How this millennial saved over $60,000 and bought a first home by 25
Kennie Bukky, Co-Founder of The Pivot Place
Courtesy of Kennie Bucky
A millennial managed to save enough money to buy their own property by the age of 25, despite the bleak economic landscape facing young people.
Kennie Bukky, who lives in the UK and is under the age of 30, is a compliance specialist who has worked for companies such as KPMG and KPMG. Visa.
At the age of 25, he managed to save £50,000 (about $63,000) and bought his first house with a mortgage. His savings and mortgage have been confirmed by CNBC Make It.
Bukky explained that he didn’t receive financial help from his parents and instead had to be extremely financially savvy as inflation, the high cost of living, and rapidly rising home prices continued. Disadvantage for those under 30.
In fact, only 36.5% of adults say they feel better off financially than their parents, while 42.8% say they feel worse off, according to CNBC International. Ask for Money Financial Security in April 2024.
And as many young people feel they have been priced out of adulthood, some are increasingly so suffering costs dealing with stress because they don’t believe they’ll ever be able to own a house or start a family.
Bukky said those concerns were at the back of his mind after graduating in 2017.
Bukky told CNBC Make It in an interview, “I came from a background where we had to be careful about money and money wasn’t always plentiful. There was always a scarcity mindset around money and my upbringing.”
“My parents never taught me money lessons or anything… I hated the idea of ​​being restricted by money, and I learned from a young age that if you save money, you have the freedom to do whatever you want. with that money.”
How Bukky managed to save five figures in her 20s, choosing to keep her legal name and age under wraps for privacy reasons.
“I was busy saving”
Bukky felt his degree in forensics didn’t have enough earning potential – so he turned to the financial industry, starting a job as an analyst at banking firm RBS, earning £28,000. Even then, he was committed to saving money.
One way Bucky is able to save despite the high cost of living is to continue living with his parents as long as possible – increasingly general trend rents have risen in recent years.
That meant she had a two-hour commute to and from the office most days, but she said the savings were worth the trouble.
“I was thinking of saving at least 50% of my salary,” Bukky said. “So I could easily move out, but I’d rather save that money to invest and grow for financial freedom and financial independence. I lived at home as long as I could, even though it wasn’t the best setup.”
He added that saving money with a lower salary created a savings habit that he still maintains. And that caused his savings to snowball as he was able to put more money away.
After saving his first £50,000, Bukky used around half as a deposit on his first home in 2022 and invested the rest in the stock market.
Living frugally
Bukky has combined saving money with frugal living, including only shopping for clothes during sales.
However, growing up in the age of social media means that young people are disgusted by the culture of comparison and forced to live beyond their means.
“I realized the ultimate goal for myself. I know what kind of future I want for myself. I don’t want a future where I’m struggling for money or limited by money. That was more important than any kind of luxury living,” Bucky said.
However, she said she still manages to have fun and budgets for cheap vacations and going out to dinner with friends.
He also admitted he was confused when he first started earning around £40,000 and started buying a BMW.
“I temporarily fell into this trap, and then I looked at it and thought: actually, it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be. I need to focus on my goal. So I owned the BMW for a few months, and then I was just left. I sold it. , because I thought, actually, it’s not that much I’m trying now, let me go back to Ford or something.
A savvy millennial now earns over £100,000 a year. He has invested more than £30,000 in the stock market, converted his first home into a buy-to-let property and is on track to buy a second property.
Despite this, Bukky said minimalism still appeals to him.
“Right now there are some things I still won’t do, like I don’t think it’s time to buy a luxury car even though I can afford it in full,” he said.
“I need assets to pay for it, not out of pocket, because I think that’s how you get stuck in the rat race, you get all these fancy things, because then it’s tied to your income. To me, it’s a form of slavery, tying yourself to these obligations.” .”
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