Me & My Money: Gill Fielding

By NICOLA HODGES
Updated:

 

Gill Fielding is a self-made millionaire and mother of three, best known for her appearance on Channel 4's The Secret Millionaire when she gave away nearly £250,000 to good causes.

Gill Fielding

Protection: Gill thinks that children should learn about money in schools

She was one of five children in a poor family growing up in West Ham, East London, and decided early on that she was going to be rich.

Today, having achieved her goal, Gill lives in Sussex with her husband and children.

Her new DVD Riches, she shares her Seven Secrets of Wealth and aims to help people transform their lives.

She spoke to This is Money making money, spending it and helping other people to get rich

Do you think your DVD Riches will change anybody's life? When I made Secret Millionaire, I went back to West Ham, the place where I grew up, and met women there who were just like me. In fact one of them went to the same primary school as me. The only difference between us was the way they used their money. The secret wealthy people have is they know how to invest their money, to make it work for them. That's what I want to show people.

What has been your best investment? That would have to be the first property I ever bought. It was in Burgess Hill, Sussex in 1977 and it cost seven and a half thousand pounds. I had to work hard to raise the money for a deposit. I worked for Customs and Excise and then had a job cleaning in a pub. It gook me 18 months to get the finance to buy that property and within three years it had nearly quadrupled in value. People question whether I would be able to make that kind of money buying property now and I say it would actually be easier. It was so hard to get the cash for a deposit then, but now I could raise the money with just a phone call.

You have brothers and sisters, are they as rich as you? No they are not. I have an uncle who thinks that I secretly won the lottery and didn't tell anyone, so I wouldn't have to give any money to him! No one else in my family has made a lot of money and I have got a handicapped brother, whom I support.

Do you give money to your children? I have three children: Emma, who's 20, 15-year-old Michael and Claudia, 13. Claudia gets £10 a month pocket money. I have given them all pensions, so they will be set up for life.

Is it cash or credit for you? I love credit cards, but that is because I understand them and I know how to make them work for me. What a lot of people don't realise about credit cards is that if you don't have one, you have no credit rating. They don't teach children about money in schools and I always say it's like sex education, you know they're going to do it (use credit) and it's best to educate them about it and make sure they protect themselves.

Is it difficult to make a lot of money? If you go out to work in a nine-to-five job you will never be wealthy, it is all about planting the seeds of wealth. I work from home and I make my money work for me.

You went to university and trained to be an accountant. Did that help you become rich? I would never have got rich from being an accountant, but through accountancy I learned some valuable lessons. It was very liberating mentally. It gave me the belief that anything was possible and made me realise that even daft tarts from West Ham can make money.

Do you support any charities to give something back to the community? I still support all the people I helped in Secret Millionaire. I also give money to the charities Make a Wish, Shelter and Mencap because I have a brother with a mental handicap. My friend Duncan Bannatyne (entrepreneur and star of Dragons Den) tells me he hates the phrase 'giving something back' because, as he says, 'I never took anything in the first place'.

What is your biggest extravagance? I spend my money on big experiences. When my son came home from school talking about the 'geysers' in Iceland he'd learned about, within 24 hours I had booked two flights to Iceland and we went there and saw the geysers. That is what money should be used for, those amazing experiences you will never forget. I also like first editions of books and I have a handwritten letter from (the English novelist) Thackary, although I don't keep that in the house, just in case any burglars are reading this! My husband has a lot of film memorabilia that he has collected.

Has making money changed you? No, it hasn't. I am still an ordinary wife and mother and I drink builder's tea.

Have you invested in a pension? I have everything going, not just one thing. I have a rich investment portfolio so when I do get my pension, it will just be the icing on the cake and it won't be keeping me.

Gill's DVD, RICHES is out now. Find our more from www.richesthemovie.com

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