Are you a saver or a spender?
I can’t be called a spender, because I don’t enjoy shopping. Not a saver either, because that suggests some preoccupation with money – and the least happy days of my life have been spent thinking about the bottom line of the bank statement.
Do you shop around for better value?
Up to a point. I get a small kick out of switching electricity and gas providers and changing my phone plan every once in a while. On the other hand, if the trousers fit, I will buy them on the spot rather than force myself to try on another pair.
What has been your most extravagant purchase and how much did it cost?
When I lived in Belgium, I bought a new BMW 320i. That was in 1985, and it cost £9,000 (Irish). I drove it for many years until it went to the scrap yard, and have never been much interested in cars since then.
What purchase have you made that you consider the best value for money?
I have a suit that is older than I am prepared to admit, which has never worn out and which still fits regardless of my various changes of shape over the years. To my eye, neither has it gone out of fashion – but that may be wishful thinking.
How do you prefer to shop – online or local?
Despite my proclaimed anti-consumerism, I bemoan the decline of the local shop, yet have played my part in its downfall by taking full advantage of the convenience of the internet.
Do you haggle over prices?
Never, even when I am expected to. Once, in Togo, I allowed a French colleague to haggle aggressively on my behalf over a piece of jewellery, and was mortally ashamed as I handed over a fraction of the asking price. Some weeks later I saw a similar necklace in a shop window in downtown Brussels; it was of better quality – and selling for less than I had paid.
Has the recession changed your spending habits?
Not much. Circumstances were such that I never felt the benefit of the boom/bubble – not too much of that unreal money came my way, and what did had to be spent more or less sensibly at the time. So, to a degree, what I never had, I never missed – and there was some wiggle room when the cutbacks came.
Do you invest in shares?
For better or worse, I have always had other things to do in my spare time; I never wanted to spend it watching my money.
Cash or card?
Card – and I have taken to the contactless plastic with gusto. The monthly statement at last provides an answer to the question, where did the money go?
What was the last thing you bought and was it good value for money?
A fine Vibieffe Italian armchair, to match the sofa on which we got a bargain a couple of years ago. It will last a lifetime, so good value – at least for whoever is sitting in it 50 years from now.
Have you ever successfully saved up for a relatively big purchase?
Only houses and cars. Like most of us, I have wasted too much time and energy in wanting things, and they have tended to be things that money couldn’t buy.
Have you ever lost money?
When I lived in Belgium, I followed the fashion and carried a gentleman’s handbag. Nobody told me that you needed to have the Belgian handbag-minding gene: I was forever losing the thing. Finally, someone did me a favour and stole it. The favour cost me about €200, as I recall.
Are you a gambler and if so have you ever had a big win?
I don’t gamble, but suspect that if I did allow myself a flutter here and there, I would soon become an addict.
Is money important to you?
Anyone who says it’s not important should try doing without it. I can’t say I have never been touched by greed, or drifted into measuring my own worth by the value of my pay cheque, but nowadays I just count myself lucky – at least for the moment – not to have money too much on my mind.
How much money do you have on you now?
€40 and 30 Swiss francs. The latter is from an opera weekend in Basel some months back. I’m not a spender, but...
In conversation with Tony Clayton-Lea
