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Debt: Michelle Heaton earlier this year
Former Liberty X singer Michelle Heaton ran into debt during the Covid lockdowns and came close to needing to sell and downsize her home.
She tells Donna Ferguson that she was unable to earn for nearly two years when the pandemic shut down the entertainment industry.
But the 43-year-old has now changed her life and founded a company, Mission Possible Wellness, to help people achieve healthy and active lifestyles through exercise, nutrition, mindset, sleep and motivation. For more information, visit missionpossiblewellness.com.
What did your parents teach you about money?
They taught me the value of money. I knew they had worked hard for it. I grew up in a former town hall. Dad was a bus driver and then a train driver while Mom was raising us. Everything was done on a budget. McDonald’s would be a birthday treat, not an after school meal. We went on a caravan holiday in England. But I didn’t know otherwise.
Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?
Yes. The worst time started in the first Covid lockdown. At the time, my income came from business appearances, photo shoots and speaking engagements. That was all closed. My husband, who works in the fitness industry, and I moved from a two-income household and earned comparable wages to just him. I haven’t earned a cent for almost two years. Suddenly we had half the money in our bank account.
We had lived life to the fullest. We have two kids, ages ten and eight, and I’m one of those moms who can’t help buying good things for my kids. Our attitude was: if we have the money, let’s enjoy life. So we didn’t have much savings. As a result, we are in debt.
How did you turn things around?
It was really scary. We started talking about selling the house and finishing it. At one point we were six months behind on our council tax. Fortunately, the performances are now back after Covid. I paid off our council tax, got an accountant and got my finances back in order. It hasn’t been easy, but I know other people are much worse off. We did not live in poverty. The experience made me plan for the future.
Have you ever been given ridiculous money?
Yes, eight years ago, during National Yogurt Week, I was paid £20,000 for six hours of work. All I had to do was sit in a tub of Greek-style yogurt and have some food, as if I was enjoying myself. It was absolutely freezing.
It was stupid money for such a weird idea, but I’d do it again tomorrow.
What was the best year of your financial life?
It was 2018 when I released my book Hot Flush and was on the ITV show The Real Full Monty. I also ran a lot of campaigns that year. I made a six-digit sum.
What is the most expensive thing you bought for fun?
An Audi convertible for £38,000 when I was heavily pregnant with my daughter, Faith, in 2012. I paid cash.
What is your biggest money mistake?
Buy that car. When Faith arrived, I realized her car seat wouldn’t fit in the back seat. What an idiot. I ended up selling it about four months after I bought it, for about £29,000.
The best money decision you’ve made?
Getting up the property ladder early. As a band, we paid ourselves £5,000 a month from Liberty X and kept the rest of our earnings in the bank as a payout in case it all ended.
I saved every month and for three years after we started the band, in 2004, I used my savings to buy a two bedroom apartment at Canada Water in London for £375,000.
I sold it five years later for about £475,000. That helped me climb the ladder to the family home I am in now, which is my greatest asset.
Fixed income: Michelle Heaton (center) with Liberty X in 2002 – the band paid themselves £5,000 a month
Are you saving for a pension or the stock market?
No. I’m not a gambler. I wish I had saved for a pension. But yes, for the past two years I would not have been able to pay regularly.
My husband is saving for a pension and I hope he will never leave me. I also have a buy-to-let apartment in Newcastle which will hopefully be a nest.
At the moment the rent only covers the mortgage. I bought it for £210,000 in 2005 and I think it’s worth the same today.
Do you own another property?
Yes, my house. It is a four bedroom semi-detached house with a very private south facing garden, on a private road in Hertfordshire.
We bought it ten years ago for £500,000 and spent £200,000 renovating it. I think it’s worth double what we paid for it.
What’s the one little luxury you treat yourself to?
A new set of nails or infills. I spend $40 to $60 a week. It makes me happy.
If you were Chancellor, what’s the first thing you would do?
I would distribute the wealth of the country better than the government does.
I would close tax loopholes that only benefit the super-rich and allocate that money to a tax cut for small, independent businesses struggling after the pandemic.
Do you donate money to a good cause?
Yes. I am an ambassador for Caudwell Children and I do a lot for cancer charities. I am BRCA2 positive, which means I have a higher risk of developing breast cancer. So I’ve had a total double mastectomy and reconstruction, and a total hysterectomy.
What is your top financial priority?
To get into a stable position where I don’t depend on the entertainment industry for my income so that what happened two years ago won’t happen again.
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