A 24-year-old marketing manager who gained a net worth of more than $450,000 in five years has shared how she managed to cut her expenses by half, and how you can too.
Queenie Tan, from Sydney, said her financial success gradually accumulated after she started researching and investing when she was 19.
Queenie now has a diverse financial portfolio after purchasing her first property in 2019 worth $500,000 with a $100,000 deposit.
In one of her most recent YouTube clips, Queenie revealed exactly how she reduced her expenses including groceries, living expenses and subscriptions by 50 per cent.
A 24-year-old marketing manager who gained a net worth of $450,000 in five years has shared how she managed to cut her expenses by half, and how you can too (Queenie Tan pictured)
The first major way that Queenie (pictured) made cutbacks was with her living expenses, which she has done by purchasing a $500,000 property in a less fancy Sydney suburb
LIVING EXPENSES
The first major way that Queenie made cutbacks was with her living expenses, which she has done by purchasing a $500,000 property in a less fancy Sydney suburb.
‘Our living expenses are our biggest expenses,’ Queenie said in the YouTube video.
‘Pablo [her boyfriend] and I live in two bedroom apartment in one of the most expensive cities in the world.’
Queenie said they purchased their apartment for $500,000 two years ago, and their mortgage and strata cost them $2,180 per month – which might sound like a lot, but is less than half what many have to pay to live in Sydney.
‘We have a pretty good deal with our apartment,’ Queenie said.
‘It’s not in a fancy area, but the mortgage cost is below average and it is very convenient for all of our needs.’
On top of this, because the 25-year-old and her boyfriend have ‘good credit scores’, they were able to shop around for a home loan with a really good interest rate.
This all helps them to save valuable cash each month.
HOME EXPENSES
The young couple have hugely cut down their home expenses recently, with Queenie admitting they have gone from an average of $600 per month to $0.
‘In February and March, we spent quite a lot of money on home expenses, upgrading our lighting for $900 in total and buying a new bed,’ she said.
‘But since then, we haven’t made any upgrades to our home or furniture.’
Queenie said even though she has been tempted to spend money on numerous occasions, she and Pablo have started to ‘carefully consider’ every purchase that they do make, in order to make sure they are only spending cash where their values are.
‘Before we buy something, we sleep on it always,’ she said.
‘We also put a price on items that we know we do want to ensure we are buying them at a good price, which I do via OzBargains. Recently, we saved $400 off a new vacuum.’
Queenie (pictured) explained she has been able to save money on groceries by shopping at Aldi; she and her partner spend just $450 per month on their food bill
GROCERIES
Queenie explained that she and Pablo haven’t been able to save much money on their groceries, primarily because their monthly bill is already very cheap.
‘We spend an average of $450 per month on groceries for two people, so that’s just $60 per week per person,’ she said.
‘We cook most of our meals at home, except once a week, when we do like to go out to a restaurant or order takeaway.’
She explained she saves money on groceries by buying most of her items from Aldi, and just a few purchases from Woolworths.
Queenie also uses $500 gift cards through her insurance provider, which saves her around $15 per month.
‘Finally, we always make a shopping list of recipes that we want to make and write down all the ingredients we need on AnyList,’ she said.
‘Then, Pablo and I split up to do the shopping and I go to Aldi and he goes to Woolworths. I’ll try to purchase as many things as possible, and Pablo will buy what I can’t get.
‘We communicate with each other throughout the shop to find out where is cheaper. It sounds like it takes time, but it’s actually faster as there are two of us, and it always saves us money.’
Many people spend a fortune on eating out, but Queenie (pictured) said she and Pablo spend just $200 per month by restricting restaurants or takeaways to just once per week
EATING OUT
Many people spend a fortune on eating out, but Queenie said she and Pablo spend just $200 per month by restricting restaurants or takeaways to just once per week.
They use the app DoorDash to save money, and otherwise just cook in and enjoy nice meals at home.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
The couple have made huge cutbacks to their subscription buys, reducing their monthly spend from $250 to $85.
They have done this mainly by quitting the expensive gym they used to go to before lockdown.
‘We make sure we go through our subscriptions every month, and cancel anything we no longer use,’ Queenie said.
‘At present, we have Amazon Prime for movies, TV shows and delivery. We also have Spotify and we use Audible.’
Finally, the couple have a Binge TV subscription, that comes free with their American Express credit card, as well as a free Centr subscription – which gives them access to workouts.
Queenie (pictured) said she and Pablo have not been able to reduce their telco and utilities, principally because they now work full-time from home
TELCO AND UTILITIES
Queenie said she and Pablo have not been able to reduce their telco and utilities, principally because they now work full-time from home.
‘But, every few months we do still shop around for cheaper phone, electricity and internet providers,’ she said.
‘We are currently with Circles Life for our phone and Super Loop for our internet. They are one of the cheapest on the market.’
PERSONAL EXPENSES
When it comes to personal expenses, the couple have managed to cut down from $600 per month to $250, because they are not paying for as much entertainment in lockdown, and they are even unable to pay for haircuts and facials.
‘We have cut down on all of this by buying some haircare and skin items, so we can do these things at home,’ Queenie said.
Finally, Queenie (pictured) explained her travel expenses have become almost non-existent, because she no longer has to take a train to work and can’t travel anywhere
TRAVEL
Finally, Queenie explained her travel expenses have become almost non-existent, because she no longer has to take a train to work and can’t travel anywhere.
‘I use an app to track my expenses called WeMoney,’ she said. ‘It categorises everything I buy and keeps things on track.’
Queenie said it has been hugely helpful for her and Pablo to realise and ‘reject the idea’ that you need to buy something new to be happy.
They have managed to cut their overall expenses in half.
For more information about Queenie Tan, you can follow her on Instagram and YouTube here.