Comedian Paul Foot: An airfare to see my dying grandmother was my best ever purchase

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, comedian Paul Foot, 52, talks about growing up without a television because his family could not afford one, living hand to mouth during his early comedy career, the £8.50 gin and tonic that shocked him, why he once flew to Prague for lunch, and how he believes money can buy you freedom. What was money like when you were growing up? I’m one of those people who both simultaneously, sort of, grew up being poor, but not that poor. Shorts I did have to have free school meals at school because of low earnings, and mostly because my parents divorced. And so, my mother had to pay for everything because my father didn’t pay for anything. We didn’t have a TV till I was 12 because we couldn’t really afford it, but I didn’t really think of us as being kind of poor. I didn’t really think that having a television was really important. It seemed like a luxury. My mother was working as a professional photographer to make ends meet, and she said: “Oh, we can’t really afford a holiday abroad; we’re just going to go around the Isle of Wight in various youth hostels.” Well, I just thought it was so exciting, and we had a great holiday, and we saw beautiful scenery in the Isle of Wight, which is exactly the same today as it was then. It’s timeless. What was it like financially when you were starting out in comedy? I had a few successes early on, and a few ups and downs, but it was essentially pretty tough for the first 15 years. I remember I won some awards in the late 90s for the best newcomer, and I won, I think, £3,000 in the Edinburgh Festival for these best newcomer shows. But I remember being taxed on it, because HMRC said I’d entered the competition in full knowledge that I might win it, so therefore I had to pay tax on it. I don’t remember really buying anything very lavish for a long time because when I started out, I was just sort of making ends meet for years and years and years. It was sort of hand to mouth, making sure that I had money for the gas bill and things like that. What was the biggest shock when you started having more money? Once I went to a West End theatre with a friend and I asked for a gin and tonic. I think it was £8.50, which doesn’t sound much now, but that’s what it was then – and I was shocked. I sort of said, £8.50 for a gin and tonic to the barman, and they said, well, that is a double, sir. It was all rather awkward, and I remember my friend saying in a way that was slightly unkind, you’ve just bought me a double gin and tonic. Just get over it because it was all such a shock. When did you realise you could make a living from comedy? It wasn’t really until 2011 when everything sort of all came together, all quite quickly. Lots of things happened in rapid succession. Then I thought, actually, you know, I’m alright, and I suppose what I felt it bought me was freedom. Having never gone to Australia in my life and thinking it was probably a one-off, within 10 days of landing back in the UK, I was on my way back to Australia to do some more work. That’s when I sort of thought: “Okay, my life is really changing now.” Money buys you freedom. What’s your biggest weakness when it comes to spending? I suppose my biggest weakness would be travel. I love travel. Last week, there was a friend who was going to be travelling from the airport near me, so I said I’d meet her at the airport, and we’d visit one or two of the airport lounges, relax and have a glass of champagne. Then I flew to Prague and had lunch there. I thought it’d be nice to have lunch and then fly back again. I loved the fact that I was just having this wonderful lunch, but also just walking around Prague’s Old Town, and it’s so picturesque, and then walking up a beautiful hill and looking down on the city. I probably got pretty good value. As far as I’m concerned, wherever I go, the flight is part of the holiday, and I enjoy being at the airport. What’s the best money you’ve ever spent? A few years ago, with my grandmother, who I was very close to, and she was 99 and a half. She was really, really unwell. We knew she was going to die. But I was in Edinburgh, and I thought I’d seen her for the final time before I went up there. My cousin called me and said she had gone down a hill and that I must prepare myself for bad news. I thought stuff that and I booked an expensive airfare immediately [to London] to go down and see her. We had an hour with her. It wasn’t sad. There was no crying. It was just really lovely. We just had a lovely hour chatting about life and things we’ve done in our lives and telling her we loved her. I’m never going to regret spending those few hundred pounds. That’s probably the best money I’ve ever spent. What financial advice would you give to an aspiring comedian? I suppose my best advice specifically to a comedian is to have a full-time job. I turned professional in hindsight too early. I was too keen not to have to work in the job that I didn’t really enjoy. It did mean that I had all that worry because I didn’t have financial stability. I was professional for many years, but it was tough. My one piece of advice would be to find a job you enjoy so that you can do comedy on the side. It would really free you up as a comedian if you’ve got financial stability. And I suppose the other thing I would say is, is to not be attached to luxurious things. When I started out, there were people, other people, who had gone into proper jobs and they had so much more money than me. But I didn’t really care because I didn’t care about going to posh restaurants and doing fancy travel and things, because I was doing what I wanted to. And that’s another kind of freedom – doing what you want. One has to find a way of being free. And that also involves doing something you enjoy doing, rather than something always being a means to an end. Paul Foot is currently touring the UK with his new show The Future until 28 May next year. Tickets can be purchased here.