Money Habits in My 20s vs 30s - How Has It Changed?

Hello! Haven't been here for a while and just thought to pop by and pen down some feelings.

Just came back from a 3-week holiday and had to delay my monthly accounting for September. With Mr Stock Market recovering a little through the month, the numbers are looking slightly better. And as someone who has slight money dysmorphia (self-prescribed), it did provide a bit of relief. 

(On a sidenote, came across this ST article on money dysmorphia and I felt... seen?)

I've been a worry wart for most of my life. And being someone who grew up in a low-income household, money always seemed like something that was scarce and hard to come by. Naturally, finances was something I found myself worrying over - though not excessively - but sufficient to gnaw at the back of my mind sometimes. Which probably explains why I've been religiously tracking my expenses ever since I graduated. 

Anyway, I digressed. While working on my monthly accounting excel sheet, I did a quick scroll-through across the months to see how my savings/investments have grown over the years. As an ultra-average salaryman with no side hustles, I find myself oscillating between two moods frequently. One would be me scoffing at the numbers I see, knowing that my peers are definitely away ahead of me. But another would be a gentler, kinder version, reminding me of how far I've come. 

While looking through the numbers in the different columns (savings, investments, CPF), I am reminded of how much my personal finance views have evolved. Through different seasons, I've learnt more about myself and what works for me. So here I am, sharing how my saving & investing mindset has changed over the years.

Money habits in my 20s vs 30s

- Daily expenditure

In my 20s, I used to squeeze every dollar out of everything. I rarely ate meals which cost more than $20. Every restaurant meal would be discounted, and I would dig through diff discount apps to make sure I could shave some dollars off. I cooked often at work, which often only consisted of an egg and noodles.

Today, I eat salads that cost >$10. Hahaha younger me would've balked at that. I spend more on food, but I also see it as an investment. I'm investing in 1) my health, with higher nutrition levels, and 2) time with my loved ones, enjoying our time out and having good food during our meet ups. 

For other purchases, I realised I am now more willing to spend on things that I never used to in the past. Clothes or bags that cost >$40 but are made of better quality, or even workout classes. These are things that I see value in today, and think they're worth spending on.

- Savings accounts 

In my 20s, DBS Multiplier was my best friend. SSBs too! 

Today, UOB One is my best friend haha. SSBs are still in my portfolio, but T-bills and cash management accounts are in the mix as well. My liquid cash is spreaded out across more places today.

- Insurance 

In my 20s, I purchased my hospitalisation, critical illness and term life insurance.

Today, I still own the same plans. Just with CareShield Life (& its supplement) in the mix. :") Needless to say, premiums have been rising and so the money set aside has been increasing as well. But it's alright because it is still within 5% of my annual income. 

- Investing

Investing is something I'm glad that I started early in life. It's truly something that you need to experience it yourself before knowing your own style, tolerance, and comfort level. For me, I took a while to figure out my own investment style and what I preferred. 

In my 20s, I started investing into SSBs. I then moved to Singapore stocks, where I purchased blue chip stocks purely based on the recommendation of others. It was what people warned against but I did it anyway haha. I guess it had to happen for me to learn my lesson the hard way. 

A couple of years later, I joined in the masses to buy individual US stocks during the tech rally. Needless to say, that portfolio is still in the red today. I also dabbled into crypto (fomo, anyone?), burnt my hands badly and realised that I've fallen into usual trap of greed and overconfidence. Needless to say, I've learnt my lesson on this as well.

Today, I'm sticking to world indices via diversified ETFs. Also recently purchased some REITs because I'm interested in income investing and am starting from there. Am a safe and boring investor, but I intend to keep it this way. :)

Looking back, so much has changed in my personal finance journey. Now that I'm in my thirties, I do feel more financially secure with a bigger financial base. While many things have changed, lots have also stayed consistent. Things like always spending less than I earn, budgeting my wants and needs have all formed the core of my personal finance journey, and have became things that are second nature to me.

And while I still find big questions like 'Why can I retire?' rather intimidating, I'm grateful that my progress has been visible as I squirrel away my very average salaryman paycheck. 

