‘I was given £67 a month in pocket money as a kid – but parents didn’t spoil me’

An entrepreneur has revealed she was given £67 a month as pocket money from the age of just seven – but said it taught her how to budget for life.

Hannah Koumakis, 24, received this fund from her parents chore-free until 14, when she was taught to make her own money by washing neighbours’ cars and walking their dogs.

But it came with a catch – she had to budget and record her finances in a book, buying almost everything she needed for herself.

For 11 years, she divided her ‘income’ into separate categories – long-term and short-term savings, spending and tithe donations for the local church.

She said her friends assumed the family were rich – but actually, Hannah and her two sisters had to use the money to pay for their own essentials like clothes, meals out with her family and school trips.

Each month she would put £33 in long-term savings, £10 in short-term savings and £7 to tithe – leaving her with only £17 to spend.

The 11 years of long-term saving Hannah experienced all went to buying a house.

Self-employed Podcaster and Business owner Hannah, from Auckland, New Zealand, said it taught her budgeting from a young age and now feels independent in her business spending, with her own house and car.

She said: “Spending and saving are such important lessons. I don’t think there is enough education around it, and I feel very lucky to have had that growing up.

“It has helped me masses in life. You’re never going to not use that skill; parents should do it if they can. In 2007, £67 ($140 NZD) was a lot more than now. Our dad would make us write all our finances down in a book.”

Hannah and her sisters were home-schooled from the age of seven to 14 by their mother, while their father worked as a menswear salesman.

She said the pocket money system made her very grateful for things at a young age because she had to buy most of what she needed herself – so she understood how much things cost. Savvy Hannah said this was even more noticeable at Christmas.

She said: “My family is Christian, and so at Christmas time, I remember my sisters and I getting really excited over new socks.

“They were just plain socks, but we could appreciate it as we didn’t then have to spend our money on them.”

Although Hannah swears by her father’s method, she warns parents wishing to follow this idea to fully think through how much they will give their children.

She said: “It is important you give enough for your child to get by, and to monitor and guide them through their finances.”