If you are a housewife, take pride in that.

One wise decision I made was buying a plot of land with planning permission in Richmond, and building my own five-bedroom home on it. I sold three years after I completed the building and more than doubled my money. I like Richmond and always have my eyes open for other properties in the area.

When I was 16 I got a school holiday job at Minton's pottery factory in Staffordshire, packing plates. For a month's work, I was paid £44. Everything I now know about the birds and the bees, I learnt there.

Whether it's cushions you only use outside in the summer, or blankets that only come out in the winter, you've always got to think of where to store them.

It's cool to have a well run, comfortable and inviting home.

People who earn reasonable amounts are being turned into the anti-Christ. I think 45 per cent tax is a colossal amount to take off somebody, and it is taking away the incentive to earn.

I grew up in a world before people had credit cards. There were no magic cards - it was all about budgeting.