I teach my children about money by showing them my bank balance

As an abundance of £50 notes piled up beneath my four-year-old daughter, her face lit up. Her smile was infectious, as my six-year-old son and I joined her in cheering and throwing wads of cash in the air. It was a total of £9,000 in cold, hard cash. ‘Money shower!’, my daughter laughed, and we laughed with her. We were having the time of our lives throwing a money shower party. As a millionaire, I will never be ashamed of my success – and I teach my children to be equally as proud about how much money we have, too.

I grew up in a working-class home in Bedford in the 1980s, where my dad was a technician for an electrical firm and my mum was a factory worker. They grafted for everything they had, but they instilled in me to never talk about money and that ‘money can’t buy you happiness’. I could see the value in hard work from their example, but I didn’t connect with self-deprecation around income. I just wanted to be out in the world earning money.

I was a bit of a hellraiser at school so – by the age of 13 – the entrepreneur in me was more bothered about bunking off to buy a box of lighters in bulk to then sell in the playground, than swotting over some books. I always wanted cash, as well as the cars, lifestyle and notoriety that come with it. So since my late teens, I have been launching businesses – from a car hire company and a carpet cleaning company, to developing and selling imported products from China.

By the time I was in my early twenties my carpet cleaning business was making more money in three hours than most of my friends earned in a week. At 19 I met my wife Samantha. I told her then that I was going to be a millionaire – she thought I was off my rocker but stuck with me. We married in 2007 and our first child, our son, was born three years later. Then in 2016 – aged 38 – after a bout of ill health due to a rare neurological disorder and a string of bad business decisions (including being scammed), my businesses nosedived and I wound up £65,000 in debt.

Thankfully, by the end of that year, I had managed to turn my fortunes around and was back on the up. I started paying off my debts, and never looked back. I always encourage my clients to pay in cash – everything is declared, of course – as I personally think physically holding your hard-earned money is what makes it all worthwhile. Far better than just seeing figures on a screen. And so, in just one day I came home with £9,000 cash. It was the best feeling in the world and I wanted to revel in it. So, I decided to throw a ‘money shower’.

Samantha, our two children, and I spent hours throwing notes in the air and letting them cascade down all around us. We were filled with pure joy. Ever since then, my finances have gone from strength to strength as my coaching business has flourished and expanded worldwide. In fact, I now own two Porsches, my children go to private school, and I live in a beautiful house. My company – Mind, Money, Business – offers mentorship and coaching to entrepreneurs and business owners and in the past seven years I have helped people reach six and even seven figure incomes through the power of mindset strategy, appropriate marketing, and the law of attraction.

I encourage every single one of them to throw money parties and celebrate their wealth, just like I do. I believe that people need to be comfortable around money and that cultivating a wealth mindset is imperative if you want to be rich. I believe that we then need to encourage this in children, so they go on to live prosperous lives. As a result, I talk to my son and daughter – now 13 and 11 respectively – every day about the importance of earning a high income and putting it to good use.

I also lead by example. Like when we go out for a meal, I will take out my wallet and pay with cash. The feeling of the notes in your fingers, and the sight of ‘real money’ for the children gives it value and encourages the subconscious mind to connect with it. Then, if we are leaving a restaurant and I have noticed somebody celebrating a birthday, I will quietly pay for their meal on the way out. I like doing good things with my money, and I like my children witnessing that.

When it comes to pocket money, this is awarded in cash, of course. They earn this by coming up with entrepreneurial ideas, for example seeking out products on Ebay and making a profit from them, or selling their own possessions that are not being used. They still have to do chores and help around the house too, I believe a work ethic should be instilled from an early age. After each of our money showers, my children then sort the notes into neat piles. I believe that this has helped them to learn to respect money.