Mark Steel: I bought a London flat for £59,000 – it would be worth £400,000 now

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 version, we speak to comedian, author and broadcaster Mark Steel, who talks about living in a squat before comedy took off, buying a flat in Crystal Palace, London, for £59,000 and why he has never paid into a pension.

What was money like growing up for you?

My dad had a working-class job. He was the insurance man for the area, going round knocking on doors, collecting insurance money. My mum mostly stayed at home, though she had odd jobs here and there as a dinner lady or receptionist. We didn’t have much money and we never went on foreign holidays or anything like that, but I don’t remember there being huge crises either. We had a two-bedroom bungalow with a garden on one wage, which now just seems impossible.

Before comedy took off, what were some of the strangest jobs you did?

The longest proper job I had was working for London Transport in an office. A depot would send us a form asking for things like washing supplies for the canteen, and my entire job was copying the details from one form onto another form. I never once found out why. That was the whole job. I got a free travelcard, though, which felt quite exciting at the time.

Do you remember the first time you got paid for comedy?

The very first time was actually when I was eight. I entered a talent contest at a holiday camp and did a poem I’d written about animals. I won 10 shillings (50p). Then later, in the early 1980s, I started getting paid proper money for stand-up – maybe £10 here and there. It was unbelievably exciting.

What did you spend the money on?

Because I’d been unemployed for a while and living in a squat, most of the money just went on paying off debts. People don’t really understand that when you finally start earning again, you don’t suddenly become financially secure. You spend months catching up – paying people back, replacing clothes that are falling apart, sorting out bills.

Did you ever worry comedy wouldn’t work long-term?

There was a brilliant scheme called the Enterprise Allowance Scheme, where you could get the equivalent of unemployment benefit for a year while trying to become self-employed. Loads of comics and musicians were on it. I remember thinking: “Right, I’ve got one year to get to the point where I can survive from comedy.” By the end of the year, I thought, “Actually, I can do this now.”

How does the money side of stand-up work?

In comedy clubs, everybody might get something like £150 for a gig. But once you’re touring, it becomes more like running a small business. You sell tickets, then you take off VAT, the theatre’s cut, agency fees, travel costs and everything else, and whatever’s left is yours. You don’t really want to think about comedy like that, but that’s basically what it is.

What was your biggest financial win?

I remember doing a university gig when I was completely broke. Because of an administrative error, the organiser thought myself and the other comedian were also collecting payment for a band that didn’t exist. We just nodded along and ended up getting about another £100 each. At the time, it felt like winning the lottery. I used it to pay off some debt and bought a cassette deck for my stereo.

When did you first feel financially stable?

Once I started doing the Comedy Store regularly, I was earning enough to actually save money. I lived in a council flat in the 1980s and the rent was about £40 a month, so it was possible to put money aside. One day, I realised I had £12,000 saved and thought: “I can buy a flat.” So, I bought a two-bedroom flat in Crystal Palace, London, for £59,000. I sold it in 1992. That same flat would probably be worth about £400,000 now.

Has your attitude towards money changed over time?

Well, once you’ve got children and then grandchildren, you stop thinking entirely about yourself. If someone gave me half a million quid tomorrow, my first thought would be about helping the kids. My mortgage is paid off now, so obviously, that gives me a level of security, but I also think what’s changed is that life feels much less secure now. My son earns more than I did at his age, but he still can’t afford to move out and buy somewhere. I had cancer and couldn’t work for nine months. Even when you’re doing okay financially, you realise how quickly things can go wrong.

Did you ever save into a pension?

No, honestly, I never really thought about pensions at all. I don’t have a private pension. But I’m lucky because comedy isn’t the sort of job you necessarily want to retire from. I still enjoy doing it.

What does success mean to you now?

I don’t think success is financial security on its own. Elon Musk is one of the richest men in the world and I wouldn’t describe him as successful in any meaningful sense. Obviously, everybody wants stability and security, but if money is the only thing you aim for, I think you end up living a pretty strange life.

Mark Steel is currently touring the UK with his latest show, The Leopard in My House, based on his experience of throat cancer. Tour dates and tickets are available via Mark Steel’s website.