Homeowners at 20, this couple aims to own a supermarket by 30.

You could say Charlie Simmons and Courtney Morison know what they want out of life – and are finding the pathway to achieving their goals at PAK’nSAVE Taupō.

This remarkable young couple – he’s 19 and she’s just turned 20 – have already purchased their first home, a $720,000 three-bedroom with a view of Lake Taupō, after saving a $160,000 deposit. They are now turning their considerable focus to becoming supermarket owners.

How have they managed this at an age when many of their peers and contemporaries are primarily concerned with music, friends, fashion and social media and when the average age for first-home buyers is mid-30s?

Answer: they worked in a supermarket (and still do).

Charlie is a grocery supervisor at PAK’nSAVE Taupō and Courtney is the store’s deli supervisor. Their story – appropriately coming to light in Valentine’s Day week – is as much about young love as it is about the couple showing maturity and focus beyond their years.

The pair met in 2018 in Year 9 at Taupō-nui-a-Tia College, but as Charlie says: “We were just friends then”. Their romance began in Year 13 when Courtney texted Charlie about a school project. Love blossomed – and so did ambition. Charlie told her about his goal of owning a house by the time he was 20… and eventually owning a supermarket.

A career in a supermarket is not always the first choice for school leavers – but Charlie and Courtney’s story shows that the path less travelled can also bring considerable success.

“I think it’s a matter of working hard and saving hard,” says Charlie. “I was 14, still at school, and working part-time at PAK’nSAVE, doing about 17 hours a week, sometimes 20. From the moment I got my first pay cheque, I discovered I really liked the sight of the money growing when I put it in the bank.

“I decided I would save hard – I wouldn’t make any big purchases, like a lot of people my age do. I didn’t have a car – I walked, mostly, or car-pooled when I could. I asked my manager for more hours and worked six days a week and a lot over Christmas.

“It doesn’t matter how big the pay cheque is as long as you can save and build money. So it’s a surprise to me when I see young people run through their pay cheques each week, spending it on things like clothes and other stuff.”

You may think working this hard could have come at the expense of Charlie’s education – however, he stopped working for six months with PAK’nSAVE’s support, and in his final year of school earned his place as second to dux at Taupō-nui-a-Tia.

“I wanted to make sure my grades were good and I also wanted to build my relationship with Courtney,” he says. “University was a possibility and, at first, I wasn’t thinking about making my supermarket work permanent. But then my dad told me about PAK’nSAVE’s ownership training programme and I knew then I wanted to give that a go – and that I really liked the fast-moving environment at PAK’nSAVE.”

Charlie comes from a supermarket family. His father, Gerrard, is a partnership manager for Foodstuffs (PAK’nSAVE’s parent company) but began as a merchandiser for a company that sells produce to PAK’nSAVE stores. His brother, Jacob, is seafood manager at the Taupō store and another brother, Cameron, worked there before heading to Australia, where he also works in a supermarket.

“I’m still very close to my family,” says Charlie. “Our house is close to theirs and we still go home for weekend dinners. They’ve been a big part of this too – Courtney moved in with me at my parents’ home at the end of 2022, meaning we could save more, though we still paid $100 rent each week, just to help.”

Courtney was inspired by Charlie’s plan to own a house and eventually a supermarket, so she also took a job at PAK’nSAVE as part of their shared goal. “Certainly before I’m 30,” Charlie says of their supermarket ownership ambitions.

“PAK’nSAVE and Foodstuffs are really supportive employers, especially if you put the work in,” says Charlie. “Once I’d decided that was the way I wanted to go, I had a word to the owner [of PAK’nSAVE Taupō] and told him of my aspirations. He put me onto the HR manager and she told me about the courses I needed to do.”

He has now completed some of those courses, but there are more on Charlie’s career “shopping list”. Currently, he works 50 hours a week and Courtney, 42.5. “Ownership is a long process, but Foodstuffs makes it easy to understand,” he says.

Courtney remains amazed that she now owns her own house. When she was growing up, her parents rented. Having a shared goal makes it easier, she says: “I don’t feel we have missed out on anything, far from it. It’s easier because we have been doing it together.”

Charlie says their jobs don’t overlap much during working hours but they sometimes take their break together. It is all, he says, part of the plan.

Any other plans? “Well, we are already thinking about buying another property. And… marriage… we are definitely planning on that.”

If you’re looking for a career with real growth potential, explore the opportunities on PAK’nSAVE’s website.