I was 12 or 13. I had a Soviet ZX spectrum clone. I was writing BASIC programs for my friend's dad who ran a local home-based bootleg movie broadcasting station.

My programs displayed the upcoming shows and announcements. There was a calendar, a database, graphics, animation, a back-end menu. It was good stuff. Mostly BASIC but essentially had a lots of memory PEEKs and POKEs as well... It was delivered on cassette tapes. The payment was computer books, electronic components, tools (volt meters) & music. Good times.