My mum was a dinner lady and a cleaner while dad worked night shifts as a hydraulic engineer. They did not have a lot of spare cash and only ever bought what they could afford. We never had a car and cycled everywhere. We never went to restaurants. I did not know what Chinese food tasted like until I was 15.

At 16, I got a part-time job selling double-glazing door to door. That was soul destroying but the worst part-time job I did was at university working on reception in a sexually transmitted disease clinic. Because no one else wanted to do it, they paid £8 an hour.

I spend hundreds of pounds a year on candles and it is such a waste of money. It is burning cash whatever way you look at it but I love them.

I now consider the money I put into my pension to have been a mistake.

My number one financial priority is security. Not having to worry about how I am going to meet the bills and not owing anybody anything. I keep my outgoings as low as possible and save as much as I can.

There are times when I feel over-rewarded for what I do for a living, especially when I compare what I can earn to what my brother earns as a firefighter.

Women trapped in violent relationships need to know that there's no shame in talking out and walking out on their abusive partners.