Makin, who recently returned to the TV chat show Loose Women as a guest after quitting in 2020, is the author of “You Just Need to Believe: 10 Ways to Unlock Your Courage and Regain Your Strength in 10 Days”.
Married to businessman Nick Feeney, McLean spoke to Donna Ferguson.
A smart move: Andrea McLean has invested in a “gym for the mind”
What did your parents teach you about money?
Not to spend more than you earn. My parents were working class people. My mom was a barber and my dad an engineer. He left school without qualifications, became an apprentice engineer and eventually traveled to Trinidad to install equipment at the plant.
I spent most of my upbringing in Trinidad. It was like being in the army. We lived in a furnished house of the company where my dad worked.
We didn’t have a good one and the money was a bit, but I didn’t notice it until we came back to the UK when I was a teenager.
My parents wanted to buy real estate and I think they felt the difficulty. I even remember my mom quitting because she could no longer afford it.
Have you ever had a hard time making ends meet?
When I was 24 and studying for a postgraduate degree in journalism in London, I only had a student loan to live on.
I slept on a friend’s floor until I could take a bed that was so small that there wasn’t enough room in it even for a bed.
I slept on a mattress in the closet and I had to put 50 pence a meter to get warmth and light.
Have you ever been paid stupid money?
Yes, most recently at the awards ceremony. All I had to do was come up and read the script. I finished in 20 minutes and I was paid crazy money: a few thousand pounds.
It was so ridiculous to earn so much in 20 minutes that I stayed up all evening to justify the fee.
What year was the best in your financial life?
It was 2012. I hosted Loose Women, published my first book, and I had a successful range of jewelry for sale on the QVC shopping channel.
I won’t say exactly how much I earned, but it was a six-figure sum.
What is the most expensive thing you bought for fun?
A black floor-length sheepskin coat from fashion retailer Joseph for £ 1,000 in 2000. I bought it when my son was a newborn because it felt so awful.
I decided I needed something beautiful. It was beautiful and warm, but I wore it so often that it started to look like a wild animal.
But now I have taken it as an extraordinary failure. That didn’t stop me from postponing retirement. I took the advice of a financial advisor who said I should continue to save on a different scheme.
I think it makes sense for tax reasons, and I like the fact that my savings are scattered, so there’s no temptation to dive into them.
I compare my experience with Equitable Life with my experience with men. I have been married three times. This is not to say that I do not trust love or believe that all men are horrible. I was just unlucky. You live, study, take matters into your own hands and start again.
The best money decision you made?
He sold his house last year to invest half a million pounds in his business, This Girl Is On Fire.
This is an online gym for the mind, a private club for women where we teach them to think differently.
The idea is that when you train your mental muscles, it keeps you mentally strong.
When I left Loose Women in December 2020, I took a step of faith and put all my heart and soul into This Girl Is On Fire.
n good company: Andrea McLean recently returned to the TV chat show Loose Women as a guest after quitting in 2020
About nine months later I realized I needed more money to invest in the business because we were building the app and it took longer than we thought.
So I had to sell my house – for £ 1 million – and started renting a lovely six-bedroom house in Surrey.
