Good ol' cultural differences. Sometimes you'd forget that they still exist.
I could never imagine living in such a culture, at least not without doing things my parents wouldn't allow. I probably would've gone to the nearest WU bank to send some cash for downloadables so my parents would never figure (hey, that's just me.. don't actually do that).
But yeah, back when I was 16 (and even a couple of years before that), I had to work next to the study in order to make my own money, and then I could spend it on whatever too. What about you ask your parents for some magic/card-related things for your birthday or any other present-receiving day you got there?