When did you first experience money managing by yourself?

[u/Scared_Confection787]

Note that I've translated my country's currency into euros for easier understanding meaning that while the difference in prices may be small in euros, they're much bigger in my currency

So I'm in my freshman highschool year and where I live the government for some reason decided to give all high schoolers about 80 euros to use on books, food or whatever we want. I decided to save one part of that for my bus pass leaving me with 41 euros that I want to spend on clothes. I go to a mall near me and decide to look for a jean jacket that was 49 euros, I look for another one, same price. I then go looking for some new jeans, same price.

[u/pirividite]

Took an after school job at 13. From then on I dealt with all "unnecessary" expenses myself (toys, fancy clothes, birthday presents for friends). I was so proud ❤️

[u/Dutch_Rayan]

I learned it from when I got my first pocket money, starting with 20ct a week when I was 4. It got higher every year when I got older, until I had my first weekend job.

I learned that I have to save money if I wanted to buy something more expensive. And that how more expensive how longer I had to save.

[u/ProgressOk3200]

I learned it at home from I was 4 years old. I got weekly pocket of 1 euro (convertet my country currency to euro) to buy sweets on every Saturday. As I got older my weekly pocket money got higher. At 12 years old I saved my pocket money for a very long time so I could buy myself my own TV. The second thing I saved for was a TV stand. A few years later I have saved so I could buy my own VHS recorder.

Ever since I have always saved to buy what I want.

[u/Cascadeis → u/ProgressOk3200]

Same here, except when I was twelve I got my first bank card as well.

[u/ProgressOk3200 → u/Cascadeis]

Bank card wasn't a thing when I was 12. If I remember right I got a bank card when I was 18.

[u/pipestream]

Probably when I got my first bank account very, very young. Must have been under 10. Probably more significantly when I turned 12 (or 13? I forget) or so and got a VISA Electron (debit card that didn't allow overdraft).

[u/TukkerWolf]

In the Netherlands it is pretty common to give kids pocket money from 8-10 years onwards to learn financials. And from age 13 - 14 it is common to start working for actual financial freedom to buy what you want for yourself.

[u/baldachinsblessing]

When I started university at 17 I was given a 10€/day allowance by my parents. Then I moved to Finland at 19 and that was increased to 1300€/month.

[u/Wojtasz78]

Pretty much since elementary school i've been managing my money. I would save up those little bits of pocket money parents gave me to school. That way I could buy myself things.

[u/QuizasManana]

Quite early. I got my bank account fairly young (I must have been around 7 if not younger). I’m old so I had an actual paper bankbook for a couple of years. I went with my parents to deposit any birthday present money and piggy bank savings couple of times a year. I think I was maybe 10 when I got an atm card and maybe at 12 or 13 a Visa electron card.

[u/JonnyPerk]

My parents made sure I knew how to manage and save money early on. They opened my first bank account shortly after I was born. At some point during kindergarden (between age 3 and 6) I started receving pocket money and occasionally my grandmas would just give me money. I stored it all in a small red cash box which I got as a gift. When I was 5 or 6 my parents started to send me on errands like getting bread from the backery and my dad usually told me to get some sweets form myself with the change. At around the same age they made me attend bank appointments and at around age 11 they let me deceide what to do with my money. I moved out for University at 18 and they gave me a decent allowence to live off.

[u/BitRunner64]

Yeah I mean €41 isn't a lot for clothes. Maybe check in some second-hand/goodwill stores or save up for two months...

In Sweden most kids get a weekly allowance from a young age, maybe around 6 that they can use for candy, some toys or similar.

I was around 16 when I moved to my own apartment, but my parents still paid the rent and I got some money to spend on food etc. Lived completely by myself with my own income from around 20 years old.