Build up your home deposit savings in three years with this simple hack

A young Sydney woman saved thousands of dollars a year by changing her spending habits when purchasing everyday necessities.

A simple lunchtime hack saved Sydney Tik Tok influencer Queenie Tan thousands of dollars, helping her accumulate enough money for an apartment deposit.

The 25-year-old, who currently has a net-worth of $500,000, spent three years saving for her first apartment with her partner.

She describes the process as “rough” and everlasting, with the pair scrutinising every purchase to determine whether it was a necessary expense.

“The saving process felt like it took forever … and those three years were really rough. We had to really check our spending (and) examine every single dollar,” she told news.com.au podcast I’ve Got News For You.

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Ms Tan noticed that buying lunch while at work and going out with colleagues all started to add up to a pricey bill that could have been avoided.

As a result, she and her partner started to meal-prep and discovered that they could save up to $10,000 a year with the simple hack.

“It is nice going out with your colleagues and going to get lunch and things like that. But I did notice that I was spending quite a bit of money there,” Ms Tan said.

“I was able to save between $5,000 to $10,000 a year, just by bringing my lunch.”

Planning your weekly menu in advance helps with this hack, as well as proper storage, using online delivery services to bulk-buy products and consuming food prior to their expiration date.

Finfluencer Queenie Tan saves thousands of dollars every year through simple hacks that anyone can replicate. Picture: Toby Zerna

Money-saving hacks for everyday essentials

The influencer, who has over 180 thousand followers on TikTok, also noted a few other tips that can help Australians save money on everyday items, particularly with the cost of living on the rise.

“There’s this amazing app called the Half Price app and I love it because it can actually help you plan your shop,” Ms Tan said.

She uses the app to determine when products that don’t necessarily expire go on sale, such as toilet paper, laundry detergent and dishwashing tablets.

Another hack Ms Tan uses to save money is to buy bread at 6pm as that’s when price markdowns occur, rather than when it’s fresh in the morning.

“You freeze bread and it lasts up to three months, so that’s something I like to do to save a bit of money on bread every now and again,” Ms Tan said.

It’s also important to take note of when products are on sale between the big retailers, as a product on sale at Coles for example, will likely be in Woolworths’ catalogue the following week.

Ms Tan also said Chemist Warehouse is good for finding typically expensive cleaning products.

“I noticed that the prices were about 20 to even up to 40 per cent cheaper for some items. And they have everything: they’ve got dish sponges, they’ve got detergent, they’ve got dishwashing tablets,” she said.

Shopback and Seven-Eleven Fuel Price Lock are more apps the tech-savvy saver uses, which helps her save on petrol and get cashback for other products.

While it does seem like a lot of research and planning, Ms Tan urges consumers not to be discouraged by the saving process because at the end of the day, it’s “worth it”.

“It is difficult to find these deals and it does take a bit of time, but once you do start to do it … it becomes a bit like second nature to you,” Ms Tan said.

Originally published as Build up your home deposit savings in three years with this simple hack