A 22-year-old management consultant has revealed how she managed to amass over £100,000 saving – despite only earning a salary of £35,000 from her main job.
Gabriella Goddard, of Bath in Somersethas credited her fortune to side hustles, investment trading, saving in ISA accounts and teaching herself stick to a strict budget.
Instead of going to university, Gabriella started a practical degree in management consultancy aged 18, earning around £1,400 a month.
However, she immediately started investing, putting 60% of her earnings into a cash ISA – and then upped her savings game when her salary rose to £1,600 in her second year.
At that point she started investing £1,000 a month, putting £500 into a cash ISA and £500 into a Trading 212 stocks and shares ISA.
She also created a content creation business management social media accounts for small businesses, as well as doing brand deals on her social media pages, all of which bring in an extra £5,000 a month.
Now, Gabriella – who admits she sacrificed many evenings and weekends as a teenager to work on her side jobs – has £70,000 in Trading 212 investments, £23,000 in her workplace PENSION and another £13,000 in an emergency fund, giving her a total of £106,000 stashed away.
She pays an average of £1,000 every month into her savings and shares accounts while living with her parents in Bath, paying them £200 a month in rent.
Gabriella explained: “I learned about investing through social media – I was bored for a long time Covidso i started doing some research. I requested investment books for my birthday and Christmas.
“Initially, I put £500 into my savings and £500 into my investment account, then I got a bit excited about it and started investing a lot more.
“I wouldn’t recommend it, but because I was living at home and I had an emergency fund. I had a safety net.’
Gabriella first started working when she was 15, earning £4 an hour at a garden centre, which she credits with teaching her the importance of budgeting and influencing her decision to do an apprenticeship instead of going to university, despite getting three A’s in her A levels.
“I was so bored with education and the money and lack of student debt was enticing,” she said.
She was paid £18,500 in her first year, openly admitting the sum seemed a lot for an 18-year-old, meaning it took her a few months to learn how to budget.
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However, she soon succeeded, setting herself the goal of saving 60% of her earnings.
As well as paying rent to her parents, she paid £350 towards other expenses, including her phone bill and car.
When her salary rose to £23,000 in her second year, she reached £10,000 in her cash ISA account. Using it as a three-month emergency fund, she then increased the amount she was putting into her shares and account to £1,000 a month.
In her final year, her salary rose to £35,000 a year – around £2,100 a month – which is when she started her side hustle, managing Instagram accounts for two small businesses, until she was forced to take a step back for her own well-being.
“It was basically another full-time job,” she explained. ‘I worked all the time. It was not healthy.’
Instead, she now focuses on her social media and earns around £5,000 a month from brand deals on TikTok.
While her rent and other expenses have risen to £500 and £900 respectively, she is still saving a significant amount every month.
Gabriella admits she has been repeatedly asked if she could use the money to get on the property ladder, but she has no plans at the moment as the housing market ‘isn’t as lucrative as it used to be’.
“I don’t want to completely wipe out my investments and savings on a house that I probably couldn’t even afford the furniture for,” she said.
She is also encouraging others her age to give investing a shot by putting away a bit of disposable income each month – and is keen to point out that she made her money through hard work.
“This money was definitely not handed to me,” she said. “A lot of people assume I’m just a posh girl from Bath who’s given it her all, but it’s been a lot of work and sacrifice.”
Gabriela’s monthly budget
Salary per month – £2100
Income from content creation – £5,000
Rent – £500
Other expenses (food, car etc.) – £900
£800 – £1,000 invested in Trading 212
£200 placed in Cash ISA
£200 placed in workplace pension
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