What was your first pay cheque? £5,250 for the year. What did you spend it on? Rent, football, music and the balance on food (mainly biscuits). Dining out or entertaining at home? Close one but probably entertaining at home, especially if someone else is cooking! Most expensive thing ever bought? I did spend a tidy sum on a pair of cowboy boots recently, but rationalised the extravagance by focusing on the price-per-boot. Best bargain ever had? Anything from Primark feels like a bargain. I bought myself an Emergence suit there last year and it's had more use than some of my 'big brand' ones. One luxury you're going without during the credit crunch? I've tried to cut back on lots of things but certain members of my family see it as their British duty to prop up the economy. I definitely take fewer taxis and am tube-ing/walking everywhere instead. Best money-saving tip? Forgetting PIN and cashpoint numbers helps reduce spending (but can be embarrassing at check-out tills). One thing you shouldn't buy but always do? Usually food related and more specifically chocolate. Luckily my taste in chocolate isn't expensive ones, it's more of a volume thing. Your favourite currency and why? Well I know it's not around anymore but I used to really like lire. You could feel rich with hundreds of thousands of lire stuffed in your wallet. Best way of spending money on a rainy day is On an umbrella. Or on a trip to the cinema in the afternoon which always feels like you're skiving off school.