Meet the blogger: deals guru William Pointing

Mouthy Money catches up with blogger contributor, expert deals finder William Pointing on helping those out of work retrain, why people need to work harder at their money and not try to live a champagne lifestyle on a prosecco budget

1. Tell us a bit about yourself 

I am a 35-year-old born and raised Londoner. I studied Anthropology at University, so have always been interested in how groups of people tick. I am a Marketing Manager in financial services by day and a blogger of my deals site, Great Deals Made Easy, by night (and at weekends). I’m also a big fan of nature, from surfing to walking, anything to get me some time away from a screen.

2. What is your biggest passion in life?

My biggest passion in life is travel. The great thing about blogging is you can be anywhere in the world. Travel broadens the mind, gives you new experiences, helps you learn about new cultures and is rarely boring. It is also a good excuse to learn (try to learn) a new language.

3. What one personal finance tip would you give a younger version of yourself?

I wish I bought a flat when I first started working post-graduation. A friend bought a one-bedroom flat in Zone 3 of London for about £120k, it is now worth over double. I’m sure I could have got a £10k deposit together, if I had sacrificed holidays, nights out and alcohol. Then again, maybe I would have missed out on those memories and experiences.

4. If you had to stick to one rule around money what would it be?

Seems simple, but don’t spend more than your income. Too many people have a Champagne lifestyle, but a Prosecco salary, it can be fun initially, but it is a recipe for a bad financial hangover. I’ve been there before. 

5. What’s the biggest personal finance issue you think people face today?

Too many people work hard in their jobs but not on their money. I think people need to educate themselves more on personal finance, like budgeting, investing, loyalty apps and even side hustles to make extra money outside of their main jobs.

6. What would you do if you got to be Chancellor for the day?

I would provide a training budget for long-term job seekers (six months plus), so they could train for free for high-demand careers (from coding to teaching to the police) with a guaranteed job at the end of it. This would reduce homelessness and unemployment rates.

7. If you won the lottery what would you do with the money?

I would buy a few rental properties, learn how to sail a boat, buy a boat and then use the boat to sail around tropical islands. After some fun times, I would set up my own charities (from abandoned to animals to homeless people) and also help out friends and family financially.

Photo by Dmitry Zvolskiy from Pexels