River Medway: I was earning £6 an hour before making £100,000 after Drag Race

In our How I Manage My Money series, we aim to find out how people are spending, saving and investing to meet their costs and achieve their goals. This week, drag queen and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK star River Medway, 28, tells us about growing up in a single-income household, spending thousands preparing for the show, and buying a house in London at 25. What was money like in your household growing up? I was very aware of money growing up. My mum was a stay-at-home mum, and my dad was the only one earning. He has always just done warehouse work, so he’s never had a particularly well-paid job. My parents never made it my problem, but I always knew there were certain things I wouldn’t have that other kids had. Whenever I’d have a birthday or Christmas, if I had money, I would save it. I had this little red safe that I got given when I opened a bank account with HSBC, and I’d put all my savings in that. When my dad got made redundant, I was on free school meals. My parents always found a way, whether that was finding coupons or discount things. We didn’t go on holiday a lot, and I just accepted that. When did you first start earning your own money? When I was 16, I got my first job. I was at college, and there was going to be a trip to New York. It was about £1,500, and my dad said we couldn’t afford to pay for me to go.I got a job at a Chinese takeaway near where I lived and think I was getting paid £6 an hour. They paid me in cash, and I’d get to eat on the job. I worked there three times a week, saved everything, and by the time the trip came around, I paid for most of it myself. I also worked there at weekends while studying musical theatre in London. I had a government-funded place at drama school, but the living allowance wasn’t enough, so I’d travel home every Friday to work and return on Sunday. Everyone at college had such fancy costumes but I only had the one – I would be washing my leotard in the sink every night and turning up with damp tights the next day because they didn’t have enough time to dry. How did you afford to pursue drag? I started styling wigs when I was about 15, before I’d even started doing drag. I eventually started doing wigs for drag queens as well. I got a job at Disneyland Paris after graduating, where I danced in a parade. I saved enough to pay off my student overdraft. Then I came home and got a Christmas job at Argos. I started getting drag gigs around 2021. Some of them were paying £50 for a gig, which is absolutely insane. I’d work at a club in Canterbury, so I’d have to get the train, which was about £20. I was buying all the wigs, the costumes, everything. I was basically in the minus after that. But I just wanted to do drag, and was like, if I get paid at all for it, that’s amazing. How much were you paid to appear on Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK? I went on Drag Race shortly after my mum passed away from Covid in December 2020. We were getting paid about £250 an episode. It was two days per episode. I ended up being in eight episodes, so I got £2,000. It was tuppence. You also have to prepare all these costumes yourself, and they didn’t give you any money towards that. Some costumes were £1,000 upwards. River has been styling wigs for cash for years before taking part in Drag Race UK (Photo: Tom Buck) I was dealing with my mum’s funeral while preparing for the show. My friends and I made most of my outfits, and I managed to get two custom-made by designers. One was about £500 and the other was about £1,000. The rest of it – I was buying fabrics on eBay. I remember getting to the show and seeing people who had spent maybe over £20,000 preparing. How did your finances change after the show? I was earning over £100,000 in that first year after Drag Race. I was 23 years old, which is insane. Obviously, I had to pay a lot of tax on that – about £30,000 or something. I’ve always been super aware of being self-employed, tax and VAT. I got an accountant, declared every single penny that I owed, and did everything the right way. Are you a saver or a spender? I’m a saver. I was very lucky because I lived with my dad rent-free during and after the show. He wanted me to have a good start, so I could save everything. Now, my partner and I divide our bills straight down the middle. I’m very good at adjusting. I might be on really good money now, but the second I’m not, I can instantly switch back to ‘what’s the cheapest way I can do everything?’ What’s the best investment you’ve ever made? Buying my house. My partner and I bought a house in south London when I was 25. The first big chunk of savings I had went towards the house. Over the last two years, I’ve been rebuilding my savings. What’s your biggest weakness when it comes to spending? I’m a bit of a toy collector. I love Lego. When I was younger, I’d maybe get one set at Christmas, and that was kind of it. My friends would have the really big Star Wars ones, and I never got those. As I started to make money, I started buying them. I can buy a £200 Lego set, and it brings me so much joy. I’ve also got Barbies and Bratz dolls on display. When I was younger, I just wouldn’t have been able to get that straight away. Now it’s like, wow, I actually can buy whatever I want. I also love buying things for my friends and family. What’s the best piece of money advice you’ve ever been given? What my dad taught me when I was younger. When you want to buy something, you have to ask yourself these questions every single time: will I want this tomorrow, or do I just want the rush of buying it? Am I going to continue to use this after I’ve bought it, or is it going to be something that I regret?