In an exclusive interview with Nick McGrath, she talks about how much she's lost to gambling, investments and valuable tips to acquiring wealth.
How did your childhood experience influence your attitude to money?
I grew up in Canton in Ohio, where really, things aren’t very expensive, and my parents worked in the town where we lived. They did pretty well; we were never wealthy, but my dad and my mom always owned the house, and we always had two or three cars, and we always took trips in the summer. We always had what we needed and I don’t remember struggling.
My dad would always give me a five dollar bill here or a one dollar bill there and consequently I spend money really loosely, because I feel like I’m always going to have it, although my brothers and sisters had the same upbringing and they’re not like that at all.
Are you a spender or a saver?
I’m a spender, unfortunately. As soon as I get money, I can’t wait to spend it. That’s all I can think about; what I’m going to spend it on. I wish I was a saver.
How much did you earn for your first job?
My first job was working in McDonald's as a 14-year-old earning whatever the minimum wage was back then but I still thought it was a ton of money. My mother had set up all these little savings accounts for us though so the money went in there. My mother’s a great saver and I don’t know why I didn’t pick that up.
When was the first time that you earned money for your music?
The first time I got on stage was to play a gig when I was in college and I got paid $100, which was a ton of money to me, because I never had money in college. I didn't really work in college, and I was just kind of dependent on my parents, and they would only send me a little bit, so $100 was like a million dollars a week for me then and the first thing I’d do was go and blow it on pizza.
Before you hit the big time in 1999 how did you survive financially?
I was temping, doing assistant jobs here and there, and I moved back in with my mother, because I was divorced. I was living at home with my mom right when I got signed. I was 28 and living in my mother’s house. Yeah, it was bad and I was pregnant all the time, so I couldn't really get a job, but I started my own typing business, typing people’s school papers, but that wasn't really making me any money. So, to cut a long story short, I didn't have anything.
Your debut album, On How Life Is sold nearly 10 million copies. How did life change for you financially?
Oh, it was huge. Suddenly I had a lot of money, hundreds of thousands, like, more than I ever, ever made. It’s amazing, having money all of a sudden, because you can just get really carried away; you just want to go do all the things you never got to do, and suddenly, you can really go shopping, and you don’t have to go to the cheap shoe store no more. I bought my first home, I spent money on jewelry, I’d give my family thousands and thousands of dollars for Christmas and my single 'I Try' has given me and my whole family financial security for life.
How volatile have your earnings been since?
My first year, when I got really successful, I made a lot of money; I make millions and millions and millions of dollars, and the next year, I did about the same, and then it took a huge drop, and then I was OK for a minute, then it took another drop, and then it came up again up. It’s been very up and down.
When you’re an entertainer and you have all these people around you telling you how amazing and great you are, you can start taking things for granted, and you think it’s going to be there forever, and you spend like crazy, and then suddenly you don’t have any money, and then you’ve got to go and do a tour that you don’t really want to do, then you have money. It’s pretty hectic, but you get used to it. When it’s good, it’s really good, and it’s never, ever too bad.
Does money make you happy?
It does. It does, absolutely, because you can do the things that make you happy. You can afford to go all over the world but it doesn't buy you love or happiness; but it actually does because you can afford to go to places where you meet the kind of guy you want to meet. It’s like the bridge to a lot of things.
What are the biggest lessons you learnt about money?
No matter how much you have, you can spend it very easily. Spending money is the easiest thing in the world. One little smart thing I did was, I had my accountant put aside a very tiny percentage for each of my kids, and it looked like peanuts, but over the years, it’s added up and it’s really taken care of a lot of things that they needed when they got older. I have learned a lot about money and now that I've been through all the ups and downs with it, I think I treat it with a lot more respect.
Worst financial decision?
I would say, if you go in the business make sure you don’t do it alone, financially. It’s not that you don’t believe in yourself, but you just don’t have someone else balancing you out; you don’t have somebody else saying, 'don’t spend that; you just lost this much; don’t do it again’. It’s like being married; you just don’t have anything to balance.
Cards, cash or cheques?
I have an accountant. They have me on an allowance on my debit cards, and there’s only so much I can spend a week, and they handle everything else. I go over my allowance all the time but it’s great to have people watching that for me.
Do you gamble?
I love gambling and that’s another bad financial decision I've made; to play cards for money. The most I've won in one night is $28,000 playing Blackjack and when I’m in Vegas I love playing poker and I just lose my mind but not to the point where I think I've got a problem. I don’t get up in the middle of the night and go every day, nothing like that.
How much have you lost gambling altogether?
Hundreds of thousands I guess. Not millions though but I've definitely lost a lot of money. Enough to go and buy myself another house.
Have you invested any of your fortune?
I've bought a little property in my hometown and I've tried to start my own clothing line but that was a huge mistake financially but I’m no investment genius. I did put a little bit of my kids’ money on the stock exchange though and that actually paid off enough to put them through college.
Are you a generous tipper?
I am, because I used to be a waitress, so I’m a sucker for any waiter; all they have to do is be nice to me, and they’re good. One time I was at this nightclub and I was super duper drunk and there was this really nice lady in the cloakroom and she had the biggest smile on her face. It filled my heart and she said, 'Hi Macy, do you need anything?’ and I just reached in my pocket and I gave her this huge wad of cash. I don’t know a few thousand dollars. She started tearing up and literally couldn't speak.
What’s the biggest current drain on your finances?
Taxes. If you have a good year, and you make $10 million, that’s three mill to the government. Sometimes, by the time it's due, you don’t have it anymore. I had an accountant who wasn’t really paying my taxes for a couple of years, so it’s easy to get behind, or have gone through it by the time it’s time to pay it so it’s important to keep on top of that.
What do you like least about dealing with money?
Paying stuff I don’t want to pay for, like my utility bill. That’s got to be the most irritating bill in the world, because there’s no way you can keep track of it; you don’t know if they’re overcharging you or not.
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