Excited to see how my money habits will evolve years down the road as I approach my mid-thirties!

30 lessons I've learnt at 30

I turn 30 this month. If you were to ask 20-year old me, I would've dreaded this day. There's a lot of stigma when it comes to turning old, especially if you're a female. However, as I grow older, I slowly find myself being okay with it. Maybe turning old isn’t as scary as it seems.

There are so many things I’ve learnt over the years and I’ve seen articles detailing lessons that were recounted which have given me insight to the writer’s learnings and perspectives. And so I’ve decided to create my own version as well, which could be something worth looking back on in the coming years.

30 things I’ve learnt at 30:

1) Be kinder to yourself. We tend to be really hard on ourselves. One way I’ve learnt to measure this is to imagine how certain thoughts I have for myself would sound when it’s verbalised to someone else. With this, it’s surprising how self-critical I can get. If we’re never like this to others, why are we so unkind with ourselves?

2) Your metabolism slows down greatly after 25. You might think that this slowdown might come later (40s? 50s?), but it doesn’t. 

3) Sleeping early is not uncool. It is actually self-care. A sufficient night’s sleep can do wonders to the following day.

4) You might someday be affected by the hustle culture, especially as your peers start advancing the career ladder. But you don’t have to lean in to this culture. It might get difficult over time because society tends to get really loud on career achievements, but always check in with what you truly want from time to time.

5) Life doesn’t get less confusing. Think it might get clearer over time? News flash: it doesn’t. Learn to accept that life will always be filled with unknowns, and we don’t have to have it all figured out. Life is a journey, and that’s what makes it exciting.

6) Try not to get too attached to things, be it good or bad moments. Life can work in its own funny ways, where a single decision could change the entire trajectory of your life. Gently cradle each moment, and let it go when it passes.

7) Try meditation. The world is really noisy, but if our inner selves are at peace, it quietness down.

8) Remind yourself that you can’t control what happens, but you can control how you react to it. Our reactions also show a lot about how we are as an individual.

9) Surround yourself with books. We’re so lucky to have access to so many great books! You’re learning from individuals who have distilled their life’s learnings into these treasures.

10) Recognise that life would come with both good and bad days. Bad days don’t mean a bad life. It’s okay to feel sad, dejected, or down. But have faith that things will also get better. At the same time, embrace happiness as it comes, but don’t be too fixated in having certain goals as our goalpost of happiness.

11) It’s okay to have fun as adults. You don’t have to be serious all the time. Let loose, be silly. Do spontaneous stuff. Experience new things. Make new memories.

12) What you don’t ask, you don’t get. I used to be really scared of everything, thinking I wasn’t ‘qualified’ enough to ask for certain things in life. But I realised that to increase my luck surface area, I gotta shoot the shots I wish to take. Sometimes, we’re our own only obstacles. 

13) Happiness isn’t about positive or negative feelings. It is about the absence of desire for external things. The fewer desires, the more I can accept the current state I’m in, the more present I am, the more content I can be. - Naval Ravikant

14) Find ways to practise gratitude. It allows you to view situations differently once you have that integrated in your system. 

“Your capacity for gratitude is inversely proportional to your sense of entitlement.” - Mark Brooks

15) Be a minimalist. A maximalist has no upper limit for satisfaction, whereas a minimalist needs very little to be satisfied. - Juliana Chan

16) Believe in the power of compounding. It may feel dreadfully slow at the start, but you’ll reap magical results over time. 

17) Money doesn’t have to be scrimped and saved. Be willing to splurge on experiences that you think is worth it.

“The purpose of life is to experience things for which you will later experience nostalgia.” - FedSpeak

18) Your calendar is a better measure of success than your ban account. - James Clear

19) Write your obituary, then work backwards to live it. - Warren Buffett

20) The way people make you feel when you interact with them tells you everything you need to know about them. - Robin Sharma

21) It’s really important who has access to your energy and time. These two precious resources are finite, so spend it on people who matter.

22) Don’t take criticism from people you won’t take advice from.

