Former Fast Food Worker Reveals How She Bought Her First House At 19 Years Old
She's even offering tips for people who are looking to buy their first home.
TikTok | Instagram Spencer Barbosa became a homeowner at just 19 years old, defying the odds in today's extremely inaccessible housing market.
The Toronto native is living in an expensive city where housing prices are slowly creeping upwards but she was able to secure her first home last year and even offered some advice to her social media followers on the exact plan that led her to be able to afford what has now become a rare feat.
Barbosa explained how she was able to buy her first house at the age of 19 after previously working as a fast food employee.
In a video, Barbosa, who is now 20, revealed to her social media followers that at the age of 19, she was able to buy her first house in Toronto, Canada. Barbosa started the clip off with footage from a previous video of her younger self saying, "This is how I plan on buying my first house at the age of 22..."
"Hi! I’m 20 years old now and I actually bought my first house when I was 19, so I thought I would tell you how I did it," Barbosa said in her video as it jumped to the present day. Standing in her kitchen, Barbosa offered viewers a tiny glimpse into her kitchen, while also giving out tips of how she managed to achieve that.
Photo: TikTok
"Number one, multiple streams of income," she explained. "I also want to acknowledge my privilege, I work in social media but when I posted that video when I was 18, I was working in fast food." Working as a content creator, Barbosa has a few million followers on almost every one of her platforms, including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.
Barbosa claimed that having other means of making money is extremely important when trying to save up for a house, and while she does social media as her main source of employment, she noted that it isn't all that she does to make money.
She also encouraged newly-turned 18-year-olds to invest in a credit card. "I used my credit card for 99.9% of things that I buy because one, I get points and rewards. Two, I am building my credit score."
Barbosa also pointed out that people shouldn't be too worried about buying the "perfect house," especially as first-time homeowners. "It is your first house, you do not need to buy the nicest house on the nicest street. You want to come in, make it nice and build equity."
The lack of affordable housing in the United States is stopping people from purchasing homes.
According to data acquired by the Pew Research Center, a rising number of Americans say the availability of affordable housing is a major problem in their local community.
In October 2021, about 49% of Americans said this was a major problem where they live. In the same 2021 survey, 70% of Americans said young adults today have a harder time buying a home than their parent’s generation did.
As for Toronto, where Barbosa was able to purchase her first home, according to a 2022 report conducted by RBC Canadian House Affordability, home ownership costs continue to soar as the country faces its worst level of affordability yet.
It costs more than $3,300 a month to rent an average two-bedroom Toronto apartment. For people looking to buy, a typical condo requires $745,000, per The Globe and Mail.
While it is incredibly impressive that Barbosa was able to buy her first home at the age of 19, realistically, the same can't be said for the majority of people her age and even older.
Nia Tipton is a Brooklyn-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.