The Emma team is growing by the day, so to help you get to know them a little better we’ve asked the all-important questions. Like, what’s your role at Emma, are you good with money, and what would you do if we gave you £1,000..?

This week’s interview is with Sergei, a mobile developer who joined Emma in March. We hope you enjoy reading this interview, and don’t forget you can ask Sergei any questions by joining us on the Emma community.

Hey Sergei, can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Hi, my name is Sergei. I’m 36 years old, married, and have two lovely daughters.

In general I love to solve various technical problems and that’s why I ended up as a software developer I guess. My hobbies (not regular though) are MTB, Gliding (sailplane) and Surfing, jew's harp and throat singing.

What’s your role at Emma?

I’m developing a mobile app and making some developing process adjustments.

Where did you work before Emma and what did you do there?

I was working in the Sweatcoin LTD for 2 years.

What do you like about the Emma app?

I like the idea behind the app to teach and inspire people to control their expenses and plan their financial future. I think this is so important because the most painful experience is to meet old age without a penny in your pocket and any earning abilities/opportunities.

Interested in learning more about pensions? Click here

Can you tell us about something exciting you’re currently working on?

Currently I’m working on testing stuff so we can embed quality in our product and make it bugproof in face of future changes.

Do you consider yourself good with money? Do you have any money-saving tips you can share with us?

I don’t think I’m very good with money, but I have some thoughts about money-saving:

1. Before buying anything ask yourself if you really need it and what for? Worst thing to buy is something that will not be used most of the time

2. If you have something that you don’t use, sell it or give away. No need to store useless stuff

3. If you don’t know where to invest and can’t keep money, better buy capital goods (means of production). So you can rent them out or at least use them for work if something will go bad in your career.

4. And don’t chase sales and discounts if you don’t need a thing. Better buy nothing and save money than useless things with 80% discount… Unless you plan to resell it more expensive.

If I gave you £1,000 would you spend it, save it, or invest it?

For today I will use it as early repayment of my mortgage in order to reduce overall overpayment. This is the most optimal for me according to my calculations.

Interested in knowing more about mortgages? Click here

And if I gave you £100,000 but said you could only buy things starting with the first letter of your name, what would you buy?

1. Surely pay off the mortgage (does it count for first S? =)

2. Studying for a PPL (private pilot)

3. Sailplane under 115kg with jet engine

4. Some land for a house and aerodrome

5. Surfboard

Then nothing else will be left of that money.

Big thanks to Sergei for taking the time to answer these questions. I couldn't agree more with the money-saving tips shared here, and am very much looking forward to finding out more about jew's harp and throat singing in our next team catch-up!