Charlotte Jackson: ‘Now that I have a mortgage and bills I have had to become a lot better at saving’
Photo: REX FEATURES
WHEN SETANTA COLLAPSED, WERE YOU WORRIED?
Yes I was. I was working at ITN in a dedicated unit, because they supplied the
service to Setanta, and when we first got whiff of any trouble I remember
joking with a friend that we couldn’t be sure where our next meal was coming
from. Then the worst happened and it was a bit of a shock. The service had
only been running for two years, but we were given just over two months’
redundancy pay. Thankfully I was offered my new job fairly quickly.
IS IT VERY DIFFERENT WORKING FOR SKY?
The upside is I don’t have to travel so far – I used to be paying for a Tube
journey every day, but now I just drive 10 minutes to the studios. More
significantly, most presenters at Sky follow the model of charging for their
services against a contract. I changed accountant this year and when the new
one saw that I was also receiving a small self-employed income, from
modelling and other sources, he recommended I set myself up as a limited
company to administer everything.
The downside is I now have to be much more disciplined and put a good
proportion of everything I receive aside for tax and also transfer any VAT I
am paid into a separate bank account straight away, so that the money is
there for my quarterly VAT bills.
HAVE YOU LEARNT ANY DIFFICULT LESSONS ABOUT MONEY THROUGH MAKING MISTAKES?
I used to be really bad at saving. When I got my first job in my early
twenties I would pay my rent each month, and that included all bills, so I
never had much to worry about, and then I would spend the rest. Annual items
like car insurance, service and MoT would always take me by surprise and
I occasionally had to borrow from my family to be able to afford them. But I
bought my first property in early 2007 and now that I have the
responsibility of a mortgage and bills I have had to learn to become a lot
better at saving.
HAVE YOU BEEN MOVING YOUR MONEY AROUND TO GET A BETTER RETURN ON IT?
I bank with Lloyds TSB and they wrote to me recently saying I could do better
if I transferred to a different savings account, so I did. I think I was
getting less than 1pc and now I am getting a bonus rate of 1.6pc for the
first 12 months. It’s an improvement, but last year I was getting around
5pc. I don’t feel I can moan though – my mortgage is now costing a lot less.
I am on a tracker and the amount I pay has reduced by £200 each month, so
I’ve been saving the difference and putting it into a cash inidual
savings account (Isa).
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BEST BUY?
Can …
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