23) Purge your social media apps. Unfollow accounts that drain your time and energy. Too much time has been spent on doomscrolling, so find ways to avoid them.

24) Invest in your relationships and don’t take them for granted.

25) Spend more time with your family members, especially your parents. As we’re becoming adults, they’re getting older.

26) The quality of your life depends on the quality of your relationships. - Esther Perel 

27) We sometimes expect too much from our partners. Instead of seeking everything from one person, we could seek different things from different people. That can make us less resentful as well. 

28) Don’t be afraid of growing old. Some people don’t get to do it. So embrace that tiny wrinkle and strand of grey hair. 

29) When life gets overwhelming, take three long and deep breaths. It helps to provide a quick mental reset.

30) Use money to gain control over your time, because not having control of your time is such a powerful and universal drag on happiness. The ability to do what you want, when you want, with who you want, for as long as you want to, pays the highest dividend that exists in finance. - Morgan Housel

Saving my next $100,000 - How’s it going?

The concept of $100,000 by 30 has been so popular in recent years. As someone who was mildly obsessed with personal finance, it was an idea I subscribed to too because of how this goal seemed within reach back then as a fresh graduate.

With my ‘always-below-the-median’ meagre salary, finding ways to stretch every dollar became my personal mission. I was a big fan of food discount apps and cashback deals, and would also feel so pleased with myself for not having to fork out the full price for any restaurant meals.

Slowly but surely, I reached the holy number that I (and honestly every other person out there) have set out to reach.

Not gonna lie, seeing that figure in my finance tracking sheet did feel good. It gave me that little ego boost, and I even felt a little smug about it. It showed that even corporate peasants like me could do it.

So what do humans do when they’ve achieved something? They look for a new goal.

If you’re someone who frequently reads financial blogs, you would’ve come across advice that mentioned that the second $100,000 tends to come slightly easier. This is due to the beauty of magical things like compound interest and having a larger base to work with.

Having achieved the first goal after slightly under 4 years in the workforce, I naturally took it for granted to achieve the second in a timeframe that was less than that. 

Now that it has been 3 years since my first milestone, I’m here to report that…..

.

.

.

.

.

I have not reached my next $100,000, and I’m not even close HAHA.

Who says the second time would be easier?!?! Hahaha ok lah, I took a while to reflect on the whys and here’s what I have concluded.

 

#1 Took a pay cut

Shortly after my first $100,000 achievement, I switched jobs and took a 25% pay cut. It was actually quite a drastic cut, especially when I didnt have a high pay to begin with. Since my job was still my main income, having this cut significantly affected my savings rate.

#2 Bad investment decisions 

The COVID period was a period of many rash financial decisions. Being surrounded by noise of how the market has bottomed in 2020 fuelled my FOMO and I began investing in many growth stocks, hoping that they would ride the wave and that I would be able to make some money out of it. 

Suffice to say, my portfolio has still in the red till this day, and I look at my account from time to time to remind myself to not succumb to human greed. 

Besides that, I’ve also joined the crypto world and staked some of the coins on popular platforms that have ceased to exist today. My only consolation was being lazy when everyone was staking LUNA on Anchor Protocol for the juicy rates back then. 

Nevertheless, all these bad decisions made have taught me a really painful lesson. I realised how easy it was to be part of the herd mentality, and thinking that I knew better. It took me this to remind myself that building wealth takes time and patience. 

“The fastest way to get rich is to go slow.”

- Morgan Housel

#3 Lifestyle inflation

Being a tired working adult, I must say that my desire to stalk sites for deals and discounts have fallen quite a bit. While I still dont frequent restaurants, my cost per meal has definitely increased over the years. Besides that, having friends who are having higher earning power does increase meal costs at times. 

Also, working in the CBD now has definitely made it more difficult to have meals below $5. Can’t believe that used to be my budget. I’m happy to get anything below $10 now. :”) And work from office days have definitely increased, which really adds up to my expenses. 

