Are you a saver or a spender?

I’ve always been a spender, but recently I have been saving more as we are planning to buy a new home.

Do you shop around for better value?

For bigger purchases I will, and certainly do when it comes to buying services for my business (such as insurance/phone services, and so on). I find that sometimes you can spend a lot of time shopping around and only save a few quid and, when you factor in the cost of the time, it isn’t always worth it.

What has been your most extravagant purchase and how much did it cost?

A bottle of vintage Cristal champagne (€240) when on holiday in Paris a few years ago. It was pricey but really good! The most expensive items were obvious ones, such as a house or a car, but you need somewhere to live and a car to get around. You don’t need Cristal!

What purchase have you made that you consider the best value for money?

It wasn’t a purchase per se, but I invested a small inheritance I got to allow me to grow my business. The money essentially funded the salary of my first employee and started a process of sustained growth in the business.

How do you prefer to shop – online or local?

Local for the most part. I believe in supporting local jobs and the best way to do that is to buy the things you need in your locality. I only buy online for flights, concert tickets and the like.

Do you haggle over prices?

Rarely, to be honest, and as a consequence I’m not very good at it.

Has the recession changed your spending habits?

It didn’t make a huge change to them, but certainly it would have made me more cautious over bigger purchases.

Do you invest in shares?

No, I never have.

Cash or card?

Mostly card. I tend to stick to cash for small day-to-day things such as coffee and lunch.

What was the last thing you bought and was it good value for money?

T-shirts for my recent holiday. They were TK Maxx’s finest, so that’s always good value for money.

Have you ever successfully saved up for a relatively big purchase?

No – I always get impatient and find another way of financing it.

Have you ever lost money?

Thankfully, no. I’ve never lost my wallet or cash. I did, however, buy a house near the height of the market, so I am looking at taking a loss on this now to allow the purchase of the new family home.

Are you a gambler and if so have you ever had a big win?

Yes, I am. I enjoy the occasional small bet on football. The bets are always small, never more than €10, so the wins are never huge, but I break even overall so I can’t complain. My biggest win ever was a €10 bet on an 18/1 shot at the Roscommon Races. That horse was picked by choosing a number between one and 14, and he beat the odds-on-favourite by five lengths!

Is money important to you?

Yes, it is. Growing up in Ireland in the 1980s, we never had much of it but always had what we needed. I’m thankful that my wife and I have good jobs, and that we don’t have to struggle to pay the bills or give our girls a nice quality of life. When you hear about people facing or experiencing homelessness in modern day Ireland, it really does remind me how lucky we are not be struggling.

How much money do you have on you now?

A grand total of €17.10.

In conversation with Tony Clayton-Lea