Cash expert STEPH McGOVERN on her top nine money-making tips

The back of Steph McGovern's phone is emblazoned with the colourful logo of Steph's Packed Lunch, the daytime TV programme that she fronted every weekday on Channel 4, featuring an array of content, from the host getting a smear test live on camera and Labour politician Alan Johnson taking his clothes off, to sausage-making, advice on how to save money, tears and laughter – often all in one episode. Channel 4, however, axed it at the end of last year.

'I know – it's a bit trashy, isn't it?' she says, when I mention that she is holding a cartoon version of her face in her hand. 'But I totally miss the show. We did it for [almost] four years, we were the first magazine show ever to be nominated for a Bafta, and all those people who didn't work in telly beforehand got their first job with me and my amazing team. I'm just super-proud of all that.'

On the final episode she had to wipe away tears. Even though ten months have passed, she remains upset at how the channel pulled the plug to cut costs. 'I still get asked every single day if it's coming back. I was buying wine recently and some guy in a van shouted, 'We miss you, Steph!'

For many broadcasters, having an eponymous daily TV show cancelled would be a blow not just to their ego but also their bank balance. Yet McGovern, 42, is beaming, bouncing into the photo studio in North London, where we're meeting, warmly greeting all the crew and insisting we have a hug. She is as relaxed as her all-black outfit – baggy T-shirt, cargo pants and trainers.

This bonhomie is not a front – she is in the middle of enjoying possibly the most profitable year in her career. Not only are film companies fighting over who will make a version of her debut novel (more of that later), she is also one half of the podcast The Rest is Money, co-presenting twice a week with ITV News's political editor Robert Peston.

On it the two discuss everything from how Taylor Swift makes her billions to the Bank of England's interest-rate policy. It is very successful, having just racked up seven million listens after being on air for a year. And while the majority of its audience is middle-aged, a hefty 40 per cent is under the age of 35.

The podcast is produced by Goalhanger, co-owned by Gary Lineker and responsible for some of the most listened-to podcasts in the country, including The Rest is History, which – it has been reported – earns the historians Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland at least £70,000 a month each.

'We're definitely not making as much as them,' she says when I ask if she and Peston are cashing in. But she does add that podcasting is 'way more lucrative than people think'; on a 'per hours worked basis' The Rest is Money makes more for her than Steph's Packed Lunch did. That's partly because she and Peston record their two weekly shows in one day, but also because Goalhanger allows presenters to keep a share of all the advertising money the company makes.

McGovern admits that she is surprised at how many people under the age of 35 want to listen to quite complex topics. 'Telly people have assumed that young people just want quick soundbites. But they also want to really understand stuff. That's why – and it's been a shock to me – the podcasts have done as well.'

No small part of its success is down to McGovern's chemistry with Peston – and the fact that she is willing to deflate his occasional windbaggery. He is saved into her phone as 'Robin the Frog'. Why? 'Because years ago we did the quiz show Pointless together. And one of the questions was, 'What's the name of Kermit the Frog's nephew?' And he knew that answer! It just blew my mind that this came straight to his head. So then I changed his name and,' at this point she laughs, 'because I also found his name a bit triggering.'

This dates back to when she was his producer at BBC News and Peston was then BBC business editor. She oversaw all his output on the six o'clock and ten o'clock news. 'He'd ring me late at night, saying: 'I've got this exclusive story'.' She rolls her eyes.

It was an era of sleepless nights: the height of the 2008 financial crisis, when banks were going bust and stock markets collapsing. But however much she moans about him, they are genuine friends. They have even holidayed with each other's families. 'We went to Cuba with our partners and kids. It was amazing – drinking mojitos in Havana together.'

I say that I find it hard to imagine Peston relaxing. 'He's one extreme to the other. If you're in a bar with him he's either talking to you about work or he's dancing madly with you. Everything he does is quite high-energy, but he's really fun.'

She also credits him with her move from producing to presenting. 'I think he's the reason I ended up on telly, because he just used to bring me into rooms that I wasn't in.' In meetings with senior executives, 'He would say, 'Oh, Steph knows about that – why don't you get her to do it?'

McGovern's first big presenting job was explaining business stories to bleary-eyed viewers rising at 6am for BBC Breakfast. For many she was a ray of sunshine, translating complex economics with a smile. But not everyone was a fan of her broad Teesside accent – including some BBC executives. 'A few times [they] were, 'Steph's too common'.' Surely no one at the Beeb really thought that, did they? 'Oh, god yeah,' she says, but adds that her accent became her 'superpower'.

'The thing people most often said to me was, 'You're a breath of fresh air'. That then became my strength, and I know for a fact that it then helped me get lots more work.'

She has always been open about her desire to be successful – refreshingly rare for a Brit, particularly a British woman in the public eye. 'I've always been ambitious. If you grew up in a place where you're told by society and the media you're not going to do well… I am someone who absolutely wants to prove them wrong.'

She grew up in Middlesbrough. Her mother was a radiographer in the NHS, her father an artist who trained at the Royal College of Art. They owned their own home, which would – by most people's definitions – make them middle class. But McGovern says it was 'a deprived area', with some of her fellow pupils coming from 'really tough backgrounds. So money does become important to you'.

As a child she'd ask her mother to buy Take That stickers from the hospital shop: 'I'd sell them on for a profit at school. I was probably making double what she was buying them for.'

