19-year-old saved 10 million krónur to buy her first flat

Jana Guðrún Jahzara bought her first apartment at 19 after saving 10 million Icelandic krónur, mbl.is reported in an interview with her on its Dagmál programme.

She says her determination to own a home began when she was 14 and heard friends discussing savings accounts their parents had opened for them. Some already had around one million krónur or more, while she had considerably less.

“I just thought, ‘No, I’m not going to be last all the time,’” Jana said. She described feeling jealous and said she became determined to be the first among her friends to buy an apartment. “Honestly, I think it became a bit of an obsession.”

Jana grew up with a single mother who had three children. She says she did not experience poverty, but did notice differences in financial circumstances between her family and her friends’ families.

After starting work, she spent part of her first pay cheque on things she now considers wasteful. Her mother then encouraged her to save. Jana says she found it easy to work a lot and keep her expenses low, and that this approach came naturally from a young age.

She says money was not discussed much at home and she did not receive regular pocket money. Instead, she learned to use what was already available and avoid unnecessary spending.

Jana says she still sees excessive consumption around her, including young people using overdrafts or loans to fund a more expensive lifestyle. She acknowledges that some people have no choice but to rely on an overdraft, but says others could opt for cheaper alternatives. She pointed to cars, travel and other spending where appearances can take priority over a person’s finances.

“You’re just getting into debt in a different way,” she said, referring to spending money on what she called wasteful purchases.