‘Jehovah’s Witnesses told me I would die at 15 – so I didn’t save for a pension’

Kit de Waal is an award-winning author who left school at 16. Her debut novel, My Name is Leon, was published when she was 56, and became a bestseller.

It was turned into a TV movie for the BBC and is now on the GCSE English Literature syllabus. With her first advance, Kit set up a scholarship for writers from disadvantaged backgrounds.

She has two adopted children and lives in Leamington Spa with her adult son.

How did your childhood affect your attitude to money?

My father was an African-Caribbean bus driver from St Kitts. He saved up all the money he had to go home to the West Indies. My Irish mother worked very, very menial jobs to make ends meet.

Both of them gave the message that money was tight, hard to come by and not to be spent.

What was your first proper job?

I left home at 16 because my mother was a Jehovah’s Witness – I didn’t want to be involved in that any more. I worked as a secretary for Hoskins, a company that made hospital bedsteads and exported them to the Middle East.

I filled out bills and export forms for £20.00 per week – it was crushingly boring.

What impact did growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness have?

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe in an imminent Armageddon. When I was a child, the appointed year was 1975, when I would be 15.

Money – believed to be the root of all evil – would be dispensed in God’s new paradise. He would provide food and housing and meaningful, mostly manual, employment.

Although I stopped being a Jehovah’s Witness when I was 16, a year after the appointed date, somewhere in the back of my mind I thought Armageddon might happen. I never really subscribed to the notion of a career, or even getting older.

I’d never need a pension or critical illness cover. The rational side of my mind told me to get with the programme, but the indoctrination bit deep. I always suspected that there would be some kind of divine rescue from old age and poverty.

I’ve had to force myself to take ageing seriously, to get a pension and provide for the inevitable. It hasn’t been easy.

Have you ever had trouble paying your bills?

It’s been tight, but I’ve never not paid my bills. I absolutely hate owing money. If there’s a bill to pay, I will pay it that hour. I have a credit card, but I never use it.

Which book has had the biggest financial impact?

“My Name is Leon” (published in 2016). It launched me and I got a big advance for a three-book deal. It’s had the most incredible impact.

After divorcing my partner (KC John de Waal) who earned all the money, it was a great confidence boost for me. It was like someone saying, “Don’t worry. You’re OK.”

What was your worst financial decision?

Selling my first flat in Mosley, Birmingham. I bought it when I was 26, and it cost £31,000. When I got married at 34, I sold it for £48,000. It would probably be worth six times more now.

What was your best financial decision?

Buying the flat I now live in. After my divorce, I desperately wanted to move, but couldn’t find anything. Then I walked into this flat and had to have it. It was a good emotional decision and happened to be a good financial decision.

When I bought it five years ago, it had no garden. But there was a courtyard behind part of the building. It was hideous, but I found out who owned it and bought it off them for £8,000. I then spent £20,000 having it turned into a garden, just in time for lockdown.

Are you good at managing money?

When I got married at 34, the bills came through the post and I could see them. Then later, everything was direct debit, and I didn’t know what the bills were any more as my husband took care of it.

After my divorce, the admin of managing the money side of my life hit me like a tsunami. Although I had money, I just didn’t know how to handle it. So I made a spreadsheet of every bill with reference numbers and account details, (water, energy, insurance, service charges, subscriptions, literally everything).

I set up direct debits and made a brand new bank account that was strictly for bills and everything came out of that. These days, I always make sure it’s got double what I need in it.

Pension or property?

I had a profound change in circumstances when I divorced. It wasn’t an unfair settlement, but it did change my circumstances and it reinforced in me the sense that nothing is dependable and no one is coming to save you.

I was 55 and had been relying on my husband’s pension. I am now 64, and have since put money and time into both property and my own retirement fund. I still need to work, but I have two buy-to-let flats in Warwick which are ticking along and a very small pension.

Are you a saver or spender?

I used to be a spender. Having been deprived of heat, food and comfort as a child, I wanted all that and would buy it. I’ve since had to work really hard to overcome my natural tendency to (over) spend.

It goes against my personality and it’s been a slog, but I am cautious and scared of not meeting my obligations. I also have two children whom I want to leave money to.

What do you like to splash out on?

My son is a classic car mechanic and I would so desperately, desperately love a classic car – a Jenson Interceptor. In silver. That would be my splurge if I won the lottery.

Otherwise, I splash out on pictures. And every time a book comes out, I treat myself. I love city breaks. Last year, I went to Seattle. I have a book out this month and haven’t yet decided what the treat will be. It might be a city break or it might be a handbag.

Does money make you happy?

Sometimes, absolutely. When I set up the scholarship with Birkbeck University (for disadvantaged writers) after my first advance, many generous people contributed to it.

What it told me was that, if you show this generosity and support, people will pile in. To me, that’s what money is for: to be generous and allow other people to get involved.

The Best of Everything by Kit De Waal published by Tinder Press is out now.