In our How I Manage My Money series
we aim to find out how people in the UK are spending, saving and investing money to meet their costs and achieve their goals.
This week we speak to Mark Wilkinson, 54, who lives in Esher with his wife, Emma, 47, and their French Bulldog, Frankie. Mark, a former international DJ, became seriously unwell and was declared bankrupt in his thirties. He retrained and is now a millionaire author, speaker, mindset coach and business mentor.
Monthly budget
My monthly income:
My income comes from different businesses and work streams and varies. I have around £10,000 coming in each month from my “12 Months to Remix your Life” coaching program. I bring in about £5,000 per month from keynote speaking work and corporate training. My income from various affiliate partnerships and collaborations is about £4,000 per month. I also have £2,500 per month from property investments coming in.I want to secure a consistently higher monthly income in the coming years. I think it is financially smart to have a variety of income streams. My wife, Emma, has a successful events company, so together we are a great team. We are happy, healthy and wealthy.
My monthly outgoings:
Mortgage, £2,200; council tax, £300; groceries, £800; gas and electric, £300; water, £50; broadband and mobile, £150; insurance policies, £400; dining out and takeaways, £100; hobbies, gym and self-care, £400; clothes and shopping, £300; holidays and travel, £1,000; streaming and subscriptions, £100; pension contributions, £400. I also regularly put money in a stocks and shares Isa.
I think talking about money is really important. If we do not talk about money, how can we ever learn to manage, grow or enjoy it properly? Too many people are quietly struggling or playing small because they are afraid of being judged for growing or wanting more.
I grew up in south-west London in a fairly modest household. We were not swimming in money and I became aware of financial stress from a young age. My parents worked hard to provide, but money was not something we had in abundance. That probably planted the seed for my desire to understand money better later in life.
As a teenager, I worked in record shops and got into music and eventually became a successful international DJ, soon making £3,000 a night in my twenties. I made a lot of money mistakes in my twenties and thirties because no one had ever really taught me how to manage money – it was always just “earn more, spend more”.
I was a classic overspender and would spend all my money on designer clothes, fast cars and five-star hotels. I was flashy but had zero financial wisdom.
When I was 33 I hit rock bottom. My body completely shut down. I went from playing to packed clubs around the world to collapsing in agony. I was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, a progressive inflammatory disease that affects the spine and can lead to chronic pain and stiffness.
I was in constant, debilitating pain. I could barely walk or sleep. I spiralled into depression and lost my income.
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Everything started to unravel. I could not work and the gigs dried up. I’d been living month-to-month with no savings, no financial education and a lot of ego. Without any income coming in, the debts I had built up from years of overspending quickly caught up with me.
I was declared bankrupt at the age of 39. It was devastating. I lost everything financially – my property, my reputation, my sense of identity.
However, my downward spiral became the turning point in my life. After becoming unwell and going bankrupt, at the age of 40 I retained in coaching and personal development. I read over 200 books on personal development and became certified in coaching, leadership, behavioural safety and emotional intelligence.
I got serious with my finances and started to track things more closely and establish multiple income streams. I published a book called
Life Remixed: Looking Beyond The Dance To Face The Music
in 2021 and launched a coaching, mentoring, corporate training and success coaching business.
This year, I’ve released another book,
Money Remixed: The 14 Steps to a Wealthy Mindset
, with co-author Paul Grant.
I earn more than I ever did as a DJ and my income is sustainable, meaningful and grounded in service to others. None of this happened overnight. I have realised that wealth is not just about income, but about mindset, management and meaning.
We live in a large three-bedroom semi-detached house
in Surrey that cost £765,000 when we purchased it six years ago.
I have a small but growing property portfolio. I own eleven properties. Two are in south-west London the rest are in south Wales. One is our main home and the rest are buy-to-let investments that provide passive income.
The rental properties bring in around £2,500 per month
, which equates to roughly £30,000 per year before expenses. It is not about having loads of properties for me – it is about having smart, manageable assets that support longer-term security and freedom. I also like to provide nice homes for good people to have a roof over their heads.
I am looking to expand my property portfolio strategically, but with a focus on sustainability and balance, not just constant accumulation.
When it comes to saving
and investing, I keep things diversified. I regularly put money in a stocks and shares Isa and add £400 a month to a private pension, though I plan to cash this out soon. I have no plans to retire in the conventional sense and the state pension certainly would not be enough for me to live on.
I am not money motivated, but would say I am service and value motivated. My ideal next income is £50,000 per month, and when I hit that goal I will double the goal.
Am I a millionaire? In terms of my net worth, the answer is yes. But, more importantly, I feel wealthy in mindset, relationships and purpose. That is what true financial freedom means to me: the ability to live life on my terms and help others do the same.
I would like to consistently earn over £1m a year. This would represent and give me total freedom, impact and the ability to give back at scale.
Success for me is being able to wake up each day enthused, happy, healthy and doing the work I love. As long as I can keep doing that, while helping others do the same, I am a happy man.
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