David Cassidy has been a well-known actor and singer for more than 30 years but fame did not bring happiness at first. He now has two children, son Beau, 17, and Katie, 21, and is married to Sue Shifrin.

How did your childhood influence your attitude to money?
My parents were poor starving actors. They divorced when I was three, and when I was five I moved in with my grandparents, who were a very hard-working blue-collar couple.

My grandfather had worked from the age of 18 with the New Jersey public service, reading meters. I remember him telling me that he once walked three miles through the snow to read a meter. His work ethic was impeccable.

The main principle my dad instilled in me was to tell the truth, and in work never give anything less than your best, finish the job and do it right.

Did this make you more cautious about money?
Even though he was very hard working, my father was very irresponsible with money. My parents weren't well-educated and neither was I. So without a proper education or a role model, although I had respect for the value of money, I wasn't very astute with it.

Have you ever been in debt?
I've been to the brink of financial ruin twice and come back. In the 1970s I made millions of dollars, but both times my business managers squandered and stole from me, ending up in jail for defrauding me.

I was one of the wealthiest young male entertainers in the world then, but 10 years later I had nothing to show for it. By the 1980s I was broke and had to rebuild my life.

What lessons did you learn from almost going bankrupt?
I started paying a lot more attention and becoming a lot more accountable for my bank balance.

I consolidated what little I had left and hired my cousin, who's an estate planner, and got a bookkeeper. I went through every bill and even now I have monthly meetings and pore over the statements of my incomings and outgoings with them.

My cousin is an upstanding Christian man who's turned my finances around completely and given me the stability to keep doing what I love – which is performing and writing.

Is there anything you hate about dealing with money?
Money is the root of all evil. It's the reason we're facing this current financial crisis. The heads of the Wall Street banks who took multi-million dollar golden parachutes need to go to prison for the mess they've left behind.

What's been your best buy?
I've been breeding and selling thoroughbred horses for 25 years. I've also got a house on the water in Fort Lauderdale, worth several million.

And your worst buy?
In the 1990s, I bought shares in internet companies, which became virtually worthless in the dotcom bust.

How do you prefer to pay for things – cash, card or cheque?
Credit card, which gets paid off at the end of every month. I've got two – one for business and one for personal use.

What sort of tipper are you?
I tip big, both because I can afford it and because I respect the people who give me good service. I do it because these are decent hard-working people and it makes a difference to them.

Do you bank online?
No. I use a small local bank.

Do you think pensions are a good idea?
I'd had a 401(k) – an American form of pension fund – but my old managers plundered it. I've built that back up, but I also have a diversified portfolio of bonds and international investments. This will pay me a percentage of my salary whenever I decide to retire – but that's a long way off yet.



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