A young Australian woman has shown that it is possible to take several overseas holidays and still buy your first home before the age of 25.
Natasha Etschmann, co-author of ‘How Not to Work Forever’, told FEMAIL she started working at 14 and bought a flat in Perth at 22.
Now 26, he has a net worth of $513,500, but being financially savvy doesn’t mean he can’t afford to indulge in adventures.
“People often think my life has been very boring, but it’s actually been the opposite and I’ve travelled a lot in my twenties,” said Natasha, from Perth.
‘I worked A LOT. I always had two or three jobs, so there was always a shift available. I said yes to overtime and actively sought it out.’
She has worked in Sizzlers, Specsavers, H&M, football stadiums, as a receptionist, swimming teacher and support worker.
For years, Natasha worked very hard to earn money when she was not studying, and at one point worked up to 64 hours a week as a support worker, where she was even paid to sleep.
To fund his travels, he was “very frugal” and “saved as much as he could” throughout the year and then chose destinations based on cheap deals.
Natasha Etschmann, co-author of ‘How Not to Work Forever’, told FEMAIL she has always been ‘good with money’, starting work at 14 and buying a flat in Perth at 22.
The 26-year-old has been to 35 countries and bought her first property in Perth at the age of 22.
“I didn’t go out and buy drinks, I worked as best I could and I really had to justify everything I spent,” he said.
Even on vacation, Natasha said she was “conscious” of every dollar she spent and never splurged. She stayed in cheap hostels, opted for overnight buses instead of flights, and lived like a backpacker.
“I once went to China because I bought a $200 flight from Perth,” he said.
Their goal was to spend between $30 and $50 per day, travel off-season for better prices, avoid expensive tours, and book activities directly in the country to save money.
In an economy where young Australians are choosing between buying property or travelling, Natasha shows that it is possible to do both as long as you have the right mindset and use your money wisely.
‘It is possible to travel while saving for a house, BUT you will have to make sacrifices like working overtime, getting a second job, being strict with your budget, traveling to budget-friendly destinations, not staying in five-star hotels, and not buying your dream property,’ she said.
‘You don’t have to buy a property if you don’t want to, but you should be aware of the impact this will have on your future. If you don’t make concessions and sacrifices now, you’ll have to do it later.
‘If you’re not buying a home, it’s important to invest in your future in other ways, such as buying stocks or putting extra money into your retirement fund.’
In an economy where young Australians are choosing between buying property or travelling, Natasha shows that it is possible to do both as long as you have the right mindset and use your money wisely.
“It is possible to travel while saving for a house, BUT you will have to make sacrifices,” he said.
The cheapest holiday destinations so far included India, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and the Philippines, while the most expensive were Europe, Tonga, Mexico and the Bahamas.
Since 2020, Natasha has been exploring her own backyard and visiting different parts of Australia.
Buying her first home was also on her radar and she managed to tick it off her list in 2020.
Natasha bought the $295,000 apartment with a $52,000 deposit plus an additional $10,000 from the first home buyer grant, increasing the deposit to the recommended level of 20 per cent.
Over the past five years, his portfolio has grown stronger and stronger thanks to his smart decisions and frequent investments.
He also opts for a “set and forget” rule when investing his money in the stock market and has more than $131,000 there. So far, that amount has increased by $20,000.
She invests in a broad index exchange-traded fund (ETF) that consists of a basket of companies rather than individual stocks to reduce risk.
“I wanted to simplify everything and make it easy to manage, so I picked one and set up auto-investing,” he said.
Natasha previously told FEMAIL that investing doesn’t have to be difficult or scary – it’s quite the opposite.
“My biggest fear when I started was what to invest in. When I started researching, everything seemed simple, but no one was talking about it, so I thought there was a trick,” he said.
The podcast host is halfway to becoming a millionaire and has a net worth of $513,500. The figure is calculated by subtracting her assets from her liabilities.
Net worth is calculated by subtracting her assets from her liabilities. In this case, Tash’s assets include the value of her apartment, stocks, retirement funds, cash, car, and cryptocurrencies, which add up to a total of $741,500.
Her liabilities include her HECS debt ($18,000) and her mortgage ($210,000).
He bought it to live in but it is now an investment property as he lives in Canberra and it does not cause him any financial stress as he bought within his means.
His Perth property has increased in value by $100,000. If he wants, he can use the capital from his mortgage to buy another property, something he plans to do next year.
Over the years his salary has varied between $80,000 and $130,000 depending on the job and hours.
She is now self-employed, but knows she can easily get a job through support work or occupational therapy if she needs it.
He currently invests $1,000 every few weeks and previously invested $750.
Natasha said that often the hardest part is deciding what to invest in, but Google has been her most powerful tool when it comes to research.
She is also an advocate of investing a portion of your savings in the stock market to create a source of passive income, which is taxed at a much lower rate compared to employment income.
However, he acknowledged that not everyone will have money to invest. In fact, almost one in two Australians has less than $1,000 in the bank during a cost of living crisis.
Finder, a financial product comparison group, found that 45 percent of consumers had less than $1,000 saved, according to a large sample survey of 3,214 Australians conducted between January and March.
Financial anxiety is worsening even as unemployment in February fell to 3.7 percent, down from a two-year high of 4.1 percent in January, as 116,500 new jobs were created.
Natasha purchased the apartment with a $52,000 deposit plus an additional $10,000 from the first home buyer grant, increasing the deposit to the recommended 20 per cent.
The property has grown by $100,000 and is now an investment as Natasha now lives in Canberra.
Unsurprisingly, Natasha isn’t stressed about her finances and is proud of what she has achieved at such a young age.
“I understand how to invest, my mortgage is affordable and I continue to save,” he said.
“When I left home I felt fine, but now I know I’m in control. Even though I’m self-employed now, I can still work overtime if I need to.”
Natasha previously told FEMAIL: ‘I often get asked why I like saving and investing and why I worry so much about money, but I’m not obsessed with money; I’m obsessed with the freedom that comes with financial security.
‘The freedom that allows you to work less, travel the world and make life decisions based on what you want to do, not what you need to do to survive.’
