As a busy parent of three, managing our family’s budget was always a source of stress. We’d often find ourselves in the same weekly rut, with the kids constantly reminding us to give them their pocket money. This led to frequent delays and confusion about what was owed. But then, I stumbled upon an innovative solution using openHAB that completely transformed how we handle our finances.
I created a simple yet effective system using virtual bank accounts and push buttons for each child. The setup involved defining items for each child’s account and buttons to withdraw specific amounts. Here’s a snippet of the .items file I used:
/* Pocket Money */
// Just for neatness
Group PocketMoney “Pocket Money”
// Child 1
Number PocketMoneyKid1 “Child 1’s Savings [%.2f USD]” (PocketMoney)
Switch PocketMoneyKid1Withdraw5 “Withdraw $5” (PocketMoney) { expire=“1s,command=OFF” }
Switch PocketMoneyKid1Withdraw10 “Withdraw $10” (PocketMoney) { expire=“1s,command=OFF” }
// Child 2
Number PocketMoneyKid2 “Child 2’s Savings [%.2f USD]” (PocketMoney)
Switch PocketMoneyKid2Withdraw5 “Withdraw $5” (PocketMoney) { expire=“1s,command=OFF” }
Switch PocketMoneyKid2Withdraw10 “Withdraw $10” (PocketMoney) { expire=“1s,command=OFF” }