retirement and then regret not doing it sooner. What has been the most lucrative role in your broadcasting career? I’ve never had a job where I could stop working for a couple of years. The landscape has changed so much that I’m even thinking now whether I need to pivot, study again or even get another job outside media. What’s your weakness when it comes to money? I do like a good meal out if I’m treating myself, but it’s planned and it’s not regular. I still wear clothes I’ve had since my CBBC days. One of my first pay cheques went on a pair of Vivienne Westwood shoes, which were £200, and I’ve still got and wear them. I don’t see that as an indulgence because I’ve got every penny back out of them. I don’t buy anything for the sake of it. I have to really want it, and if I do buy something as a treat, it lasts me a very long time. How are you saving and investing for retirement? I’m freelance, so I’ve never had a system where money automatically went into a pension. I’m thinking much more now about different revenue streams and different types of work. There are no guarantees anymore, so it’s really important to think about those things. NatWest, which I’ve been working with recently, carried out some research and found Brits aren’t investing until age 34 on average, but many wish they’d started at 25. What financial advice would you give someone starting out in broadcasting today? Have a backup plan. Make sure you’re financially literate and understand the options out there. I have recently been working to encourage first time investors take the first step and it’s all about accepting nerves are natural, and to stop waiting for the perfect moment. I found whether it was moving into a new role or picking up new skills later in life, my confidence came from doing it, not waiting until everything felt perfectly in place. Investing doesn’t have to be different. A small step is still a meaningful step, and you build from there.