Source: Telegraph
John Barnes: 'All the clothes I buy now are from shops like Primark'
How did your childhood influence your attitude towards money?
I was the youngest of three kids, with two older sisters, growing up in Jamaica. They were brainy (one's now a lawyer and the other has a master's degree), whereas I was never good at school and loved football, so I left when I was 17 to play. My Dad was a military attaché and not at all extravagant, so you'd expect this to have made me more careful too, but it had the opposite effect. By the time I was 17 I had signed to play for Watford, so lots of money was coming my way. I wouldn't go as far as saying I became like P Diddy, but I did act like an idiot for many years. It's always better to start off with no money and get it later on, whereas where I am now, I've got no money, but had money then.
It's taken me a while to readjust, but when you're a young footballer you think this money's going to come in forever, and when you retire at 35 it may last a while longer. But at 45, ten years later, it doesn't. The lifestyle I can lead now is very different to the one I had in my heyday. When I first started playing football, I bought an Aston Martin DV7 and stupid flashy clothes, which were very expensive, but I can't wear them now. I should have bought nice, conservative suits I could still wear now. So all the clothes I buy now are from high street shops like Primark, but I'm happy.
Have you ever been in debt?
I'm not a budgeter at all, because I never had to be when I was playing football, so I ran up lots of debts and credit card bills and got used to having debt. The hardest period is when you first finish playing because you still have some money left over from your football salary, but you can't keep spending at the same rate. A few years later when that runs out you really do have to adjust. With six kids it's not cheap!
So are you no longer a spender and more cautious now with money?
Oh, much more cautious because I just don't have the money to spend on what I want. I would love to have the money I had back then, because I still have the urges, like when I'm walking down Bond Street window shopping, wishing I could go in, but I can't! I find it much easier now to resist, but at one time I found it difficult because I'd get so frustrated and down when I couldn't go into shops and spend. I'm quite happy to walk down there now and feel the way a lot of people have their whole lives and who never go into these shops and buy anything.
Is there anything you hate about dealing with money?
I don't like dealing with taxes of course! I just hate not having enough money. Apart from that, I don't like dealing with bills and never have done. I let my wife Andrea deal with them. I don't even like opening them. A few times my credit card has been declined when I've been travelling abroad. Then I have to get creative about paying the bill and have to really route around. That's much more satisfying than just having it come easily.
What's been your best business decision since you stop playing football?
I bought a five-bedroom house a few years ago in Liverpool, after renting for four years. I was paying someone's mortgage and property seemed a secure investment. It's got a lovely garden, enclosed by 20 foot conifers. When you look at the front of the house you don't imagine there's a garden, except the garden's better than the house really. It's on the main road, but in the garden you can't hear a thing. It's very peaceful except, mind you, when all the kids are here at the one time.
Were you worried when the housing market started to decline?
No, I'm not a worrier. I'm the biggest believer in fate that you could ever imagine. What's to be is to be and if you buy a property just before the bottom drops out of the market, then you just have to face the challenges and get on with it. It happens for a reason and it's there to teach me a lesson. Every decision you make is the correct one at the time, whether you turn left or
