Lauren Simmons made history in 2017 when she became the youngest-ever female trader at the New York Stock Exchange.
The prestigious title didn't come with a big paycheck, though: She made $12,000 a year on the floor, which was the typical salary for entry-level employees at her firm, she said.
Simmons still managed to keep the majority of her paycheck, she told Insider: "When I was living in New York, I saved 80% of my income." Today, at 28, she lives in Los Angeles and earns six-figures as an entrepreneur. Her savings rate has stayed the same, she said: "I still save 80% of my income."
Here are four strategies she used to save money and start investing on a tiny salary.
1. She lived with family to save on housing
Housing is the biggest expense for the average American. Simmons completely eliminated that monthly cost by living with her grandparents in New Jersey and commuting into New York City.
She was lucky to have family close by willing to support her, she emphasized. If you don't have that option, consider living with roommates to save on housing.
"I think what often happens with younger people is, they're so eager to do everything on their own and have their own place," said Simmons, but living alone can be expensive — especially if you're renting in a major city like New York. "If you can get that support from your family or if you can live with roommates, who cares if people judge that?"
Transit was one of her only expenses at the time: "The only thing I had to pay for was transportation from Jersey to New York. I took the PATH into the city and then the subway to the office. When I was working on the floor, most of my meals were covered. We had very elaborate lunches and dinners, so I really wasn't having to come out-of-pocket for too many things."
Simmons continued living with her grandparents even after she left the low-paying NYSE job and could afford to live on her own. She saved up a year's worth of expenses in an emergency fund before moving out.
She advises young professionals to do a similar thing if possible: "I'd rather you live below your means and build a savings cushion. Then, when you're in a good and healthy place to do so, you can live on your own and you won't be living paycheck-to-paycheck."
2. She checked her bank account balance regularly
After overdrafting her bank account once, Simmons started checking her balance more consistently.
"To be good with money you have to be bad with money," she said.
Not knowing how much money you have accessible and then accidentally overdrafting is a common, but completely avoidable, money mistake, she noted: "It's one of the biggest mistakes young people make. You go out, spend money over the weekend, and think you have X amount of dollars in your account. But then Monday comes around and you've overdrafted."
Simmons admitted that it was scary to start regularly checking her bank account at first: "I used to avoid checking my bank account, but we have to hold ourselves responsible. We are the ones who spent the money, so we should own it. If you are having fear or anxiety over checking your bank account, you have to work through that."
3. She increased her income by doing public speaking on the side
Simmons knew that a $12,000 salary wasn't sustainable in the long run, so she built multiple revenue streams, starting with speaking engagements.
Her story of becoming the youngest trader at the NYSE went viral in 2018, she explained, and she took the opportunity and ran with it: "It gave me a wonderful platform to do many different things rooted in empowering the younger generation when it comes to personal finance."
The first speaking engagement she was offered was a keynote in the British Virgin Islands.
"They asked what my speaking fee was and I went around to all the men on the trading floor and was like, 'People get paid to speak? What should I charge?'" recalled Simmons. "One of the directors of the company that I worked for told me that he just volunteers his time. I was thinking, 'I'm not going to do that. I only make $12,000 a year.'"
She ended up setting her fee at $5,000.
"They said yes almost immediately, so I knew I had to raise my rate because it was almost too easy," noted Simmons. It was a turning point for her: Even if she kept her rate at $5,000, just doing three gigs a year would earn her more than she made from her full-time job. "I thought, this absolutely can be a line of business. I decided to lean into it and see where it went from there."
She continued landing motivational speaking gigs and building her brand. In 2018, she left Wall Street to work on her various entrepreneurial projects full-time. She hosted a television series called "Going Public," she has a book coming out, and she's secured partnerships with various brands and companies, including one with BlackRock and the NBA, in which she helps professional athletes manage their money.
Over the past couple of years, Simmons has increased her speaking fees and gotten comfortable turning down offers.
"There are people who absolutely have said to me, 'No. We're not going to pay that,'" she said. "If you don't think that paying for my time and knowledge and what I represent is a worthwhile investment, I respect you from a business standpoint and can respectfully decline to speak. For anyone who is an entrepreneur — whether you're baking cupcakes or you're a makeup artist or a photographer — you have to figure out what your number is. You'll get told no. It's not easy. But you never have to justify what your prices are."
4. She lived below her means and never succumbed to lifestyle inflation
Once Simmons started earning more money as an entrepreneur, she didn't change her lifestyle drastically. Sure, she eventually moved into her own apartment in New York and now in Los Angeles, but she continued saving the majority of her income. That allowed her to build a sizable emergency fund and then start investing.
"I've always lived below my means," she said. "It's even more important that I do so today because my paychecks aren't consistent as an entrepreneur."
That's not to say she never treats herself. "Reward yourself when you need to," she said. Just think through your purchases and make sure you're spending on things that matter to you: "If the reward is to purchase things to impress other people, then are you really doing it for yourself?"
It's tempting to spend what you earn — even for her. Her mental trick is to think about her long-term goals and how her choices and spending habits in the moment will affect her ability to reach those goals: "I'm really playing the long game. I'm asking myself, how can I continue to grow my money?"