While I might not have achieved my financial goal on a timeline that I’ve expected, I think the past few years of financial lessons have helped to shape my views and mindset towards finances better. Sometimes, we learn better from our battered and bruised knees, and in any case, I’m grateful to have had been through this at a relatively early stage in life so I can better prepare myself for the future. 

Tracking my income growth since graduation

There’s something about the end of the year that makes you particularly reflective. We tend to do a yearly round up or set new year’s resolutions, hoping that the next year would finally be the year that we make it.

While I didn’t set any new targets for the year, I decided to still do something to take advantage of the do-something-to-feel-like-im-adulting-right feeling that I was having. 

And being the slight psycho that I am (I might be the only person I know who enjoys tracking my net worth monthly), I decided to reorganise my personal finance sheet - by extending the number of tabs I have to include more aspects in life. 

Please tell me I’m not the only one who feels like my life’s more put together after noting down life’s figures on an excel sheet? Haha. 

Anyway, after drawing inspiration from a few finance YouTubers/bloggers, I decided to track the following in this holy personal finance sheet that I now proudly own:

- Financial portfolio (what I’ve always been tracking monthly, aka my net worth and where my savings/investments are at)

- Breakdown (graphs of my financial portfolio so that I can see my allocations visually)

- Insurance

- Salary tracking

- Monthly salary allocation

- Monthly expenses

It’s nowhere as comprehensive as what others have, but good enough for me to work with.

I can go into detail what each tab consists of, but this post is mainly to cover my findings of my salary growth since I graduated 6.5 years back.

I am ashamed to say that while I have always been big on personal finance, I have never truly looked into my yearly income and how it changes over the years. 

So creating this tab actually took quite some time because I had to dig out past contracts and salary slips lol. Some numbers are also slightly off as I didn’t have monthly salary slips, but I based it on my monthly bank statements and they shouldn’t be too far off.

Ok to set some expectations, I am:

- In my late 20s

- Working for 6ish years (since 2016)

- Not a hustler (which means I’m a commoner and not one who chionged for promotions etc lol)

- Did a career switch and took a pay cut in between

How much did my income grow (or shrink) over the years?

Note: Figures represent monthly gross salary, and do not include bonuses and allowances

I started off with my first job at $3,100. It was at a government agency, and I didn’t graduate with good results which probably caused my starting pay to be lower than my peers.

Stayed in the same job for almost 4 years, which explains the slow climb in pay.

I did a job switch in 2020, which essentially was a career switch. I took a pay cut, one greater than the graph above because I had to forgo my bonuses. This essentially brought me back a few years again in terms of my salary.

After slogging out for a year plus, I switched jobs and had a pay bump. And then did another switch which brings me to where I am today.

Am I satisfied with my income growth?

To be very honest, with my peers around me switching jobs and getting 20-30% salary bumps each time, I slowly fell into the insidious rat race as I unknowingly found myself comparing what I had with what they were getting.

This caused a feeling of lack which stayed on within me, as I felt like what I was earning was never enough.

It didn’t help whenever online articles showed how fast the incomes of fresh graduates climbed every year, and these people were receiving crazy annual packages as they land jobs in highly coveted fields. Truth to be told, there were times where I felt sorry for myself.

It was only after this very exercise of revisiting my previous salaries, digging through old contracts and salary slips which kinda grounded me again. It pulled me back to reality, reminding me of what I have been through to get to where I am today. Noting each month’s income down brought me down the memory lane of the numerous difficult decisions I had to make, including forsaking overseas opportunities and leaving a comfortable job to deal with uncertainties - and these are moments worth celebrating. 

It’s quite interesting how I started this exercise with the sole purpose of kaypoh-ing my own income growth, but I ended up feeling so grateful and sentimental haha.

Final thoughts

Firstly, I recommend doing this because it’s so fun! And refreshing haha. I also recommend starting this earlier so that you don’t have to go through the logistical/administrative nightmare like I did.

Also, I think it’s so easy to tag our self-worth to how much we’re earning. To our positions at work. I remember not caring about anything when I first started work. I didn’t feel small when I earned $3k. Weirdly, I feel more inadequate with my current income. Comparison is indeed the thief of joy, and so I’m going to actively remind myself of my identity and value - which definitely extends way beyond who I am at work.

