Money
Matters
FINANCE
In each issue of Tees Life,
we’ll ask a prominent
Teessider about their
thoughts on financial matters
Money! Money! Money! We talk to former
Middlesbrough FC star John Hendrie –
scorer of the last ever goal at Ayresome
Park – for his thoughts on finances. John is
now a matchday corporate hospitality host
at the Riverside Stadium…
Does money make you happy?
I wouldn’t say so. I certainly wouldn’t say money is
the most important thing – your health and family
are far more important. Money can give you some
creature comforts but it certainly doesn’t give you
happiness. What’s the biggest drain on your resources?
My family. I’ve got four adult kids. My daughter
Lauren got married recently in Gilling West, near
Richmond, while my eldest lad Joe proposed to his
girlfriend recently. So I’m starting to spend all that
money I saved!
What was your first paid job?
I remember going potato-picking in fields near my
home in Kirkintilloch in Scotland when I was a
lad. I’ll tell you what, that was back-breaking work.
I came away with a couple of quid in my pocket
and the next day they couldn’t get me out of bed, I
was so stiff! In terms of a real job, well, I left school
on Friday afternoon and that evening signed as an
apprentice for Coventry City. That was 1980. My
first wage was 20 quid a week. Less than 18 months
later I was playing in the top flight at White Hart
Lane against World Cup winners Ossie Ardiles and
Ricky Villa. “Money can give you some
creature comforts but it
certainly doesn’t give you
happiness.”
What’s your best financial tip?
Stay married! I’ve been married to Linda for 33
years. She’s due the Queen’s Award for Industry! What’s been your biggest financial mistake?
I had a property investment in Scotland which
didn’t go too well, shall we say. I was part of it with
other guys and few of us were left to bear the brunt.
It meant my pension fund suffered a wee bit but it
wasn’t life-changing. As I see it, you win some, you
lose some.
Are you a saver or a spender?
Right through my football career I was a saver
and investor. Now I’m retired from football, I’m
more of a spender. Most lads loved their flashy
cars but I was always different. Rather than blow
it, I ploughed the majority of my wages into my
pension. As a result, my footballer’s pension is my
biggest asset. There were a lot of tax breaks back
then and I had a financial advisor as a brother-in-
law, so I took some good advice.
What’s the most you’ve splashed out on a single
item?
A car, I guess – probably my wife’s Range Rover.
Cars don’t really do it for me, but you need one for
yourself and one for the Mrs, so we’ve got two cars.
What’s been your best investment?
Probably my house – fondly known to our kids and
their partners as Hendrie HQ. We’ve been here, in a
quiet village, for 19 years and its value has gone up
dramatically in that time.
tees-life.co.uk
45