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Meet Kelly

What was your relationship with money like growing up?

Growing up, I was not a big spender. My family was not wealthy and not even comfortable, if I am honest. My parents worked two jobs each after we moved to Australia, so intuitively I knew I had to be good with money, and to me, that meant saving.

My parents taught me to save for rainy days and always emphasised putting money away for a house one day. That was not really on my mind as a kid, but I still learned to put my money into a high interest savings account because my dad told me to. Over time I learned to shop around for the best rates. Most of the big banks had similar offerings, but online banks like UBank offered better interest with conditions attached. I always made sure I hit those conditions, saving more than the month before to earn the bonus rate. My entire teenage years through uni were about saving as much as I could.

My parents taught me the foundation of saving, and it shaped who I am today.

And what is your relationship with money like now?

My relationship with money is in a different chapter now. What I do with my income has evolved to a whole new layer, investing for better returns and making my nine-to-five income work harder for me.

I also feel a lot less restricted than before. When I was younger, spending money on something I liked came with guilt. Now, after six years of budgeting, that guilt is gone. I have learned to set aside a fun, treat-yourself fund alongside a set amount for monthly investing. The real difference now is I am investing my money, finding better growth opportunities, feeling more confident in my choices, and being a lot less harsh on myself when I spend on something non-essential.

What was your first job? (And how much did you get paid?)

My first job was at a fast food chain. I started working at 15, earning around $18 an hour. I liked it as a teenager, three short shifts a week after school, making my own money without having to ask my parents, and the free food did not hurt either. I had spending money to go out with friends, but I also learned to save a portion of every pay, and that habit stuck.

How did you first come across investing?

I first came across investing through my university finance subjects, where I studied markets and portfolio construction, but I was not interested in it at all back then. I thought investing was something for the rich, that you needed to already have money to do it.

What actually got me started was a question I could not shake in my second-to-last year of uni: do I have to work until 65, or is there another way?

Growing up, I was surrounded by the idea that a good job and a good income naturally led to a good retirement. But then I would see people with good jobs who still looked like they were grinding away right up until 65. That did not add up. I knew business owners could build wealth outside of a salary, but I wanted to know what that looked like for someone in a standard 9-to-5.

That is where investing really caught my attention. Hearing from people in the same position as me made me realise it was not just for the wealthy. Once I understood compound interest and how investing could generate far more than leaving money in a savings account, I went down a rabbit hole. Investment podcasts basically became my Spotify. The idea of having your money work for you while you sleep was something that really stuck with me.

My biggest takeaway from those early days: investing is not something you start after you become wealthy. Anyone can start. You do not need a huge amount of money. You need consistency and a patient mindset.

Was there a memorable early investment?

I do not have a particularly memorable first investment, but one that always kept me on my toes was the FANG ETF. It holds 10 companies with fairly similar weighting, which means it can fluctuate quite a bit.

It stood out to me because in my early days I had gravitated toward broad index ETFs for their lower volatility, so having something concentrated in just 10 companies was a very different kind of ride, and a good reminder of what concentration risk actually feels like. 

How are you currently investing and can you provide a breakdown of your portfolio?

I currently invest 85% ETFs and then 15% individual shares.

There is some deliberate overlap across NDQ, IVV, VGS and MSFT. All pull from a similar pool of large US companies, just with different levels of concentration. VGS is the most globally diversified, IVV narrows it to the US, and NDQ narrows it further to tech-heavy growth companies. Some of these came from my early days of investing and I have slowly consolidated the portfolio over time.

Here’s my breakdown:

Where do you see investing taking you?

Time freedom and financial stability.

I see investing as a path to build a comfortable and secure financial future for myself and my future family, and also as a way to support my parents in retirement. They came to Australia later in life, so they are already behind compared to the average super balance for people their age. My parents gave me so much growing up, and I want to be able to do the same for them.

I also see investing as a way to give myself options, whether that is working part-time when I have a family, or simply having more flexibility to do things without worrying about money. I want the financial security that lets me retire early or travel more while I am young.

I am also planning to take an extended break from work in the next couple of years, something I have been working toward before I settle down and start a family. Four weeks of annual leave a year always feels so rushed. I enjoy the challenge of my work, but I also want to experience the world while I do not have kids or other responsibilities.

What is one super extravagant and outlandish purchase that you hope investing will be able to buy you in the future?

I am not sure it qualifies as super extravagant, but one day I want to buy my own home and have a walk-in wardrobe designed exactly the way I want it. I also want a small fitness studio within the house, a zen space for yoga and mat Pilates. Maybe in Sydney. Currently very much out of budget.

If you only had 25 words to convince someone to invest, what would you say?

You do not need to know everything to start. The best time to invest was yesterday. The second best time is today.

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We want to hear your ‘How I Got Started’ stories. Respond to this email if you would like to be featured and we’ll get in touch!

Tomorrow Kelly joins Jess on the latest episode of How I Got Started. She is a 28-year-old Data and AI Manager who moved from China to Canberra to Sydney and has been quietly building her portfolio ever since.

She invests not just for herself, but to one day support her parents in retirement. Find out how in tomorrow’s episode of Get Started Investing. (Spotify | Apple | YouTube)

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The Tax Trick Couples Overlook When Investing

Kelly is planning to take an extended career break in the next couple of years and although she didn’t mention a partner, investing in a couple can present new challenges that may prevent these goals from happening sooner than one would like. Jess recently sat down with financial adviser Glen Hare from Fox and Hare on Get Started Investing, where he broke down some different scenarios for her about couples and personal finance. (Spotify | Apple | YouTube)

Glen: If you are on a higher marginal tax rate than your partner and you are investing in your individual name, then at a household level, you are paying more tax.

Most couples do not think about this. The person who is more interested in investing tends to be the one who opens the brokerage account and starts putting money in. But if that person is also the higher income earner, every dividend, every distribution, and every capital gain is being taxed at their higher marginal rate, not the household's lower one.

For example, if one partner earns over $190,000 they are on a 47% marginal tax rate. If the other earns $110,000 they are on 32%. Any investment income in the higher earner's name gets taxed at 47%. The same investment in the lower earner's name gets taxed at 32%. That difference can compound significantly over time.

The same logic applies to savings accounts. Interest earned in a high interest savings account is taxed based on whose name it is in. Putting it in the lower income earner's name, or understanding how a joint account splits the tax, can make a meaningful difference.

This is general advice only, the right structure for your situation depends on your individual circumstances, so it can be worth speaking to a financial adviser before making any changes.