University graduate, 23, shares how she saved $57K in one YEAR to buy her first home

A university graduate has revealed how she managed to save close to $57,000 in one year to purchase her first home.

Throughout 2020, 23-year-old Simran Kaur, from New Zealand, boosted her savings by taking on side hustles to supplement her income and learnt how to invest her money.

While the huge achievement was enough to put down a 10 per cent deposit on a $565K home, Simran, now 24, told Daily Mail Australia it wasn’t easy and involved strict budgeting.

‘I had to cut down my spending habits by budgeting how much I spent on groceries and caught up with friends at home instead of going out,’ she said. 

Being single with no dependents, she was able to save frugally and strategically over a short period of time. 

But she also had luck on her side, as she invested a large amount of money into the stock market ‘at the right time’ to gain an estimated profit of $4,730 over the 12 months. 

Throughout 2020, 23-year-old Simran Kaur, from New Zealand, (pictured) boosted her savings by taking on side hustles to supplement her income and learnt how to invest her money.

While the huge achievement was enough to put down a 10 per cent deposit on a $565K home, Simran, now 24, told Daily Mail Australia it wasn't easy and involved strict budgeting

While the huge achievement was enough to put down a 10 per cent deposit on a $565K home, Simran, now 24, told Daily Mail Australia it wasn’t easy and involved strict budgeting

‘I was lucky enough to invest in the bottom of the market in March and some of my investments did very well, including Tesla which gave me a 400 per cent return on my money,’ she said.  

‘I had dabbled in investing in the past but decided to take it more seriously and invested as much as I could afford slowly every week. 

‘After graduating from uni in 2019 I started work in healthcare in 2020, but after I was stood down during Covid-19 lockdown I temporarily lived on a government wage subsidy.’ 

Then as a ‘lockdown hobby’ she started an Instagram page titled ‘Girls That Invest’ to teach women about how to invest, which now has more than 60,000 followers.  

Simran’s saving and investing break down:

Personal savings total – $28,629 

Existing KiwiSaver savings – $8,902 

Share investing of $19,311 ($14,581 invested with estimated profit over the year of $4,730)

Total deposit amount: $56,842

‘When I began my investing journey there wasn’t any information that was female orientated and it felt very intimidating,’ she said.

‘I couldn’t find a voice that related to mine, it was just ‘finance bros’ who overcomplicated investing concepts.’

After reading books, watching videos and listening to podcasts, Simran realised the world of investing wasn’t as difficult to understand as she thought.

Some of the books she read included Rich Dad Poor Dad, The Intelligent Investor and Your Money Or Your Life.  

Simran said she mainly investing in Exchange Traded Funds (ETfs) including the S&P500, but also invested in specific companies – Tesla, Shopify, Apple, Amazon and Google – using Sharesies and Hatch. 

She also dabbled in cryptocurrencies by holding Ethereum, Litecoin and Dogecoin, which was a risky investment.  

Over time she initially invested $14,581 and gained an estimated profit over the year of $4,730.

In addition to this she had personal savings of $28,629 and $8,902 in her existing KiwiSaver account. 

To reach her goal in just one year Simran said she would often spend $70 a week on groceries and pre-plan meals while boosting her income by selling apparel.

Towards the end of the year she shifted her focus to saving more rather than investing and put smaller amounts into her investments.

In August 2020 Simran and her best friend Sonya extended the 'Girls That Invest' name and started a podcast for women to 'break down investing jargon' and make it easier for people to understand

In August 2020 Simran and her best friend Sonya extended the ‘Girls That Invest’ name and started a podcast for women to ‘break down investing jargon’ and make it easier for people to understand

'We're two women who spoke about investing in a fun manner that wasn't intimidating,' Simran said

Over a short period of time the podcast is claimed to be 'Australia's biggest investing podcast for women'

Over a short period of time the podcast is claimed to be ‘Australia’s biggest investing podcast for women’

In August 2020 Simran and her best friend Sonya extended the ‘Girls That Invest’ name and started a podcast for women to ‘break down investing jargon’ and make it easier to understand.

‘We’re two women who spoke about investing in a fun manner that wasn’t intimidating – we spoke about NFTs, crypto, how to get started investing, top ETFs and things to look out for.’

Over a short period of time the podcast is claimed to be ‘Australia’s biggest investing podcast for women’ as well as among the ‘top two investing podcasts in New Zealand’. 

‘We don’t tell women what to invest in, we just simplify what the stock market even is, how to tell the difference between an ETF and an Index Fund and overall show that investing should be and can be for women and marginalised groups,’ she said. 

To reach her goal in just one year Simran said she would often spend $70 a week on groceries and pre-plan meals while boosting her income by selling apparel

To reach her goal in just one year Simran said she would often spend $70 a week on groceries and pre-plan meals while boosting her income by selling apparel

By September Simran realised she could close the year with enough money to potentially reach her goal and purchase a property.

‘When I had close to $50,000 I knew I needed to speak to a mortgage broker and apply for a loan,’ she said.

But due to the ‘crazy’ competitive nature of the property market in New Zealand at the time, she wasn’t approved for a loan until December.  

‘I started looking at open homes every single weekend or after work and it was so intense because everything was selling within a day of being put on the market,’ she said.

After months of looking, she bought a freestanding two bedroom, one bathroom brick house in Hamilton in March 2021 with a total deposit of $56,842.   

In addition to saving, Simran encourages women to start investing and find ways to boost your income

Prior to investing it's important to always do your own research and only invest as much as you can afford to potentially lose

In addition to saving, Simran encourages women to start investing and find ways to boost your income

In addition to saving, Simran encourages women to start investing and find ways to boost your income. 

‘There’s a limit to how much you can save but there’s no limit to how much you can invest,’ she said, adding: ‘And it’s really quite simple.’ 

Prior to investing it’s important to always do your own research and only invest as much as you can afford to potentially lose.

Simran’s top investing tips 

Don’t watch or check the stocks every day 

Be patient and don’t let the ‘ups and downs’ of the market scare you 

Have a plan set in place 

Accept the risks involved 

Understand that investing isn’t that complicated

Only invest as much as you can afford

Do your research by making use of books, podcasts and videos available



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