She was never paid pocket money, something she is keen to replicate now that, with her female partner, she has a daughter, who will turn five next month. McGovern is scrupulous about maintaining the privacy of them both by never naming them in interviews, but she beams with pride discussing her daughter.

'She's got to understand that money just doesn't come for nothing. I know this sounds a bit mad but she is getting fed well and getting free accommodation.' She laughs at the slightly unhinged idea her five-year-old might have to pay rent but says she is serious about her only receiving money if she does chores. 'I've always been good with money because of what I was taught by my parents. I saw how they lived – my dad poring over car magazines before we bought a second-hand car to ensure he got the best deal or the lowest mileage.'

Her daughter only started reception class in September, but McGovern is already teaching her the importance of earning.  'She asked me, 'Do I have to go to school?' And I was like, 'Yeah, because you've got to get smarter and I've got to go to work and earn money, because if we don't get the money, we can't do all the nice things we do.' Then she said, 'Can you work a bit harder so we get more money so we can go and see the Santa experience?' She starts giggling.

If McGovern does her job as a parent well, she will have raised another 'Spreadsheet Steph', the nickname her friends give her for keeping scrupulous control of her finances. She admits that she has extravagances (such as taking her friends to a Beyoncé concert) but is also quite penny-pinching: 'I always look for voucher codes when buying stuff online.'

When she worked as a business presenter on the BBC, she was banned from owning shares directly, for fears there might be a conflict of interest. Now, she is a keen investor.

'I've got a diverse portfolio of investments,' she says. 'My shares have worked out really well, but that's because of all the tech giants.' She owns shares, for instance, in Nvidia, the American manufacturer of chips for the AI sector, whose value has increased tenfold in the past two years, making it worth nearly US$3 trillion and its shareholders very happy.

She has also started investing in art, buying pieces both from well-known names – she's just splashed out on a signed David Hockney print – and up-and-coming artists. But what she most relishes is investing in startup companies. She is co-owner of a chain of four venues called Gootopia, which host slime workshops and parties for children. 'And I'm looking at setting up a fitness business next year. I just really enjoy the process of making money, but also learning stuff along the way.' The fitness project is to market a ladder-climbing machine for gym exercise, accompanied by loud disco music. It looks hellish when she shows me a photo of the contraption. 'It's really good,' she insists.

Exercise and nutrition are important to McGovern. She has been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome, which she has managed to control with intermittent fasting. After our chat we have a brief lunch together – she has a salad and grilled chicken – and at 2pm it's her first food of the day. 'The earliest I eat is 11am and the latest is 7pm, although I fast for longer when I can. My IBS is totally sorted now.'

As she lives on the Northumberland coast, most of her exercise takes place on the stunning Long Sands Beach, outside her front door. 'I swim in the sea and then walk home. It's wonderful.'

There is little downtime, however. McGovern has just finished her first book, a thriller called Deadline. The plot revolves around Rose, a television presenter who is told – in her earpiece, live on camera – that her child has been kidnapped. It is based on all her experience of broadcasting from around the country, and interviewing powerful men, not least Donald Trump (who, she says, tried to chat her up).

So is Rose based on McGovern? 'In my head, actually, she doesn't look like me – more like Kay Burley.' She laughs loudly.

Even though the novel will not be published until next year, film and television producers are already bidding to turn it into a drama. 'It's funny because they haven't read it yet,' she says. Will it go to Netflix? 'I'd like it if it ended up there.'

Next year she could be able to add film producer to her list of roles, which already include broadcaster, podcaster, investor, novelist and mother. What's the secret? 'No sleep,' she deadpans. And then adds: 'I don't know how I've done it either, but you just do, don't you? When you're a parent, you just juggle constantly.'

How to coin it in like Steph 

• Always search for discount codes before buying online – latestdeals.co.uk has thousands of vouchers for high-street stores.
• Track unused subscriptions. The Emma app collates your monthly payments and can help you cancel ones you're not using immediately. 
• Don't pick products at eye level in the supermarket. Big brands pay for central spots, so you'll find cheaper swaps higher and lower. 
• Create an account when online shopping. Brands nearly always send out a discount code for your birthday.
• Browse supermarket 'world food' aisles: you'll find unbranded staples such as spices for around 70% cheaper per gram. 
• Side hustle. Use apps that can help you declutter and make money. Sites like Vinted, Ebay and Etsy advise on pricing, pics and posting. Find a light spot in your house/garage/shed and start snapping the stuff you want to sell. 
• Take pictures of your receipts on your phone. Upload them to the Expensify app, which sorts them and tracks spending across categories such as bills, clothes and groceries.
• Investing is fun. If you feel clueless, start small. Crowdfunding and investment platforms like Crowdcube, Republic Europe and Wealthify (owned by Aviva) let you put in as little as a tenner. That could give you a (tiny) bit of equity in anything from a startup to a huge multinational. Also, there are quite a few tax incentives. But be prepared to lose money. And don't put all your eggs in one basket. Diversity is key.
• Spreadsheet your life. Sounds boring, but the more you know about what's going in and out, the more control you have. Budgeting apps including Plum, Goodbudget and Spending Tracker will get you started.
• Use a credit card that offers rewards: air miles, cashback and loyalty points can be collected on daily purchases. Just be sure to pay it off each month.