An overachieving 24-year-old marketing manager who managed to gain a net worth of more than $347,000 in five years has shared the nine savings tips everyone should know.
Queenie Tan, from Sydney, said her financial success gradually accumulated over time after she started researching and investing when she was 19.
Now, Queenie educates young people about saving money and investing their cash on her YouTube channel.
‘When you’re trying to build your wealth, saving money is the first thing you should focus on,’ Queenie said in a recent clip.
So what are her top money-saving tips?
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An overachieving 24-year-old marketing manager who managed to gain a net worth of $347k in five years shared the nine savings tips everyone should know (Queenie Tan pictured)
Queenie Tan (pictured), from Sydney, said her financial success gradually accumulated over time after she started researching and investing when she was 19
1. Buy good quality items that last
While it can be tempting to buy cheap appliances and items when you’re trying to save money, the 24-year-old said quality is always key.
‘When you buy the cheapest things you can find, often these things don’t really last, and that’s why it’s important to invest in good quality items, particularly electronic items,’ Queenie said.
She recently bought a good quality stove top, a good oven, a good dishwasher and a good quality coffee machine – as these are things she uses the whole time.
‘I used to spend about $1,500 a year on cafe-bought coffee, but now I have a good quality coffee machine that means I can make my coffee for just 80 cents a cup at home,’ Queenie said.
2. Schedule everything so it runs off peak
The second thing Queenie said you need to do is schedule all of your appliances so that they run at their cheapest time, which is often at night.
‘I schedule my dishwasher so that it runs in the evenings, which is my off-peak time and helps me to save money on electricity,’ she said.
Queenie also recommends buying energy-saving appliances wherever possible, as that means more dollars off your bills.
3. Buy in bulk when something is on special
If there is an item you love and you know you’re going to get through it and buy it again, Queenie recommends bulk buying the item when it is on special or on deal.
‘I drink Bonsoy soy milk with my coffee and my breakfast, so whenever it’s on Special, I buy heaps of it and store it away so I always have some on hand when I need it,’ Queenie said.
This works especially well with groceries and toiletries when you do your supermarket shop.
Queenie’s (pictured) tips include shopping around online and buying something in bulk when it’s on special to save money
4. Shop around online
Queenie recommends that you always shop around online and look at different websites to compare all prices.
‘A good website that I love is called Price Hipster, as this helps you to compare how much the exact same appliance costs on different websites,’ Queenie said.
‘You can also set price alerts on Oz Bargain, so you always get the best deal.’
5. Sleep on a big purchase
When it comes to buying something, Queenie said she always sleeps on it if it’s a big-purchase buy.
‘Some of the biggest mistakes I’ve made when I’ve bought something big is when I impulse spend without taking the time to think about it,’ Queenie said.
‘Whenever I buy anything over $100, I always sleep on it and wait a little while before I buy first.’
6. Use a shopping list
The 24-year-old religiously uses a shopping list when she goes to the supermarket, and she tries as much as possible to only buy things from her list.
‘Look at the price per unit when you’re in the supermarket and try to find the cheapest price per unit for your favourite products,’ she said.
‘For me personally, I try to buy non-branded items whenever I can, as often you can’t really tell the difference.’
7. Look at cost per use
When it comes to her wardrobe, Queenie said she operates by the cost per use rule when buying clothes.
‘When I started buying clothes and wanted to save money, I used to buy really cheap items that never lasted,’ she said.
‘But then I discovered that spending a little bit more money upfront will save me money in the future.’
Queenie said she looks for high-quality items that won’t go out of style, and when she thinks she’ll get lots of wear out of an item, she buys it even if it’s expensive.
9. Finish something before buying something new
Finally, Queenie said she always tries to finish something before she buys something new.
‘For example, with a lipstick, I try to finish one before I buy a new one,’ she said.
‘I do this with makeup, skincare and clothes.’
The 24-year-old said doing this helps her to stop accumulating more things than she needs and won’t use.
‘We can spend money on anything we want in this life, but we can’t spend money on everything,’ Queenie said.
‘So you need to prioritise what is important to you.’
Queenie (pictured) also recommends sleeping on any big purchases over $100 and buying clothes that are good quality so you think about the cost per use
Speaking previously to FEMAIL, Queenie revealed how she built her wealth.
Through listening to audiobooks, Queenie quickly learnt investing was the key to generating a passive income to work towards achieving financial flexibility and freedom.
She now has a diverse financial portfolio and an impressive net worth that she shares with her partner, as they purchased their first property together in 2019 worth $500,000 with a $100,000 deposit.
Each month Queenie is able to invest up to $5,000 through her six sources of income as well as using the equity from the apartment.
Queenie admitted she dropped out of her marketing degree and decided to apply for jobs, as she was living from pay check to pay check and earning only $400 per week.
‘When I was 19 and moved out of home I had no savings and working only covered the bare minimum, so I decided to take a chance to drop out of university – thankfully it paid off,’ she said.
The impressive net worth is calculated by the total number of assets, minus any debt.
She said these assets include her property value, stock and cryptocurrency portfolio, Offset account, savings and superannuation, but the home loan debt of $455,000 is the only liability.
What are Queenie’s tips for saving money?
* Live below your means and spend less than you earn per week
* Track your finances each week/month
* Consider your priorities and what you need to spend money on
* Consider what you can remove from your weekly spendings – such as buying coffee or lunch every day
* Avoid buying the latest products or technology
* Buy on sale
* Only buy what you need, not what you want
Source: Investing with Queenie
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Queenie’s (pictured) financial portfolio is diverse but mainly consists of Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) through CMC Markets
Queenie’s financial portfolio is diverse but mainly consists of Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) through CMC Markets – a platform that allows users to buy both Australian and international shares for low brokerage fees.
She also uses a platform called Stake to buy US stocks as it’s ‘user friendly’ and also has low brokerage fees.
Alternative Australian ETF platforms that are known to be helpful for beginners include the Raiz, Spaceship and the CommSec pocket app.
‘I invest $5,000 each month to maintain a balance and usually try to track the market before buying,’ she said.
For more information about Queenie Tam, you can visit her YouTube channel here. You can also follow her on Instagram here.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
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