FROM A PERSONAL PASSION TO HELPING OTHERS

Queenie Tan, 25, Invest With Queenie

Queenie Tan is a Sydney-based YouTuber with a passion for making and saving money and investing. Her channel is Invest with Queenie.

Queenie has worked in marketing since she was 19. She was living away from home and studying full time, with two part-time jobs – one an unpaid internship and the other telemarketing. She was earning $400 a week – not enough to live in Sydney – and she was hoping to get a full-time job in marketing.

At the same time she was passionate about personal finance, devouring finance books and feeling she was getting herself into a good position financially. At 23, she bought an apartment with her partner, who also worked in marketing. Two years later the couple have $200,000 in savings and have multiple income streams. They started side projects – blogs and an ecommerce business.

“During Covid I saw a lot of people losing their jobs and it made me upset. I thought back to when I was 19 and earning $400 – I wish someone had been there to tell me stuff I know now,” says Queenie.

She has a presence on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Her Instagram appeals mainly to young women, aged between 18 to 35, who want to know about investing. Many are studying.

Her YouTube audience is mainly male, slightly older and further advanced in their careers. They typically have high incomes and want to know how to optimise their earnings and save. Many are looking for early retirement and more flexibility in their lifestyle.

“They’re typically not very materialistic, they want time,” says Queenie.

Both audiences have two main areas as priorities: buying a home if they don’t have one already and learning about investing.

Queenie was able to leave her own job a few weeks ago to focus on her YouTube channel full time. “It’s not crazy income, around $2000-$3000 a month, but there’s no point having an emergency fund and passive income if I’m not going pursue my passions,” she says.

Queenie shares a couple of stories to explain why she does what she does.

“I went to a going-away party for a friend and met this girl. She saw one of my TikTok videos on the First Home Super Saver scheme, where you could borrow with only a 5% deposit and no lenders insurance. She said she didn’t realise she didn’t need a 20% deposit and she said before she saw my TikTok she thought she’d never have enough to buy a property, and now she’s bought one. And another girl thanked me for a video where I’d mentioned how to ask your boss for a raise and reach your worth. She got a pay rise and is now one step closer to her home ownership dream, too.”