A savvy teen is the proud owner of a £400,000 flat after grafting from the age of 13 to save £22,000.
While friends bought clothes and make-up, Valentina Hadome saved up for a deposit to buy her first home aged 18.
And she guarded against mortgage rate increases by bagging a five-year fixed rate.
Now 19, Valentina said: “I’m so, so happy – from being very young, it was my dream to own my own place.”
She bought her two-bedroom flat in Abbey Wood, South East London, in January using the Help to Buy scheme, which enabled first time buyers in the capital to borrow 40% of the price interest-free for five years.
The numbers wizard gets nearly £34,000 a year as an apprentice credit controller at global property firm Jones Lang LaSalle and pays £800 a month on the mortgage.
Valentina began saving aged 13 by writing romance and action comics, which are published online, after being inspired by reading similar stories.
At 16, she worked part-time at McDonald’s then moved to Primark, all while still at school.
She said: “I started gaining revenue from a comic called Insanity, so I sent this money to my mum to save for me – I was too young to have an account at the time.
"I saved around £5,000 from the comic writing. I didn’t find it difficult working through the holidays.
“I increased my savings by investing quite a lot in companies such as Domino’s Pizza and tech companies.”
Her talent for saving influenced her career choice.
She said: “I was going to study dentistry at university but I decided to change as I’m much more interested in business.”
Valentina says her parents Natallia and Victor set her a great example as they are both good with money.
She added: “It’s clearly rubbed off on me. I’m so grateful for their amazing guidance.
“My mum taught me how to save and how to invest in the right places.
“Both of them were so proud when I secured the flat and they took me out to dinner to celebrate which was so nice.”
She admitted it was far tougher now for first-time buyers.
“The situation is just awful right now,” she added. “I’d recommend people wait for the right window to buy because it will come eventually.”