May we never forget how far we’ve come. Here’s to celebrating our own progress and growth. :-)

Money beliefs that have changed since graduation

Personal finance is a topic that I’ve always held very closely to heart, especially so after graduating university. After earning my own income, I’ve worked to be more educated in this area so that I can make informed and intentional financial decisions because I knew of the downstream impact it could have on my future self.

Also, with the basic fresh grad pay that I was getting, it felt imperative to stretch every dollar I had. So it felt like any knowledge on money management would be extra useful for someone who didn’t command a high pay.

After being in the workforce for slightly over 6 years, I came to realise that my money beliefs have shifted quite a bit since I first stepped into the workforce. Thought it might be interesting to jot them down to see how much I’ve grown as a person.

1) Some things that seemed frivolous, are actually worth spending on

I was someone who was really strict with my own finances. I do my daily expenses tracking to make sure that my expenses were reasonable, though it’s not like the numbers would be shocking since I do not make any random big ticket purchases haha. Spending on “unnecessary” items was never in the equation. 

Fast forward to today, I am now more willing to part with my money on things that I feel makes me or my loved ones happy. This includes experiences, like going for a theatre production or trying out slightly more premium seats at the cinema. Or grabbing durians for my family (it’s really expensive to feed durians to a group of 5 haha). 

I’ve learnt that spending on things like that doesn’t mean that I’m being financially irresponsible or being too indulgent. It means making a conscious choice to enjoy and appreciate these moments in life, which is actually the very reason why I’m working hard to earn my keep to begin with.

2) Cheap is not always good

I was someone who was a big Taobao fan. I would look for alternatives on this wonderful Chinese shop and buy bags that were 1/5 the price of what I would find in stores in Singapore. I was really big on these cheap thrills, but looking back, it wasn’t as cheap as I thought given how I’m not really using any of these items anymore.

While there are probably items that are cheap and of good quality, the reality is that most of them unfortunately do not satisfy both categories at once. I realise that I was tossing out items pretty frequently, because the cheap clothing and bags I got were either not comfortable for me, or were spoiling earlier than expected.

Today, I still get some of my cute stationeries and homeware from Taobao. But for items like bags and clothing, I’m more willing to spend a little more on good quality material that would see me for the years to come. :)

P.s. I’m really enjoying leather bags and cotton/linen clothing! 

3) Don’t be penny wise, pound foolish

I was a hugeeee fan of discount apps and making small money through methods like doing surveys. I would spend so much time scrolling through diff apps to decide on where to have my next meal, and would always chionged when a new survey popped up.

And then I would somehow spend that hard earned $5 survey voucher so easily on some small frivolous purchase because it felt like “bonus money”. 

It took me a while to realise that the effort I was putting in to earn these bits of money wasn’t proportional to the value that I’ve gotten out of it. The great lengths I would go to earn that $0.50 was probably not worth that effort with the way I spent it. 

4) Growing your income > increasing your savings rate

I started off with an income of $3,100. Back then, I felt like that was more than enough for me. I could pay off my bills, save a little and even create different savings goals. It felt a little difficult to understand why people were on the endless wheel of wanting a higher income. 

While it was good in some sense that I was feeling contented and not on a hedonic treadmill, I realised that feeling fully content wasn’t the most ideal at that stage of my career as well. I could easily become complacent, and I needed more push to stretch myself in order to maximise my work and earning potential. 

With a not-so-high income, you could imagine that my savings were also moving at a rather slow pace. 

Over time, I found myself giving more thought into this whole career thing, and that saw me making some intentional moves in my career which led me to where I am today. The past six years saw me pivoting into entirely new fields with new responsibilities, in which I’ve gained new skills and might I say, allowed me to stay more relevant in today’s world. 

I am very grateful for the opportunities that have been given to me during this period, and while my current income might not seem high in any way to some, I am very proud of how far I’m come. 

