Kia, who hosts the Pennies to Pounds podcast, 23, shares money tips to thousands online. The savvy spender began by assisting her friends and university, and now runs the award-winning podcast and financial literacy online hub Pennies to Pounds.
“I think that’s really helped me to keep my savings and not dip into it, and be a lot more disciplined.”
The saver, who hosts tips and savings challengers on her Instagram account, explained it’s a tip she adapted after being advised to do something similar as a teenager.
“That was one of the tips my parents gave me when I was 17, and as I got older I thought this is really good, I’m going to have a savings account for this and that.
“When you set up an account you don’t have to sign up for online banking, so you just don’t select that option.”
Kia explained her journey to running her own financial literacy programme.
She said: “I have always been interested in personal finance. My parents, when I was younger, taught me about fiance. As I got older, they taught me different money lessons as I was growing.
“The first money lesson I learned was having a money box, where my parents would put money I was given as presents.
“When I got to the right age, at about 11, we opened a savings account, a junior account. My mum walked me to the bank and I got a little savings book. My mum would take me once a month to put in my change.”
After learning financial responsibility at young age, she realised not all her peers benefited from the same education while at university studying French and Business.
Kia said: “When I went to university and moved away from home, that’s when I had the shock. Even though I had been taught lessons by my parents, putting it in practice is another lesson – learning how to manage bills, budgets and manage shopping. I was really good at it, but it was still an adjustment period.
£I noticed I had a lot of friends who were very much struggling. I helped my friends budget money when they needed help. Then I realised, you know what, if my friends are struggling, other young people our age are struggling.
£So, I set up a Youtube channel in 2018, when I was 20, where I created Youtube videos on PF.
“I was still trying to find my flow and it didn’t have the reception I was anticipating initially, so I put it on pause.
“It was later in 2019 when I wrote a thread about the Help to Buy Isa, that ended up going viral. People were asking for me to write more threads. Then they asked me to do something else, they wanted to consume the content in another way, so I set up the Pennies to Pounds podcast.”
Now Kia provides guidance on her Youtube to almost 2,000 followers and on TikTok to almost 10,000 followers here.
