Artur Peguera: "I want to enjoy every euro I've earned."

Sports journalist Artur Peguera (Pont de Suert, 1964) was born into a working-class family where he learned the value of money from a young age. He started working at the age of 8, helping unload the truckload of firewood for the village bread oven: "The salary was a sugar cake and four pesetas." They managed to get a little extra, taking advantage of the fact that they knew where the switchboard was: "We turned off the lights, and when the French tourists arrived, we couldn't see a thing. Then we turned them on and got a tip."

However, it wasn't until later that the presenter had his first paying job. He worked at his uncles' Hotel Andria and worked as a laborer building the Moralets dam: "My father told me that if I wanted a motorcycle, I should buy one, so I looked for a way to make money quickly."

Following the philosophy of his family, he went to work while studying. And his father, who was a correspondent in Lleida for various media outlets, recommended his son as a sports journalist: "They told me they would give me 10,000 pesetas a month (60 euros). And in the first month they told me I was doing a lot of work, and that they would pay me double." At that time, his intention was to dedicate himself to bank administration: "It caught my attention, especially as modus vivendi"The bank employees were well regarded, and I thought of work as a way to earn a living so I could do the things I needed to do."

But when she entered journalism, she realized it was what she really wanted: "Life took a turn. I trained and never stopped working. I didn't care as much about money as enjoying the work." In fact, there was only one period when she had doubts: "I returned to the idea of banking and took some tests for a position where I was going to earn more than double or triple what I was earning." But when she had to go for her medical exam to start working, she backed out: "Earning less money, I was happier than I would have been working outside the profession."

One of the most important decisions of her career was making the jump to television: "I went to earn less money, leaving a permanent job at a very important company that gave me security, and I took a risk. I proved to myself that I actually cared more about being happy. This was the gateway to TV3." Initially, she had a contract with a production company and later took the exams: "I have one of the greatest privileges in life: making a living from something I love." However, she emphasizes that the sector has been devalued: "The fact that those of us who earn a decent living are privileged only demonstrates the precariousness of our profession."

When it comes to personal finances, Peguera is a thrifty man: "I've never stretched my arm beyond my limit; obviously, to buy the apartment I had to take out a mortgage, but I didn't go crazy. I've always been prudent; I have what I clearly see I can afford." In fact, he doesn't like owing money at all: "It's always made me very nervous. But now with Bizum, you can quickly make peace."

On the other hand, the presenter has seen how his parents always put the handbrake on spending because they suffered so much in the post-war period: "They get to the end and you say: 'But why haven't they been able to enjoy all this money they've been saving?'" In this sense, he believes in what 1985 Nobel Prize winner in economics, Franco Modigliani, said: "Inheritance is a miscalculation." Therefore, he intends to enjoy his retirement to the fullest: "If possible, I want to enjoy every last euro I've earned, because I will have earned it." In fact, he considers himself a hard worker: "I've never had anyone say no to staying until whatever hour, probably because I enjoyed the work I've done."

Even so, he insists that you have to find a balance: "I would like not to depend on anyone, to not have to mortgage my daughter or my partner." So, for him, household finances are like a marathon: you have to find the balance between not saving too much or wasting money: "When you reach the finish line, don't say: 'I have plenty of strength, I could have gone faster.' Nor do you want to reach kilometer 30 and not be able to go on, because you've reached a faster pace, because you've gone more. Comfortable, so you can hold on.