Emily Power is 33-years-old, and she gets pocket money from her parents.

It’s not because she’s unemployed or particularly strapped for cash. In fact, it’s her answer to a spending problem she developed while working in the fashion industry.

Each fortnight, Power’s parents dole out $400 “wriggle room money” from her earnings, in addition to money for bills and rent. The rest of her salary is deposited into a savings account, the details of which only her parents know.

Emily Power. Image via LinkedIn.

“I am not aware of the bank account number or passwords, so there is no temptation – or ability – to get my hands on my money, beyond what is rationed to me,” Power writes on Domain.com. 

Her aim? To save enough to purchase a one-bedroom apartment.

Power predicts she can save enough to buy her own place in two years, although she’s not aware exactly how much she’s saved already.

“I have no idea [how much I’ve saved], and that’s my choice. I only want to know when I have enough for an apartment deposit,” she told The Project this evening.

“I have no idea [how much I’ve saved], and that’s my choice.” Image via iStock.

“Through my own nature, I dug myself into a really big financial hole. Through wanting to keep up appearance and look the part, I set myself on a path of unbridled spending.

“In five years, I clocked up $14,000 in credit card debt. I’m really lucky to have parents who supported me through this.

“I even go to the supermarket with a calculator.”

While her method of solving it is unconventional, Power’s problem isn’t unusual. Many young people, particularly women, struggle to purchase a first home, and for some home ownership isn’t an option until much later in life.