5) You think you won’t invest FOMO-ly, but you would

I would like to think that I am a rather disciplined person… Until I wasn’t. Hahaha. In a world where we’re jam packed with new information every single day, it can get difficult to remain focused on your own thoughts and ideology. It became tougher when the field I was in required me to stay up to date with such news. In terms of investing, I took in a lot of hyped up news and ended up dabbling into different stocks, holding on to the idea that I was young and could take on more risk. I ended up holding a bunch of growth stocks which I now see as a portfolio of regret hahaha.

What I didn’t realise was that I was buying into the hype and was following the noise, which on hindsight seemed like the worst, yet most common mistake investors tend to make. I thought I knew better, but I ended up being just like everyone else. :’) 

Regardless, I’m still thankful that this happened relatively early so that I could get a clearer idea of my investment style, and the method I wish to take from here on. The difficult part is always staying on course, but this portfolio of regret serves as a very good reminder for me.

——————

Looking back, it’s interesting to see how much I’ve grown and how my mentality has changed towards personal finance. I used to think that this mindset that I have wouldn’t shift haha, but I guess this shows how we’re always evolving as individuals. The older we get, the more clarity we gain in the way we wish to spend our lives. And that’s the beauty of adulting (i think!).

Excited to see how different I’d be in another six years’ time! 

Finding my footing

I was 18 when I first set foot in the CBD for work. Back then, I managed to secure an administrative position in a private bank, earning $7/hour. I remember squeezing alongside adults decked in office attire – ladies in killer heels and body-hugging dresses, and men in neatly tucked shirts and pants. I also remember feeling engulfed by this overwhelming feeling of adulthood, thinking that that was what I was supposed to be working towards once I graduate from school.

 

“Is this it….?” 

 

I remember that there was this moment of realization that this didn’t seem like my way of living. Is this what adult life is all about? Rushing beside frantic working adults everyday after alighting from Raffles Place, feeling anxious as I fumbled for my card at the gantry, because I delayed my card-tapping by 0.2s which might be causing a potential queue to form behind me. Fighting for a seat during lunch at one of the crazily crowded hawker centres (because who can afford $12 salads everyday with a median salary?), hoping to be able to spot a newly-cleared table before the other eagle-eyed humans do. Wondering whether I need some tea to survive my post-lunch food coma. Looking at the clock and counting down to the end of work.

 

 

I remember 18-year-old me telling myself to never work in the CBD. I guess the idea of 16 years of education and ending up as one of them ‘corporate zombies’ just didn’t sit well with me.

 

Well, why the sudden reminiscence, you might ask?

 

Because that was what I just faced this morning. Just that in today’s situation, I’ve become one of the adults I vowed not to become. A corporate zombie.

 

I now work in the CBD, and walk alongside other busy-looking adults in the mornings. I’ve joined the peak hour crowd and am squeezing my way in MRTs to get to work. I now chope my lunch spots with tissue packs, and hop on equally packed trains to head home as the skies turn dark.

 

While this lifestyle has been going on for the past few months, the reality only kinda just hit this morning. Where I felt this sudden and momentary wave of disgust at myself as I recalled the thought 18-year-old me used to have.

 

Have I lost my direction?

 

I started my first job after graduation in the West. As such, my direction to work wasn’t of the general public, and so I didn’t have to squeeze on public transport. My subsequent jobs hovered around other areas in Singapore and was never based in the CBD. While I’ve always been in corporate jobs, I think being physically situated in the CBD reaffirms that feeling that I am INDEED just one of the others now.

 

Am I… losing myself?

 

Upon settling at my desk and on deeper thought, I realised that I have been pretty hard for myself.

 

Over the years, my career priorities have shifted. Right at the beginning, my focus was to just do what interested me. Money, career advancement, job opportunities and benefits weren’t things I thought about.

 

I’m thankful that I decided to be more introspective afterwards, and thought deeper into crafting my career. I realized that it wasn’t practical to just focus on one aspect in a role – there are many factors that affect a job. A job cannot be sustained with merely passion, it has to be able to pay the bills, it has to come with a decent supervisor, a healthy work environment etc. In fact, having just passion tend to lead to burn out, and that’s… really not ideal.

