Don Wycherley: ‘Eircom put me off investing in shares for life'

Irish Times

a day ago

Actor
Don Wycherley
is the narrator for Guy Barker's Soho Symphony in the
RTÉ Concert Orchestra
's concert, A Night in Soho, on Friday at the
National Concert Hall
, Dublin.
Are you a saver or a spender?
I don't make any extravagant purchases, I would never buy a new car, for example, as I would not like the burden of monthly repayments. That said, I don't have vast savings either. I use
Revolut
Spare Change to save for things like 'holiday money' or indeed for those little emergencies, like the car breaking down.
What was the first job you received money for, and how much were you paid?
I got a summer job picking strawberries in fifth year for a local market gardener, starting at 6.30am. You got paid per punnet picked and would get told off for pulling the tops off or picking ones with green in them. Your wages depended on the number of punnets picked, which were counted at the end.
Do you shop around for better value?
I would have to say no, but thankfully my wife does. I am currently struggling with the idea that I am a fool for paying over the odds for my Sky, Netflix and Prime payments, when most people I know are dodgy boxers.
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What has been your most extravagant purchase and how much did it cost?
My house, I suppose, and though probably not an extravagance, it felt so at the time. I'm not going to tell you the cost, but the stamp duty would have bought a fine car back then.
I do the Lotto with work colleagues, but we have never won anything big. It's a waste of a fiver a month, but we get a bit of a laugh out of it
What purchase have you made that you consider the best value for money?
I guess it's the same house, as it has doubled in value.
Is there anything you regret spending money on?
Those bloody
Eircom
shares in 1999, my first toe-dip into the markets. I held on to them for too long and ended up losing money on them. Put me off shares for life!
[
The Eircom shares debacle: 'I spent €5,000. They are now worth less than €500′
Opens in new window
]
Do you haggle over prices?
All the time. I will haggle anywhere. In shops, I ask if that's the best you can do, could you knock anything off that? I have certainly embarrassed my children at times. If you don't ask, you won't receive and will never know if there was a better deal to be made.
Do you invest in shares and/or cryptocurrency?
I was always in and out of work as an actor and never really had the regular funds to invest in shares. If I did get a cash injection from somewhere, there was always something more pressing that needed those funds.
Do you have a retirement or pension plan?
Yes, I do, and this is where I am putting most of my financial energies. For years, I didn't think about such things, but like many men and women of my age, it is now one of my favourite subjects.
What was the last thing you bought and was it good value for money?
I took a house in west Cork for two weeks recently and all my children and their respective partners and pets came down for a few days here and a few days there. For two of the days, they were all down at the same time, chatting, reminiscing, slagging each other, and I made them iced coffees, cut up lots of fruit for breakfast, had lots of swims together and savoured our family reunion. I could probably have got something cheaper abroad, but we had fantastic weather, and a lovely landlady. I couldn't have got any better value for money than I did in west Cork for those two weeks.
Have you ever successfully saved up for a relatively big purchase?
Yes, I have saved up for all my cars over the years.
Have you ever lost money?
I do the Lotto with work colleagues, but we have never won anything big. It's a waste of a fiver a month, but we get a bit of a laugh out of it. We used to put the winnings back into buying more tickets, but last year we decided to start building the winnings fund and putting it towards some fun group activity. We currently have €410 in our fund and counting!
Are you a gambler and, if so, have you ever had a big win?
I would have always said no, but a few years back I got a tip on a horse from a friend and wasn't near a bookies, so I decided to download a well-known bookmaker's app to place the bet. The horse won, so with my €80 winnings I started exploring the app, putting on little wagers here and there. The winnings were soon gone.
[
Leah Stack: 'Horses can be quite unreliable at times ... so I have a few backup investments'
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]
When I had a little time to myself, or even while disinterestedly half-watching something on telly with my wife, I found myself going into the casino section. It was very addictive, and even though I won a couple of times, I generally lost. Thankfully, I realised this quickly and had the sense to cut my losses and delete the app. That was a big win!
What is your best habit when it comes to money? And your worst?
Best? I don't think about it too much. Worst? I don't think about it too much!
How much money do you have on you now?
A fiver and some coins.
In conversation with Tony Clayton-Lea