A full-time university student has revealed how she saved £28,000 by switching bank accounts, selling clothes on Vinted, and investing £200 a month. Holly Murray, 22, an economics student from south-west London, built up £5,000 in savings during her gap year by putting away over 60% of her salary from a bar job.
Building savings from a young age
Holly has been a savvy saver since her first job at a theme park at age 17. She set up a savings account with Nationwide and split her £1,000 paycheque in half, putting 50% into savings. During her gap year at 18, she worked four shifts a week at a local bar, earning £8,000 and saving £5,000 by switching to apps like Monzo and Chase for higher interest rates.
While studying, she kept her bar job during holidays, earning £7,000 per year and saving around £6,000 annually. She also made £3,000 from selling clothes on Vinted and £3,000 from switching bank accounts 15 times, with offers of £100 or £200 for opening accounts and referral bonuses.
Investing for the future
At age 19, Holly learned about investing from TikTok and set up a stocks & shares ISA with Hargreaves Lansdown, initially investing in individual stocks. She later switched to Trading 212 and began investing in Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) at age 20. She started with £50 a month, increasing to £100 and then £200 as she gained confidence. Her investments have returned about 20%, including £4,000 from her stocks & shares ISA and £2,000 from her Lifetime ISA.
Holly currently has £28,000 saved: £12,000 in a Lifetime ISA with Hargreaves Lansdown, £13,000 in a stocks & shares ISA with Trading 212, and £3,000 in an instant access savings account with Chip (4.2% interest). She keeps short-term funds in Chip to earn an extra £15 a month.
Future goals and advice
After university, Holly plans to live at home for a few years to build her investments to £100,000. She said: “I’ve always been good with money and used the money I made from working in the Christmas and summer breaks to start investing. Side hustles like selling on Vinted also really helped whilst I’ve been at uni.” She added: “Investing is empowering because it does give you a sense of control over your future and of your finances.”
Research from investing giant Vanguard found that 11% of investors in Britain started within the past two years, while among Gen Z investors, it was 37%. Holly shares her tips on @hollydoes20s.