 

What does your job mean to you?

 

Over time, I discovered what a job meant to me. While we’ve been fed the romantic narrative that we should absolutely love what we do and thus not work a day in our life, I’ve come to realise that it is okay to be in a 9-5 role. It’s okay to not feel fiery passion in my role, and it’s enough to feel just okay (not hating on it sounds easy to achieve, but really, it’s pretty easy to start feeling that ‘meh’ in a role after some time), provides me fair compensation, allows me to feel like I’m contributing to society, and use that income I’m earning to fund my passions outside of work instead.

 

It’s okay to find my own balance and enjoy that. And that I can be an ordinary employee and still feel accomplished about my life.

Right now, my role is challenging yet not overwhelming. Allows me to grow in my own pace and learn new things. Allows me to head home on time and not type furiously in front of the laptop at 9pm. Allows me to take a guilt-free break while I’m on leave. Gives me an income that lets me live comfortably by my standards. Provides me colleagues that are relatively easy to work with. Allows me to stay relevant in the job market. Offers decent benefits so that I can visit the clinic without worrying (lol). 

 

Takeaways from a working millennial

 

I guess the main lessons I’ve gotten from my career path so far would be:

 

1) Always ask yourself what you value in a job. It doesn’t have to make sense to others, but you got to make peace with it.

2) Opportunities can sometimes happen when you least expect it. If you never try, you’d never know.

3) Try your best to not compare yourself with others. It’s almost too easy to do that these days with LinkedIn and all, but everyone is on a different path. Really. What we see is just a small segment of their lives.

4) It’s easy to forget our priorities after being in our jobs for a period of time. It might be useful to do a self-check-in every once in a while. :-)

 

In any case, while 18-year-old me might have gawked at the current me for tapping at the Raffles Place gantries every morning today, I am proud of how far I’ve come, and am truly appreciative of the opportunities that came my way, to be who I am today. 

 

Here’s to evolving career priorities, and finding our own voice in the midst of a very noisy crowd.

Would I ever be satisfied with my job?

 Hey guys, it’s been a while since I’ve popped by.

After realising my interest in writing and pivoting my career into the content space, I’ve ironically turned into one of those who have unknowingly made something they’re interested in into a job. 

That means tragically turning what I’ve previously enjoyed into something I find a chore.

Nevertheless, I’m trying to make it a point to jot my thoughts down here to make sure that future me would have something to laugh at.

Anyway, back to the main point of today’s post.

I’m currently covid positive, which means I’m stuck in my room nursing my health back while enjoying this mandatory solitude. 

Which means loads of space to think and ponder about life.

Woohoo!

Being away from work for a week also meant that I had some headspace to not think about work.

Which made me realise how much I don’t feel like heading back to work next Monday.

And then I suddenly felt pretty sad - am I supposed to have Monday blues for the rest of my life? 

Like… is this it?

As I’m typing right now, I’ve been working for almost 6 years full-time since graduation, and am on my third job.

I also thought I was the kinda person who would stick to my first job till my retirement years, but look where we are at haha. I guess I can even be considered a ‘job hopper’ to some based on the number of roles I had.

Looking back, I think my priorities towards a job have shifted so much over the years.

I’ve since learnt the dangers of mixing passion with work. And that it’s not all roses and butterflies if you do so. And it’s OKAY to not be 100% passionate with what you do at your day job.

That your day job can be just a vehicle for you to earn your keep and allow you to sustain your standards of living.

And was what gave me the push to move on from my previous role to my current one.

But… why do I feel like I still dread work? 

Am I just too demanding, or asking for too much?

I tried to compare what I used to have and what I have now.

I’m earning slightly more than my previous role, with lower stress levels and better work-life balance. 

But now that I’m doing something that doesn’t interest me as much, I can’t seem to feel motivated at work.

I can’t help but to feel like there should be more to this.

Am I the only one feeling this way?

Will I ever find the perfect balance in a job?

I guess there’s still so much for me to figure out in this career journey of mine.