With KFC wage savings in hand, Tahlia was determined to break into the housing market

Tahlia Lima paid for her first home using savings from her casual wages at KFC despite Australia’s skyrocketing house prices and high interest rates. This is how she did it.

A 22-year-old has revealed how she paid for her first home using savings from her casual wages at KFC despite Australia’s skyrocketing house prices and high interest rates.

Tahlia Lima purchased an apartment using her fast-food savings and money earned working as a teacher’s aide and gym administrator.

She took up one of the 35,000 places in the Federal Government’s First Home Guarantee scheme, which allows buyers to purchase property with a 5 per cent deposit but still avoid Lenders Mortgage Insurance.

Ms Lima, who purchased a $555,000 two-bedroom apartment in Penrith, in western Sydney, with her boyfriend Jack Kenny, said she was determined to break into the market.

“I got my first job at KFC when I was 14 and that’s when I started saving. I always saved half my pay, and then reduced that a bit when I got older,” she said.

Ms Lima said the couple had been realistic about what they could afford, and it was “not our forever home”.

The couple did not rely on a handout from the “bank of mum and dad” but were both living at home, which helped them save.

Thalia Lima, 22, and Jack Kenny, 23, in their home in Penrith. Picture: Tom Parrish

Ms Lima said the purchase had not stopped her social life or even taking holidays.

“I am careful about what I spend. I think, do I really need that pair of shoes or can that wait,” she said.

“But I’ve never had to say no to dinner with friends because I have to pay my mortgage.

“We’ve got holidays booked – we’re going to Vanuatu in October and Japan in January. It’s just about how you manage your budget.”

Another recent first homebuyer in western Sydney, Imogen, said she and her partner watched her $70,000 deposit get swallowed up in $24,000 Lenders Mortgage Insurance and $17,000 in stamp duty, after missing out on qualifying for the First Home Guarantee. Their combined incomes put them over the threshold by $5000.

The couple had been hoping to buy in Penrith but were priced out.

“We would go to inspections and they were advertised at $850,000 to $870,000 and we thought we had a chance,” she said.

“But they were all going for over $950,000.”

The couple eventually purchased in Wallacia, 63km west of Sydney’s CBD.

“Where we are now, it’s 20 minutes to the nearest Woolworths, childcare is half an hour away, and work is further,” Imogen said.

Originally published as With KFC wage savings in hand, Tahlia was determined to break into the housing market