I was too skint to buy food & had to sell VW I got for 18th, reveals Love Island star 

Arabella Chi has revealed her financial ups and downs - from her mum’s advice when she couldn't afford to buy food to the designer shoes she bought for her 30th.

[{"selector":"#anim-02504080-ade0-402f-8e7f-b634f3abf8c6","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(1)","scale(1.5)","scale(0.95)","scale(1)"],"offset":[0,0.33,0.66,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1450,"easing":"ease-in-out","fill":"both","iterations":1}] [{"selector":"#anim-4f1a5db6-c348-4a27-a2b1-f4c20b84df84","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-c224d93e-e724-4466-9c2a-a790bd203d55","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 135.64580%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Yellow Heart

The Love Island star puts her thrifty nature down to mum Eunice and dad Paul who refused to bail her out when she was struggling early on in her career.

[{"selector":"#anim-889ced53-db1c-41e7-b1e0-6d71931582e0","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-2ca490b0-6cfc-496e-901e-75eb5dd122d9","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 134.63059%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-31ac35ba-55f2-4717-8bce-9cbc3dd64c4a","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(1)","scale(1.5)","scale(0.95)","scale(1)"],"offset":[0,0.33,0.66,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1450,"easing":"ease-in-out","fill":"both","iterations":1}] Yellow Heart

When Arabella moved to London at 18 to work as a model she was shocked by the cost of living in the capital and quickly learned how to budget.

[{"selector":"#anim-625c7853-3c6e-4c06-b8c5-52a0ae2dc301","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-735f4c99-1645-4a7a-a571-90810d454ec4","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 136.15341%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-1df78f30-2922-4d62-bb4e-ce7c300fe06d","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(1)","scale(1.5)","scale(0.95)","scale(1)"],"offset":[0,0.33,0.66,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1450,"easing":"ease-in-out","fill":"both","iterations":1}] Yellow Heart

The 33-year-old, whose dad founded mountain bike firm Saracen, was even forced to sell the VW Polo she got for her 18th birthday to pay for a hefty tax bill.

[{"selector":"#anim-765bf888-3037-4812-a0c8-93bd66cb77a6","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-e5380a06-a1f1-45db-875d-9e7207661f87","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 136.15341%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-6aa4501f-bbbe-4457-ba57-d5d22696ddfe","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(1)","scale(1.5)","scale(0.95)","scale(1)"],"offset":[0,0.33,0.66,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1450,"easing":"ease-in-out","fill":"both","iterations":1}] Yellow Heart

In 2019, she boosted her profile after appearing on Love Island. Fame has given her more freedom to be creative and has landed her lucrative deals with big brands.

[{"selector":"#anim-5761fbff-04ce-43af-ad6f-b0e23328951d","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-a5c542e4-690a-4957-9fa0-e4e621794304","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 130.05386%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-97d44905-d76d-47cc-8c45-b5ee0e3e3136","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(1)","scale(1.5)","scale(0.95)","scale(1)"],"offset":[0,0.33,0.66,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1450,"easing":"ease-in-out","fill":"both","iterations":1}] Yellow Heart

Looking to the future, Arabella has decided to invest in property and now owns a flat in London and a house in Leamington Spa, close to her parents.

[{"selector":"#anim-0bec91f8-57a8-46d2-84f8-66ba83ef635d","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-709f2c8a-b9c5-44a7-a39a-98aa288513ba","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 134.12298%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-89e8ce1c-6458-4ff9-8321-53b9df6fcebe","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(1)","scale(1.5)","scale(0.95)","scale(1)"],"offset":[0,0.33,0.66,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1450,"easing":"ease-in-out","fill":"both","iterations":1}] Yellow Heart

She has learned to keep on top of her books, filing to her accountant every month. Her biggest money tip is not to leave finances to chance.

[{"selector":"#anim-58f16a4a-45cc-4331-8973-732cfb653868","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-77a20473-ea3d-40b1-ad6e-27e82a7847ef","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 141.20367%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-994393a1-4162-4ea3-b6d0-bcf9fc790fad","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(1)","scale(1.5)","scale(0.95)","scale(1)"],"offset":[0,0.33,0.66,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1450,"easing":"ease-in-out","fill":"both","iterations":1}] Yellow Heart