The financial secret of a 26-year-old girl who saved $ 150,000 in 5 years

At the age of 26, Parween Mander is now a consultant and founder of the personal financial consulting firm Wealthy Wolfe. Here’s Mander’s share of how she saved $150,000 over five years, as well as her advice on getting rich.

Growing up in an immigrant family, money was seen as an important tool for survival. My parents worked all day to provide for their children, and every penny spent was carefully calculated for things like electricity, water, and food. Personal hobbies or family vacations are almost never talked about.

I was not taught how to get rich, even being rich is something people like me – a first-generation black woman – would never have dared to think about.

When I was 16, we almost lost our childhood home. I was the one who translated for my parents when we talked to the bank representative. It was a heartbreaking experience, but it also taught me a lot.

At that time, I swore that I would never let a lack of money limit my choices or opportunities. I aim to become financially independent and will do everything I can to not allow outside circumstances to interfere with my personal level of security, control, or power.

After graduating from college and getting my first job, I saved my first $100,000 in four years at age 26. Just a year later, I saved another $50,000.

Here’s how I did it without feeling like I was taking away my joy, my personal interests, or my enjoyment. Along with that are my best pieces of advice for those who feel like they’re lacking direction.

Parween Mander is the founder of Wealthy Wolfe. Photo: Parween Mander

Devote yourself to the job, boldly ask for a raise

After graduating from university, I got a job in the financial technology field. I have worked at this company for over four and a half years. During my time there, my salary increased by 50%. From the very beginning, I knew that as a young woman of color, I had to give my all to my work, even when it felt uncomfortable.

Fortunately, I have a manager who is very understanding and supportive of employees. I make sure to follow up on the tasks assigned to me, even though it’s not within my scope of responsibility. I also self-monitor my progress toward my quarterly goals. They are valuable information that I will use to talk about myself and my work at the time of the employee review.

Every time I add a skill or certification, I usually notify my manager. For example, when I get my certification as a financial advisor and take on the additional role of a financial advisor – a task that is not part of the day-to-day job requirements – I will no doubt be campaigning for a pay raise. Again.

Create trackable savings goals

Three and a half years ago, I started working towards my first savings goal: an emergency fund. It took me four months to save up enough money to cover three months’ necessities.

I did this by looking at my monthly income, fixed expenses as well as average monthly spending on shopping. Through this process, I calculated the actual amount of money I could set aside each month for my savings goal. If I overspend that month, I adjust the following month’s budget to make up the shortfall.

After completing my emergency fund, my next goal is to save for a portion of the house and wedding expenses. I set a goal of saving $100,000 over 4 years, which means saving $2,000 per month.

Through finding ways to increase my income, I was able to achieve this goal without feeling the need to tighten my belt or cut back on other expenses in my life.

Change your mind about money

Growing up in poverty made me think that the more money the more secure and certain. So even though I have a steady income and have a decent amount of savings, I still live in a state of anxiety.

For a long time, I felt anxious every time I had to spend money, especially on personal expenses, even when I had dinner with friends, or bought better makeup. . Depriving myself of my little pleasures would eventually lead to me spending indiscriminately on random things I saw – even if I didn’t really like them myself, leading to guilt. sorry that I am an irresponsible person. And that vicious cycle repeats itself over and over.

The turning point came in 2019, when I had saved enough money for a trip but I decided to stay home because I felt I could not afford it. I missed some memories. I know I don’t want my life to go this way anymore.

For a change, I revised my budget and decided that each month, after I covered my expenses and set aside my savings, I would set aside $1,000 for shopping or servicing. Personal hobby service, gift for friends, relatives…

My problem right now is balance. In other words, I allow myself to have some extra discretionary spending on things that bring joy to my own life.

Do a side job

In my 19s and 20s, when I was trying to learn more about personal finance, I had a lot of trouble finding money experts or personal finance advisors. I don’t feel comfortable walking into a bank and talking to a counselor because it’s not a safe space to ask “silly” money questions. Moreover, what the experts there answered didn’t seem to have much to do with what I wanted to know.

Inspired by my personal experience, in April 2020, I founded Wealthy Wolfe – a financial education and training platform for immigrant women of color to fill that gap and be the driving force behind it. Strength for anyone who is in similar situations as myself.

Over the past two years, I have created online courses, created content, built communities on Instagram and TikTok, affiliate marketing… to grow my business to the point of almost every monthly course. all out of place.

I save most of my income from my side job because the salary from my main job is enough to cover my living expenses. I have also extended my emergency fund from 3 months to 6 months to cover my living expenses when I am ready to quit my job and focus on running the business.

And luckily, the emergency fund was ready at the very moment I was unexpectedly laid off in September 2021, when I was still not quite ready to be fully self-employed.

In 2021, I made $32,000 from the business. That’s why I was able to save my $50,000 relatively quickly. From a side job, Wealthy Wolfe became my full-time job in October 2021.

Have a diversified portfolio

Born into an immigrant family, working as a full-time office administrator used to be the only way to make money I knew. Investing is a strange and scary concept to me. I was afraid that I might lose all my money on investing, so I stayed away from it for a long time.

At the age of 21, I started teaching myself about the stock market. I knew I should invest, so I wanted to learn how to do it by reading books or articles on financial blogs and watching various YouTube channels.

I learned the importance of not selling, buying bottoms when the market is down, and investing in a diversified portfolio over time. That’s why I’m a fan of ETFs, because investing in one means you’re investing in hundreds of different companies.

Although my portfolio is volatile, the knowledge and experience gained has made me more confident in managing my money.

According to Do Hien